Portfolio Update

BLACKROCK INCOME AND GROWTH INVESTMENT TRUST PLC (LEI:5493003YBY59H9EJLJ16)
All information is at 30 November 2017 and unaudited.
Performance at month end with net income reinvested

   

One
Month
Three
Months
One
Year
Three
Years
Five
Years
Since
1 April
2012
Sterling
Share price -2.4% 1.1% 12.9% 27.4% 74.0% 83.8%
Net asset value -1.8% 0.6% 13.9% 26.9% 61.1% 72.4%
FTSE All-Share Total Return -1.7% -0.2% 13.4% 25.2% 57.1% 64.6%
Source: BlackRock

   

BlackRock took over the investment management of the Company with effect from 1 April 2012.

   

At month end
Sterling:
Net asset value - capital only: 201.48p
Net asset value - cum income*: 206.17p
Share price: 200.50p
Total assets (including income): £52.4m
Discount to cum-income NAV: 2.8%
Gearing: 2.5%
Net yield**: 3.2%
Ordinary shares in issue***: 24,424,268
Gearing range (as a % of net assets) 0-20%
Ongoing charges****: 1.0%

   

* includes net revenue of 4.69 pence per share
** The Company’s yield based on dividends announced in the last 12 months as at the date of the release of this announcement is 3.2% and includes the 2016 final dividend of 3.90p per share declared on 21 December 2016 and paid to shareholders on 10 March 2017 and the 2017 interim dividend of 2.50p per share declared on 26 June 2017 and paid to shareholders on 1 September 2017.
*** excludes 8,509,664 shares held in treasury
**** Calculated as a percentage of average net assets and using expenses, excluding performance fees and interest costs for the year ended 31 October 2016.

   

Sector Analysis Total assets (%)
Banks 9.1
Oil & Gas Producers 7.9
Pharmaceuticals & Biotechnology 7.2
Tobacco 7.1
Support Services 7.0
Media 6.9
Financial Services 5.9
Non-Life Insurance 5.9
Travel & Leisure 5.4
Construction & Materials 4.4
Food Producers 4.0
General Retailers 3.9
Industrial Engineering 3.3
Fixed Line Telecommunications 2.7
General Industrials 2.6
Beverages 2.6
Food & Drug Retailers 2.5
Mobile Telecommunications 2.0
Household Goods & Home Construction 2.0
Aerospace & Defence 1.6
Chemicals 1.5
Gas, Water & Multiutilities 1.4
Real Estate Investment Trusts 0.9
Software & Computer Services 0.8
Net Current Assets 1.4
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Total 100.0
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Ten Largest Equity Investments
Company Total assets (%)
British American Tobacco 6.2
Royal Dutch Shell ‘B’ 5.2
RELX 4.4
Unilever 4.0
Lloyds Banking Group 3.9
Rentokil Initial 3.5
Ferguson 3.4
John Laing Group 3.2
HSBC Holdings 3.1
Shire 2.8

   

Commenting on the markets, Adam Avigdori and David Goldman representing the Investment Manager noted:
 
A sharp rotation in equity market leadership from momentum to value saw the UK stock market fall during November, recording its first negative month since June. Financials, led by banks were the strongest performing sector, while the industrials and pharmaceuticals sectors underperformed.  As expected the Bank of England raised the UK base rate for the first time in over 10 years from the record low of 0.25% to 0.5%, reversing the cut from August 2016 in the aftermath of the surprise result of the EU referendum. UK retail sales for October saw the first year on year decline since March 2013, and Sterling surged to a two-month high versus the dollar. US third quarter GDP growth was revised up to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.3% and US consumer confidence climbed to 17 year high. Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) agreed to extend the production cuts, providing support for the oil price.

Over the month the Company delivered a return of -1.8%, marginally underperforming the FTSE All-Share which also delivered a negative return of -1.7%.

CRH, an internationally diversified leader in building materials, has seen its US business impacted by hurricanes and continued weakness in the Philippines whilst its European operations continue to recover. Profit guidance was marginally below consensus leading to small downgrades. Rentokil is supported by strong structural drivers and continues to deliver organic growth. Despite this the shares have recently been impacted by severe weather in the US over the summer months and by a recent strengthening of Sterling. An underweight position in Royal Dutch Shell was a performance drag relative to the benchmark over the month as profits announcements were slightly ahead of expectations. There has been nervousness around the dividend but we do not see this being under pressure and think Shell will continue with their current plan, including with regards to the dividend.

Tesco, the largest contributor for the month, saw its shares rally after the company received provisional approval from the Competition and Markets Authority for the merger with Booker. The booker deal will bring financial synergies and the ability to better utilise Tesco’s space and networks. Patisserie Holdings has performed strongly after it appears the pressures of rising costs are easing. The company is not seeing any obvious slow-down from the UK consumer and is using its cash heavy balance sheet to expand through new store openings as well as looking to potential accretive acquisitions. DS Smith has continued to deliver strong organic progress and has seen volume growth from its Pan-European and e-commerce customers. The company has made accretive acquisitions in Europe and the US driven by customer demand.

We are positioning the portfolio more defensively and have made a number of recent transactions along these lines. The political deterioration post the election has made us more cautious of some of the traditional defensive names and in this regard we have sold our position in Babcock. We are being increasingly selective in our domestic UK holdings and have sold Foxtons and reduced our holding in Forterra and Lloyds. We have added to turnaround position Standard Chartered as well as increasing allocations to Royal Dutch Shell and CRH.

We see increasing pressure in the UK consumer space as rock bottom household savings is coupled with rising household debt levels. Whilst we remain cautious in this area, we certainly don’t treat all companies equally. By focussing on those companies that can generate cashflow from strong business models, have strong balance sheets or scope for management driven self-help, we are able to access some of the fantastic domestic opportunities starting to emerge.

As ever, we remain believers that over the longer-term earnings and cashflow growth tend to be the dominant driver of share prices and where equity markets fail to recognise that, corporates buyers have the potential to exploit the opportunity. With a combination of continued sterling weakness and a low rate environment fuelling cheap debt, we believe that M&A activity will remain a theme throughout coming months.
 
13 December 2017
UK 100

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