Arthur Penn
Analyst · Jefferies
Thank you, Aviv. I'm going to provide an update on the business starting with financial highlights, followed by a discussion of the overall market, the portfolio, investment activity, the financials and then open it up for Q&A. For the quarter ended June 30, 2019, we invested $116 million in primarily First Lien Secured Debt at an average yield of 10.3%. Net investment income was $0.17 per share. NII was temporary low -- temporally lower this past quarter as we continue to reposition the portfolio. Remember that last quarter, we exited a large high-yielding second lien position at an attractive return. As we have discussed, we're generally moving into first lien secured positions, higher in the capital structure and into a more diversified portfolio. As of June 30, first lien exposure was nearly 60% of the portfolio, up from 43% a year ago. Along with a lower risk portfolio, we intend to prudently target higher leverage. Over time, we are targeting a regulatory debt-to-equity ratio of 1.1 to 1.5x. We will not reach this target overnight. We will continue to carefully invest, and it may take us several quarters to reach this new target. A careful and prudent increase in leverage against a primarily first lien portfolio should lead to higher earnings. We are also actively assessing other options for increased earnings, including another SBIC and the senior loan joint venture, similar to the successful joint venture that we had with PFLT. Additionally, as of last September 30, we had a taxable spillover of $0.30 per share, which provides significant dividend cushion. Our primary business of financing middle-market sponsors has remained robust. We manage relationships with about 400 private equity sponsors across the country from our offices in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and Houston. And we've done business with about 180 sponsors. Due to the wide funnel of deal flow that we receive relative to the size of our vehicles, we will continue to be extremely selective with our investments. You will recall that in 2007, just as today, PNNT was focused on financing middle-market financial sponsors. Our performance through the global financial crisis and recession was solid. Prior to the onset of the global financial crisis in September 2008, we initiated investments, which ultimately aggregated $480 million. We invested well. Average EBITDA of the underlying portfolio companies fell about 7% at the bottom of the recession. According to Bloomberg North American High Yield Index, the average high-yield company EBITDA was down about 40% during that time frame. As a result, we had few defaults and attractive recoveries on that portfolio. The IRR of those underlying investments was 8%, even though they were done prior to the financial crisis and recession. We are proud of this downside case track record. We've had only 13 companies going nonaccrual out of 229 investments since inception 12 years ago. Further, we are proud that even when we've had those nonaccruals, we've been able to preserve capital for our shareholders. As of June 30, 2019, we continue to have 1 nonaccrual, which represents 1.5% of our overall portfolio at cost and 0.7% at market. Since inception, PNNT has made 229 investments, which totaled about $5.5 billion at an average yield of 12.1%. This compares to an annualized loss ratio, including both realized and unrealized losses of about 30 basis points annually. This strong track record includes both our energy investments as well as our primarily subordinated debt investments made prior to the financial crisis. At this point in time, our underlying portfolio indicates a strong U.S. economy and no signs of a recession. We remain focused on long-term value in making investments that will perform well over an extended period of time and can withstand different business cycles. We are a first call for middle-market financial sponsors and management teams and intermediaries who want consistent and credible capital. As an independent provider free of conflicts or affiliations, we are a trusted financing partner for our clients. In general, our overall portfolio is performing well. We have a cash interest coverage ratio of 2.5x and debt-to-EBITDA ratio of 4.7x at cost on our cash flow loans. With regard to our energy exposure, there has generally been no material change since last quarter. On a mark-to-market basis, positive movements and the value of Wheel Pros, Ram Energy and MidOcean JF were offset by valuation declines in Hollander, ETX and U.S. Well. On an overall basis, NAV was down $0.09 per share due to valuation. In terms of new investments. We've known these particular companies for a while, have studied the industries or have a strong relationship with the sponsor. Let's walk through some of the highlights. We purchased $20 million of the first lien term loan; $2.5 million of a revolver; and $0.5 million of preferred and common equity of MeritDirect. The company is a provider of B2B database products, Mountaingate Capital is the sponsor. Signature Systems is a designer manufacture of ground protection product. We purchased $15 million of a first lien term loan and $1.4 million of preferred and common equity. Center Rock Capital is the sponsor. We purchased $8.6 million of a first lien term loan and $1.6 million of a revolver of TWS Acquisition Corporation. TWS is a for-profit provider of postsecondary education focused on technical careers and skilled trades. Halifax Group is the sponsor. Turning to the outlook. We believe that the remainder of 2019 will be active due to growth in M&A-driven financings. Due to our strong sourcing network and client relationships, we are seeing active deal flow. Let me now turn the call over to Aviv, our CFO, to take us through the financial results.