BlackRock Energy and Resources Income Trust outperforms reference index in July

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BlackRock Energy and Resources Income Trust plc (LON:BERI) has announced its latest portfolio update.

All information is at 31 July 2023 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	4.6%	2.3%	-6.2%	10.0%	115.2%	89.0%
Share price	4.6%	-5.2%	-16.3%	8.3%	112.3%	84.2%
Sources: Datastream, BlackRock

At month end

Net asset value – capital only:

132.62p

Net asset value cum income¹:

133.23p

Share price:

119.20p

Discount to NAV (cum income):

10.5%

Net yield:

3.7%

Gearing – cum income:

7.2%

Total assets:

£179.9m

Ordinary shares in issue²:

135,046,194

Gearing range (as a % of net assets):

0-20%

Ongoing charges³:

1.13%

¹ Includes net revenue of 0.61p.
² Excluding 540,000 ordinary shares held in treasury.
³ 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 other non-recurring items for the year ended 30 November 2022. In addition, the Company’s Manager has also agreed to cap ongoing charges by rebating a portion of the management fee to the extent that the Company’s ongoing charges exceed 1.25% of average net assets.

Sector Overview
Mining		41.4%
Traditional Energy		32.2%
Energy Transition		26.7%
Net Current Liabilities		-0.3%
		—–
		100.0%
		=====


Sector Analysis	% Total Assets^	Country Analysis	% Total Assets^
Mining:
Diversified	19.3	Global	56.8
Copper	8.7	USA	15.2
Industrial Minerals	4.4	Canada	9.1
Aluminium	2.5	Latin America	8.5
Steel	2.4	Germany	4.5
Nickel	1.6	France	2.8
Uranium	1.1	Australia	1.5
Gold	0.9	Ireland	0.7
Platinum Group Metals	0.5	China	0.7
Subtotal Mining:	41.4	Denmark	0.5

		Net Current Liabilities	-0.3
			—–
Traditional Energy:			100.0
Integrated	14.8		=====
E&P	14.6
Distribution	1.6
Storage	0.7
Refining & Marketing	0.5
Subtotal Traditional Energy:	32.2

Energy Transition:
Electrification	9.4
Energy Efficiency	8.0
Transport	5.4
Renewables	3.9
Subtotal Energy Transition:	26.7

Net Current Liabilities	-0.3
	—-
	100.0
	=====

^ Total Assets for the purposes of these calculations exclude bank overdrafts, and the net current liabilities figure shown in the tables above therefore exclude bank overdrafts equivalent to 6.9% of the Company’s net asset value.

Ten Largest Investments

Company

Region of Risk

% Total Assets

Glencore

Global

4.6

Vale

Latin America

Equity

3.5

Bond

1.1

Exxon Mobil

Global

4.6

BHP

Global

4.2

Teck Resources

Global

4.1

Shell

Global

3.4

Global

3.3

Canadian Natural Resources

Canada

2.9

First Quantum Minerals

Global

Equity

1.5

Bond

1.4

NextEra Energy

United States

2.9

Commenting on the markets, Tom Holl and Mark Hume, representing the Investment Manager noted:

You might also enjoy reading BlackRock Energy and Resources Income Trust NAV increased by 4.5% in November

The Company’s Net Asset Value (NAV) per share increased by 4.6% during the month of July (in GBP terms).

Market sentiment remained positive during the month of July, on the back of a drop in inflation levels across developed markets, combined with resilient GDP data. Against this backdrop, the MSCI All Country World Index returned +3.7%. In the US, the Federal Reserve raised its policy rate by 25bps to take the fed funds rate from 5.25% to 5.50%, in line with market expectations. The European Central Bank also raised rates during the month, increasing the deposit rate by 25bps to 3.75% in line with its earlier guidance.

The mining sector outperformed global equity markets, as there was renewed optimism surrounding China’s stimulus measures coming through, with the expectation that these will be more specific and targeted than we saw at the end of 2015. Mined commodities reacted positively with price increases almost across the board. The copper price, for example, was up by 5.7%. However, the iron ore (62% fe.) price fell by 2.2% on concern around potential steel production caps. Lastly, mining companies reported their Q2 mined commodity production results, which highlighted issues in supply growth for copper in particular.

Oil prices increased in July, supported by an extension going into August of production targets from OPEC, with Saudi Arabia set to reduce target production by 1mbpd. The oil price increase was also supported by cost deflation and record low inventory levels. The Brent and WTI (West Texas Intermediate) oil prices rose by 14.4% and 15.8%, ending the month at $85/bbl and $82/bbl respectively. On the other hand, the US Henry Hub natural gas price decreased by 5.1% during the month to end at $2.56/mmbtu. At a company level, we continue to see mergers and acquisitions in the space, with ExxonMobil purchasing Denbury, continuing the trend of low premium mergers.

Within the energy transition theme, the EU set a legally binding target of an 11.7% reduction in final energy consumption by 2030 compared to 2020 and introduced a series of measures to help accelerate energy efficiency practices. EU countries will legally be required to prioritise energy efficiency in policy making, planning and investments. In China, the electric vehicle (EV) markets showed signs of improvement, as three of China’s top EV companies reported record monthly sales. A combination of EV price cuts and release of pent-up demand supported sales.

23 August 2023

For more information on BlackRock Energy and Resources Income Trust and how to access the opportunities presented by the energy and resources markets, please visit www.blackrock.com/uk/beri