Blackrock Lat A Regulatory News (BRLA)

BlackRock Latin American Investment Trust Plc - Portfolio Update

PR Newswire

London, December 16

The information contained in this release was correct as at 30 November 2021. 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 2021 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 6.8% is calculated based on total dividends declared in the last 12 months as at the date of this announcement as set out below (totalling 28.80 cents per share) and using a share price of 423.34 US cents per share (equivalent to the sterling price of 320.00 pence per share translated in to US cents at the rate prevailing at 30 November 2021 of $1.3229 dollars to £1.00).

2020 Q4 Final dividend of 7.45 cents per share (paid on 08 February 2021).

2021 Q1 interim dividend of 6.97 cents per share (paid on 10 May 2021).

2021 Q2 interim dividend of 7.82 cents per share (paid on 6 August 2021).

2021 Q3 interim dividend of 6.56 cents per share (paid on 8 November 2021).

\* 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.

*** Calculated as a percentage of average net assets and using expenses, excluding interest costs for the year ended 31 December 2020.

^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 11.7% of the Company’s net asset value.

*excluding net current assets & fixed interest

Commenting on the markets, Ed Kuczma and Sam Vecht, representing the Investment Manager noted;

For the month of November 2021, the Company’s NAV returned -0.6%1 with the share price moving -0.9%1. The Company’s benchmark, the MSCI EM Latin America Index, returned 0.5%1 on a net basis (all performance figures are in sterling terms with dividends reinvested).

Latin American (LatAm) equities posted a negative performance over the month with Brazil and Peru leading the decline.

Allocation in Colombia contributed the most to relative performance over the period while security selection in Brazil detracted most from relative returns. An overweight position in Chilean retail company, Falabella, was the top contributor as the stock continues to perform well given the reopening of the economy and strong retail sales data in the most recent months. An overweight positon in Brazilian telecommunications company, TIM S.A., also benefitted the Company as valuations for the stock remain attractive, and we a see potential catalyst from the expected approval of the Oi Movil acquisition. On the other hand, an overweight position in Brazilian healthcare company, Rede D’Or, detracted most from relative performance as investors are concerned about rising inflation in Brazil and the impact it could have on margins for the hospital group. An off-benchmark holding of Brazilian medical educations group, Afya, also weighed on relative returns as investments into new business avenues should provide additional growth at the expense of reduced profitability in the longer term. 

Over the month we added to Copa Holdings, a Panamanian airline, as pricing power has increased as the company is navigating through the crisis well and we believe will end up in a better competitive position given multiple regional competitors are going through financial restructuring. We initiated a position in Brazilian long steel producer, Gerdau, as we continue to see demand for long steel at robust levels given the long back log of infrastructure projects in the company’s main markets. We reduced exposure to Petrobras, the Brazilian oil producer, to take profits following stock outperformance. We sold our holding of Brazilian cosmetics group, Natura & Co, as it seems like underlying productivity of its sales force is deteriorating. The portfolio ended the period being overweight to Chile and Brazil, whilst being underweight to Colombia. At the sector level, we are overweight financials and health care, and underweight consumer staples and energy.

It has been a tough period for Latin America, with many countries hit hard by the COVID-19 crisis. However, we believe there are arguments to be made for better times ahead for the region as the world rebuilds after the pandemic and Latin America could be considered as a beneficiary of recovery in the global economy. As the region rebuilds, Latin America will have some important tailwinds. Perhaps the most significant are high commodity prices. Vast stimulus in the US and economic recovery across the world has pushed up demand for commodities after a period of tight supply. Global governments have ambitious, commodity-heavy infrastructure plans, particularly for green energy development. Latin America is one of the most abundant regions in the world for lithium, iron ore and copper with some of the longest-life reserves at a low cost in Brazil, Chile, and Peru. Despite this positive external backdrop, there are also broader risk factors that could weigh on regional economic growth. Across Latin America, a growing middle class is seeing domestic consumption pressured from rising inflation and increasing domestic interest rates. Latin American economies were boosted throughout the pandemic for the most part by expansionary monetary and fiscal policies. This has led to a rapid near-term rebound in demand given the reopening of economies at a time where rising energy costs, low inventories and supply chain issues have led to inflation exceeding expectations across the region. Central banks have aggressively reacted by hiking domestic interest rates to tame rising inflation. The impact of rising domestic rates will weigh on growth prospects, at the margin, but could be offset by continued loose fiscal policy. Over the next 12 months we will see presidential elections in Chile, Colombia and Brazil and one of the biggest debates is the amount of government spending to continue to support development. The outcome of these debates will have profound impact on growth going forward. Against this challenging backdrop, we see Latin American equities as already pricing in a great deal of risk factors as a number of stocks and country indices are already trading at discounted valuations in both absolute and relative terms.

1Source: BlackRock, as of 30 November 2021.

16 December 2021

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.