Portfolio Update

BLACKROCK SMALLER COMPANIES TRUST PLC (LEI: 549300MS535KC2WH4082)
 

All information is at 30 June 2019 and unaudited.
Performance at month end is calculated on a capital only basis

	One month	Three months	One  year	Three  years	Five  years
Net asset value*	-2.0	4.1	-8.8	58.3	64.3
Share price*	2.3	5.8	-5.9	79.5	82.1
Numis ex Inv Companies + AIM Index	-0.8	1.5	-9.8	23.0	14.6

*performance calculations based on a capital only NAV with debt at par, without income reinvested. Share price performance calculations exclude income reinvestment.

Sources:  BlackRock and Datastream

At month end
Net asset value Capital only(debt at par value):	1,480.10p
Net asset value Capital only(debt at fair value):	1,470.62p
Net asset value incl. Income(debt at par value)1:	1,497.23p
Net asset value incl. Income(debt at fair value)1:	1,487.76p
Share price	1,444.00p
Discount to Cum Income NAV (debt at par value):	3.6%
Discount to Cum Income NAV (debt at fair value):	2.9%
Net yield2:	2.2%
Gross assets3:	£766.6m
Gearing range as a % of net assets:	0-15%
Net gearing including income (debt at par):	5.6%
2019 Ongoing charges ratio4:	0.7%
Ordinary shares in issue5:	47,879,792

1. includes net revenue of 17.13p.

2. Yield calculations are based on dividends announced in the last 12 months as at the date of release of this announcement, and comprise of the final dividend of 19.20 pence per share, (announced on 03 May 2019, ex-dividend on 16 May 2019).

3. includes current year revenue.

4. As reported in the Annual Financial Report for the year ended 28 February 2019 the Ongoing Charges Ratio (OCR) was 0.7%. The OCR is calculated as a percentage of net assets and using operating expenses, excluding performance fees, finance costs and taxation.

5. excludes 2,113,731 shares held in treasury.

Sector Weightings	% of portfolio
Industrials	29.7
Financials	23.0
Consumer Services	16.3
Consumer Goods	8.8
Health Care	7.2
Basic Materials	5.8
Technology	4.5
Oil & Gas	4.2
Telecommunications	0.5
	-----
Total	100.0
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Ten Largest Equity Investments
Company	% of portfolio
4imprint Group	2.8
YouGov	2.2
IntegraFin	2.0
Robert Walters	2.0
Liontrust Asset Management	1.8
Polar Capital Holdings	1.8
RWS Holdings	1.7
Next Fifteen Communications	1.6
Fuller Smith & Turner – A Shares	1.6
Big Yellow	1.6

Commenting on the markets, Roland Arnold, representing the Investment Manager noted:

During June the Company’s NAV per share fell by 2.0%¹ to 1,480.10p on a capital only basis, whilst our benchmark index, Numis ex Inv Companies + AIM Index, fell by 0.8%¹; the FTSE 100 Index rose by 3.7%¹ (all calculations are on a capital only basis).

June was another tricky month for the UK equity market. Trade tensions continued to cause uncertainty and spikes in market volatility, while the UK political environment remained turbulent, and as a result smaller companies underperformed larger peers.

The largest positive contributor during the month was Next Fifteen, which rallied after the company reiterated full year guidance in an update at its AGM, confirming that trading for the start of the year was in line with guidance. Recent acquisitions have been making a strong contribution to the growth of the business and management confirmed a strong pipeline of acquisitions in both the UK and US. Shares in Sumo Group rose after the company delivered a positive trading update at its AGM, reiterating confidence for the remainder of 2019 and beyond.

Despite the positive contributions from some of our holdings during the month, the Company underperformed due to some specific stocks that hurt performance. Shares in XPS Pensions fell after the company highlighted that additional costs relating to exiting a transitional service agreement with Punter Southall Group would impact profit growth over the next 12 months before returning to mid-single digit growth in 2020. Advanced Medical Solutions fell after the company warned that growth has been impacted by slowing sales growth in its LiquiBand product, as customers are running down inventories of stock that had been built up ahead of Brexit. Watches of Switzerland, which we recently purchased at IPO, gave back some of its strong performance and Future also gave back some recent strong performance reflecting a bearish note from a broker. 

Since the beginning of 2019 we have seen markets recover most of the lost ground from the fourth quarter of 2018; however the economic environment remains challenged. Macroeconomic and geopolitical concerns will add to market volatility. In times like these it is often smaller companies that are the first to be impacted by changes in sentiment and spikes in market volatility. Therefore, despite our view that we are not approaching the end of the cycle, we continue to operate with a lower level of gearing than the historical average. We continue to have confidence in our positioning and the ability of our companies to navigate the current economic environment.

29 July 2019

¹Source: BlackRock as at 30 June 2019

ENDS
 

Latest information is available by typing www.blackrock.co.uk/brsc 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.