Portfolio Update

The information contained in this release was correct as at 28 February 2023. Information on the Company’s up to date net asset values can be found on the London Stock Exchange website at:

https://www.londonstockexchange.com/exchange/news/market-news/market-news-home.html. 

BLACKROCK SUSTAINABLE AMERICAN INCOME TRUST PLC (LEI:549300WWOCXSC241W468)
All information is at 28 February 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	-2.1%	-2.8%	0.1%	4.4%	40.9%	56.0%
Share price	2.5%	0.0%	2.7%	7.6%	41.7%	59.0%
Russell 1000 Value Index	-1.9%	-4.2%	0.0%	7.7%	44.1%	61.2%

At month end

Net asset value - capital only:	210.87p
Net asset value - cum income:	211.96p
Share price:	206.00p
Discount to cum income NAV:	2.8%
Net yield1:	3.9%
Total assets including current year revenue:	£170.1m
Gearing:	1.0%
Ordinary shares in issue2:	80,229,044
Ongoing charges3:	1.0%

¹ Based on four quarterly dividends of 2.00p per share declared on 22 March 2022, 11 May 2022, 4 August 2022 and 2 November 2022 for the year ended 31 October 2022 and based on the share price as at close of business on 28 February 2023.

² Excluding 20,132,261 ordinary shares held in treasury.

³ The Company’s ongoing charges 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 non-recurring items for the year ended 31 October 2022.

Sector Analysis	Total Assets (%)
Financials	21.7
Health Care	19.9
Information Technology	14.4
Consumer Discretionary	9.9
Energy	8.7
Industrials	6.1
Consumer Staples	5.3
Communication Services	4.1
Utilities	3.8
Materials	3.5
Real Estate	1.6
Net Current Assets	1.0
	-----
	100.0
	=====

Country Analysis	Total Assets (%)
United States	80.7
United Kingdom	7.9
Japan	3.7
France	2.3
Australia	2.0
Canada	1.3
Denmark	1.1
Net Current Assets	1.0
	-----
	100.0
	=====

Top 10 Holdings	Country	% Total Assets
Laboratory Corporation of America	United States	2.9
Willis Towers Watson	United States	2.9
Wells Fargo	United States	2.8
Shell	United Kingdom	2.7
Citigroup	United States	2.7
Cognizant Technology Solutions	United States	2.7
American International	United States	2.6
Cisco Systems	United States	2.6
Verizon Communications	United States	2.5
Cigna	United States	2.4

Tony DeSpirito, David Zhao and Lisa Yang, representing the Investment Manager, noted:

For the one-month period ended 28 February 2023, the Company’s NAV decreased by 2.1% and the share price increased by 2.5% (all in sterling). The Company’s reference index, the Russell 1000 Value Index, returned -1.9% for the period.

The largest contributor to relative performance was due to stock selection in energy, most notably in oil, gas and consumables. Selection decisions in health care, specifically in pharmaceuticals, was another positive driver of relative performance. Stock selection in utilities also proved beneficial during the month. Another modest contributor stemmed from investment decisions in real estate.

The largest detractor from relative performance was due to selection decisions in the information technology sector, especially in the IT services industry. Stock selection in communication services also weighed on relative performance, as the decision to not invest in interactive media proved costly. Another detractor for the period included selection decisions in the financial sector. Allocation decisions in the industrials sectors hampered relative performance as well.

Transactions

During the month, the Company initiated a number of trades, the buys being in Union Pacific, Zimmer Biomet and Kosmos Energy. The three largest sales during the period included Norfolk Southern, Morgan Stanley and Robert Half.

Positioning

As of the period end, the Company’s largest overweight positions relative to the reference index were in the information technology, health care and consumer discretionary sectors. The Company’s largest underweight positions relative to the reference index were in the industrials, communication services and real estate sectors.

Source: BlackRock.

14 March 2023

Latest information is available by typing blackrock.com/uk/brsa 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.