BlackRock Throg Tst Portfolio Update

 
TIDMTHRG 
 
BLACKROCK THROGMORTON TRUST PLC (LEI: 5493003B7ETS1JEDPF59) 
 
 
All information is at 31 January 2017 and unaudited. 
Performance at month end is calculated on a cum income basis 
 
                                      One    Three      One     Three      Five 
                                    Month   months     year     years     years 
                                        %        %        %         %         % 
 
Net asset value                       2.5     10.2     18.9      32.9     119.3 
 
Share price                           2.9     13.1     12.6      20.3     120.8 
 
Benchmark*                            0.7      6.7     18.6      19.9      80.1 
 
Sources: BlackRock and Datastream 
 
*With effect from 1 December 2013 the Numis Smaller Companies excluding AIM 
(excluding investment companies) Index replaced the Numis Smaller Companies 
plus AIM (excluding investment companies) Index as the Company's benchmark. The 
five year period indices have been blended to reflect this. 
 
At month end 
 
Net asset value capital only:                                         434.08p 
 
Net asset value incl. income:                                         440.93p 
 
Share price                                                           359.63p 
 
Discount to cum income NAV                                              18.4% 
 
Net yield1:                                                              2.1% 
 
Total Gross assets2:                                                  GBP322.5m 
 
Net market exposure as a % of net asset value5:                        112.2% 
 
Ordinary shares in issue3:                                         73,130,326 
 
2016 ongoing charges (excluding performance fees4:                       1.1% 
 
2016 ongoing charges ratio (including performance fees):                 1.3% 
 
 
1. Calculated using 2016 interim dividend paid on 19 August 2016 and 2016 final 
dividend declared on 6 February 2016. 
2. Includes current year revenue and excludes the gross exposure through 
contracts for difference. 
3. Excluding 7,400,000 shares held in treasury. 
4. Calculated as a percentage of average net assets and using expenses, 
excluding performance fees and interest costs for the year ended 30 November 
2016. 
5. Long positions less short positions as a percentage of net asset value. 
 
Sector Weightings                                            % of Total Assets 
 
Industrials                                                               30.0 
 
Consumer Services                                                         22.2 
 
Financials                                                                16.9 
 
Consumer Goods                                                            11.3 
 
Basic Materials                                                            9.2 
 
Health Care                                                                4.1 
 
Oil & Gas                                                                  3.6 
 
Technology                                                                 3.5 
 
Net current liabilities                                                   -0.8 
 
                                                                         ----- 
 
Total                                                                    100.0 
 
                                                                         ===== 
 
Market Exposure (Quarterly) 
 
                          29.02.16      31.05.16     31.08.16         30.11.16 
                                 %             %            %                % 
 
Long                         118.2         114.4        114.3            116.9 
 
Short                         11.2           8.3          8.3              8.5 
 
Gross exposure               129.4         122.7        122.6            125.4 
 
Net exposure                 107.0         106.1        106.0            108.4 
 
 
 
Ten Largest Investments 
 
Company                                               % of Total Gross Assets 
 
CVS Group                                                                 3.3 
 
JD Sports Fashion                                                         2.9 
 
4imprint Group                                                            2.9 
 
Cineworld Group                                                           2.8 
 
Dechra Pharmaceuticals                                                    2.7 
 
Berkeley Group                                                            2.2 
 
Hill & Smith                                                              2.0 
 
Big Yellow                                                                2.0 
 
Bellway                                                                   1.9 
 
Avon Rubber                                                               1.9 
 
Commenting on the markets, Mike Prentis and Dan Whitestone, representing the 
Investment Manager noted: 
 
During January the Company's NAV per share rose by 2.5% to 440.93p on a cum 
income basis whilst our benchmark index rose by 0.7%; the FTSE 100 Index fell 
by 0.6%. 
 
Outperformance was largely driven by good stock selection, although sector 
allocation was also positive. 
 
The biggest positive contributors to stock selection were our holdings in Polar 
Capital Holdings, JD Sports and KAZ Minerals. Polar Capital announced that in 
Q4 2016 net funds under management increased by more than GBP300m, a welcome 
increase after a number of quarters of net outflows.  JD Sports announced a 
further strong trading update indicating that pre-tax profit was expected to 
exceed expectations by up to 15%. KAZ Minerals is executing well as it ramps up 
production at its two large mines in Eastern Kazakhstan. The increase in the 
copper price is timely for KAZ and should help it achieve significant 
improvement in cash flow in 2017. 
 
The largest detractors from relative performance during the month were our two 
largest holdings, CVS Group and 4imprint, and Derwent London. CVS succumbed to 
some modest profit taking after a strong run in the shares which followed a 
good trading update. 4imprint announced that 2016 revenues increased by 13%, 
all organic, with profit before tax expected to be towards the top end of 
market expectations. We continue to see the shares as attractive and a good 
play on the likely continuing strength of the US economy. Derwent London shares 
slipped further with continuing worries about BREXIT potentially impacting on 
demand for London office space. We see the shares as offering good long term 
value. 
 
Sector allocation was modestly positive, helped by overweight sector weightings 
in media, general industrials and industrial engineering companies. 
 
We continued to reduce or sell a number of smaller and lower conviction 
holdings. We added a holding in Countryside Properties which builds houses both 
on land owned or controlled by itself, and also on land owned by public bodies 
including local authorities. The latter approach avoids the need to buy land in 
these situations and helps Countryside to generate good returns on investment 
on such long term developments, and also provides visibility of revenues. We 
believe the Company looks set for good earnings growth. 
 
17 February 2017 
 
ENDS 
 
Latest information is available by typing www.blackrock.co.uk/thrg 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. 
 
 
 
END 
 

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 17, 2017 10:27 ET (15:27 GMT)