BlackRock Energy and Resources Income Trust Plc - Portfolio Update

BLACKROCK ENERGY AND RESOURCES INCOME TRUST plc (LEI:54930040ALEAVPMMDC31)

All information is at 31 August 2024 and unaudited.

Performance at month end with net income reinvested

One

Three

Six

One

Three

Five

Month

Months

Months

Year

Years

Years

Net asset value

-2.3%

-5.5%

9.4%

4.1%

45.4%

102.4%

Share price

-3.3%

-3.6%

12.6%

4.5%

46.5%

113.3%

Sources: Datastream, BlackRock

At month end

Net asset value – capital only:

128.72p

Net asset value cum income1:

129.55p

Share price:

116.00p

Discount to NAV (cum income):

10.5%

Net yield:

3.9%

Gearing - cum income:

5.7%

Total assets:

£158.5m

Ordinary shares in issue2:

122,369,497

Gearing range (as a % of net assets):

0-20%

Ongoing charges3:

1.19%

1 Includes net revenue of 0.83p.

2 Excluding 13,216,697 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 2023. 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

40.4%

Traditional Energy

30.8%

Energy Transition                

29.1%

Net Current Liabilities             

-0.3%

-----

100.0%

=====

Sector Analysis

% Total Assets^

Country Analysis

% Total Assets^

Mining:

Diversified

20.0

Global

52.4

Copper

6.5

USA

22.5

Gold

3.9

Canada

8.5

Steel

3.4

United Kingdom

3.6

Industrial Minerals

2.2

Latin America

2.6

Aluminium

2.2

Italy

2.2

Nickel

1.2

Australia

2.1

Metals & Mining

1.0

Other Africa

2.0

Subtotal Mining:

40.4

Finland

1.6

France

1.5

Germany

0.7

Ireland

0.6

Traditional Energy:

Net Current Liabilities

-0.3

E&P

10.9

-----

Integrated

8.2

100.0

Distribution

4.1

Oil Services

3.9

Refining & Marketing

2.4

Oil, Gas & Consumable Fuels

1.3

Subtotal Traditional Energy:

30.8

Energy Transition:

Energy Efficiency

12.5

Electrification

6.5

Renewables

5.1

Transport

2.8

Storage

2.2

Subtotal Energy Transition:

29.1

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 5.3% of the Company’s net asset value.

Ten Largest Investments

Company

Region of Risk

% Total Assets

Rio Tinto

Global

4.4

Anglo American

Global

4.0

Teck Resources

Global

3.6

Shell

Global

3.5

Glencore

Global

3.5

Targa Resources

United States

2.8

NextEra Energy

United States

2.7

National Grid

United Kingdom

2.6

Schneider Electric

Global

2.5

Exxon Mobil

Global

2.3

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

The Company’s Net Asset Value (NAV) declined by 2.3% in August (in GBP terms).

Overall, August was marked by a combination of economic slowdown, geopolitical tensions and shifts in market sentiment, leading to a volatile period for global equity markets. Growth fears were triggered at the beginning of the month, when the U.S. jobs report for July showed a rise in the unemployment rate to 4.3% from 4.1% and weaker-than-expected monthly job creation. Those fears exacerbated a global risk-asset selloff that began in July, driven by concerns over tech valuations and heightened geopolitical risks. Another exacerbating factor was the Bank of Japan's decision to raise its policy rate by 25 basis points, leading to an abrupt unwinding of carry trade positions, which had relied on low Japanese yen borrowing costs to invest in higher-yielding assets. Amid this backdrop, global equity markets experienced a sell-off, volatility spiked, and global bonds rallied. However, by the end of the month markets had recovered as investors began to anticipate policy easing by the Federal Reserve.

Within the energy sector, the prospect of slower economic growth, particularly from China, impacted expectations around near-term oil demand growth. On the supply side, oil production from Libya fell after production was halted at certain oil fields, whilst events in the Middle East continued to increase market concerns for the region. Hurricane Beryl impacted LNG operations on the US Gulf coast, however higher levels of natural gas storage lessened the impact on energy markets. The Brent oil price fell by

1.5%, whilst WTI fell by 6.1%, ending the month at $80/bbl and $75/bbl respectively. Meanwhile, the US Henry Hub natural gas price rose by 4.4% during the month to end at $2.13/mmbtu.

Within the mining sector, it was another relatively flat month as negative sentiment around China continued to drag on the sector. Indicators for the country’s property market, such as average house prices and floor space started, showed significant year-on-year declines. Mined commodities delivered mixed performance with the iron ore (62% fe) price flat but copper and gold prices up by 3.1% and 4.8% respectively. US dollar weakness provided a tailwind for commodities, especially gold. The miners concluded their Q2 earnings reporting season during the month which was somewhat disappointing overall. However, positive takeaways included a greater focus on M&A, stabilising operating costs and capital allocation frameworks continuing to prioritise returning capital to shareholders.

Within the energy transition theme, a report by McKinsey & Company found that despite the record renewables installations of recent years “only about 10 percent of the deployment of low-emissions technologies globally by 2050 required for net zero has been achieved”, highlighting the large growth opportunity in the theme. In clean transportation, the J.D. Power EV Index, which tracks the path to parity of EVs with gas-powered vehicles, reached a historic high score in July of 56 on a 100-point scale. One factor – interest – reached a high for the year with 28% of new-vehicle shoppers saying they are ‘very likely’ to consider a EVs for their next purchase. This compares to J.D. Power’s revised US EV market share forecast of 9% for 2024, suggesting significant consumer willingness to switch to EVs.

All data points in US dollar terms unless otherwise specified. Commodity price moves sourced from Thomson Reuters Datastream.

16 September 2024

ENDS

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