BlackRock Income & Growth underperforms benchmark in 'challenging' market

(Sharecast News) - BlackRock Income & Growth Investment Trust reported a rise in its net asset value and share price on Wednesday but underperformed its benchmark in a year that "was characterised by a challenging and unusually concentrated market environment". In the year to the end of October 2025, the company's net asset value per share returned 14.3%, versus the benchmark FTSE All-Share Index's 22.5% return.

The share price returned 17.3% over the period as the discount narrowed from 12.9% at the start of the year to 11% at the end of October.

The trust said the year "was characterised by a challenging and unusually concentrated market environment, which created a demanding backdrop for active management and weighed on relative performance".

BlackRock Income said the narrowness of the UK FTSE All-Share Index, with 10 names contributing more than 60% of the return on a year-to-date basis, was a general headwind, with the trust being underweight or not owning a number of these names.

In particular, it said the underweight in the Aerospace and Defence sector, namely Rolls-Royce, was a primary driver of the underperformance.

Other detractors included Tate & Lyle and WH Smith, impacted by stock-specific challenges, Segro, weighed down by subdued UK growth and political risk, and RELX, pressured by investor concerns over potential AI disruption.

BlackRock said that despite market volatility, its earnings remained resilient, with revenue earnings per share for the year of 7.23p, up from 7.20p a year earlier.

The board proposed a final dividend per share of 5p, up from 4.90p in 2024. Combined with an interim dividend of 2.70p, this gives a total dividend for the year of 7.70p, up 1.3% on the year.