REG-BlackRock Greater Europe Investment Trust Plc: Portfolio Update

Blackrock Greater Europe Investment TrustAnnouncement

18/05/2026 17:15

The information contained in this release was correct as at                   
              30 April 2026                               . 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 GREATER EUROPE INVESTMENT TRUST PLC (LEI - 5493003R8FJ6I76ZUW55)

All information is at                                  30 April 2026          
                     and unaudited.          
          
                     Performance at month end with net income reinvested      
             
           

                              One  Month  Three  Months  One  Year  Three  Years  Launch  (20 Sep 04)  
                                                                                                       
 Net asset value (undiluted)  5.4%        -4.1%          3.0%       9.4%          743.8%               
 Share price                  4.6%        -6.1%          0.9%       6.8%          692.9%               
 FTSE World Europe ex UK      4.9%        0.3%           20.4%      41.1%         598.7%               

Sources: BlackRock and Datastream                    
           

At month end

 Net asset value (capital only):      585.54p     
 Net asset value (including income):  593.41p     
 Share price:                         550.00p     
 Discount to NAV (including income):  7.3%        
 Net gearing:                         7.3%        
 Net yield 1 :                        1.3%        
 Total assets (including income):     £542.6m     
 Ordinary shares in issue 2 :         91,445,411  
 Ongoing charges 3 :                  0.95%       

 

1                      Based on an interim dividend of 1.75p per share and a
final dividend of 5.40p per share for the year ended 31 August 2025.

2                      Excluding 26,483,527 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, write back of prior year expenses and certain non-recurring items
for the year ended 31 August 2025. With effect from 1 September 2025, the
Company’s annual management fee was reduced from 0.85% per annum of net
asset value on net assets up to £350 million and 0.75% per annum of net asset
value above £350 million to 0.65% of net assets up to and including £400
million, 0.60% of net assets in excess of £400 million up to and including
£1 billion and 0.525% of net assets in excess of £1 billion. This will
result in lower ongoing charges for the Company, estimated at 0.775% (based on
average net assets for the year ended 31 August 2025).

 

                         
 Sector Analysis         Total Assets (%)  
 Industrials             30.8              
 Financials              18.9              
 Technology              17.4              
 Health Care             12.6              
 Energy                  6.2               
 Consumer Discretionary  5.3               
 Basic Materials         4.8               
 Utilities               3.3               
 Net Current Assets      0.7               
                         -----             
                         100.0             
                         =====             
                                           
                                             
 Country Analysis        Total Assets (%)  
 Netherlands             20.1              
 France                  18.2              
 Switzerland             16.8              
 Germany                 10.8              
 Italy                   5.8               
 Spain                   5.4               
 Sweden                  4.1               
 Denmark                 4.0               
 Belgium                 3.5               
 Finland                 2.9               
 Ireland                 2.9               
 United States           2.1               
 Norway                  1.4               
 Austria                 1.3               
 Net Current Assets      0.7               
                         -----             
                         100.0             
                         =====             
                                           

 

 Top 10 holdings    Country      Fund %  
 ASML               Netherlands  8.5     
 Siemens            Germany      6.2     
 Safran             France       4.5     
 UniCredit          Italy        4.1     
 ASM International  Netherlands  3.9     
 Novartis           Switzerland  3.4     
 Engie SA           France       3.4     
 BE Semiconductor   Netherlands  3.1     
 Kone               Finland      3.0     
 Legrand SA         France       3.0     
                                         

 

Commenting on the markets, Benjamin Moore and Brian Hall, representing the
Investment Manager noted:

                       

During the month, the Company’s NAV rose +5.4% and the share price rose
+4.6%. For reference, the FTSE World Europe ex UK market returned +4.9% during
the period.

 

The market tried to move on from the conflict in Iran over the month, but we
remain cautious. Oil prices remain elevated against a fragile ceasefire which
acted to keep the Strait of Hormuz traffic limited through the pause in
fighting. The market reaction is better understood in the US where tech and AI
dominance propelled gains from EPS (earnings per share) upgrades. The European
market also benefited in part, yet has more end-markets that can’t move on
from the Iran conflict as easily due to higher sensitivity to a weaker global
economy should high oil prices persist and supplies shorten.

 

Sector allocation effects were positive over the month, primarily driven by
overweight positioning to industrials and technology, specifically the
semiconductor industry. Being underweight energy and consumer staples also
aided allocation effects.

 

The AI trade was a key driver of performance during the month. BE
Semiconductor was a standout contributor, with shares rising by more than 38%
over the period. The company reported a robust Q1 update, with orders growing
strongly quarter-on-quarter, highlighting accelerating demand from advanced
packaging linked to AI applications. ASMi was also a top contributor,
delivering sizeable beats across the board in their Q1 results. Revenue growth
was 3% ahead of expectations, driven by strength in advanced logic and foundry
and positive mix shift contributed to a 10% gross margin beat. Guidance for
the rest of the year is strong; sequential growth in H2 implies 30% constant
FX revenue growth for the full year.

 

Industrial companies exposed to data centre infrastructure and electrification
also benefited from the positive AI sentiment. Siemens Energy pre-released a
13% group order beat driven by Gas 20% ahead, growing 32% year-on-year, and
Grid 25% above consensus, growing 42% year-on-year. Full year guidance was
also raised, with expectations for free cash flow almost doubling from €4-5
billion to €8 billion. This reinforced confidence in the strength of demand,
particularly in grid technologies, and the improving execution of the
business. ABB also reported an impressive 15% beat on orders in Q1, growing
24% organic at a group level, and sales growth guidance was raised for the
full year. Legrand and Belimo were also positive contributors over the month
linked to this theme.

 

MTU and Safran weighed on relative performance as the Strait of Hormuz closure
negatively impacts sentiment for the civil aerospace industry. The long-term
need for engine servicing and repair remains, however a persistent high jet
fuel price leading to reduced air traffic may delay the timing and extent of
shop visits. We remain confident in the medium-term outlook. Shop visits
remain fully booked for the coming months and the segment is trading on
attractive valuations given the high and visible underlying demand.

 

Defence holdings – Kongsberg, Thales – lagged the market, an unusual
market dynamic through periods of global conflict. It’s hard to explain this
when everything transpiring suggests more defence spending with these
businesses well positioned for the type of long-duration equipment spend such
as drones and air defence systems needed. On possible reason for the near-term
weakness is a reallocation from global investors, buying US defence after
Donald Trump indicated his own plans for higher defence spend.

 

UCB detracted following the announcement of a €2 billion acquisition of
Candid Therapeutics. While there was no change to guidance, the deal brings
bispecific antibody capabilities in-house for immunology—aiming to reset the
immune system rather than simply control disease. While strategically
interesting, the market was taken aback by the upfront cost.

 

Outlook

 

From here, we remain observant of buying opportunities presented by a volatile
market backdrop. In these environments of rising dispersion, we find there is
often opportunity for alpha and we’re using the full scale of a leading team
to identify change. The portfolio remains cyclically tilted with key exposures
across areas we believe remain well underpinned over the mid to long term such
as defence, select industrials, civil aerospace, banks and semiconductor cycle
exposure.

 

Europe remains home to many world-class franchises, companies owning core
technologies that make them the enablers of some of the large transformational
changes going on around us. We aim to align shareholder capital to those
businesses that are exposed to large and enduring spending streams. Overall,
we retain our core exposure to companies with predictable business models,
higher than average returns on capital, strong cash flow conversions and
opportunities to reinvest that cash flow into future growth projects at high
incremental returns.

 

18 May 2026

 

ENDS

 

Latest information is available by typing                                 
www.blackrock.com/uk/brge                                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.

 Release  (https://mb.cision.com/Main/22396/4349705/4099185.pdf)  



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