21 Jun 2021 08:00
BlackRock North American Income Trust Plc - Portfolio UpdateBlackRock North American Income Trust Plc - Portfolio Update
PR Newswire
London, June 18
The information contained in this release was correct as at 31 May 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 NORTH AMERICAN INCOME TRUST PLC (LEI:549300WWOCXSC241W468)All information is at 31 May 2021 and unaudited.Performance at month end with net income reinvested
| One Month | Three Months | Six Months | One Year | Three Years | Five Years | |
| Net asset value | 0.1% | 11.6% | 15.1% | 22.7% | 32.4% | 83.7% |
| Share price | -4.3% | 13.5% | 17.8% | 23.2% | 29.2% | 84.5% |
| Russell 1000 Value Index | -0.3% | 10.8% | 15.5% | 25.6% | 34.9% | 83.1% |
At month end
| Net asset value - capital only: | 196.10p |
| Net asset value - cum income: | 196.11p |
| Share price: | 187.50p |
| Discount to cum income NAV: | 4.4% |
| Net yield1: | 4.3% |
| Total assets including current year revenue: | £157.3m |
| Gearing: | Nil |
| Options overwrite | 8.4% |
| Ordinary shares in issue2: | 80,229,044 |
| Ongoing charges3: | 1.1% |
1 Based on four quarterly interim dividends of 2.00p per share declared on 6 August 2020 and 4 November 2020 for the year ended 31 October 2020, and on 23 March 2021 and 5 May 2021 for the year ending 31 October 2021, and based on the share price as at close of business on 31 May 2021.
² Excluding 20,132,261 ordinary shares held in treasury.
³ Ongoing charges represent the management fee and all other operating expenses excluding interest as a % of average shareholders’ funds for the year ended 31 October 2020.
| Sector Analysis | Total Assets (%) |
| Financials | 28.6 |
| Health Care | 16.7 |
| Information Technology | 10.6 |
| Consumer Staples | 7.9 |
| Energy | 7.2 |
| Industrials | 6.7 |
| Consumer Discretionary | 6.1 |
| Communication Services | 5.8 |
| Utilities | 4.1 |
| Materials | 1.5 |
| Net Current Assets | 4.8 |
| ---- | |
| 100.0 | |
| ===== | |
| Country Analysis | Total Assets (%) |
| United States | 74.9 |
| United Kingdom | 5.6 |
| Germany | 3.9 |
| Netherlands | 3.5 |
| France | 3.1 |
| Ireland | 1.8 |
| Norway | 1.1 |
| Switzerland | 0.8 |
| Canada | 0.5 |
| Net Current Assets | 4.8 |
| ----- | |
| 100.0 | |
| ===== | |
| Top 10 Holdings | Country | % Total Assets |
| Citigroup | United States | 3.8 |
| Wells Fargo | United States | 3.7 |
| American International Group | United States | 2.9 |
| Cisco Systems | United States | 2.6 |
| Bank of America | United States | 2.6 |
| Verizon Communications | United States | 2.4 |
| Anthem | United States | 2.4 |
| Morgan Stanley | United States | 2.1 |
| General Motors | United States | 2.1 |
| Comcast | United States | 2.0 |
Tony DeSpirito, Franco Tapia and David Zhao, representing the Investment Manager, noted:
For the one-month period ended 31 May 2021, the Company’s NAV increased by 0.1% and the share price decreased by 4.3% (all in sterling). The Company’s benchmark, the Russell 1000 Value Index, returned -0.3% for the period.
The largest contributor to relative performance was investment decisions in financials. Notably, stock selection in insurance proved beneficial, as did a combination of stock selection and an overweight exposure to the banking industry. In energy, stock selection and an overweight exposure to the oil, gas and consumable fuels industry boosted relative returns. Finally, an underweight exposure to the communication services sector contributed to relative results during the period.
The largest detractor from relative performance was a combination of stock selection and an underweight exposure to the materials sector. Notably, an underweight exposure to metals and mining companies, as well as investment decisions in the chemicals industry proved costly. In information technology, stock selection in IT services and an overweight exposure to the software industry weighed on relative returns. Investment decisions in health care also hindered relative performance during the period, most notably in the health care equipment and supplies and pharmaceuticals industries.
The portfolio’s options overwriting strategy detracted from relative performance during the month, as did the portfolio’s cash position.
Transactions/Options
Transactions: In May, the portfolio added to existing positions in British American Tobacco, SS&C Technologies, BP, Equinor and Fidelity National Information Services. Conversely, we exited our positions in Pioneer Natural Resources, CDW, NXP Semiconductors and Siemens Energy, as well as reduced our exposure to Altria and The Williams Companies.
Options: As of 31 May 2021, the Company’s options exposure was 8.4% and the delta of the options was 89.4.
Positioning
As of the period end, the Company’s largest overweight positions relative to the benchmark were in the financials, health care and energy sectors. The Company’s largest underweight positions relative to the benchmark were in the industrials, real estate and materials sectors.
Source: BlackRock. Data as of 31 May 2021.
21 June 2021
Latest information is available by typing blackrock.com/uk/brna 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.