Earnings Call Transcript - SCM Q3 2021

Operator, Operator

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, and thank you for standing by. At this time, I would like to welcome everyone to the Stellus Capital Investment Corporation Third Quarter 2021 Results Conference Call. At this time, all participants have been placed on a listen-only mode. The call will be open for question-and-answer session following the speakers’ remarks. This conference is being recorded today, Friday, October 29, 2021. It is now my pleasure to turn the call over to Mr. Robert Ladd, Chief Executive Officer of Stellus Capital Investment Corporation. Mr. Ladd, you may begin your conference.

Robert Ladd, CEO

Yes. Thank you, Katie, very much. Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining the call. Welcome to our conference call covering the quarter ended September 30, 2021. Joining me this morning is Todd Huskinson, our Chief Financial Officer, who will cover important information about forward-looking statements as well as an overview of our financial information.

Todd Huskinson, CFO

Thank you, Rob. I'd like to remind everyone that today's call is being recorded. Please note that this call is the property of Stellus Capital Investment Corporation and podcast of this is strictly prohibited. Audio replay of the call will be available by using the telephone number and PIN provided in our press release announcing this call. I'd also like to call to the customary safe harbor disclosure in our press release regarding forward-looking information. Today's conference call may also include forward-looking statements and projections, and we ask that you refer to our most recent filing with the SEC for important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from these projections. We will not update our forward-looking statements unless required by law. To obtain copies of our latest SEC filings, please visit our website at www.stelluscapital.com, under the Public Investors link or call us at (713) 292-5400. At this time, I'd like to turn the call back over to our Chief Executive Officer, Rob Ladd.

Robert Ladd, CEO

Thank you, Todd. I'm pleased to report another solid quarter in which we covered our dividend, increased net asset value, realized $7.9 million, and maintained stable asset quality. In addition, as a result of our continued dividend coverage, our Board increased our regular dividend to an aggregate of $0.28 per share beginning in the fourth quarter. We have continued to see many interesting opportunities and as a result, funded $60 million on a cost basis during the third quarter. Since year end, we have originated new investments, and our portfolio has increased by $128 million, net of payoffs of $787 million on a cost basis. We'll begin by discussing our operating results followed by a review of the portfolio, including asset quality and then our dividend strategy and outlook. And Todd will now cover our operating results.

Todd Huskinson, CFO

Thank you, Rob. For the quarter ended September 30, 2021, we covered our dividend of $0.27 per share with core net investment income of $0.31 per share. GAAP net investment income was $0.21 per share, which includes capital gains incentive fees of $1.7 million related to our realized and unrealized gains during the quarter and income tax expense related to our spillover income. We generated realized gains of $7.9 million related to the realization of an equity investment and unrealized gains of $2.1 million related primarily to the appreciation of our equity co-investment portfolio. During the third quarter, our Board declared a regular dividend of an aggregate of $0.27 per share, an aggregate of $0.03 per share of supplemental dividends and the fourth quarter dividend of an aggregate of $0.28 per share. The early declaration of the fourth quarter dividend was required in order to complete the distribution of spillover income from 2020 in a timely manner, consistent with maintaining our qualification for taxation as a regulated investment company, and to eliminate our liability for corporate level U.S. Federal income tax. Despite this additional accrual in the third quarter, net asset value increased during the quarter to $14.15 per share. I'd like to note that these distributions constitute all remaining distributions for the year, so our fourth quarter net asset value will not be further reduced by distributions paid in the fourth quarter. We continue to recycle capital in our first SBIC license and deploy the low-cost debentures in our second license. Of the $100 million of debentures in our second license that are pooled so far, the all-in cost is approximately 2.5%. To date, we've committed the full $87.5 million of equity to SBIC II, our second license, and have funded $70 million of that commitment. We have drawn $100 million of the $175 million of debentures that will be available when equity is fully funded. And with that, I'll turn it back over to Rob.

Robert Ladd, CEO

Okay. Thank you, Todd. I'd like to now cover the following areas: our life-to-date review; portfolio and asset quality; dividend policy; and outlook. So life-to-date review. So we always like to remind us of this. Since our IPO in November of 2012, reaching our ninth anniversary, we've invested approximately $1.9 billion in over 143 companies and have received approximately $1.1 billion of repayments while maintaining stable asset quality. We've now paid over $180 million of dividends to our investors, which represents $11.99 per share to an investor in our IPO in November of 2012. Now turning to portfolio and asset quality. We ended the quarter with an investment portfolio at fair value of $786 million across 74 portfolio companies, up from $653.4 million across 66 companies at calendar year-end. During the third quarter, we invested $60.5 million in 4 new and 10 existing portfolio companies and received $67.4 million of repayments. Overall, our asset quality is stable at 1.9 on our rating system or on plan. 23% of our portfolio is rated a 1 or ahead of plan and 13% of the portfolio is market and investment category of 3 or below plan. In total, we have 4 loans on nonaccrual which comprised 1.1% of the fair value of the loan portfolio. Now, I'd like to talk a little bit about dividends. In addition to our regular dividend of $0.28 per share in the aggregate for the fourth quarter, we are today declaring a dividend for the first quarter of 2022 of $0.06 per share in the aggregate or $0.02 paid per month. This additional dividend is based on the significant realized gains income we are generating from our equity portfolio. This is the realized gains both from Q3 and those currently expected for Q4. Looking forward, we expect to continue this $0.06 dividend each quarter for the foreseeable future. So when you combine the current dividend of $0.28 per share per quarter and the additional $0.06 per share per quarter, our shareholders will be receiving an aggregate of $0.34 per quarter of dividends. At this rate, we'll be back to the pre-COVID level of $1.36 per year, which as a reminder, is a 9% return on our IPO price of $15. Now, just turning to outlook. Beginning in the fourth quarter of last year, we began to see a significant increase in our actual pipeline, which continues through this fourth quarter. We do expect meaningful repayments over the balance of this quarter, but we expect those to be at least offset by new fundings. And then just to note that these potential repayments should generate additional fee acceleration income as we saw in the third quarter. We're now expecting realized equity gains of as much as $7.5 million this quarter. And with that, we conclude our remarks, and we'll open up for questions.

Operator, Operator

Our first question comes from Ryan Lynch with KBW.

Ryan Lynch, Analyst

There was a significant increase in total revenues this quarter, reaching $17 million compared to $15.1 million in the previous quarter, and the portfolio was actually outpacing net repayments. I would like to understand what level of accelerated or one-time fees or OID you recognized in the third quarter. Also, how does that compare to the historical averages that you typically receive?

Robert Ladd, CEO

Yes. Good question, Ryan. So in the quarter, the fee acceleration was approximately $700,000. And in previous quarters, it would have been a fraction of that because there were relatively few repayments.

Ryan Lynch, Analyst

Okay. So there was only a...

Robert Ladd, CEO

I was going to say the quarter benefited from, just what you said, a full quarter where we were operating at a higher portfolio level as compared to the first 2 quarters; and then 2, from early repayments, meaningful fee reclassification. Not very little of it in fact. I don't think there was any actual call premium, just given the duration of how long we've held along. So it's just the early OID, if you will, was coming back upon the repayment.

Ryan Lynch, Analyst

Okay. Okay. So $700,000 of kind of acceleration versus very little in the past. So that kind of brings to my next question. This quarter, you guys broke above the upper end of your incentive fee hurdle range and actually broke out of that range. Would you anticipate that you guys would fall back within your incentive fee hurdle range going forward and that will be kind of what you guys will operate within on a consistent basis besides sort of one-off quarters of popping out like we saw in the third quarter? Or do you guys expect to get above that hurdle range on a consistent basis going forward?

Robert Ladd, CEO

Yes. And this came up last quarter. So I'd say that we'll likely operate in the range and then quarters where we have these early repayments. You may remember that we had nominal repayments during COVID and then coming into this first part of the year, we did expect the second half of the year, those repayments would pick up. And as I said earlier, we're expecting a number in the fourth quarter that we're now in. So it's possible we'll operate above the range in the fourth quarter. But I think on a normalized basis, we'll probably be in the range on the catch-up.

Ryan Lynch, Analyst

Okay. Understood. Just one last question from me and then I'll return to the queue. You mentioned that $7.5 million of potential realized gains could be recognized in the fourth quarter. I'm curious if all of that has already been recognized as an unrealized gain in your portfolio, or is there a possibility for further gains when you do actually recognize those?

Robert Ladd, CEO

Yes. Yes, Ryan. So if they came in, the delta between expected proceeds and now valuations is about $2.8 million. So if they all came in, you'd see all things being equal, an increase in NAV by $2.8 million.

Operator, Operator

Our next question comes from Christopher Nolan with Ladenburg Thalmann.

Christopher Nolan, Analyst

Rob, the $0.06 supplemental dividend, if I understood correctly, starts in the first quarter of 2022 and should be a regular quarterly event going forward?

Robert Ladd, CEO

Yes. That's the plan.

Christopher Nolan, Analyst

Okay. Regarding the $0.2 million in excise taxes this quarter, why didn’t you consider making a distribution to address that?

Robert Ladd, CEO

Yes. So this is approximately our run rate, and that’s based on the $20-plus million of spillover that will continue to spill over for the time being. So we got to pay all of it out to eliminate.

Christopher Nolan, Analyst

Got you. And Todd, do you have an exact number for the spillover income at September 30?

Todd Huskinson, CFO

I'd say the spillover from last year was about $21 million. That may change depending on how things are ultimately classified, but I would assume it's around $21 million in total spillover.

Operator, Operator

Thank you. Our next question comes from Robert Dodd with Raymond James.

Robert Dodd, Analyst

First, you mentioned your expectations regarding repayments, noting that the market is very active. You anticipate that deployments will at least match those repayments. Given the competitive nature of the current deployment environment, are you noticing any changes in market dynamics? Specifically, are SBIC-sized assets more appealing, and can you share any insights about different segments of the market that you are involved in?

Robert Ladd, CEO

We are continuing to identify several appealing SBIC qualifying opportunities, and we are also noticing larger companies that do not qualify. Overall, we are experiencing strong activity in both areas. Our teams reviewed the pipeline this morning and observed significant activity, with some opportunities nearing finalization. I believe you will see a healthy mix of both types going forward. Despite the competitive market, we are seeing sound capital structures, with equity checks ranging from 40% to 50% of the total capital, and leverage typically between 4x and 4.5x, possibly lower based on the specific company. There are also appropriate pricing and structures, along with the continued option to earn equity co-invest. The market remains robust and competitive, offering many opportunities for us in both SBIC and non-SBIC segments.

Robert Dodd, Analyst

And then just one more sort of on spillover. I mean if you generate the $7.5 million in realized gains in the fourth quarter along with obviously almost $8 million that you generated this quarter, I mean, is any of that shielded either in blockers against previous losses or anything like that? Because obviously, if not, that accrues to quite a lot of spillover going into next year, above the $20.

Robert Ladd, CEO

Sure, Robert. So very good question. The bulk of the equity gains that we've seen in the third and likely in the fourth are actually in blockers, and so that would not increase the spillover income.

Operator, Operator

Our next question comes from Bryce Rowe with Hovde Group.

Bryce Rowe, Analyst

I wanted to, I guess, start maybe along the same lines of Robert's questioning there in terms of what you're seeing in the market. Could you guys kind of describe what you're seeing from a pricing perspective on newer deals relative to some of the activity that might be coming out of the portfolio right now?

Robert Ladd, CEO

Yes. Based on the scheduled investments, the overall yield from new investments is approximately 8% when including fee accretion, typically LIBOR plus 6% with a LIBOR floor of 1%, sometimes slightly higher. The yields from repayments and new loans are roughly comparable. Although we might see the 8.3% yield decrease slightly, we believe we can maintain it at a minimum of 8%. This pricing has been relatively consistent for over a year.

Bryce Rowe, Analyst

Okay. That's good news. And then maybe you all could see, we've certainly heard you all talk about kind of the leverage profile of Stellus' balance sheet in quarters past. But any thoughts on how you think about balance sheet leverage, now you've got to some more SBA debentures through your second license. So just trying to gauge how quickly you might go through that. And then how you think about kind of your strategy to fund new investments once you get beyond the available debenture capacity?

Robert Ladd, CEO

Sure. So I think as a general matter on the leverage profile, we like to maintain our regulatory leverage at 1:1, it could be a little bit higher, 1.1% or so, but around that level. Including SBIC debentures, we'll certainly get to a 2:1 level, which we're very comfortable with given the long-dated nature of the SBIC debentures. We're currently seeing a lot of opportunity to recycle capital due to significant repayments we're receiving, both in our SBIC licenses and in our regular capital at the BDC. So you'll see us continue to grow over the next year, funding many of the new opportunities with just repayments. And then I'd say we do intend to fully tap the second license debentures. We currently have $100 million drawn against the potential of $175 million. So we intend to draw the balance of that likely in the coming year. Eventually, we may have the opportunity to raise additional equity capital runway. To maintain our overall leverage profile, we would add leverage to that. But there's plenty of capital currently without raising more equity to operate in.

Bryce Rowe, Analyst

That's good commentary, Rob. And then maybe just some more questions around the realized gains or the companies that are being exited, the equity investments that are seeing some exits. Can you speak to kind of what's driving those decisions? Is it more tax planning, tax driven? Or is there the potential for a lot of this activity that we've seen especially in the back half of this year to persist into next year?

Robert Ladd, CEO

Yes. So I'd say that it's mostly what appear to be pent-up demand on the sell side that during COVID, M&A activity slowed down materially and now it's picked back up. So we would just see it as something that some companies might have sold a year ago, but for COVID, and now they're coming to market. It's interesting on the tax side; our tax advisors have indicated new tax law relative to capital gains would be effective in September. So any sales now would be covered by the new tax regime, but we'll see whether that's the case. We think this is less tax driven, given that the rates seem to be moving up retroactively. It's more just, we think, pent-up demand on the sell side. Yes, we would look out to the next year and expect that companies will continue to be sold, assuming that the market and the individual company performance remains good. Additionally, this is part of our strategy; from the very start of the company back in 2012, we have always had this strategy in addition to the lending, to buy a smaller piece of equity in the companies we lend money to. We believe this approach is helpful to our shareholders and, of course, it has been. So we're glad to see that these gains have continued, and this is why we feel comfortable now having additional dividends be paid into next year. We've declared the first quarter as these have been coming in.

Operator, Operator

Our next question comes from Christopher Nolan with Ladenburg Thalmann.

Christopher Nolan, Analyst

Rob, given all the moving pieces with the macroeconomic picture, what are you hearing from your portfolio companies? I mean, are they hunkering down to be more defensive or what? I mean, can you just give some sort of a little color on that?

Robert Ladd, CEO

Sure. I'd say as a general matter, our portfolio of companies, which are over 70 today, are performing well. And I think there's a lot of optimism around those businesses and around the economy generally. I know we're all concerned about potential inflation, but all are operating well. We have some portfolio companies that have experienced labor shortages or wage increases that they're having to work with and others are dealing with supply chain logistics issues, but these are well-managed businesses with very professional owners and private equity firms managing through it. So we are very positive about what our portfolio companies are seeing and continuing to grow, effectively ending up deleveraging as a result. So, positive. But we're always cautious about what’s next, and we continue to be very selective in our new investing. Just because we can't predict the future, we are quite optimistic at this point.

Operator, Operator

I'm showing no further questions at this time. I would now like to turn the call back over to Mr. Ladd for closing remarks.

Robert Ladd, CEO

Okay. Thank you, Katie, and thank you, everyone, for your support over these last 9 years. We look forward to speaking with you in the spring when we'll have the results from the fourth quarter and for our 10-K.

Operator, Operator

Thank you. This concludes today's call. Thank you for your participation. You may now disconnect.