New Mountain Finance Corporation (NASDAQ: NMFC) (“New Mountain,” “New Mountain Finance” or the “Company”) today announced its financial results for the quarter ended September 30, 2024.
Third Quarter Highlights2
- Adjusted net investment income1 of $36.7 million, or $0.34 per weighted average share
- Net asset value of $12.62 per share compared to $12.74 per share as of June 30, 2024
- Continued strong credit performance with approximately 97.3% of the portfolio rated green on our internal risk rating system, up from 97.0% at June 30, 2024
- Generated $146.2 million of gross originations3, partially offset by $100.6 million of repayments3 and $1.5 million of asset sales
- Declared a regular fourth quarter 2024 distribution of $0.32 per share and a supplemental distribution related to third quarter earnings of $0.01 per share, each payable on December 31, 2024 to holders of record as of December 17, 2024
($ in millions, except per share data) | Q3 2024 | Q3 2023 | ||||||
Net Investment Income per Weighted Average Share | $ | 0.33 | $ | 0.40 | ||||
Non-recurring Adjustments1 | 0.01 | — | ||||||
Net Adjusted Investment Income1 per Weighted Average Share | $ | 0.34 | $ | 0.40 | ||||
Regular & Supplemental Dividends Paid per Share in Quarter | $ | 0.34 | $ | 0.36 | ||||
Annualized Dividend Yield5 | 11.9 | % | 11.7 | % | ||||
September 30, 2024 | June 30, 2024 | |||||
Investment Portfolio6 | $ | 3,278.8 | $ | 3,227.3 | ||
NAV per Share | $ | 12.62 | $ | 12.74 | ||
Statutory Debt/Equity4 | 1.26x | 1.21x | ||||
Statutory Debt/Equity (Net of Available Cash)4 | 1.23x | 1.14x | ||||
Management Comments on Third Quarter Performance
“Our third quarter results reflect another good quarter for NMFC,” said Steven B. Klinsky, NMFC Chairman. “New Mountain continues to benefit from our disciplined, defensive growth strategy that is focused on end markets that perform well in all economic cycles. Additionally, our commitment to the 1.25% base management fee, along with the extension of our dividend protection program, demonstrates our focus to providing value and stability for our shareholders."
John R. Kline, CEO, commented: “NMFC continues perform well with adjusted earnings per share of $0.34, in line with our implied guidance. The underlying portfolio remains strong with over 97% of the portfolio rated green on our risk rating scale. Additionally, we continue to make substantial improvements to our liabilities. During the quarter, we upsized and extended our NMFC Credit Facility at a lower cost, reduced the spread on our Holdings Credit Facility and completed an attractively priced unsecured note issuance."
Portfolio and Investment Activity6
As of September 30, 2024, the Company’s NAV2 was $1,361.3 million and its portfolio had a fair value of $3,278.8 million of investments in 128 portfolio companies, with a weighted average YTM at Cost7 of approximately 10.5%. For the three months ended September 30, 2024, the Company generated $146.2 million of originations3, $100.6 million of cash repayments3 and realized $1.5 million of asset sales.
Portfolio and Asset Quality
NMFC’s mandate is to primarily target businesses in the middle market that, consistent with New Mountain’s private equity platform, are high quality, defensive growth companies in industries that are well-researched by New Mountain. The Company’s focus is on defensive growth businesses that generally exhibit the following characteristics: (i) acyclicality, (ii) sustainable secular growth drivers, (iii) niche market dominance and high barriers to competitive entry, (iv) recurring revenue and strong free cash flow, (v) flexible cost structures and (vi) seasoned management teams.
Portfolio Industry Composition based on Fair Value9
Software | Business Services | |||||||
ERP | 8.1 % | Engineering & Consulting Services | 5.4 % | |||||
IT Infrastructure & Security | 7.1 % | Real Estate Services | 4.6 % | |||||
Human Capital Management | 5.3 % | Insurance & Benefits Services | 3.6 % | |||||
Ecommerce & Logistics | 4.0 % | Misc Services | 3.5 % | |||||
Governance, Risk & Compliance | 3.1 % | Digital Transformation | 2.3 % | |||||
Finance & Accounting | 3.0 % | Utility Services | 0.9 % | |||||
Integrated Payments | 1.6 % | Data & Information Services | 0.2 % | |||||
Total Software | 32.2 % | Total Business Services | 20.5 % | |||||
Healthcare | Other Industries | |||||||
Healthcare Services | 9.8 % | Consumer Services | 6.9 % | |||||
Healthcare Software | 6.0 % | Education | 6.5 % | |||||
Tech-Enabled Healthcare | 1.0 % | Financial Services | 4.3 % | |||||
Pharma Services | 0.7 % | Distribution & Logistics | 4.0 % | |||||
Healthcare Products | 0.2 % | Packaging | 2.4 % | |||||
Other | 5.5 % | |||||||
Total Healthcare | 17.7 % | Total Other Industries | 29.6 % | |||||
The Company monitors the performance and financial trends of its portfolio companies on at least a quarterly basis. The Company attempts to identify any developments within the portfolio company, the industry, or the macroeconomic environment that may alter any material element of the Company’s original investment strategy. As described more fully in the Company's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the portfolio monitoring procedures are designed to provide a simple, yet comprehensive analysis of the Company’s portfolio companies based on their operating performance and underlying business characteristics, which in turn forms the basis of its Risk Rating. The Risk Rating is expressed in categories of Green, Yellow, Orange and Red with Green reflecting an investment that is in-line with or above expectations and Red reflecting an investment performing materially below expectations.
The following table shows the Risk Rating of the Company’s portfolio companies as of September 30, 2024:
(in millions) | As of September 30, 2024 | ||||||||||||||
Risk Rating | Cost | Percent | Fair Value | Percent | Weighted Average Mark | ||||||||||
Green8 | $ | 3,143.6 | 95.4 | % | $ | 3,189.0 | 97.3 | % | 99.0 | % | |||||
Yellow6 | 80.3 | 2.4 | % | 53.0 | 1.6 | % | 65.9 | % | |||||||
Orange | 72.4 | 2.2 | % | 36.8 | 1.1 | % | 64.4 | % | |||||||
Red | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||
Total | $ | 3,296.3 | 100.0 | % | $ | 3,278.8 | 100.0 | % | |||||||
As of September 30, 2024, all investments in the Company’s portfolio had a Green Risk Rating, with the exception of four portfolio companies that had a Yellow Risk Rating and six portfolio companies that had an Orange Risk Rating. As of September 30, 2024, there were no portfolio companies that had a Red Risk Rating.
The following table shows the Company’s investment portfolio composition as of September 30, 2024:
(in millions) | ||||||
Investment Portfolio Composition | September 30, 2024 | Percent of Total | ||||
First Lien | $ | 2,072.5 | 63.2 | % | ||
Senior Loan Funds (SLP III & SLP IV) & NMNLC | 397.3 | 12.1 | % | |||
Second Lien6 | 264.4 | 8.1 | % | |||
Subordinated | 109.8 | 3.3 | % | |||
Preferred Equity | 235.1 | 7.2 | % | |||
Common Equity and Other | 199.8 | 6.1 | % | |||
Total | $ | 3,278.8 | 100.0 | % | ||
Liquidity and Capital Resources
As of September 30, 2024, the Company had cash and cash equivalents of $61.9 million and total statutory debt outstanding of $1,719.2 million4. The Company's statutory debt to equity was 1.26x as of September 30, 2024. Additionally, the Company had $300.0 million of SBA-guaranteed debentures outstanding as of September 30, 2024. As of September 30, 2024, the Company had $1,007.9 million of available capacity on its NMFC Credit Facility, Holdings Credit Facility, Unsecured Management Company Revolver and the NMNLC Credit Facility II.
Third Quarter 2024 Conference Call
New Mountain Finance Corporation will host an earnings conference call and webcast at 10:00 am Eastern Time on Thursday, October 31, 2024. To participate in the live earning conference call, please use the following dial-in numbers or visit the audio webcast link. To avoid any delays, please join at least fifteen minutes prior to the start of the call.
- United States: +1 (877) 443-9109
- International: +1 (412) 317-1082
- Live Audio Webcast
A replay of the conference call can be accessed one hour after the end of the conference call through January 31, 2025. The full webcast replay will be available through October 31, 2025. To access the earnings webcast replay please visit the New Mountain Investor Relations website.
- United States: +1 (877) 344-7529
- International: +1 (412) 317-0088
- Access Code: 7380144
For additional details related to the quarter ended September 30, 2024, please refer to the New Mountain Finance Corporation Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed with the SEC and the supplemental investor presentation which can be found on the Company's website at http://www.newmountainfinance.com.
| ____________________________________________ | ||
(1) | Adjusted net investment income for Q3 2024 includes $1.2 million of net accelerated deferred financing costs related to the termination of the DB Credit Facility and a corresponding incentive fee adjustment. | |
(2) | Excludes non-controlling interest in New Mountain Net Lease Corporation (“NMNLC”). | |
(3) | Originations exclude payment-in-kind (“PIK”); originations, repayments, and sales excludes revolvers, unfunded commitments, bridges, return of capital, and realized gains / losses. | |
(4) | Excludes the Company’s United States Small Business Administration (“SBA”) guaranteed debentures. | |
(5) | Dividend yield calculation uses the closing stock price of $11.44 on October 28, 2024 and $12.33 on October 30, 2023 and includes regular and supplemental dividends. | |
(6) | Includes collateral for securities purchased under collateralized agreements to resell. | |
(7) | References to “YTM at Cost” assume the accruing investments, including secured collateralized agreements, in the Company's portfolio as of a certain date, the “Portfolio Date”, are purchased at cost on that date and held until their respective maturities with no prepayments or losses and are exited at par at maturity. This calculation excludes the impact of existing leverage. YTM at Cost uses the Sterling Overnight Interbank Average Rate ("SONIA”), Euro Interbank Offered Rate ("EURIBOR") and Secured Overnight Financing Rate (“SOFR”) curves at each quarter’s respective end date. The actual yield to maturity may be higher or lower due to the future selection of SONIA, EURIBOR and SOFR contracts by the individual companies in the Company’s portfolio or other factors. | |
(8) | Includes investments held in NMNLC. | |
(9) | Excludes NMFC Senior Loan Program III LLC ("SLP III"), NMFC Senior Loan Program IV LLC ("SLP IV") and NMNLC. | |
New Mountain Finance Corporation Consolidated Statements of Assets and Liabilities (in thousands, except shares and per share data) (unaudited) | |||||||
September 30, 2024 | December 31, 2023 | ||||||
Assets | |||||||
Investments at fair value | |||||||
Non-controlled/non-affiliated investments (cost of $2,459,913 and $2,283,490, respectively) | $ | 2,446,773 | $ | 2,209,867 | |||
Non-controlled/affiliated investments (cost of $121,649 and $107,895, respectively) | 113,017 | 133,659 | |||||
Controlled investments (cost of $684,751 and $646,823, respectively) | 705,481 | 667,796 | |||||
Total investments at fair value (cost of $3,266,313 and $3,038,208, respectively) | 3,265,271 | 3,011,322 | |||||
Securities purchased under collateralized agreements to resell (cost of $30,000 and $30,000, respectively) | 13,500 | 16,500 | |||||
Cash and cash equivalents | 61,943 | 70,090 | |||||
Interest and dividend receivable | 45,905 | 44,107 | |||||
Derivative asset at fair value | 8,320 | — | |||||
Receivable from affiliates | 139 | 82 | |||||
Deferred tax asset | — | 594 | |||||
Other assets | 19,178 | 16,519 | |||||
Total assets | $ | 3,414,256 | $ | 3,159,214 | |||
Liabilities | |||||||
Borrowings | |||||||
Unsecured Notes | $ | 993,577 | $ | 506,500 | |||
Holdings Credit Facility | 407,563 | 515,063 | |||||
SBA-guaranteed debentures | 300,000 | 300,000 | |||||
Convertible Notes | 260,120 | 260,207 | |||||
NMFC Credit Facility | 55,031 | 36,813 | |||||
NMNLC Credit Facility II | 2,908 | 2,853 | |||||
DB Credit Facility | — | 186,400 | |||||
Deferred financing costs (net of accumulated amortization of $61,723 and $54,263, respectively) | (26,229 | ) | (22,387 | ) | |||
Net borrowings | 1,992,970 | 1,785,449 | |||||
Interest payable | 18,485 | 20,440 | |||||
Management fee payable | 10,730 | 10,116 | |||||
Payable to broker | 10,370 | — | |||||
Incentive fee payable | 8,821 | 8,555 | |||||
Deferred tax liability | 1,100 | — | |||||
Derivative liability at fair value | 781 | — | |||||
Other liabilities | 3,420 | 2,931 | |||||
Total liabilities | 2,046,677 | 1,827,491 | |||||
Commitments and contingencies | |||||||
Net assets | |||||||
Preferred stock, par value $0.01 per share, 2,000,000 shares authorized, none issued | — | — | |||||
Common stock, par value $0.01 per share, 200,000,000 shares authorized, and 107,851,415 and 102,558,859 shares issued and outstanding, respectively | 1,079 | 1,026 | |||||
Paid in capital in excess of par | 1,398,395 | 1,331,269 | |||||
Accumulated undistributed earnings | (38,178 | ) | (12,344 | ) | |||
Total net assets of New Mountain Finance Corporation | $ | 1,361,296 | $ | 1,319,951 | |||
Non-controlling interest in New Mountain Net Lease Corporation | 6,283 | 11,772 | |||||
Total net assets | $ | 1,367,579 | $ | 1,331,723 | |||
Total liabilities and net assets | $ | 3,414,256 | $ | 3,159,214 | |||
Number of shares outstanding | 107,851,415 | 102,558,859 | |||||
Net asset value per share of New Mountain Finance Corporation | $ | 12.62 | $ | 12.87 | |||
New Mountain Finance Corporation Consolidated Statements of Operations (in thousands, except shares and per share data) (unaudited) | |||||||||||||||
Three Months Ended | Nine Months Ended | ||||||||||||||
September 30, 2024 | September 30, 2023 | September 30, 2024 | September 30, 2023 | ||||||||||||
Investment income | |||||||||||||||
From non-controlled/non-affiliated investments: | |||||||||||||||
Interest income (excluding Payment-in-kind ("PIK") interest income) | $ | 61,788 | $ | 63,892 | $ | 175,608 | $ | 189,299 | |||||||
PIK interest income | 4,340 | 4,061 | 13,460 | 11,772 | |||||||||||
Dividend income | 185 | 49 | 2,762 | 143 | |||||||||||
Non-cash dividend income | 5,077 | 4,458 | 14,558 | 12,929 | |||||||||||
Other income | 1,454 | 791 | 6,345 | 3,395 | |||||||||||
From non-controlled/affiliated investments: | |||||||||||||||
Interest income (excluding PIK interest income) | 349 | 884 | 1,093 | 1,576 | |||||||||||
PIK interest income | 971 | 265 | 2,680 | 1,370 | |||||||||||
Non-cash dividend income | 1,593 | 1,173 | 4,211 | 3,417 | |||||||||||
Other income | 63 | 63 | 188 | 189 | |||||||||||
From controlled investments: | |||||||||||||||
Interest income (excluding PIK interest income) | 1,651 | 1,351 | 4,395 | 4,038 | |||||||||||
PIK interest income | 3,739 | 3,591 | 11,595 | 11,665 | |||||||||||
Dividend income | 11,789 | 11,041 | 36,812 | 34,179 | |||||||||||
Non-cash dividend income | 1,649 | 1,357 | 4,715 | 3,879 | |||||||||||
Other income | 679 | 1,373 | 2,049 | 3,943 | |||||||||||
Total investment income | 95,327 | 94,349 | 280,471 | 281,794 | |||||||||||
Expenses | |||||||||||||||
Interest and other financing expenses | 37,661 | 31,425 | 101,790 | 93,921 | |||||||||||
Management fee | 11,700 | 11,334 | 34,048 | 34,549 | |||||||||||
Incentive fee | 8,821 | 10,169 | 27,760 | 29,748 | |||||||||||
Administrative expenses | 1,059 | 995 | 3,135 | 2,996 | |||||||||||
Professional fees | 1,019 | 850 | 3,213 | 2,818 | |||||||||||
Other general and administrative expenses | 531 | 542 | 1,523 | 1,543 | |||||||||||
Total expenses | 60,791 | 55,315 | 171,469 | 165,575 | |||||||||||
Less: management fee waived | (970 | ) | (1,013 | ) | (2,732 | ) | (3,172 | ) | |||||||
Net expenses | 59,821 | 54,302 | 168,737 | 162,403 | |||||||||||
Net investment income before income taxes | 35,506 | 40,047 | 111,734 | 119,391 | |||||||||||
Income tax expense (benefit) | 118 | (627 | ) | 353 | 401 | ||||||||||
Net investment income | 35,388 | 40,674 | 111,381 | 118,990 | |||||||||||
Net realized (losses) gains: | |||||||||||||||
Non-controlled/non-affiliated investments | (75 | ) | 113 | (46,899 | ) | (8,509 | ) | ||||||||
Controlled investments | (456 | ) | 4,560 | 3,375 | 16,413 | ||||||||||
Foreign currency | (1,455 | ) | — | (1,455 | ) | 13 | |||||||||
Net change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation): | |||||||||||||||
Non-controlled/non-affiliated investments | 419 | 12,419 | 56,474 | 11,664 | |||||||||||
Non-controlled/affiliated investments | (7,853 | ) | (14,815 | ) | (34,396 | ) | (14,830 | ) | |||||||
Controlled investments | (4,260 | ) | (14,483 | ) | (243 | ) | (15,174 | ) | |||||||
Securities purchased under collateralized agreements to resell | — | — | (3,000 | ) | (39 | ) | |||||||||
New Mountain Net Lease Corporation | 1,533 | — | 1,533 | — | |||||||||||
Foreign currency | 1,690 | (60 | ) | 1,796 | (5 | ) | |||||||||
(Provision) benefit for taxes | (1,037 | ) | 291 | (1,804 | ) | 66 | |||||||||
Net realized and unrealized losses | (11,494 | ) | (11,975 | ) | (24,619 | ) | (10,401 | ) | |||||||
Net increase in net assets resulting from operations | 23,894 | 28,699 | 86,762 | 108,589 | |||||||||||
Less: Net increase in net assets resulting from operations related to non-controlling interest in New Mountain Net Lease Corporation | (5 | ) | (3 | ) | (994 | ) | (490 | ) | |||||||
Net increase in net assets resulting from operations related to New Mountain Finance Corporation | $ | 23,889 | $ | 28,696 | $ | 85,768 | $ | 108,099 | |||||||
Basic earnings per share | $ | 0.22 | $ | 0.28 | $ | 0.81 | $ | 1.07 | |||||||
Weighted average shares of common stock outstanding - basic | 107,851,415 | 100,954,898 | 106,140,789 | 100,943,049 | |||||||||||
Diluted earnings per share | $ | 0.22 | $ | 0.27 | $ | 0.78 | $ | 0.98 | |||||||
Weighted average shares of common stock outstanding - diluted | 126,779,819 | 123,183,269 | 125,000,872 | 124,595,709 | |||||||||||
Distributions declared and paid per share | $ | 0.34 | $ | 0.36 | $ | 1.04 | $ | 1.03 | |||||||
ABOUT NEW MOUNTAIN FINANCE CORPORATION
New Mountain Finance Corporation (NASDAQ: NMFC) is a leading business development company (BDC) focused on providing direct lending solutions to U.S. middle market companies backed by top private equity sponsors. Our portfolio consists primarily of senior secured loans, and select junior capital positions, to growing businesses in defensive industries that offer attractive risk-adjusted returns. Our differentiated investment approach leverages the deep sector knowledge and operating resources of New Mountain Capital, a global investment firm with over $55 billion of assets under management.
ABOUT NEW MOUNTAIN CAPITAL
New Mountain Capital ("NMC") is a New York-based investment firm that emphasizes business building and growth, rather than debt, as it pursues long-term capital appreciation. The firm currently manages private equity, credit and net lease investment strategies with over $55 billion in assets under management. New Mountain seeks out what it believes to be the highest quality growth leaders in carefully selected industry sectors and then works intensively with management to build the value of these companies. For more information on New Mountain Capital, please visit http://www.newmountaincapital.com.
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
Statements included herein may contain “forward-looking statements”, which relate to our future operations, future performance or our financial condition. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance, condition or results and involve a number of risks and uncertainties, including changes in base interest rates and significant volatility on our business, portfolio companies, our industry and the global economy. Actual results and outcomes may differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements as a result of a variety of factors, including those described from time to time in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission or factors that are beyond our control. New Mountain Finance Corporation undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements made herein, except as may be required by law. All forward-looking statements speak only as of the time of this press release.
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