BlackRock Throgmorton Trust Plc - Portfolio Update

BLACKROCK THROGMORTON TRUST PLC (LEI: 5493003B7ETS1JEDPF59)

All information is at 30 June 2017 and unaudited.
Performance at month end is calculated on a cum income basis

	One Month %	Three months %	One year %	Three years %	Five years %
Net asset value	-3.5	7.3	45.2	61.5	149.8
Share price	-2.5	12.9	46.8	61.3	167.9
Benchmark*	-2.9	3.7	29.1	33.1	97.5

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:	496.68p
Net asset value incl. income:	503.27p
Share price	425.00p
Discount to cum income NAV	15.6%
Net yield1:	1.8%
Total Gross assets2:	£368.0m
Net market exposure as a % of net asset value5:	113.0%
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 paid on 29 March 2017.
2. Includes current year revenue and excludes 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			29.6
Consumer Services			21.6
Financials			18.3
Consumer Goods			12.2
Basic Materials			7.3
Health Care			4.7
Technology			3.8
Oil & Gas			2.3
Net current assets			0.2
			-----
Total			100.0
			=====
Market Exposure (Quarterly)
	31.08.16 %	30.11.16 %		28.02.17 %	31.05.17 %
Long	114.3	116.9		121.4	117.3
Short	8.3	8.5		6.7	6.1
Gross exposure	122.6	125.4		128.1	123.4
Net exposure	106.0	108.4		114.7	111.2

   

Ten Largest Investments
Company	% of Total Gross Assets
CVS Group	3.0
Dechra Pharmaceuticals	2.5
4imprint Group	2.5
Bellway	2.0
Big Yellow	2.0
Melrose Industries	1.9
Ascential	1.9
Cineworld Group	1.9
Ibstock	1.9
Hill & Smith	1.9

Commenting on the markets, Mike Prentis and Dan Whitestone, representing the Investment Manager noted:

During June the Company’s NAV per share fell by 3.5% to 503.27p, whilst our benchmark (the Numis Smaller Companies excluding AIM (excluding Investment Companies) Index) fell by 2.9%; the FTSE 100 Index fell by 2.4% (all performance figures are with income reinvested and net of ongoing charges and any applicable performance fees).

Both stock selection and sector allocation were modest detractors during the month.

Asset manager Polar Capital Holdings results for the year to March showed a 12% increase in AUM (assets under management) over the 12 month period, with improving momentum in inflows during the second half of the year and strong investment performance across funds. The company’s balance sheet remains very strong, supporting the dividend. Housebuilder Bellway performed well after issuing a positive trading update showing strong demand in the 4 months to June and saying full-year completions are expected to increase by almost 10 percent.

There were no major individual stock specific disappointments during the month. Fashion retailer JD Sports fell with other consumer related shares on the back of weak UK consumer spending data and an “in-line” trading statement. Colour cosmetics company Warpaint provided an update showing trading for 2017 has been in-line with expectations, with particular strength in the US where they have seen double digit sales growth. Sales in Europe were similar to this time last year and this caused the shares to fall during the month.

Activity during the month was limited.

The long/short portfolio fell 0.4% during the month, with long positions detracting from performance, whilst shorts were a positive contributor. Detractors within the long book included a number of core holdings that have performed well year-to-date that gave back some of their strong performance including JD Sports, CVS Group and Ascential.  We are comfortable with these positions and in some instances have used the weakness to tactically increase holdings. The short book had a strong month, helped by a falling market, but also a number of stock specific successes, notably amongst some of our domestic consumer facing shares.  A profit warning from a UK sofa retailer highlights the severity and speed of the recent consumer downturn. This bodes well for a number of our other shorts where we see a number of consumer facing shares with challenged business models collide with weakening demand, increased supply, and increased cost pressures.

20 July 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.

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