Blackrock Lat A Regulatory News (BRLA)

The information contained in this release was correct as at 30 November 2023. Information on the Company’s up to date net asset values can be found on the London Stock Exchange Website at

https://www.londonstockexchange.com/exchange/news/market-news/market-news-home.html.

BLACKROCK LATIN AMERICAN INVESTMENT TRUST PLC (LEI - UK9OG5Q0CYUDFGRX4151)

All information is at 30 November 2023 and unaudited. 

Performance at month end with net income reinvested 

^cum income

^^The Company’s performance benchmark (the MSCI EM Latin America Index) may be calculated on either a Gross or a Net return basis. Net return (NR) indices calculate the reinvestment of dividends net of withholding taxes using the tax rates applicable to non-resident institutional investors, and hence give a lower total return than indices where calculations are on a Gross basis (which assumes that no withholding tax is suffered). As the Company is subject to withholding tax rates for the majority of countries in which it invests, the NR basis is felt to be the most accurate, appropriate, consistent and fair comparison for the Company.

Sources: BlackRock, Standard & Poor’s Micropal

At month end

#Total assets include current year revenue.

##The yield of 8.0% is calculated based on total dividends declared in the last 12 months as at the date of this announcement as set out below (totalling 40.06 cents per share) and using a share price of 503.85 US cents per share (equivalent to the sterling price of 398.00 pence per share translated in to US cents at the rate prevailing at 30 November 2023 of $1.266 dollars to £1.00).

2022 Q4 Interim dividend of 6.29 cents per share plus a Special Dividend of 13.00 cents per share (paid on 12 January 2023).

2023 Q1 Interim dividend of 6.21 cents per share (Paid on 16 May 2023)

2023 Q2 Interim dividend of 7.54 cents per share (Paid on 11 August 2023)

2023 Q3 Interim dividend of 7.02 cents per share (Paid on 09 November 2023)

\* The discount is calculated using the cum income NAV (expressed in sterling terms).

**Net cash/net gearing is calculated using debt at par, less cash and cash equivalents and fixed interest investments as a percentage of net assets.

*** 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 non-recurring items for the year ended 31 December 2022.

^Total assets for the purposes of these calculations exclude bank overdrafts, and the net current assets figure shown in the table above therefore excludes bank overdrafts equivalent to 3.6% of the Company’s net asset value.

*excluding net current assets & fixed interest

Commenting on the markets, Sam Vecht and Christoph Brinkmann, representing the Investment Manager noted;

The Company’s NAV was 11.8% in November, outperforming the benchmark, MSCI Emerging Markets Latin America Index, which returned 9.3% on a net basis over the same period. All performance figures are in sterling terms with dividends reinvested.

Most Emerging Markets posted positive performance in November, and Latin America was the standout region returning +14%. While all markets in the Latin American index were positive in November, performance was mainly led by Brazil (+14.2%) and Mexico (+15.5%), followed by Chile (+10.7%) and Colombia (+8.1%). Peru underperformed the others returning +3.2%. Argentina had a very strong month, returning +42.4%, following Javier Milei winning in the runoff vote that took place on the 19th November 2023. Milei is expected to be more market friendly and he promises radical reforms, which has been well received by markets as any change from the status quo is considered positive.

At the portfolio level, stock selection in Brazil contributed the largest gains, mainly recovering the underperformance in previous two months. Returns in Brazil was mainly due to stock selection in financials and our overweight position in the consumer discretionary sector. Additionally, our off-benchmark holdings in Argentina performed well, and being underweight in Peru also helped on a relative basis. On the other hand, stock selection in Chile and Mexico were the main detractors.

Top contributors on an issuer level were Pagseguro, GAPB, Globant and Ez Tec. Many of the names we hold in Brazil are rate sensitive domestic names, including Pagseguro, a payments acquirer, and Ez Tec, a homebuilder. The two names rallied strongly in response to the decline in interest rates both in Brazil as well as globally in response to a benign inflation picture. Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacífico (GAPB), a Mexican airport operator, rebounding from steep losses in October as investors reassessed the potential impact of a change in fee structure between the government and airport operators. Globant, an IT services company based in Argentina whose customers are largely US-based companies rallied alongside the Nasdaq 100.

Main detractors were Arezzo, SQM, Ambev and not holding any Grupo Carso and Itau weighed on returns. Arezzo, a Brazilian footwear retailer underperformed the strong rally in Brazilian consumer names. The company should benefit from lower rates but has been underperforming due to potential tax changes that might negatively impact margins in 2024. SQM, a lithium producer in Chile, has continued to underperform on the back of declining lithium prices. The Brazilian beverage company, Ambev also underperformed on the back of potential changes in taxes in Brazil.

We trimmed a few names in Brazil following this rally including Vale, the iron ore producer; Assai, a food retailer and MRV, a homebuilder. We switched part of our holding in Pagseguro to Lojas Renner, a Brazilian retail store operator, where we expect a positive turn in their credit book. We reduced our holdings in FEMSA, a Mexican beverage retailer, and Ecopetrol, an oil producer in Colombia, after both holdings had strong performances year to date.

The portfolio’s largest overweight exposure is in Argentina, driven by two off-benchmark holdings. Our second largest overweight position is in Colombia, where we have stock-specific positions in the energy and financial sector. On the other hand, we are underweight in Peru due to its political and economic uncertainty. We remain optimistic about the outlook for Brazil and have been selective in our positioning, with a preference for domestic businesses that will benefit more from further rate cuts.

Outlook

We remain optimistic about the outlook for Latin America. Central banks have been proactive in increasing interest rates to help control inflation, which has now started to fall across most countries in the region. As such we have started to see central banks beginning to lower interest rates, which should support both economic activity and asset prices. In addition, the whole region is benefitting from being relatively isolated from global geopolitical conflicts.

We are especially positive about the outlook for Brazil. We believe that the combination of a benign outlook for inflation and a relatively prudent fiscal policy by the government will enable the central bank to decrease interest rates faster than market participants currently expect.

We expect further upside to the equity market in the next 12-18 months as local capital starts flowing back into the market.

We remain positive on the outlook for the Mexican economy as it is a key beneficiary of the friend-shoring of global supply chains. Mexico remains defensive as both fiscal and the current accounts are in order. While our view remains positive, we have taken profits after a strong relative performance, solely because we see even more upside in other Latin American markets such as Brazil. We also note that the Mexican economy will be relatively more sensitive to a potential slowdown in economic activity in the United States.

We continue to closely monitor the political and economic situation in Argentina, after libertarian Javier Milei unexpectedly won the presidential elections in November. Milei is facing a very difficult situation, with inflation at 160% year-on-year, currency reserves depleted and multiple economic imbalances. The country needs to go through a painful adjustment process and we worry about the hardship that this inflicts on society. We are hopeful that country comes out stronger after the adjustment process, but we have limited exposure to the Argentinian economy for now.

1Source: BlackRock, as of 30 November 2023.

19 December 2023

ENDS

Latest information is available by typing www.blackrock.com/uk/brla 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.