Earnings Labs

Blackstone Mortgage Trust, Inc. (BXMT)

Q1 2012 Earnings Call· Wed, May 9, 2012

$19.97

-0.75%

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Transcript

Operator

Operator

Hello and welcome to the Capital Trust First Quarter and 2012 Results Conference Call. Before we begin, please be advised that the forward-looking statements contained on this conference call are subject to certain risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to the performance of the Company's investments, the timing of collections, its capabilities to repay indebtedness as it comes due, competition for servicing and investment management assignments, its ability to originate investments, the availability of capital and the Company's tax status, as well other risks indicated from time to time in the Company's Form 10-K and Form 10-Q filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company assumes no obligation to update or supplement forward-looking statements that become untrue because of subsequent events or circumstances. There will be a Q&A session following the conclusion of this presentation. (Operator instructions) I will now turn the call over to Stephen Plavin, CEO of Capital Trust. Please go ahead.

Stephen Plavin

Analyst

Thank you. Good morning, everyone. Thank you for joining us and for your interest in Capital Trust. With me are Geoff Jervis, our Chief Financial Officer; and Tom Ruffing, our Chief Credit Officer and Head of Asset Management. Last night, we filed our 10-Q and announced our results for the first quarter. Following my remarks, Geoff will take you through the quarterly results and discuss our adjusted balance sheet and the changes in our consolidated assets and liabilities resulting from the deconsolidation of our former legacy portfolio. The formation of CT Legacy REIT, the entity that now holds most of our former balance sheet assets, provided the necessary time and flexibility for us to work and collect the legacy assets. Our management of Legacy REIT is focused on maximizing the recovery for all stakeholders, the largest of which are the Capital Trust shareholders. In February, we refinanced the remaining $65 million Legacy REIT mezzanine financing through an expansion of the senior credit facility with JP Morgan. The refinancing reduced the overall cost of debt in Legacy REIT and helped us streamline its asset management. Since the March, 2011 formation of Legacy REIT, we’ve collected $299 million on our Legacy portfolio representing 60% of its initial net book value. There are very significant credit challenges remaining within Legacy REIT, the result, to some extent, of adverse selection and pay-down velocity has slowed. We remain confident that Tom and his team will continue to work the assets very hard and achieve strong results. In CT Investment Management Company, or CTIMCO, our wholly-owned investment management subsidiary, we had $5.7 million of revenue prior to GAAP eliminations in the first quarter. CTIMCO maintains strong capabilities in a wide array of activities – lending, investing, asset management, capital raising, special servicing and operating as a…

Geoffrey Jervis

Analyst

Thank you, Steve, and good morning, everyone. As Steve mentioned, last night we reported our earnings for the first quarter of 2012 and filed our 10-Q. This quarter, GAAP numbers were materially impacted by the deconsolidation of our legacy portfolio, an accounting conclusion that was based upon the result and fact pattern at CT Legacy REIT after we repaid the subsidiary’s mezzanine loans in February. Consolidated GAAP net income for the quarter was $67 million, or $2.74 per share on a diluted basis. These results were driven primarily by gains recognized on the deconsolidation of the Legacy portfolio, which were primarily due to the reversal of losses previously recorded in excess of our economic interest in certain of these assets. At quarter end, total consolidated assets on the balance sheet stood at $606 million and total consolidated liabilities were $589 million, resulting in total GAAP equity of $16 million. As a result of the deconsolidation, $786 million of assets and $845 million of liabilities were eliminated from our balance sheet. While the deconsolidation of the Legacy portfolio is a step in the right direction for making our GAAP financials a more meaningful presentation of our financial situation, it is unfortunately not enough. Therefore, we continue to report our adjusted balance sheet, which can be found in both the earnings press release we filed last night and also in the MD&A section of our 10-Q. We believe that our adjusted balance sheet allows investors to better understand the economic condition of the company. For a full description of the adjustments, please see our 10-Q. Despite its complex GAAP financial statements, CT’s business is straightforward when viewed on an adjusted basis. Our primary line of business, commercial real estate debt investment management, is executed through our CTIMCO investment management and special servicing…

Stephen Plavin

Analyst

Thanks, Geoff. Lindsey, please open the call to any questions.

Operator

Operator

(Operator instructions) It looks like we do have a question from private investor Martin Feely. Please go ahead. Your line is open. Martin Feely – Private Investor: Thank you. Gentlemen, it sounds like you’re concerned about your REIT status. Do we have an opinion of council that would enable us or shelter us to continue in that status, at least for the moment?

Geoffrey Jervis

Analyst

We are currently operating to comply with REIT rules and it is our assessment that we currently are complying with those rules. We’re just making a statement that as the portfolios continue to liquidate, the asset-based and income-based test will become more and more difficult to comply with. I think the flipside is that obviously we have a significant amount of flexibility given to us by our NOL positions at the company, and so we do have options, and as I mentioned, we’ll continue to attempt to comply with the REIT rules, but if we don’t, we do have options. Martin Feely – Private Investor: Thank you.

Operator

Operator

It appears we have no further questions at this time.

Stephen Plavin

Analyst

Thank you, everyone. We look forward to reporting next quarter.

Operator

Operator

This concludes today’s program. You may disconnect at any time. Thank you and have a great day.