Blackrock Engy Regulatory News (BERI)

BLACKROCK ENERGY AND RESOURCES INCOME TRUST plc (LEI:54930040ALEAVPMMDC31)

All information is at 31 December 2024 and unaudited.

Performance at month end with net income reinvested

One

Three

Six

One

Three

Five

Month

Months

Months

Year

Years

Years

Net asset value

-7.2%

-2.0%

-2.3%

1.9%

33.5%

99.8%

Share price

-4.9%

-2.5%

-0.7%

3.2%

26.3%

101.5%

Sources: Datastream, BlackRock

At month end

Net asset value – capital only:

126.54p

Net asset value cum income1:

126.77p

Share price:

114.00p

Discount to NAV (cum income):

10.1%

Net yield:

3.9%

Gearing - cum income:

13.9%

Total assets:

£152.8m

Ordinary shares in issue2:

120,509,770

Gearing range (as a % of net assets):

0-20%

Ongoing charges3:

1.19%

1 Includes net revenue of 0.23p.

2 Excluding 15,076,424 ordinary shares held in treasury.

3 The Company’s ongoing charges are calculated as a percentage of average daily net assets and using the management fee and all other operating expenses excluding finance costs, direct transaction costs, custody transaction charges, VAT recovered, taxation and certain other non-recurring items for the year ended 30 November 2023. In addition, the Company’s Manager has also agreed to cap ongoing charges by rebating a portion of the management fee to the extent that the Company’s ongoing charges exceed 1.25% of average net assets.

Sector Overview

Mining

39.2%

Traditional Energy

31.8%

Energy Transition

30.3%

Net Current Liabilities

-1.3%

-----

100.0%

=====

Sector Analysis

% Total Assets^

Country Analysis

% Total Assets^

Mining:

Diversified

19.3

Global

49.4

Copper

6.1

United States

26.6

Gold

3.5

Canada

11.2

Aluminium

2.9

Latin America

3.8

Industrial Minerals

2.3

United Kingdom

3.2

Uranium

1.7

Italy

2.1

Nickel

1.3

Australia

2.0

Steel

1.2

Other Africa

1.9

Metals & Mining 

0.9

Germany

0.6

Subtotal Mining:

39.2

Ireland

0.5

Net Current Liabilities

-1.3

-----

100.0%

=====

Traditional Energy:

E&P

16.6

Integrated

6.8

Distribution

3.5

Oil Services

3.5

Oil, Gas & Consumable Fuels

1.4

Subtotal Traditional Energy:

31.8

Energy Transition:

Energy Efficiency

13.1

Electrification

8.2

Renewables

5.9

Storage

2.1

Transport

1.0

Subtotal Energy Transition:

30.3

Net Current Liabilities

-1.3

-----

100.0

=====

^ Total Assets for the purposes of these calculations exclude bank overdrafts, and the net current liabilities figure shown in the tables above therefore exclude bank overdrafts equivalent to 12.5% of the Company’s net asset value.

Ten Largest Investments

Company

Region of Risk

% Total Assets

Anglo American

Global

6.1

Rio Tinto

Global

4.3

Targa Resources

United States

3.5

Shell

Global

3.1

Permian Resources

United States

3.0

Vale - ADS

Latin America

2.9

Vertiv Holdings

Global

2.9

Norsk Hydro

Global

2.9

EOG Resources

United States

2.9

Glencore

Global

2.8

Commenting on the markets, Tom Holl and Mark Hume, representing the Investment Manager noted:

The Company’s Net Asset Value (NAV) decreased by 7.2% in December 2024(in GBP terms).

Global equity markets ended lower in December 2024. Positive market momentum from November faded as US interest rate expectations shifted towards higher for longer. The US Fed cut rates by 0.25% in December, but signalled the pace of future rate cuts may be slower, contributing to a move higher in longer bond yields, as FOMC member inflation expectations were revised higher. The ECB also cut interest rates in December 2024, guiding to likely further reductions in 2025. Political events continued to add to market uncertainty in Europe as France appointed its fourth prime minister of 2024. Global equity markets represented by the MSCI All Country World Index returned -2.4% in December 2024.

Renewable energy stocks remained under pressure in December on market uncertainty over possible changes to the US Inflation Reduction Act under a new administration. Investment in AI data centres and reshoring of clean tech manufacturing are forecast to drive an increase in US electricity demand, which is likely to be met by a significant increase in renewables capacity and other forms of energy. Hyperscalers have announced large investment in renewable projects and renewable power purchase agreements and in December, a hyperscaler announced a strategic partnership to build $20bn of renewable energy and storage assets by 2030 to be collocated with data centres.

Energy equities were broadly lower in December 2024 with an apparent reversal in market momentum and away from energy, despite oil prices ending the month higher. Oil demand in China for 2024 has proved weaker than forecast at the beginning of the year, whilst oil production continued to increase, notably from the US, Guyana and Canada, which appeared a contributing factor to the moves. The Brent oil price rose by 0.6%, whilst the WTI oil price rose by 6.1%, ending the month at $75/bbl and $72bbl respectively. The US Henry Hub natural gas price rose by 7.7% during the month to end at $3.63/mmbtu.

The mining sector was impacted by concerns around US tariffs and their potential implications for global economic growth, particularly in relation to China. This situation has created uncertainty about the extent of stimulus measures that China may implement, resulting in mined commodity prices coming under pressure. During the month, the base metals were hit the hardest, with nickel, copper and zinc prices falling by and 3.6%, 2.7% and 5.0% respectively. Elsewhere, the iron ore (62% fe) price fell by 2.9%. In the precious metals space, gold and silver prices fell both fell by 1.3%, as the US dollar strengthened significantly creating a headwind, with the DXY Index increasing from 105.7 to 108.5. Turning to the companies, we saw profit-taking in the US-based steel names as interest rate expectations moved higher.

24 January 2025

ENDS

Latest information is available by typing www.blackrock.com/uk/beri on the internet, "BLRKINDEX" on Reuters, "BLRK" on Bloomberg or "8800" on Topic 3 (ICV terminal).  Neither the contents of the Manager’s website nor the contents of any website accessible from hyperlinks on the Manager’s website (or any other website) is incorporated into, or forms part of, this announcement.