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(Alliance News) - BlackRock Income & Growth Investment Trust PLC said Wednesday it outperformed its benchmark for the first half of its financial year, despite a drop in net assets for the period.
For the year to the end of April, the investment trust reported a net asset value negative return of 14.5%, but still reflected an outperformance against the FTSE All-Share Index, which reported a negative return of 17.0%.
As at April 30, BlackRock Income & Growth's net asset value per share was 168.46 pence, down 17% from 203.70p the same date the year before, and from 201.30p at the end of October.
BlackRock's share price at the end of April was 164.00 pence, reflecting a discount to net asset value of 2.6%.
Shares in the investment trust were down 4.1% at 162.00 pence on Wednesday in London.
BlackRock Income & Growth described the period as "extraordinary", with whatever gains made from the first quarter driven by the UK General Election, were extinguished by the Covid-19 pandemic, leading to a sharp fall in equities and extreme volatility.
Portfolio-wise, contributors to performance were companies with defensive earnings streams, which included National Grid and John Laing Group PLC. Meanwhile, financials were part of the detractors, due to their economic sensitivity and the Prudential Regulation Authority requesting that companies cancel their dividends.
The biggest detractor to the trust's performance was its underweight holding in pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline PLC, as its shares proved to be defensive.
BlackRock Income & Growth declared an interim dividend of 2.60 pence per share, in line with the year before.
"At the time of writing the full extent of the economic and social damage caused by the pandemic, and the duration of the measures being applied to limit the virus, remain unclear. Equally, the longer-term impacts on how we live our lives, how businesses and public services operate and how governments will seek to regain equilibrium in their finances are very hard to predict," said Chair Graeme Proudfoot.
"In the short term your portfolio managers believe that the recent spikes in volatility and generally bearish global sentiment have created opportunities for active managers, which they have been selectively pursuing," Proudfoot added.
By Dayo Laniyan; dayolaniyan@alliancenews.com
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