NMFC 2026 年第三季財報電話會議：投資組合收益率 12%，每股淨值降至 10.67 美元

重點摘要

• 經調整後每股淨投資收益為 0.26 美元，足以支應 9 月 30 日發放的每股 0.25 美元現金股利。董事會已宣布 2026 年第四季將再發放每股 0.25 美元股利，預計於 12 月 31 日支付給 12 月 17 日在冊的股東。
• 每股淨資產價值（NAV）季減 2% 至 10.67 美元。管理層將每股下滑 0.22 美元中的 0.12 美元歸因於整體市場波動，另外 0.10 美元則歸因於特定信貸標的的估值調整，包括 insightsoftware、Deca Dental 與 LG。
• 投資組合的平均收益率上升至 12%，主要反映了遠期利率曲線的上移。管理層表示，新投資收益率高於償還項目的收益率。
• 在新增一筆小額部位後，非計息資產佔公允價值的比例增加 30 個基點至 1.8%。在其他條件不變的情況下，第四季初退出 Convey 預計將使非計息資產佔公允價值的比例減少 0.1%，佔成本的比例減少 0.6%。
• 實物支付（PIK）收益仍是關注焦點。發行時即結構化為 PIK 的資產所產生的 PIK 收益占總投資收益的 15%，而修改條款後的 PIK 則另占 5%。
• 管理層指出，儘管併購（M&A）活動持續低迷，但較高的基準利率、信貸利差進一步擴大與分化，以及更為安全的資本結構，正在改善直接貸款市場的風險調整後投資機會。

關鍵財務數據

NMFC 第三季的有效績效報酬費率為 15%，反映了在先前宣布於 2027 年永久降至 15% 之前，自願豁免了 140 萬美元。

業務與營運績效

NMFC 繼續專注於防禦性產業以及具有經常性收入、穩定利潤率和持久現金流的企業。管理層特別指出幾家大型持股公司（包括 Benevis、UniTek 及 Novus Process Systems）在 2026 年實現了雙位數的盈餘成長。公司表示，UniTek 與 Novus 也受益於與電網及資料中心擴建相關的成長市場。

該投資組合涵蓋 110 家公司。約 80% 的投資（包括第一受償順位資產、優先貸款計畫與淨出租投資）具備優先受償性質。股權部位約佔投資組合的 6%。若扣除優先貸款計畫與淨出租基金，前十大發行機構佔總公允價值的 24.8%。

投資組合品質略有下滑。綠色評等的投資佔比從第二季的 88% 降至 86%，而黃色評等的曝險則從 10.2% 上升至 11.7%。黃色與橘色評等的部位加權平均估值約為面值的 70%，管理層表示這反映出 NAV 中已充分消化了大部分去風險化影響。

NMFC 的貸款成數（LTV）為 49%。自 IPO 以來，該公司已累計向 358 家公司投資 106 億美元，並錄得約 1.01 億美元的淨已實現虧損。

流動性依然充足。NMFC 擁有超過 20 億美元的總借貸能力，其中包括信用額度下約 7.6 億美元的可提用金額（須受借款基準限制）。相比之下，未撥付承諾額約為 1.45 億美元。未償還債務中近 60% 將於 2029 年或之後到期。

管理層展望

管理層的策略優先事項為實現股權部位變現、降低 PIK 收益並提高投資組合的多樣化。退出獲得的資金預計將重新投入至支付現金利息的第一受償順位投資中，不過具體時機將取決於公司營運表現與適當的交易機會。

公司預計近期發行的無擔保債券以及現有流動性足以支應 2027 年到期的債務。管理層亦預計將在無擔保債券市場保持活躍，並繼續優化負債組合，以限制資產負債錯配的情況。

管理層認為直接貸款的市場條件已變得更有吸引力。根據 PitchBook 的數據，今年迄今產業直接貸款規模下降了約 28%，但利差目前介於 SOFR 加 475 個基點至 SOFR 加 600 個基點之間，相比之下，2025 年許多交易的利差區間較窄，僅為 SOFR 加 450 至 475 個基點。

風險與關注領域

• 整體市場波動與更高的折現率佔了本季 NAV 下滑的一半以上。
• 特定信貸標的的估值調降影響了一小部分持股，包括 insightsoftware、Deca Dental 與 LG。
• 由於複利效應以及一筆貸款從現金支付轉為 PIK，實物支付（PIK）收益占投資收益的比重有所增加。
• 管理層引述持續的通貨膨脹、供應鏈波動、消費者信心疲軟、地緣政治衝突、AI 相關破壞性影響以及估值差距作為市場的逆風因素。
• 併購（M&A）活動仍低於 2025 年水準，可能影響股權變現與投資組合輪動的時機。
• 消費疲軟主要集中於低端消費族群。管理層將 NMFC 的寵物照護與洗車業務曝險描述為相對具防禦性，同時認為牙科領域的挑戰更多源自營運層面而非消費者驅動。

分析師問答亮點

當被問及股權變現是否需要併購市場的全面復甦時，管理層表示更強勁的交易市場會有所幫助，但並非必要條件。更重要的因素是底層公司的營運表現，以及尋找能以合適價值退出的機會。

關於面向消費者的醫療保健曝險，管理層表示獸醫和寵物照護業務雖然包含部分非必需消費元素，但整體營收表現穩定。牙科領域的問題被認為主要是營運層面的問題，需要密切關注執行情況。

管理層還表示，大型 PIK 收益與股權部位的營運改善有助於支持其原定的退出時程，並可能創造以有利價格實現這些部位變現的機會。

優先貸款計畫與淨出租工具收益的季減，被歸因於底層實現與基金活動的正常波動，而非特定不利事件。

完整法說會逐字稿

完整財報電話會議逐字稿

管理層陳述

Operator

Good day, and welcome to the New Mountain Finance Corporation Third Quarter 2026 Earnings Call. Today's conference is being recorded. At this time, I would like to turn the conference over to John Kline, President and CEO. Please go ahead.

John Kline

Thank you, and good morning, everyone. Welcome to New Mountain Finance Corporation's Third Quarter 2026 Earnings Call. On the line with me here today are Steve Klinsky, Chairman of NMFC and CEO of New Mountain Capital; and Laura Holson, COO and Interim CFO of NMFC. Steve is going to make some introductory remarks, but before he does, I'd like to ask Laura to make some important statements regarding today's call.

Laura Holson

Thanks, John. Good morning, everyone. Before we get into the presentation, I would like to advise everyone that today's call and webcast are being recorded. Please note that they are the property of New Mountain Finance Corporation and that any unauthorized broadcast in any form is strictly prohibited. Information about the audio replay of this call is available in our November 2 earnings press release.

I would also like to call your attention to the customary safe harbor disclosure in our press release and on Pages 2 and 3 of slide presentation regarding forward-looking statements. Today's conference call and webcast may include forward-looking statements and projections, and we ask that you refer to our most recent filings with the SEC for important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those statements and projections. We do not undertake to update our forward-looking statements or projections unless required to by law. All materials referenced during today's call, including the earnings press release, earnings presentation and Form 10-Q are available on our website at www.newmountainfinance.com.

At this time, I'd like to turn the call over to Steve Klinsky, NMFC's Chairman, who will give some highlights beginning on Page 6 of the slide presentation. Steve?

Steven Klinsky

Thanks, Laura. It's great to be able to address you all today, both as NMFC's Chairman and as a major fellow shareholder. Adjusted net investment income for the third quarter was $0.26 per share, covering our $0.25 per share dividend that was paid in cash on September 30. Looking forward to Q4, we would like to announce a $0.25 dividend payable on December 31 to shareholders of record as of December 17.

Our net asset value per share of $10.67 and declined 2% compared to Q2, largely due to mark-to-market movement on a handful of idiosyncratic credits, particularly on some of our quoted assets. Earnings in 2026 have grown at double-digit rates at some of our biggest positions, including Benevis, UniTek and the Novus Process Systems, formerly known as Permian. UniTek and Novus are also seeing new growth markets tied to the expansion of the electric grid and data centers. We think the current environment is a good time to enter the credit markets as risk-adjusted returns and direct lending appear to be attractive compared to the narrow market spreads of past years.

As discussed in past calls, we have pledged to voluntarily and permanently reduce our fees to be more shareholder friendly. Despite all these positives, and as I've said before, I believe NMFC continues to be oversold with the stock trading at approximately 65% of book value. At these trading levels, NMFC's book value would have to depreciate nearly $345 million versus our marks as of September 30, or about 15% of our portfolio at fair value to bring book value down to where the stock trades.

At Friday's closing stock price, NMFC is paying a cash yield of 14%, roughly 6 percentage points above the average yield of the high-yield bond index and we believe the dividend is sustainable. Shareholders who have been with NMFC since its public offering have received $20.95 of total cash back versus their initial price of $13.75 per share and also have the $10.67 of book value per share today. This equates to a 9.9% annualized return since NMFC's inception or 8.9% at the current depressed stock price, all at an annualized realized total net loss rate of just 6 basis points.

This 9.9% long-term return exceeds the high-yield bond index by approximately 4.5 percentage points. Long-term loyal shareholders have received all their investment back in cash, plus 103% and assuming a hypothetical sale at the current depressed stock price. Returns made by reinvesting these past cash dividends would be in addition to this amount. I and my fellow NMC executives remain the largest shareholders of NMFC stock and our ownership position has been increasing over time.

Overall, New Mountain ownership increased from approximately 14% last year to approximately 18% of total shares outstanding as of September 30. We thank you, as always, for your friendship and ownership, and we are working diligently to serve your interest in the months and years ahead.

With that, let me turn the call over to John for more details and comments.

John Kline

Thank you, Steve. I'll begin on Page 7. Our direct lending strategy focuses on defensive sectors with sustainable tailwinds and on businesses with recurring revenue stable margins and strong cash flow across economic environments. Our strategy has been built to navigate current economic challenges like persistent inflation, supply chain volatility and weaker consumer confidence. We prioritize transparency and we seek to provide more granular disclosure of our industry niches, so investors can see exactly what we own.

Page 8 shows our long-term track record of delivering consistent, enhanced yield by minimizing credit losses and distributing virtually all of our excess income to shareholders. NMFC's loan-to-value ratio is 49%, which reflects our latest view of enterprise value at each portfolio company. We recalculate loan to value every quarter, so it reflects current market conditions.

Turning to Page 9. Our strategic priorities include monetizing equity positions, reducing PIK income and increasing position diversity. As Steve mentioned, many of our equity and pick yielding positions are performing well, and we continue to see potential catalysts for exits. We're focused on the right outcome for the portfolio, which sometimes requires patients. As opportunities materialize, our objective is to redeploy proceeds into first lien cash paying investments to improve portfolio diversification and income quality. Our liability structure remains well positioned with further opportunity in 2027 to extend near-term maturities.

On Page 10, 86% of the portfolio is rated green compared to 88% last quarter. We saw an increase in the yellow category from 10.2% to 11.7% in our yellow and orange names carry a weighted average mark of approximately $0.70, reflecting meaningful derisking already captured in the current NAV. This heat Mac migration is reflective of modest stress on certain older vintage investments which we continue to work through. We expect to make progress migrating to newer names in the upcoming quarters, which should be beneficial to overall portfolio quality.

Page 11 shows the NAV bridge. Book value per share ended the quarter at $10.67, down $0.22 from $10.89 in Q2. We of approximately $0.12 of the decline reflected broader market movements driven by higher discount rates on leveraged loan assets. While the remaining $0.10 reflected credit-specific movements in a handful of positions, including insightsoftware, Deca Dental and LG. While this is not the NAV rule we want, we do see positive catalysts on certain of these names and other discounted names in the portfolio.

Page 12 covers credit performance. Nonaccruals at fair value were 1.8%, up 30 basis points from last quarter as a very small position was added to the list. On the flip side, we exited convey early in Q4, which will reduce nonaccruals next quarter by 0.1% at fair market value and 0.6% at cost all things equal. On the right side of the page is our cumulative record since IPO, where we have invested $10.6 billion across 358 companies with net realized losses of approximately $101 million. We remain focused on recovering unrealized losses through pull to par on certain loans and through equity exits I mentioned.

I will now turn the call over to Laura to discuss the credit market environment and provide more details on the quarter.

Laura Holson

Thanks, John. Turning to Page 13. M&A activity to date in 2026 remains below 2025 levels with industry-wide direct lending volume down approximately 28% year-to-date according to PitchBook. We still believe M&A activity will pick up at some point, given the backlog of private equity exits and pressure to return capital, but the current investment environment is full of cross currents. These include conflicting macroeconomic signals around inflation, consumer health, labor markets and commodity prices, ongoing geopolitical conflicts the impact of AI and the accelerating pace of technological change and persistent valuation gaps.

While we haven't seen the meaningful pickup that we've been predicting, our deal flow has been steady, particularly in the defensive growth sectors where we focus. We continue to think that direct lending offers attractive returns and compelling enhanced yield. As a floating rate asset class, our all-in return benefits from rising base rates. At the start of 2026, the forward curve was actually predicting base rate cuts. Today, base rates have remained higher for longer, and the forward curve is now pricing in rate increases over the next 12 months.

We believe this creates a tailwind. Additionally, we're seeing what we believe is a healthy bifurcation in the market around spreads. Throughout 2025, we noted on several of our earnings calls that most direct lending deals priced at SOFR plus 450 to 475 regardless of size, sponsor or asset quality. That made for a challenging investing environment and our strategy was really focused on staying safe. Today, spreads range from SOFR plus 475 on the tight end to SOFR plus 600 on the wider end Note that this is the case even in an environment where M&A remains somewhat muted.

I'd attribute this to a more balanced supply and demand dynamic. Even as deal flow is lower, less direct lending capital is available to chase deals, particularly on the heels of recent industry-wide redemptions. We've also seen this translate into more attractive capital structures with lower leverage and tighter documentation. To summarize, we think the combination of higher base rates more discerning spreads and safer capital structures provides attractive risk-adjusted returns in direct lending.

Turning to Slide 14. Origination activity was intentionally light in the quarter as we remained fully invested. We originated $10 million of investments offset by $44 million of sales and repayments. Slide 15 shows that the average yield of NMFC's portfolio increased to 12% during the quarter largely due to the upward shift in the forward curve. Although portfolio activity was modest, yields on new investments exceeded those on repayments. We continue to believe these yields are attractive for the risk.

Turning to Slide 16. Approximately 80% of the portfolio, including first lien investments, SLPs and net lease investments is senior in nature, consistent with the prior quarter. Equity positions represent approximately 6% of the portfolio with the largest positions shown on the right side of the page.

Slide 17 highlights the diversification of our portfolio across 110 companies. Excluding investments in the SLPs and net lease funds, our top 10 single name issuers represent 24.8% of total fair value. As John mentioned earlier, increasing portfolio diversification remains an important priority, and we believe we have line of sight into further progress over the coming quarters.

I will now review our financial results, beginning on Slide 18. For the third quarter, total investment income was $60 million, down 1.8% from the prior quarter. Total net expenses were approximately $36 million, down 1.4% from the prior quarter. NMFC's effective incentive fee rate for Q3 was 15%, reflecting a voluntary waiver of $1.4 million of incentive fees ahead of the previously announced permanent reduction to 15% in 2027. Adjusted net investment income for the quarter was $0.26 per share, more than covering our third quarter dividend. For the fourth quarter, our Board has declared a dividend of $0.25 per share.

Slide 19 provides additional detail on cash and PIK income. PIK income from assets structured with PIK and originations represented 15% of total investment income. Modified PIK resulting from amendments or restructurings, represented 5% of total investment income, up slightly from the prior quarter. The increase in total PIK income as a percentage of investment income reflects PIK compounding and 1 loan moving from cash pay to PIK in the quarter.

Importantly, investments generating noncash income during the quarter are marked at a weighted average fair value of approximately 94% of par and 81% of this income is generated by names rated green on our heat map. Reducing PIK income remains a strategic priority, and we continue to focus on improving the cash paying composition of our portfolio over time.

Moving to the balance sheet on Slide 20. As of September 30, the portfolio had total assets of $2.4 billion, total liabilities of $1.3 billion and net asset value of $1 billion or $10.67 per share. Our net debt-to-equity ratio was 1.15x, within our target range of 1 to 1.25x. Shortly after quarter end, we received a few sizable repayments, namely Thorne and Mercer Advisors. Pro forma for those repayments, our statutory net debt-to-equity ratio decreased to 1.09x.

On Slide 21, we highlight our diversified financing sources and leverage profile. We have more than $2 billion of total borrowing capacity, including approximately $760 million available under our credit facilities, subject to borrowing base limitations. This capacity more than covers our approximately $145 million of unfunded commitments as well as our 2027 maturities. During the second quarter, we priced a $150 million private placement with a delayed funding date, which funded on October 1. We expect to remain active in the unsecured debt market in line with our strategic priorities.

Turning to Slide 22, we show our debt maturity schedule. As mentioned, we have already covered our 2027 maturities through our recent unsecured issuance and existing liquidity. We continue to ladder our maturities with nearly 60% of outstanding debt maturing in 2029 or later.

Lastly, Slide 23 summarizes the floating and fixed state composition of our assets and liabilities. As of September 30, 88% of the NMFC loan portfolio was floating rate and 12% was fixed rate. Our liabilities were 77% floating rate and 23% fixed rate compared to 74% floating rate last quarter. This represents an important milestone as we have now exceeded our target of more than 75% floating rate liabilities. We intend to continue optimizing our liability mix to reduce potential asset liability mismatches.

With that, I will turn the call back over to John.

John Kline

Thank you, Laura. In closing, we would like to thank all of our stakeholders for the ongoing partnership, and we look forward to speaking to you again on our fourth quarter 2026 earnings call in February.

I will now turn things back to the operator to begin Q&A. Operator?

Operator

[Operator Instructions] We'll take our first question from Robert Dodd with Raymond James.

分析師問答

Robert Dodd

A couple of questions. So I mean, 1 of the things you pointed out, obviously, you're seeking monetizations on the equity, which has been a theme. And yes, it takes a while. Does -- is the market just extremely uncooperative right now? I mean, to your point, M&A activity in general is down substantially. I mean, is it -- is it realistic that we're only going to see these monetizations and rotation to income producing assets. If the market is substantively more cooperative?

Or is it just -- I mean, obviously, these are case-by-case assets, but still the market doesn't seem to be helping you out here. So is that what we need to look for that be more optimistic if the market picks up that, that monetization could actually happen otherwise sit back and be patient.

Laura Holson

I don't think it's so directly tied to the overall volume of M&A environment. Certainly, a more robust M&A environment is more constructive, of course, but it's not like there's no M&A happening right now. I think, in some of our prepared remarks, we talked about seeing steady opportunities for us in direct lending. And so I think that is a result of kind of steady M&A activity, which is not as robust as maybe we've seen in years past. I think it's most important, how the underlying companies are performing.

That's really what we've been focused on, and as Steve talked about in his remarks, we feel like those underlying companies are performing well. So I think that's a good place to start. And then we'll, obviously, as John said, I have to be a little bit patient to just find the right opportunities. But overall, we don't think that we need to wait for a prolific M&A environment in order to execute some of those strategic priorities.

Robert Dodd

Got it. Sort of related follow-on. I mean, as you point out, there's a lot of cross currents out there right now and later now seem to be on the way back up, which would be positive earnings if there's no secondary effects. When we look at the -- obviously, 1 of your larger markdowns on the credit side, this quarter was decadent. That's been a theme in the space, not just you. There's a lot of dental that's been having issues. There's a lot of veterinary and you've got exposure there as well.

Is there an issue that with how the consumer is right now mixed messages there as well. Is there an issue that there's only so much pricing power some of these businesses, be it dental or veterinary or others can pass through to a consumer but their cost structure and their interest expenses are still going through the same pressures. And so are we just going to see more and more of those kind of consumer sort of thought to be more robust businesses, but ones that have passed through the pricing power they can? Are we just going to see more and more problems on -- in that kind of segment of your and frankly other people's portfolio?

John Kline

Sure. It's a great question. And from what we see is across the consumer is a bit of weakness on the low end and strength on the higher end. In general, when we think about the consumer exposure we have in NMFC, we think it's more on the defensive side because it's not overly discretionary. When we think about PET, we have some first lien exposure to veterinarian pet and in general, we think that while there's some discretionary aspects, it's relatively stable from a top line perspective even in a weaker consumer environment. So we feel okay about that.

On the dental side, I think the issues are less consumer and more operational and so any dental exposure that we have would be very focused on making sure the operations are running as smoothly and crisply as possible. And then just more broadly, when we think about the rest of our portfolio, the only other area that I can think of where there's material consumer exposure would be car wash, which we see as being pretty low ticket, and pretty stable when we look at the best car wash platforms out there, and we think we have good exposure to that niche. So that would be the way I would answer it.

Operator

We'll move to our next question from Ethan Kaye with Lucid Capital Markets.

Ethan Kaye

You indicated there's some improving performance across some of the larger portfolio positions, which I think you just touched on. But I mean, can you kind of elaborate on that any further? And does that kind of change the pressure or like time line maybe with which you look to exit these positions?

John Kline

I would say it's supportive of the time line that we seek to exit some of these positions. So I just think, as Laura said, it's good that we have momentum in some of our larger positions, some of our pick yielding positions, some of our equity positions. And we think that will give us an opportunity to exit at a good value.

Ethan Kaye

Okay. And then I noticed there was a bit of a decline in income from the senior loan programs and the net lease. Can you just talk about maybe what drove that this quarter?

Laura Holson

Sure. Yes. I mean these vehicles generally produce pretty consistent income we find, but there is a little bit of volatility quarter-to-quarter just based on underlying realizations or activity at those funds themselves. So we would expect to see a little bit of movement quarter-over-quarter. So nothing in particular that I would call out, just normal quarter-to-quarter volatility.

Operator

[Operator Instructions] It appears there are no further questions at this time. I'd like to turn the conference back over to John for any additional or closing remarks.

John Kline

Great. Well, thank you, everyone, for joining our third quarter call, and we look forward to speaking to you again in the new year. Thank you.

Operator

This concludes today's call. Thank you again for your participation. You may now disconnect, and have a great day.