BlackRock Greater European’s interim results for the six months ended 28 February 2015 show that, during the six month period, the Company’s undiluted net asset value (NAV) per share returned +8.1%, compared with a return of +6.0% in the FTSE World Europe ex UK Index. At the same time, the discount widened somewhat, with the result that the share price returned +5.8% over the same period. The Board has declared an interim dividend of 1.65p (2014: 1.50p) per share.
Following a review of the investment management and performance fees, the Board has agreed with the Manager that with effect from 1 September 2015, the beginning of the Company’s financial year, there will no longer be a performance fee and the existing arrangements will be replaced with a base fee of 0.85% of Net Asset Value. Previously the base fee was 0.7% so, in years when they don’t perform, the managers are going to be 21% better off than they would have been previously.
The manager says the top performing investment was Irish airline, Ryanair. The company increased its full-year net profit guidance by around 20% after experiencing strong passenger growth in the latter half of the year. The firm has effectively revamped their offer to attract customers back and is starting to tackle the business market by offering an attractively priced business ticket with flexible fares. Additionally, Ryanair is a beneficiary of lower oil prices, as this is their single largest cost.
BRGE : BlackRock Greater European scraps performance fee