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Ares Capital Corporation Announces December 31, 2018 Financial Results, Declares an Increased First Quarter 2019 Dividend of $0.40 Per Share and Additional Dividends Totaling $0.08 Per Share for 2019Ares Capital Corporation ("Ares Capital") (NASDAQ: ARCC) announced that its Board of Directors has declared a first quarter dividend of $0.40 per share, an increase of $0.01 per share over the prior quarter dividend. The first quarter dividend is payable on March 29, 2019 to stockholders of record as of March 15, 2019. The Board of Directors has also declared additional dividends totaling $0.08 per share for 2019, to be distributed in four consecutive quarterly payments of $0.02 per share per quarter. The first additional dividend is also payable on March 29, 2019 to the stockholders of record as of March 15, 2019. DECEMBER 31, 2018 FINANCIAL RESULTS Ares Capital also announced financial results for its fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2018. HIGHLIGHTS Financial
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Portfolio Activity
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FOURTH QUARTER 2018 OPERATING RESULTS For the fourth quarter of 2018, Ares Capital reported GAAP net income of $153 million or $0.36 per share (basic and diluted), Core EPS(2) of $0.45 per share (basic and diluted), net investment income of $203 million or $0.48 per share (basic and diluted), and net realized and unrealized losses of $50 million or $(0.12) per share (basic and diluted). Net income can vary substantially from period to period due to various factors, including the level of new investment commitments, the amount of acquisition related expenses, the recognition of realized gains and losses and unrealized appreciation and depreciation. As a result, quarterly comparisons of net income may not be meaningful. As of December 31, 2018, total assets were $12.9 billion, stockholders' equity was $7.3 billion and net asset value per share was $17.12. In the fourth quarter of 2018, Ares Capital made $2.7 billion in new investment commitments, including commitments to 23 new portfolio companies, 27 existing portfolio companies and 1 additional portfolio company through the Senior Direct Lending Program, LLC (the "SDLP"), through which Ares Capital co-invests with Varagon Capital Partners ("Varagon") and its clients to fund first lien senior secured loans. Of the new commitments, 43 were sponsored transactions. As of December 31, 2018, 167 separate private equity sponsors were represented in Ares Capital's portfolio. Of the $2.7 billion in new commitments made during the fourth quarter of 2018, 72% were in first lien senior secured loans, 22% were in second lien senior secured loans, 3% were in preferred equity, 2% were in other equity securities and 1% were in the subordinated certificates of the SDLP. Of these commitments, 97% were in floating rate debt securities, of which 99% contained interest rate floors and 1% were in the subordinated certificates of the SDLP to make co-investments with Varagon and its clients in floating rate first lien senior secured loans through the SDLP, all of which contained interest rate floors. Ares Capital may seek to sell all or a portion of these new investment commitments, although there can be no assurance that Ares Capital will be able to do so. In the fourth quarter of 2018, significant new commitments included:
Also in the fourth quarter of 2018, Ares Capital exited approximately $1,021 million of investment commitments (including exits of $61 million of commitments acquired as part of the American Capital Acquisition). Of the total investment commitments exited, 63% were first lien senior secured loans, 20% were second lien senior secured loans, 12% were senior subordinated loans, 3% were preferred equity securities, 1% were subordinated certificates of the SDLP and 1% were other equity securities. Of the approximately $1,021 million of exited investment commitments, 82% were floating rate, 10% were fixed rate, 4% were on non-accrual status and 4% were non-interest bearing. The fair value of Ares Capital's portfolio investments at December 31, 2018 was $12.4 billion, including $11.1 billion in accruing debt and other income producing securities. As of December 31, 2018, the total portfolio at fair value included $0.7 billion of investments acquired in the American Capital Acquisition. The total portfolio investments at fair value were comprised of approximately 47% of first lien senior secured loans, 29% of second lien senior secured loans, 5% of subordinated certificates of the SDLP (the proceeds of which were applied to co-investments with Varagon and its clients to fund first lien senior secured loans through the SDLP), 6% of senior subordinated loans, 4% of preferred equity securities and 9% of other equity securities. As of December 31, 2018, the weighted average yield of debt and other income producing securities in the portfolio at amortized cost and fair value was 10.2% and 10.3%, respectively, the weighted average yield on total investments in the portfolio at amortized cost and fair value was 9.0% and 9.3%, respectively, and 85% of the total investments at fair value were in floating rate securities. "Our strong fourth quarter results concluded a great year for ARCC in which we increased annual core earnings 21% over last year, generated record net realized gains, fully covered our dividends from core earnings and grew book value per share for another year," said Kipp deVeer, Chief Executive Officer of Ares Capital. "With the strength in our core earnings, the stability in our non-accruals and rotation of the American Capital acquired portfolio largely completed, we increased our Q1-19 quarterly dividend to $0.40 per share and declared additional dividends totaling $0.08 per share for 2019 to be paid evenly over the next four quarters." "Going forward, we believe our modestly leveraged balance sheet supports our strong financial position and enhances our ability to invest opportunistically across varying market conditions," said Penni Roll, Chief Financial Officer. PORTFOLIO QUALITY Ares Capital's investment adviser employs an investment rating system to categorize Ares Capital's investments. In addition to various risk management and monitoring tools, Ares Capital's investment adviser grades the credit risk of all investments on a scale of 1 to 4 no less frequently than quarterly. This system is intended primarily to reflect the underlying risk of a portfolio investment relative to Ares Capital's initial cost basis in respect of such portfolio investment (i.e., at the time of origination or acquisition), although it may also take into account under certain circumstances the performance of the portfolio company's business, the collateral coverage of the investment and other relevant factors. Under this system, investments with a grade of 4 involve the least amount of risk to Ares Capital's initial cost basis. The trends and risk factors for this investment since origination or acquisition are generally favorable, which may include the performance of the portfolio company or a potential exit. Investments graded 3 involve a level of risk to Ares Capital's initial cost basis that is similar to the risk to Ares Capital's initial cost basis at the time of origination or acquisition. This portfolio company is generally performing as expected and the risk factors to Ares Capital's ability to ultimately recoup the cost of Ares Capital's investment are neutral to favorable. All investments or acquired investments in new portfolio companies are initially assessed a grade of 3. Investments graded 2 indicate that the risk to Ares Capital's ability to recoup the initial cost basis of such investment has increased materially since origination or acquisition, including as a result of factors such as declining performance and non-compliance with debt covenants; however, payments are generally not more than 120 days past due. An investment grade of 1 indicates that the risk to Ares Capital's ability to recoup the initial cost basis of such investment has substantially increased since origination or acquisition, and the portfolio company likely has materially declining performance. For debt investments with an investment grade of 1, most or all of the debt covenants are out of compliance and payments are substantially delinquent. For investments graded 1, it is anticipated that Ares Capital will not recoup Ares Capital's initial cost basis and may realize a substantial loss of Ares Capital's initial cost basis upon exit. For investments graded 1 or 2, Ares Capital's investment adviser enhances its level of scrutiny over the monitoring of such portfolio company. The grade of a portfolio investment may be reduced or increased over time. As of December 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017, the weighted average grade of the investments in Ares Capital's portfolio at fair value was 3.0 and 3.1, respectively, and loans on non-accrual status represented 2.5% and 3.1%, respectively, of total investments at amortized cost (or 0.6% and 1.4%, respectively, at fair value). LIQUIDITY AND CAPITAL RESOURCES In December 2018, Ares Capital and Ares Capital CP Funding LLC ("Ares Capital CP"), a consolidated subsidiary of Ares Capital, amended Ares Capital CP's revolving funding facility ("the Revolving Funding Facility") to, among other things, (a) extend the stated maturity date from January 3, 2022 to January 3, 2024; (b) extend the reinvestment period from January 3, 2019 to January 3, 2022; (c) adjust the interest rate from the previous spread of 2.15% over LIBOR to a spread of 2.00% over LIBOR; and (d) adjust the ranges of the unused portion of the Revolving Funding Facility under which certain fees are paid. As of December 31, 2018, Ares Capital had $296 million in cash and cash equivalents and $5.3 billion in total aggregate principal amount of debt outstanding ($5.2 billion at carrying value). Subject to leverage, borrowing base and other restrictions, Ares Capital had approximately $1.6 billion available for additional borrowings under its existing credit facilities as of December 31, 2018. FOURTH QUARTER 2018 DIVIDEND PAID AND 2019 DECLARED DIVIDENDS On October 31, 2018, Ares Capital declared a fourth quarter dividend of $0.39 per share for a total of approximately $166 million. The record date for this dividend was December 14, 2018 and the dividend was paid on December 28, 2018. On February 12, 2019, Ares Capital declared a first quarter 2019 dividend of $0.40 per share payable on March 29, 2019 to shareholders of record on March 15, 2019. On February 12, 2019, Ares Capital declared an additional $0.08 per share of dividends, to be distributed in quarterly payments of $0.02 per share during 2019. The first quarter 2019 additional dividend of $0.02 per share will be payable on March 29, 2019 to stockholders of record as of March 15, 2019. The second quarter 2019 additional dividend of $0.02 per share will be payable on June 28, 2019 to stockholders of record as of June 14, 2019. The third quarter 2019 additional dividend of $0.02 per share will be payable on September 30, 2019 to stockholders of record as of September 16, 2019. The fourth quarter 2019 additional dividend of $0.02 per share will be payable on December 27, 2019 to stockholders of record as of December 16, 2019. Payment of the additional June 28, 2019, September 30, 2019 and December 27, 2019 dividends are subject to the satisfaction of certain Maryland law requirements. RECENT DEVELOPMENTS In February 2019, Ares Capital's Board of Directors authorized an amendment to its stock repurchase program to (a) increase the total authorization under the program from $300 million to $500 million and (b) extend the expiration date of the program from February 28, 2019 to February 28, 2020. Under the stock repurchase program, Ares Capital may repurchase up to $500 million in the aggregate of its outstanding common stock in the open market at a price per share that meets certain thresholds below its net asset value per share, in accordance with the guidelines specified in Rule 10b-18 of the Exchange Act. The timing, manner, price and amount of any share repurchases will be determined by Ares Capital, in its discretion, based upon the evaluation of economic and market conditions, stock price, applicable legal and regulatory requirements and other factors. From January 1, 2019 through February 7, 2019, Ares Capital made new investment commitments of approximately $623 million, of which $577 million were funded. Of these new commitments, 45% were in first lien senior secured loans, 40% were in second lien senior secured loans, 13% were in the subordinated certificates of the SDLP and 2% were in preferred equity securities. Of the approximately $623 million of new investment commitments, 98% were floating rate and 2% fixed rate. The weighted average yield of debt and other income producing securities funded during the period at amortized cost was 10.0%. Ares Capital may seek to sell all or a portion of these new investment commitments, although there can be no assurance that it will be able to do so. From January 1, 2019 through February 7, 2019, Ares Capital exited approximately $469 million of investment commitments. Of the total investment commitments, 74% were first lien senior secured loans and 26% were second lien senior secured loans. Of the approximately $469 million of exited investment commitments, 100% were floating rate. The weighted average yield of debt and other income producing securities exited or repaid during the period at amortized cost was 9.0% and the weighted average yield on total investments exited or repaid during the period at amortized cost was 9.0%. On the approximately $469 million of investment commitments exited from January 1, 2019 through February 7, 2019, Ares Capital recognized total net realized gains of approximately $2 million. In addition, as of February 7, 2019, Ares Capital had an investment backlog and pipeline of approximately $1,435 million and $150 million, respectively. Investment backlog includes transactions approved by Ares Capital's investment adviser's investment committee and/or for which a formal mandate, letter of intent or a signed commitment have been issued, and therefore Ares Capital believes are likely to close. Investment pipeline includes transactions where due diligence and analysis are in process, but no formal mandate, letter of intent or signed commitment have been issued. The consummation of any of the investments in this backlog and pipeline depends upon, among other things, one or more of the following: satisfactory completion of our due diligence investigation of the prospective portfolio company, Ares Capital's acceptance of the terms and structure of such investment and the execution and delivery of satisfactory transaction documentation. In addition, Ares Capital may sell all or a portion of these investments and certain of these investments may result in the repayment of existing investments. Ares Capital cannot assure you that it will make any of these investments or that Ares Capital will sell all or any portion of these investments. WEBCAST / CONFERENCE CALL Ares Capital will host a webcast/conference call on Tuesday, February 12, 2019 at 10:00 a.m. (Eastern Time) to discuss its quarter and year ended December 31, 2018 financial results. PLEASE VISIT ARES CAPITAL'S WEBCAST LINK LOCATED ON THE HOME PAGE OF THE INVESTOR RESOURCES SECTION OF ARES CAPITAL'S WEBSITE FOR A SLIDE PRESENTATION THAT COMPLEMENTS THE EARNINGS CONFERENCE CALL. All interested parties are invited to participate via telephone or the live webcast, which will be hosted on a webcast link located on the Home page of the Investor Resources section of Ares Capital's website at www.arescapitalcorp.com. Please visit the website to test your connection before the webcast. Domestic callers can access the conference call by dialing (888) 317-6003. International callers can access the conference call by dialing +1 (412) 317-6061. All callers will need to enter the Participant Elite Entry Number 6180815 followed by the # sign and reference "Ares Capital Corporation" once connected with the operator. All callers are asked to dial in 10-15 minutes prior to the call so that name and company information can be collected. For interested parties, an archived replay of the call will be available approximately one hour after the end of the call through February 26, 2019 at 5:00 p.m. (Eastern Time) to domestic callers by dialing (877) 344-7529 and to international callers by dialing +1 (412) 317-0088. For all replays, please reference conference number 10127020. An archived replay will also be available through February 26, 2019 on a webcast link located on the Home page of the Investor Resources section of Ares Capital's website. ABOUT ARES CAPITAL CORPORATION Ares Capital is a leading specialty finance company that provides one-stop debt and equity financing solutions to U.S. middle market companies and power generation projects. Ares Capital originates and invests in senior secured loans, mezzanine debt and, to a lesser extent, equity investments through its national direct origination platform. Ares Capital's investment objective is to generate both current income and capital appreciation through debt and equity investments primarily in private companies. Ares Capital has elected to be regulated as a business development company ("BDC") and is the largest BDC by both market capitalization and total assets. Ares Capital is externally managed by a subsidiary of Ares Management Corporation (NYSE: ARES), a publicly traded, leading global alternative asset manager. For more information about Ares Capital Corporation, visit www.arescapitalcorp.com. However, the contents of such website are not and should not be deemed to be incorporated by reference herein. FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS Statements included herein or on the webcast/conference call may constitute "forward-looking statements," which relate to future events or Ares Capital's future performance or financial condition. These statements are not guarantees of future performance, condition or results and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Actual results and conditions may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements as a result of a number of factors, including those described from time to time in Ares Capital's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Ares Capital undertakes no duty to update any forward-looking statements made herein or on the webcast/conference call.
SCHEDULE 1 Reconciliations of basic and diluted Core EPS to basic and diluted GAAP EPS Reconciliations of basic and diluted Core EPS to basic and diluted GAAP EPS, the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure, for the three months and years ended December 31, 2018 and 2017 are provided below.
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