Last checked at 24 Feb 2009 15:33
BLACKROCK GREATER EUROPE INVESTMENT TRUST plcAll information is at 31 January 2009 and unaudited.
Performance at month end with net income reinvested
One Three One Since Launch Month Months Year (20 Sep 04)Net asset value -11.4% 0.5% -23.4% 36.2%Share price -6.2% 5.6% -20.4% 36.5%FTSE World Europe ex UK -13.8% -1.2% -26.3% 25.3%
Sources: BlackRock and Datastream
At month end
Net asset value (capital only): 127.82p Net asset value (including income): 128.15p* * includes net revenue of 0.33p
Share price: 128.25p Discount to NAV (capital only): 0.3% Discount to NAV (including income): 0.1% Gearing (capital only): 0.0% Net yield: 2.3% Total assets: £136.89m** Ordinary shares in issue: 106,820,690*** ** Includes current year revenue.
*** Excluding 5,568,268 shares held in treasury.
Sector Analysis Total Assets Index (%) Country Analysis Total Assets (%) (%) Financials 20.7 21.9 Switzerland 21.0 Healthcare 12.5 10.5 France 26.4 Industrials 12.9 11.9 Germany 13.4 Telecommunications 10.6 8.1 Netherlands 10.1 Consumer Services 10.2 5.8 Spain 10.0 Utilities 9.9 9.3 Emerging Europe 6.3 Consumer Goods 7.7 14.4 Italy 5.4 Oil & Gas 7.5 7.8 Portugal 1.9 Basic Materials 2.1 6.4 Ireland 1.9 Technology 0.4 3.9 Greece 1.6 Other Investments 6.3 Belgium 1.3 Net current liabilities (0.8) Russia 1.1 ----- ----- Israel 0.4 100.0 100.0 Net current liabilities (0.8) ===== ===== ----- 100.0 ===== Ten Largest Equity Investments Company Country of Risk Banco Santander Central Hispano Spain BlackRock Eurasian Frontiers Hedge Fund Emerging Europe Credit Suisse Switzerland E.ON Germany Koninklijke Netherlands Nestl© Switzerland Sanofi-Aventis France Telefonica Spain Vivendi Universal France Zurich Financial Services Switzerland
Commenting on the markets, Vincent Devlin, representing the Investment Manager noted:
Continental European equity markets experienced a poor start to the year, reversing December's gains and with the FTSE World Europe ex UK Index returning -13.8% (Sterling terms). A bailout package for the troubled insurer ING proved to be a significant market moving event providing some support for Financials. However, a continued deterioration in economic data outweighed the initial glimmer of hope - setting Financials to be the worst performing sector during the month. Emerging markets also struggled during January with the MSCI Emerging Europe Index declining by 14.8%.
During the month the Company's NAV returned -11.4%, outperforming the reference index. The contribution from the Emerging Europe region was positive with contributions from the BlackRock Eurasian Frontiers Hedge Fund offsetting negative returns from Russia. The Company was not geared as at 31 January 2009, and its performance was aided by holding cash in a falling market.
Stock selection was the primary contributor to outperformance across a number of sectors including Industrials, Financials, Consumer Discretionary and Telecoms. Energy and Healthcare sectors provided small negative contributions overall. The Industrials sector provided the largest positive contribution in the month with strong performance from Italian defence company Finmeccanica, and industrial engineer Alstom. Other strong performing stocks included food retailer Ahold, telecoms company KPN and investment bank Credit Suisse. The stocks to detract included pharmaceutical company Novartis, media conglomerate Vivendi and nickel producer Norilsk. Within the Financial sector, the Company's holdings in Italian bank Intesa Sanpaolo and insurance company AXA were negative.
During the month, the Company increased its exposure to the Industrials sector through the purchase of Alstom. Elsewhere, there were modest additions to the Consumer Staples and Telecoms sectors. These additions were largely funded by reducing the Company's exposure to the Healthcare sector as well as reducing cash.
Exposure to Emerging Europe decreased marginally during the month from 8.4% to finish at 7.8%. The BlackRock Eurasian Frontiers Hedge Fund accounted for the majority of the emerging market weight providing diversified exposure to the region. Net market exposure was 100% during the month.
The global economic outlook remains uncertain. Much of the European economic data points to further deterioration with the exception of the German IFO survey showing the first rise in eight months. Globally, many Central banks have responded with further rate cuts in an attempt to revive the economy; however the ECB kept rates on hold at 2%.
On a sector view, the Company currently has a bias to Financials but still retains an underweight stance relative to the reference benchmark. Within the sector the Company has a preference for insurance holdings. Other key sector weights include Healthcare, Industrials and Consumer Staples. The Company has limited exposure to the Information Technology and Materials sectors.
Latest information is available by typing www.blackrock.co.uk/its on the internet, "BLRKINDEX" on Reuters, "BLRK" on Bloomberg or "8800" on Topic 3 (ICV terminal).
24 February 2009
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