Portfolio Update

BLACKROCK NORTH AMERICAN INCOME TRUST plc
All information is at31 May 2015 and unaudited.
Performance at month end with net income reinvested

   


 
One
Month
Three
Months
Six
Months
Since
Launch
(24 Oct 2012)
Net asset value 1.7% 1.3% 3.9% 40.6%
Share price -1.0% -1.8% 0.1% 26.1%
Russell 1000 Value Index 1.9% 2.0% 4.7% 62.6%
Source: BlackRock

   

At month end
Net asset value – capital only: 125.63p
Net asset value – cum income:                              126.56p
Share price:                                               115.25p
Discount to cum income NAV: 8.9%
Net yield*:                                                   3.6%
Total assets including current year revenue: £101.3m
Target yield: 4.3p
Gearing:                                                       Nil
Options overwrite:                           15.11%
Ordinary shares in issue: 80,039,044
Ordinary shares held in treasury: 20,322,261
Ongoing charges**: 1.3%

   

* Based on dividends of 1.10p per share declared on 6 May 2015 and 1.00p per share each declared on 13 August 2014, 6 November 2014 and 12 February 2015.
** 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 2014.

   

Benchmark
Sector Analysis Total Assets (%)
Financials 25.7
Industrials 14.6
Health Care 14.4
Energy 8.9
Consumer Discretionary 8.4
Information Technology 7.4
Consumer Staples 7.2
Utilities 5.8
Materials 4.6
Telecommunication Services 2.6
Net current assets 0.4
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100.0
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Country Analysis Total Assets (%)
USA 96.4
France 1.5
United Kingdom 0.7
Australia 0.5
Canada 0.3
Netherlands 0.2
Net current assets 0.4
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100.0
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Ten Largest Investments
Company Country of Risk Total Assets (%)
Wells Fargo USA 3.9
JPMorgan Chase USA 3.8
General Electric USA 2.7
Home Depot USA 2.6
Pfizer USA 2.6
Citigroup USA 2.4
Merck USA 2.4
Bristol-Myers Squibb USA 2.2
Microsoft USA 2.2
Raytheon USA 2.1

   

Bob Shearer and Tony DeSpirito, representing the Investment Manager, noted:
Performance
For the one month period ended 31 May 2015, the Company’s NAV increased by 1.7% while the share price decreased by -1.0% (all in sterling).  The Company’s benchmark, the Russell 1000 Value Index, increased by 1.9% for the period.
The largest contributor to relative returns was a combination of stock selection and an underweight to the energy sector.  Notably, our underweight to large-cap integrated oil & gas companies proved to be beneficial.  Stock selection in financials also added to relative performance as our overweight to banks and underweight to real estate investment trusts (“REITs”) contributed positively.  Lastly, stock selection in consumer discretionary, consumer staples and industrials all added modestly to relative returns for the month.
The largest detractor from relative performance for the month was stock selection in information technology.  Notably, non-benchmark holding Samsung Electronics lagged relative to its technology hardware & storage peers.  In health care, stock selection in the pharmaceuticals and health care providers & services industries dampened relative performance.  Lastly, stock selection in materials and telecommunication services detracted from relative returns for the month.
Transactions/Options
Transactions:  In May we increased our exposure to the consumer staples sector by adding to existing positions in Coca-Cola and Kroger. Conversely, we reduced our exposure to industrials by exiting our position in CSX Corporation.  Additionally, within financials, we added to our diversified financials weighting by increasing our allocation to JPMorgan Chase and Citigroup.  To fund this transaction we reduced our allocation to Fifth Third Bancorp, a regional bank holding.
As at 31 May 2015, the Company’s options exposure was 15.11% and the delta of the options was 92.65%.
Positioning
The Company is currently overweight to the industrials, materials, consumer discretionary and telecom sectors.  We are underweight to the financials, energy, information technology, utilities and health care sectors.  Despite relative underweights to financials, health care and information technology we have increased our exposure to these segments in recent months given stronger fundamentals, the potential for dividend growth, and attractive valuations.
17 June 2015
Latest information is available by typing blackrock.co.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.
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