Marubeni and ExxonMobil’s Low-Carbon Ammonia Deal Marks Major Step in Unleashing New Energy Supply

Marubeni and ExxonMobil’s Low-Carbon Ammonia Deal Marks Major Step in Unleashing New Energy Supply

  • ExxonMobil will supply approximately 250,000 tonnes of low-carbon ammonia annually on a long-term basis to Marubeni
  • The deal will drive new energy supply, support jobs, and strengthen U.S. and Japanese industrial cooperation

SPRING, Texas & TOKYO–(BUSINESS WIRE)–
Marubeni Corporation (Marubeni) and Exxon Mobil Corporation (ExxonMobil) (NYSE: XOM) have signed a long-term offtake agreement for approximately 250,000 tonnes of low-carbon ammonia per year from ExxonMobil’s facility in Baytown, Texas, which is expected to produce virtually carbon-free hydrogen with approximately 98% of CO2 removed and low-carbon ammonia. Marubeni will supply the ammonia mainly to Kobe Power Plant, a fully owned subsidiary of Kobe Steel, Ltd. (Kobe Steel). Marubeni has also agreed to acquire an equity stake in ExxonMobil’s low-carbon hydrogen and ammonia facility.

ExxonMobil’s facility is expected to be the world’s largest of its kind upon startup, capable of producing up to 1 billion cubic feet (bcf) daily of low-carbon hydrogen, which is virtually carbon-free1, and more than 1 million tons of low-carbon ammonia per year. Contingent on ongoing supportive government policy and necessary regulatory permits, a final investment decision is expected in 2025.

“This is another positive step forward for our landmark project,” said Barry Engle, president of ExxonMobil Low Carbon Solutions. “By using American-produced natural gas we can boost global energy supply, support Japan’s decarbonization goals and create jobs at home. Our strong relationship with Marubeni sets the stage for delivering low-carbon ammonia from the U.S. to Japan for years to come.”

“Marubeni will take this first step together with ExxonMobil in the aim of establishing a global low-carbon ammonia supply chain for Japan through the supply of low-carbon ammonia to the Kobe Power Plant,” said Yoshiaki Yokota, Senior Managing Executive Officer, Member of Corporate Management Committee, Supervisor of Energy & Chemicals Div. and Power & Infrastructure Services Div., Marubeni Corporation. “Additionally, we aim to collaborate beyond this supply chain and strive towards the launch of a global market for low-carbon ammonia. We hope to continue to actively cooperate with ExxonMobil, with a view of utilizing this experience and relationship we have built to strategically decarbonize our power projects in Japan and Southeast Asia in the near future.”

By Japan’s fiscal year 2030, Kobe Power Plant aims to co-fire low-carbon ammonia with existing fuel, reducing CO2 emissions. Through this supply chain, Marubeni aims to assist the decarbonization of not only Japan’s power sector but also its hard-to-abate sectors, such as the steel manufacturing industry, chemical industry, transportation industry and others.

About Marubeni:

Company Name: Marubeni Corporation

Head Office: 4-2, Ohtemachi 1-chome, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo

Establishment: December 1949

Representative: Masayuki Omoto (President and CEO)

Main Business: Marubeni Corporation and its consolidated subsidiaries use their broad business networks, both within Japan and overseas, to conduct importing and exporting (including third country trading), as well as domestic business, encompassing a diverse range of business activities across wide-ranging fields including lifestyle, food & agri business, metals & mineral resources, energy & chemicals, power & infrastructure services, finance, leasing & real estate business, aerospace & mobility, next generation business development and next generation corporate development. Additionally, the Marubeni Group offers a variety of services, makes internal and external investments, and is involved in resource development throughout all of the above industries.

Website: https://www.marubeni.com/en/

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About ExxonMobil:

ExxonMobil, one of the largest publicly traded international energy and petrochemical companies, creates solutions that improve quality of life and meet society’s evolving needs.

The corporation’s primary businesses – Upstream, Product Solutions and Low Carbon Solutions – provide products that enable modern life, including energy, chemicals, lubricants, and lower emissions technologies. ExxonMobil holds an industry-leading portfolio of resources, and is one of the largest integrated fuels, lubricants, and chemical companies in the world. ExxonMobil also owns and operates the largest CO2 pipeline network in the United States. In 2021, ExxonMobil announced Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emission-reduction plans for 2030 for operated assets, compared to 2016 levels. The plans are to achieve a 20-30% reduction in corporate-wide greenhouse gas intensity; a 40-50% reduction in greenhouse gas intensity of upstream operations; a 70-80% reduction in corporate-wide methane intensity; and a 60-70% reduction in corporate-wide flaring intensity.

With advancements in technology and the support of clear and consistent government policies, ExxonMobil aims to achieve net-zero Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions from its operated assets by 2050. To learn more, visit exxonmobil.com and ExxonMobil’s Advancing Climate Solutions.

Follow us on LinkedInor contact +1(737) 272-1452

Cautionary Statement

Statements of future events, investments, contractual obligations, or partnerships in this release are forward-looking statements. Actual future results, including final investment decisions, project plans, partner participation, timing, capacities, and costs could differ materially depending on a number of factors including the ability to execute operational objectives on a timely and successful basis; implementation of U.S. and Japanese government frameworks for capture and storage, hydrogen, ammonia and other lower-emission technologies; U.S. permitting policies, processes and timing; timely completion of construction projects; commercial and consumer interest in lower-emissions opportunities; changes in plans or objectives prior to final funding decisions or project startups; unforeseen technical or operational difficulties; and other factors discussed under the heading Factors Affecting Future Results in the Investors section of our website at www.exxonmobil.com. Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date of this press release and the companies named herein disclaim any obligation to update any forward-looking statement.

1References to virtually carbon-free hydrogen pertain to hydrogen expected to be produced at ExxonMobil’s Baytown, TX facility, where approximately 98% of CO2 is removed and permanently stored.

Media Relations

(737) 272-1452

 

 

KEYWORDS: United States Japan North America Asia Pacific Texas

INDUSTRY KEYWORDS: Manufacturing Other Energy Transport Green Technology Oil/Gas Steel Logistics/Supply Chain Management Alternative Energy Environment Energy Chemicals/Plastics

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PROG Holdings, Inc. Declares Dividend

PROG Holdings, Inc. Declares Dividend

SALT LAKE CITY–(BUSINESS WIRE)–
PROG Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:PRG), the fintech holding company for Progressive Leasing, Vive Financial, Four Technologies, and Build, announced today its Board of Directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.13 per share of common stock, payable on June 3, 2025, to shareholders of record as of the close of business on May 20, 2025.

About PROG Holdings, Inc.

PROG Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:PRG) is a fintech holding company headquartered in Salt Lake City, UT, that provides transparent and competitive payment options and inclusive consumer financial products. The Company owns Progressive Leasing, a leading provider of e-commerce, app-based, and in-store point-of-sale lease-to-own solutions, Vive Financial, an omnichannel provider of second-look revolving credit products, Four Technologies, provider of Buy Now, Pay Later payment options through its platform Four, and Build, provider of personal credit building products. More information on PROG Holdings’ companies can be found at https://www.progholdings.com.

Investor Contact

John A. Baugh, CFA

VP, Investor Relations

[email protected]

KEYWORDS: United States North America Utah

INDUSTRY KEYWORDS: Banking Fintech Professional Services Finance

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SunOpta Announces First Quarter Fiscal 2025 Financial Results

SunOpta Announces First Quarter Fiscal 2025 Financial Results

Revenue from continuing operations increased 9% to $202 million, driven by continued volume growth

Earnings from continuing operations of $4.8 million compared to $3.8 million in the prior year

Adjusted EBITDA from continuing operations increased 2% to $22.4 million

Adjusted EPS of $0.04 compared to $0.02 in the prior year

Share Repurchase Authorization of up to $25 million

Raising 2025 outlook

MINNEAPOLIS–(BUSINESS WIRE)–
SunOpta Inc. (“SunOpta” or the “Company”) (Nasdaq:STKL) (TSX:SOY), the company that delivers customized supply chain solutions and innovation for top brands, retailers and foodservice providers across a broad portfolio of beverages, broths and better-for-you snacks today announced financial results for the first quarter ended March 29, 2025.

All amounts are expressed in U.S. dollars and results are reported in accordance with U.S. GAAP, except where specifically noted.

First quarter 2025 highlights:

  • Revenues of $201.6 million increased 9.3% compared to $184.4 million in the prior year period, driven by 12.2% volume growth partially offset by a 1.7% price reduction for pass-through raw material cost savings
  • Earnings from continuing operations of $4.8 million compared to $3.8 million in the prior year period
  • Adjusted earnings¹ from continuing operations of $5.3 million compared to $1.9 million in the prior year period
  • Adjusted earnings per share¹ from continuing operations of $0.04 compared to $0.02 in the prior year period
  • Adjusted EBITDA¹ from continuing operations increased 2.4% to $22.4 million, or 11.1% of revenues, compared to $21.9 million, or 11.9% of revenues, in the prior year period
  • Strong cash contribution from continuing operations of $22.3 million compared to $7.4 million in the prior year

“First quarter results exceeded our expectations, and we again delivered double-digit volume growth driven by broad-based gains across segments, products and customers,” said Brian Kocher, Chief Executive Officer of SunOpta. “Efforts to unlock latent capacity are ahead of schedule and our margin improvement initiatives are expected to deliver quarterly sequential margin increases throughout 2025. We are also seeing growth in our sales pipeline, reflecting incremental opportunities from both existing and potential new customers. In addition to our focus on improving margins, we remain tightly focused on optimizing cash flow and deleveraging – efforts that provide optionality and flexibility, positioning us to drive higher returns and long-term value for shareholders.”

First Quarter 2025 Results

Revenues increased 9.3% to $201.6 million for the first quarter of 2025. The increase was driven by favorable volume/mix of 12.2%, partially offset by a price reduction of 1.7% due to the pass through of certain raw material cost savings, together with a 1.3% impact related to our exit from the smoothie bowls category in March 2024. Growth in volume/mix reflected volume increases for plant-based beverages, broth and fruit snacks.

Gross profit decreased by $0.8 million, or 2.4%, to $30.3 million for the first quarter, compared to $31.1 million in the prior year period. As a percentage of revenues, gross profit margin was 15.0% compared to 16.8% in the first quarter of 2024. Adjusted gross margin¹ was 15.3% compared to 17.0% in the first quarter of 2024. The 170-basis point decrease reflects investments in talent and infrastructure to improve long-term margins, the inefficiencies related to temporary volume limitations resulting from the excess wastewater issue at our Midlothian, Texas, facility, and incremental depreciation related to assets recently placed in service but not fully utilized as production ramps up. These factors were partially offset by higher sales and production volumes for beverages, broths and fruit snacks driving improved plant utilization.

Operating income was $10.5 million up from $10.1 million in the first quarter of 2024, reflecting lower stock-based compensation in the first quarter of 2025, partially offset by a non-recurring gain on the sale of the smoothie bowl product line in the first quarter of 2024, together with lower gross profit.

Earnings from continuing operations were $4.8 million for the first quarter of 2025 compared with earnings of $3.8 million in the prior year period. Diluted earnings per share from continuing operations attributable to common shareholders (after accretion on preferred stock) was $0.04 for the first quarter compared with diluted earnings per share of $0.03 in the prior year period (after dividends and accretion on preferred stock).

Adjusted earnings¹ from continuing operations were $5.3 million or $0.04 per diluted share in the first quarter of 2025 compared to adjusted earnings from continuing operations of $1.9 million or $0.02 per diluted share in the first quarter of 2024.

Adjusted EBITDA¹ from continuing operations was $22.4 million in the first quarter of 2025 compared to $21.9 million in the first quarter of 2024.

Please refer to the discussion and table below under “Non-GAAP Measures”.

Balance Sheet and Cash Flow

As of March 29, 2025, SunOpta had total assets of $690.7 million and total debt of $260.6 million compared to total assets of $668.5 million and total debt of $265.2 million at year end fiscal 2024. During the first quarter of fiscal 2025, cash provided by operating activities of continuing operations was $22.3 million compared to $7.4 million during the first quarter of 2024. The increase in cash provided from operating activities mainly reflected improved working capital efficiency. Investing activities of continuing operations consumed $15.2 million of cash during the first quarter of fiscal 2025 compared to $4.2 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2024, reflecting higher capital expenditures, intangible asset purchase of increased wastewater allowance together with the non-recurring proceeds from the sale of the smoothie bowl product line in 2024. Leverage was 2.9x, compared to 3.0x at the end of fiscal 2024 and we continue to expect to be at our 2.5x leverage target by the end of 2025.

Capital Allocation Priorities and Share Repurchase Authorization

Our capital allocation priorities are to achieve our leverage target of 2.5 times, followed by investing in growth capex, with the third priority being returning capital to shareholders. While our immediate plans are to achieve our 2.5x leverage target, since we currently do not envision needing growth capex in 2025, we would like to be positioned for opportunistic share repurchases if we are trending ahead of plan and have excess cash available while still being able to meet our leverage target. Accordingly, on May 5, 2025, the Company’s board of directors approved a share repurchase program, authorizing the Company to purchase up to an aggregate $25 million of the Company’s common shares. The size and timing of repurchases, if any, will be determined by the Company’s management and will depend upon a multitude of factors, including the Company’s progress towards its leverage target, financial position, capital allocation priorities, market conditions, regulatory requirements and other considerations.

Tariffs

Tariffs continue to be an evolving situation that we continue to monitor. While our employees, production facilities, and customers are predominately located in the U.S. (in 2024, 98% of revenue was to U.S. based customers), we source a portion of our raw material ingredients and packaging globally, and a portion of our fruit snack products are imported into the U.S. from our Niagara, Ontario, facility. In response to these tariffs, we started communications with our customers at the beginning of the year and we intend to pass-through substantially all the incremental costs to our customers, similar to our pass-through pricing of raw material cost increases.

2025 Outlook2

For fiscal 2025, the Company is raising its outlook reflecting the strong first quarter and continues to expect strong growth in revenue and adjusted EBITDA:

($ millions)

Prior Outlook

 

 

Revised

Outlook

Revenue

$

775 – 805

 

$

788 – 805

Adj. EBITDA

$

97 – 103

 

$

99 – 103

Revenue Growth

 

7% – 11%

 

 

9% – 11%

Adj. EBITDA growth

 

9% – 16%

 

 

12% – 16%

We expect to pass-through substantially all incremental costs due to tariffs to our customers and do not expect a material impact on Adjusted EBITDA. However, there could be an increase in revenue and decrease in gross margin and adjusted EBITDA margin simply due to the pass through of the incremental tariff costs which is not reflected in the outlook above.

Kocher continued, “Based on the Q1 results and the notable increase in our sales pipeline, I’m very confident in our 2025 outlook and in achieving 2026 revenue and adjusted EBITDA growth rates that approximate the midpoints of our long-term algorithm of 10% and 15%, respectively.”

Conference Call

SunOpta plans to host a conference call at 5:30 P.M. Eastern time on Wednesday, May 7, 2025, to discuss the first quarter financial results. After prepared remarks, there will be a question and answer period. Investors interested in listening to the live webcast can access a link on SunOpta’s website at www.sunopta.com under the “Investor Relations” section or directly. A replay of the webcast will be archived and can be accessed for approximately 90 days on the Company’s website.

This call may be accessed with the toll free dial-in number (800) 715-9871 or international dial-in number (646) 307-1963 using Conference ID: 8323651.

The quarterly earnings presentation, including the long-term grow algorithm and capital allocation priorities, can be accessed through the live webcast referenced above, and on SunOpta’s website at www.sunopta.com under the “Investor Relations” section or directly.

¹ See discussion of non-GAAP measures

2 The Company has included certain forward-looking statements about the future financial performance that include non-GAAP financial measures, including Adjusted EBITDA. These non–GAAP financial measures are derived by excluding certain amounts, expenses or income, from the corresponding financial measures determined in accordance with GAAP. The determination of the amounts that are excluded from these non-GAAP financial measures is a matter of management judgment and depends upon, among other factors, the nature of the underlying expense or income amounts recognized in a given period. We are unable to present a quantitative reconciliation of the aforementioned forward-looking non-GAAP financial measures to their most directly comparable forward-looking GAAP financial measures because management cannot reliably predict all the necessary components of such GAAP measures. Historically, management has excluded the following items from certain of these non-GAAP measures, and such items may also be excluded in future periods and could be significant amounts.

  • Expenses related to the acquisition or divestiture of a business, including business development costs, impairment of assets, integration costs, severance, retention costs and transaction costs;
  • Charges associated with restructuring and cost saving initiatives, including but not limited to asset impairments, accelerated depreciation, severance costs and lease abandonment charges;
  • Asset impairment charges and facility closure costs;
  • Legal settlements or awards; and
  • The tax effect of the above items.

About SunOpta

SunOpta (Nasdaq: STKL) (TSX: SOY) delivers customized supply chain solutions and innovation for top brands, retailers and foodservice providers across a broad portfolio of beverages, broths and better-for-you snacks. With over 50 years of expertise, SunOpta fuels customers’ growth with high-quality, sustainability-forward solutions distributed through retail, club, foodservice and e-commerce channels across North America. For more information, visit www.sunopta.com or follow us on LinkedIn.

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements included in this press release may be considered “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and applicable Canadian securities legislation, which are based on information available to us on the date of this release. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, our intention to maintain our disciplined financial approach to deliver sustainable gross margin improvement and continue to generate significant free cash flow, our expectation to continue de-levering our balance sheet and drive increasing returns on invested capital, share repurchases, our expectations to recover tariff impacts through pass-through pricing, and our anticipated Revenue, Adjusted EBITDA, Revenue growth and Adjusted EBITDA growth for fiscal 2025. Generally, forward-looking statements do not relate strictly to historical or current facts and are typically accompanied by words such as “potential”, “expect”, “believe”, “anticipate”, “estimates”, “can”, “will”, “target”, “should”, “would”, “plans”, “continue”, “becoming”, “intend”, “confident”, “may”, “project”, “intention”, “might”, “predict”, “budget”, “forecast” or other similar terms and phrases intended to identify these forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based on information available to the Company on the date of this release and are based on estimates and assumptions made by the Company in light of its experience and its perception of historical trends, current conditions and expected future developments including, but not limited to, the Company’s actual financial results; uninterrupted operations and service levels to our customers; current customer demand for the Company’s products; general economic conditions; continued consumer interest in health and wellness; the Company’s ability to maintain product pricing levels; planned facility and operational expansions, closures and divestitures; cost rationalization and product development initiatives; alternative potential uses for the Company’s capital resources; portfolio optimization and productivity efforts; the sustainability of the Company’s sales pipeline; the Company’s expectations regarding commodity pricing, margins and hedging results; procurement and logistics savings; freight lane cost reductions; yield and throughput enhancements; labor cost reductions; and the terms of our insurance policies. Whether actual timing and results will agree with expectations and predictions of the Company is subject to many risks and uncertainties including, but not limited to, potential loss of suppliers and customers as well as the possibility of supply chain, logistics and other disruptions; unexpected issues or delays with the Company’s structural improvements and automation investments; failure or inability to implement portfolio changes, process improvements, go-to-market improvements and process sustainability strategies in a timely manner; changes in the level of capital investment; local and global political and economic conditions; consumer spending patterns and changes in market trends; decreases in customer demand; delayed or unsuccessful product development efforts; potential product recalls; working capital management; availability and pricing of raw materials and supplies; potential covenant breaches under the Company’s credit facilities; the impact of the imposition of tariffs, including increases in food prices and inflation, and any resulting negative impacts on the macro-economic environment; and other risks described from time to time under “Risk Factors” in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K and its Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q (available at www.sec.gov). Consequently, all forward-looking statements made herein are qualified by these cautionary statements and there can be no assurance that the actual results or developments anticipated by the Company will be realized. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly correct or update the forward-looking statements in this document, in other documents, or on its website to reflect future events or circumstances, except as may be required under applicable securities laws.

SunOpta Inc.

 

 

Consolidated Statements of Operations

 

 

For the quarters ended March 29, 2025 and March 30, 2024

(Unaudited)

 

 

(All dollar amounts expressed in thousands of U.S. dollars, except per share amounts)

 

 

 

 

Quarter ended

 

March 29, 2025

March 30, 2024

 

$

$

 

 

 

 

 

 

Revenues

201,628

 

184,422

 

Cost of goods sold

171,309

 

153,370

 

 

Gross profit

30,319

 

31,052

 

Selling, general and administrative expenses

19,196

 

22,334

 

Intangible asset amortization

446

 

446

 

Other expense (income), net

75

 

(1,800

)

Foreign exchange loss (gain)

115

 

(51

)

 

Operating income

10,487

 

10,123

 

Interest expense, net

5,107

 

6,050

 

Other non-operating expense

422

 

 

 

Earnings from continuing operations before income taxes

4,958

 

4,073

 

Income tax expense

147

 

277

 

 

Earnings from continuing operations

4,811

 

3,796

 

Net loss from discontinued operations

 

(917

)

 

Net earnings

4,811

 

2,879

 

Dividends and accretion on preferred stock

(140

)

(433

)

Earnings attributable to common shareholders

4,671

 

2,446

 

 

 

 

Basic and diluted earnings (loss) per share

 

 

Earnings from continuing operations attributable to common shareholders

0.04

 

0.03

 

Loss from discontinued operations

 

(0.01

)

Earnings attributable to common shareholders

0.04

 

0.02

 

 

 

 

Weighted-average common shares outstanding (000s)

 

 

Basic

117,201

 

116,033

 

Diluted

125,007

 

117,558

 

SunOpta Inc.

 

 

Consolidated Balance Sheets

 

 

As at March 29, 2025 and December 28, 2024

 

 

(Unaudited)

 

 

(All dollar amounts expressed in thousands of U.S. dollars)

 

 

 

 

 

March 29, 2025

December 28, 2024

 

$

$

 

 

 

ASSETS

 

 

Current assets

 

 

Cash and cash equivalents

2,299

 

1,552

 

Accounts receivable

64,099

 

46,314

 

Inventories

99,407

 

92,798

 

Prepaid expenses and other current assets

15,189

 

14,680

 

Income taxes recoverable

696

 

4,114

 

Total current assets

181,690

 

159,458

 

 

 

 

Restricted cash

7,442

 

7,460

 

Property, plant and equipment, net

343,465

 

343,618

 

Operating lease right-of-use assets

103,323

 

105,692

 

Intangible assets, net

22,566

 

20,077

 

Goodwill

3,998

 

3,998

 

Other long-term assets

28,201

 

28,224

 

Total assets

690,685

 

668,527

 

 

 

 

LIABILITIES

 

 

Current liabilities

 

 

Accounts payable

113,649

 

93,362

 

Accrued liabilities

21,501

 

17,876

 

Notes payable

9,772

 

11,110

 

Income taxes payable

670

 

638

 

Current portion of long-term debt

28,429

 

29,393

 

Current portion of operating lease liabilities

16,835

 

17,055

 

Total current liabilities

190,856

 

169,434

 

 

 

 

Long-term debt

232,153

 

235,798

 

Operating lease liabilities

97,348

 

99,328

 

Deferred income taxes

325

 

325

 

Total liabilities

520,682

 

504,885

 

 

 

 

Series B-1 Preferred Stock

15,188

 

15,048

 

 

 

 

SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY

 

 

Common shares

472,763

 

471,792

 

Additional paid-in capital

31,354

 

30,775

 

Accumulated deficit

(351,311

)

(355,982

)

Accumulated other comprehensive income

2,009

 

2,009

 

Total shareholders’ equity

154,815

 

148,594

 

Total liabilities and shareholders’ equity

690,685

 

668,527

 

SunOpta Inc.

 

 

 

Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows

 

 

 

For the quarters ended March 29, 2025 and March 30, 2024

 

(Unaudited)

 

 

 

(Expressed in thousands of U.S. dollars)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Quarters ended

 

 

March 29, 2025

March 30, 2024

 

 

$

$

 

 

 

 

CASH PROVIDED BY (USED IN)

 

 

 

Operating activities

 

 

 

Net earnings

 

4,811

 

2,879

 

Net loss from discontinued operations

 

 

(917

)

Earnings from continuing operations

 

4,811

 

3,796

 

Items not affecting cash:

 

 

 

Depreciation and amortization

 

9,726

 

8,576

 

Amortization of debt issuance costs

 

249

 

229

 

Stock-based compensation

 

1,543

 

4,645

 

Gain on sale of smoothie bowls product line

 

 

(1,800

)

Other

 

(97

)

(97

)

Changes in operating assets and liabilities, net of divestitures

 

6,049

 

(7,947

)

Net cash provided by operating activities of continuing operations

 

22,281

 

7,402

 

Net cash used in operating activities of discontinued operations

 

 

(2,133

)

 

Net cash provided by operating activities

 

22,281

 

5,269

 

 

Investing activities

 

 

 

Additions to property, plant and equipment

 

(12,735

)

(7,548

)

Addition to intangible assets

 

(2,419

)

 

Proceeds from sale of smoothie bowls product line

 

 

3,336

 

Net cash used in investing activities of continuing operations

 

(15,154

)

(4,212

)

Net cash provided by investing activities of discontinued operations

 

 

6,300

 

Net cash provided by (used in) investing activities

 

(15,154

)

2,088

 

 

Financing activities

 

 

 

Increase (decrease) in borrowings under revolving credit facilities

 

(1,437

)

250

 

Repayment of long-term debt

 

(12,115

)

(4,782

)

Borrowings of long-term debt

 

8,485

 

 

Proceeds from notes payable

 

41,750

 

33,424

 

Repayment of notes payable

 

(43,088

)

(34,373

)

Proceeds from the exercise of stock options and employee share purchases

 

368

 

314

 

Payment of withholding taxes on stock-based awards

 

(361

)

(86

)

Payment of cash dividends on preferred stock

 

 

(305

)

Net cash used in financing activities of continuing operations

 

(6,398

)

(5,558

)

 

Increase in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash in the period

 

729

 

1,799

 

Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash, beginning of the period

 

9,012

 

8,754

 

 

Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash, end of the period

 

9,741

 

10,553

 

Non-GAAP Measures

Adjusted Gross Margin

Gross margin is a measure of gross profit (equal to revenues less cost of goods sold) as a percentage of revenues. The Company uses a measure of adjusted gross margin that excludes unusual items that are identified and evaluated on an individual basis, which due to their nature or size, the Company would not expect to occur as part of its normal business on a regular basis. The Company uses the measure of adjusted gross margin to evaluate the underlying profitability of its revenue-generating activities within each reporting period. The Company believes that disclosing this non-GAAP measure provides users with a meaningful, consistent comparison of its profitability measure for the periods presented. However, the non-GAAP measure of adjusted gross margin should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for gross margin calculated based on gross profit determined in accordance with U.S. GAAP.

The following table presents a reconciliation of adjusted gross margin from reported gross margin calculated in accordance with U.S. GAAP.

 

Revenues

Cost of Goods Sold

Gross Profit

First Quarter Ended

$

$

$

March 29, 2025

 

 

 

As reported

201,628

171,309

 

30,319

 

Adjustments:

 

 

 

Wastewater haul-off charges(a)

(543

)

543

 

As adjusted

201,628

170,766

 

30,862

 

 

 

 

 

Reported gross margin

 

 

15.0

%

Adjusted gross margin

 

 

15.3

%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Revenues

Cost of Goods Sold

Gross Profit

First Quarter Ended

$

$

$

March 30, 2024

 

 

 

As reported

184,422

153,370

 

31,052

 

Adjustments:

 

 

 

Start-up costs(b)

(327

)

327

 

As adjusted

184,422

153,043

 

31,379

 

 

 

 

 

Reported gross margin

 

 

16.8

%

Adjusted gross margin

 

 

17.0

%

Adjusted Earnings and Adjusted EBITDA from continuing operations

In addition to reporting financial results in accordance with U.S. GAAP, the Company provides additional information about its operating results regarding adjusted earnings and adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (“Adjusted EBITDA”) from continuing operations, which are not measures in accordance with U.S. GAAP. The Company believes that adjusted earnings and adjusted EBITDA from continuing operations assist investors in comparing performance across reporting periods on a consistent basis by excluding items that management believes are not indicative of its operating performance. These non-GAAP measures are presented solely to allow investors to more fully assess the Company’s results of operations and should not be considered in isolation of, or as substitutes for, an analysis of the Company’s results as reported under U.S. GAAP.

The following are tabular presentations of adjusted earnings and adjusted EBITDA from continuing operations, including a reconciliation from loss from continuing operations, which the Company believes to be the most directly comparable U.S. GAAP financial measure.

 

First Quarter Ended

 

March 29, 2025

March 30, 2024

 

 

Per Share

 

Per Share

 

$

$

$

$

Earnings from continuing operations

4,811

 

 

3,796

 

 

Dividends and accretion on preferred stock

(140

)

 

(433

)

 

Earnings from continuing operations attributable to common shareholders

4,671

 

0.04

3,363

 

0.03

Adjusted for:

 

 

 

 

Wastewater haul-off charges(a)

543

 

 

 

 

Start-up costs(b)

 

 

327

 

 

Other(c)

94

 

 

 

 

Gain on sale of smoothie bowls product line(d)

 

 

(1,800

)

 

Adjusted earnings from continuing operations

5,308

 

0.04

1,890

 

0.02

 

First Quarter Ended

 

March 29, 2025

 

March 30, 2024

 

$

 

$

Earnings from continuing operations

4,811

 

3,796

 

Interest expense, net

5,107

 

6,050

 

Loss on sale of receivables*

422

 

 

Income tax expense

147

 

277

 

Depreciation and amortization

9,726

 

8,576

 

Stock-based compensation

1,543

 

4,645

 

Adjusted for:

 

 

 

Wastewater haul-off charges(a)

543

 

 

Start-up costs(b)

 

327

 

Other(c)

94

 

 

Gain on sale of smoothie bowls product line(d)

 

(1,800

)

Adjusted EBITDA from continuing operations

22,393

 

21,871

 

 

 

 

 

* Included in other non-operating expense.

 

 

 

Footnotes

(a)

For the first quarter of 2025, reflects temporary third-party haul-off charges for excess wastewater produced at our Midlothian, Texas, facility due to volume constraints within our current treatment system.

(b)

For the first quarter of 2024, start-up costs mainly related to the scale-up of production at our plant-based beverage facility in Midlothian, Texas.

(c)

For the first quarter of 2025, other reflects an unrealized foreign exchange loss associated with peso-denominated restricted cash held in Mexico and an unrelated legal settlement, which are recorded in foreign exchange loss and other expense, respectively.

(d)

For the first quarter of 2024, reflects the pre-tax gain on sale of the smoothie bowls product line, which is recorded in other income.

 

Investor Relations:

Reed Anderson

ICR

646-277-1260

[email protected]

Media Relations:

Claudine Galloway

SunOpta

952-295-9579

[email protected]

KEYWORDS: United States North America Canada Minnesota

INDUSTRY KEYWORDS: Supply Chain Management Restaurant/Bar Sustainability Supermarket Agriculture Food/Beverage Natural Resources Environment Organic Food Retail Transport Logistics/Supply Chain Management

MEDIA:

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Granite Announces 2025 First Quarter Results

Granite Announces 2025 First Quarter Results

TORONTO–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Granite Real Estate Investment Trust (TSX: GRT.UN; NYSE: GRP.U) (“Granite” or the “Trust”) announced today its condensed consolidated combined results for the three month period ended March 31, 2025.

FIRST QUARTER 2025 HIGHLIGHTS

Highlights for the three month period ended March 31, 2025 are set out below:

Financial:

  • Granite’s net operating income (“NOI”) was $125.7 million in the first quarter of 2025 compared to $114.5 million in the prior year period, an increase of $11.2 million primarily as a result of contractual rent adjustments and consumer price index based increases, renewal and re-leasing activity, and the lease commencement of four completed development and expansion projects in Canada, the United States and Netherlands during 2024;
  • Same property NOI – cash basis(4) increased by 4.7% for the first quarter of 2025, excluding the impact of foreign exchange;
  • Funds from operations (“FFO”)(1) was $91.0 million ($1.46 per unit) in the first quarter of 2025 compared to $82.4 million ($1.30 per unit) in the first quarter of 2024;
  • Adjusted funds from operations (“AFFO”)(2) was $88.4 million ($1.41 per unit) in the first quarter of 2025 compared to $77.9 million ($1.22 per unit) in the first quarter of 2024;
  • During the three month period ended March 31, 2025, the Canadian dollar weakened against the Euro and the US dollar relative to the prior year period. The impact of foreign exchange on FFO and AFFO for the three month period ended March 31, 2025, relative to the same period in 2024, was favourable by $0.07 per unit for each measure;
  • AFFO payout ratio(3) was 60% for the first quarter of 2025 compared to 67% in the first quarter of 2024;
  • Occupancy as at March 31, 2025 was 94.8%, with committed occupancy as at May 7, 2025 also at 94.8%, a decrease of 10 basis points and 20 basis points relative to December 31, 2024 and February 26, 2025, respectively;
  • Granite recognized $48.2 million in net fair value losses on investment properties in the first quarter of 2025 mostly related to higher discount rates across select properties in all regions. The value of investment properties was increased by unrealized foreign exchange gains of $83.5 million in the first quarter of 2025 primarily resulting from the relative weakening of the Canadian dollar against the Euro, partially offset by the slight strengthening of the Canadian dollar against the US dollar as at March 31, 2025; and
  • Granite’s net income attributable to unitholders in the first quarter of 2025 was $43.9 million in comparison to $89.1 million in the prior year period primarily due to an unfavourable change in the fair value adjustment on investment properties of $60.9 million, partially offset by an $11.2 million increase in net operating income as noted above, and a $4.1 million decrease in income tax expense.

Operations:

  • During the first quarter of 2025, Granite achieved average rental rate spreads of 10% over expiring rents representing approximately 736,000 square feet of new leases and renewals taking effect in the quarter; and
  • In April 2025, a subsidiary of Do it Best Corp. assumed True Value’s lease for Granite’s property at 12 Tradeport Road in Hanover Township, Pennsylvania for the remaining term of 15.9 years.

Financing:

  • During the first quarter of 2025, Granite repurchased 930,969 units under the normal course issuer bid (“NCIB”) at an average unit cost of $68.30 for total consideration of $63.6 million, excluding commissions and taxes on net repurchases of units;
  • Subsequent to March 31, 2025, Granite repurchased 497,300 units under the NCIB at an average unit cost of $63.42 for total consideration of $31.5 million, excluding commissions and taxes on net repurchases of units; and
  • On March 28, 2025, Granite amended its existing unsecured revolving credit facility agreement to extend the maturity date by one year for a new five-year term to March 31, 2030.

GRANITE’S FINANCIAL, OPERATING AND PROPERTY HIGHLIGHTS

Three Months Ended

March 31,

(in millions, except as noted)

 

2025

 

 

2024

 

Revenue

$

154.7

 

$

138.9

 

Net operating income (“NOI”)

$

125.7

 

$

114.5

 

Net income attributable to unitholders

$

43.9

 

$

89.1

 

Funds from operations (“FFO”)(1)

$

91.0

 

$

82.4

 

Adjusted funds from operations (“AFFO”)(2)

$

88.4

 

$

77.9

 

Diluted FFO per unit(1)

$

1.46

 

$

1.30

 

Diluted AFFO per unit(2)

$

1.41

 

$

1.22

 

Monthly distributions paid per unit

$

0.85

 

$

0.83

 

AFFO payout ratio(3)

 

60

%

 

67

%

 

 

 

As at March 31, 2025 and December 31, 2024

 

2025

 

 

2024

 

Fair value of investment properties

$

9,441.2

 

$

9,397.3

 

Cash and cash equivalents

$

123.1

 

$

126.2

 

Total debt(5)

$

3,162.1

 

$

3,087.8

 

Net leverage ratio(6)

 

32

%

 

32

%

Number of income-producing properties

 

138

 

 

138

 

Gross leasable area (“GLA”), square feet

 

63.3

 

 

63.3

 

Occupancy, by GLA

 

94.8

%

 

94.9

%

Committed occupancy, by GLA(9)

 

94.8

%

 

95.0

%

Magna as a percentage of annualized revenue(8)

 

27

%

 

26

%

Magna as a percentage of GLA

 

19

%

 

19

%

Weighted average lease term in years, by GLA

 

5.6

 

 

5.7

 

Overall capitalization rate(7)

 

5.4

%

 

5.3

%

A more detailed discussion of Granite’s condensed consolidated combined financial results for the three month periods ended March 31, 2025 and 2024 is contained in Granite’s Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Results of Operations and Financial Position (“MD&A”) and the unaudited condensed consolidated combined financial statements for those periods and the notes thereto, which are available through the internet on the Canadian Securities Administrators’ System for Electronic Data Analysis and Retrieval Plus (“SEDAR+”) and can be accessed at www.sedarplus.ca and on the United States Securities and Exchange Commission’s (the “SEC”) Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis and Retrieval System (“EDGAR”), which can be accessed at www.sec.gov.

2025 OUTLOOK

Granite is maintaining its 2025 guidance as presented on February 26, 2025. Granite’s current outlook does not significantly change assumptions relating to new leasing of vacant space which continues to be projected primarily later in the second half of 2025 and also reflects year to date financing and NCIB activity. Granite’s FFO per unit forecast represents an approximate 5% to 8% increase over 2024 and the AFFO per unit forecast represents a change of -1% to 2% over 2024 driven by higher maintenance capital expenditures relative to the prior year.

The high and low ranges of Granite’s forecast are driven by foreign currency exchange rate assumptions for the nine-month forecast period between April and December, 2025, which have been modified relative to guidance provided on February 26, 2025, reflecting a recent weakening of the Canadian dollar relative to the Euro offset by the strengthening of the Canadian dollar against the U.S. dollar.

The table below outlines Granite’s current forecast for the year ending December 31, 2025:

Measure

Current

Previously Published

EUR:CAD exchange rate (1)

1.52 to 1.58

1.45 to 1.50

USD:CAD exchange rate (1)

1.37 to 1.42

1.40 to 1.45

FFO per unit

no change

$5.70 to $5.85

AFFO per unit

no change

$4.80 to $4.95

Maintenance capital expenditures, tenant allowances and leasing commissions impacting AFFO

no change

$40.0 million

Constant currency same property NOI – cash basis, four quarter average

no change

4.5% to 6.0%

(1) Foreign exchange rate assumptions pertain to forecast period only of the respective outlook.

Granite’s 2025 forecast assumes no acquisitions and dispositions, and assumes no favourable reversals of tax provisions relating to prior years which cannot be determined at this time. Non-GAAP performance measures are included in Granite’s 2025 forecast above (see “NON-GAAP PERFORMANCE MEASURES”). See also “FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS”.

CONFERENCE CALL

Granite will hold a conference call and live audio webcast to discuss its financial results. The conference call will be chaired by Kevan Gorrie, President and Chief Executive Officer.

Date:

Thursday, May 8, 2025 at 11:00 a.m. (ET)

 

 

Telephone:

North America (Toll-Free):

1-800-549-8228

 

International (Toll):

1-289-819-1520

 

 

Conference ID/Passcode:

15227

 

 

Webcast:

To access the live audio webcast in listen-only mode, please visit

 

https://events.q4inc.com/attendee/860556702 or

 

https://granitereit.com/events.

To hear a replay of the webcast, please visit https://granitereit.com/events. The replay will be available for 90 days.

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING OF UNITHOLDERS

Granite’s Annual General Meeting of Unitholders (the “Meeting”) will take place on June 5, 2025 at 10:00 a.m. (ET) virtually by way of a live audio webcast. Unitholders can participate at the Meeting by joining the live audio webcast online at https://meetnow.global/MWDGPMW. Refer to the “Voting Information and General Proxy Matters” within Granite’s Management Information Circular/Proxy Statement for detailed instructions on how to vote at the Meeting. The webcast of the Meeting will be archived on our website following the conclusion of the Meeting. Please refer to the Annual Meetings page at www.granitereit.com for additional details on the virtual Meeting.

OTHER INFORMATION

Additional property statistics as at March 31, 2025 have been posted to our website at https://granitereit.com/property-statistics-q1-2025. Copies of financial data and other publicly filed documents are available through the internet on SEDAR+, which can be accessed at www.sedarplus.ca and on EDGAR, which can be accessed at www.sec.gov.

Granite is a Canadian-based REIT engaged in the acquisition, development, ownership and management of logistics, warehouse and industrial properties in North America and Europe. Granite owns 144 investment properties representing approximately 63.3 million square feet of gross leasable area.

For further information, please see our website at www.granitereit.com or contact Teresa Neto, Chief Financial Officer, at (647) 925-7560.

NON-GAAP PERFORMANCE MEASURES, RATIOS AND RECONCILIATIONS

Readers are cautioned that certain terms used in this press release such as FFO, AFFO, FFO payout ratio, AFFO payout ratio, same property NOI – cash basis, constant currency same property NOI – cash basis, total debt and net debt, net leverage ratio, and any related per unit amounts used by management to measure, compare and explain the operating results and financial performance of the Trust do not have standardized meanings prescribed under IFRS® Accounting Standards as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board (“IFRS Accounting Standards” or “GAAP”) and, therefore, should not be construed as alternatives to net income, cash provided by operating activities or any other measure calculated in accordance with IFRS Accounting Standards. Additionally, because these terms do not have a standardized meaning prescribed by IFRS Accounting Standards, they may not be comparable to similarly titled measures presented by other publicly traded entities.

(1)

FFO is a non-GAAP performance measure that is widely used by the real estate industry in evaluating the operating performance of real estate entities. Granite calculates FFO as net income attributable to unitholders excluding fair value gains (losses) on investment properties and financial instruments, gains (losses) on sale of investment properties including the associated current income tax, foreign exchange gains (losses) on certain monetary items not forming part of a net investment in a foreign operation, deferred income taxes, corporate restructuring costs and certain other items, net of non-controlling interests in such items. The Trust’s determination of FFO follows the definition prescribed by the Real Property Association of Canada (“REALPAC”) guidelines on Funds From Operations & Adjusted Funds From Operations for IFRS Accounting Standards dated January 2022 (“REALPAC Guidelines”) except for the exclusion of corporate restructuring costs. Granite considers FFO to be a meaningful supplemental measure that can be used to determine the Trust’s ability to service debt, fund capital expenditures and provide distributions to unitholders. FFO is reconciled to net income, which is the most directly comparable GAAP measure (see table below). FFO should not be construed as an alternative to net income or cash flow provided by operating activities determined in accordance with IFRS Accounting Standards.

 

(2)

AFFO is a non-GAAP performance measure that is widely used by the real estate industry in evaluating the recurring economic earnings performance of real estate entities after considering certain costs associated with sustaining such earnings. Granite calculates AFFO as net income attributable to unitholders including all adjustments used to calculate FFO and further adjusts for actual maintenance capital expenditures that are required to sustain Granite’s productive capacity, leasing costs such as leasing commissions and tenant allowances incurred and non-cash straight-line rent and tenant incentive amortization, net of non-controlling interests in such items. The Trust’s determination of AFFO follows the definition prescribed by the REALPAC Guidelines except for the exclusion of corporate restructuring costs as noted above. Granite considers AFFO to be a meaningful supplemental measure that can be used to determine the Trust’s ability to service debt, fund expansion capital expenditures, fund property development and provide distributions to unitholders after considering costs associated with sustaining operating earnings. AFFO is also reconciled to net income, which is the most directly comparable GAAP measure (see table below). AFFO should not be construed as an alternative to net income or cash flow provided by operating activities determined in accordance with IFRS Accounting Standards.

 

 

Three Months Ended March 31,

(in millions, except per unit amounts)

 

 

2025

 

 

2024

 

Net income attributable to unitholders

 

$

43.9

 

$

89.1

 

Add (deduct):

 

 

 

Fair value losses (gains) on investment properties, net

 

 

48.2

 

 

(12.7

)

Fair value (gains) losses on financial instruments, net

 

 

(0.1

)

 

2.0

 

Deferred tax (recovery) expense

 

 

(0.3

)

 

3.8

 

Fair value remeasurement of the Executive Deferred Unit Plan

 

 

(0.3

)

 

0.2

 

Fair value remeasurement of the Directors Deferred Unit Plan

 

 

(0.3

)

 

 

Corporate restructuring costs

 

 

 

 

0.2

 

Non-controlling interests relating to the above

 

 

(0.1

)

 

(0.2

)

FFO

[A]

$

91.0

 

$

82.4

 

Add (deduct):

 

 

 

Maintenance or improvement capital expenditures incurred

 

 

(0.4

)

 

(0.6

)

Leasing costs

 

 

(0.3

)

 

(0.2

)

Tenant allowances

 

 

 

 

(0.6

)

Tenant incentive amortization

 

 

 

 

0.1

 

Straight-line rent amortization

 

 

(1.9

)

 

(3.2

)

Non-controlling interests relating to the above

 

 

 

 

 

AFFO

[B]

$

88.4

 

$

77.9

 

Basic and Diluted FFO per unit

[A]/[C] and [A]/[D]

$

1.46

 

$

1.30

 

Basic AFFO per unit

[B]/[C]

$

1.42

 

$

1.23

 

Diluted AFFO per unit

[B]/[D]

$

1.41

 

$

1.22

 

Basic weighted average number of units

[C]

 

62.3

 

 

63.4

 

Diluted weighted average number of units

[D]

 

62.5

 

 

63.6

 

(3)

The FFO and AFFO payout ratios are calculated as monthly distributions, which exclude special distributions, declared to unitholders divided by FFO and AFFO (non-GAAP performance measures), respectively, in a period. FFO payout ratio and AFFO payout ratio may exclude revenue or expenses incurred during a period that can be a source of variance between periods. The FFO payout ratio and AFFO payout ratio are supplemental measures widely used by investors in evaluating the sustainability of the Trust’s monthly distributions to unitholders.

 

 

Three Months Ended March 31,

(in millions, except as noted)

 

 

2025

 

 

2024

 

Monthly distributions declared to unitholders

[A]

$

52.8

 

$

52.3

 

FFO

[B]

 

91.0

 

 

82.4

 

AFFO

[C]

 

88.4

 

 

77.9

 

FFO payout ratio

[A]/[B]

 

58

%

 

63

%

AFFO payout ratio

[A]/[C]

 

60

%

 

67

%

(4)

Same property NOI — cash basis refers to the NOI — cash basis (NOI excluding lease termination and close-out fees, and the non-cash impact from straight-line rent and tenant incentive amortization) for those properties owned by Granite throughout the entire current and prior year periods under comparison. Same property NOI — cash basis excludes properties that were acquired, disposed of, classified as development properties or assets held for sale during the periods under comparison. Granite believes that same property NOI — cash basis is a useful supplementary measure in understanding period-over-period organic changes in NOI — cash basis from the same stock of properties owned.

 

Sq ft(1)

 

Three Months Ended

March 31,

 

(in millions)

 

 

2025

 

 

2024

 

$ change

%

change

Revenue

 

 

$

154.7

 

$

138.9

 

15.8

 

 

Less: Property operating costs

 

 

 

29.0

 

 

24.4

 

4.6

 

 

NOI

 

 

$

125.7

 

$

114.5

 

11.2

 

9.8

%

Add (deduct):

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lease termination and close-out fees

 

 

 

(0.8

)

 

 

(0.8

)

 

Straight-line rent amortization

 

 

 

(1.9

)

 

(3.2

)

1.3

 

 

Tenant incentive amortization

 

 

 

 

 

0.1

 

(0.1

)

 

NOI – cash basis

63.3

 

$

123.0

 

$

111.4

 

11.6

 

10.4

%

Less NOI – cash basis for:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Acquisitions

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Developments

0.5

 

 

(1.5

)

 

(0.2

)

(1.3

)

 

Dispositions and assets held for sale

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Same property NOI – cash basis

62.9

 

$

121.5

 

$

111.2

 

10.3

 

9.3

%

Constant currency same property NOI – cash basis(2)

62.9

 

$

121.5

 

$

116.0

 

5.5

 

4.7

%

(1)

The square footage relating to the NOI — cash basis represents GLA of 63.3 million square feet as at March 31, 2025. The square footage relating to the same property NOI — cash basis represents the aforementioned GLA excluding the impact from the acquisitions, dispositions, assets held for sale and developments during the relevant period.

(2)

Constant currency same property NOI – cash basis is calculated by converting the comparative same property NOI – cash basis at current period average foreign exchange rates.

 

(5)

Total debt is calculated as the sum of all current and non-current debt, the net mark to market fair value of derivatives and lease obligations. Net debt subtracts cash and cash equivalents from total debt. Granite believes that it is useful to include the derivatives and lease obligations for the purposes of monitoring the Trust’s debt levels.

 

(6)

The net leverage ratio is calculated as net debt (a non-GAAP performance measure defined above) divided by the fair value of investment properties (excluding assets held for sale). The net leverage ratio is a non-GAAP ratio used in evaluating the Trust’s degree of financial leverage, borrowing capacity and the relative strength of its balance sheet.

As at March 31, 2025 and December 31, 2024

 

 

2025

 

 

2024

 

Unsecured debt, net

 

$

3,092.1

 

$

3,078.5

 

Derivatives, net

 

 

35.3

 

 

(25.1

)

Lease obligations

 

 

34.7

 

 

34.4

 

Total debt

 

$

3,162.1

 

$

3,087.8

 

Less: cash and cash equivalents

 

 

123.1

 

 

126.2

 

Net debt

[A]

$

3,039.0

 

$

2,961.6

 

Investment properties

[B]

$

9,441.2

 

$

9,397.3

 

Net leverage ratio

[A]/[B]

 

32

%

 

32

%

(7)

Overall capitalization rate is calculated as stabilized net operating income (property revenue less property expenses) divided by the fair value of the income-producing property.

 
(8)

Annualized revenue for each period presented is calculated as the contractual base rent for the month subsequent to the quarterly reporting period multiplied by 12 months. Annualized revenue excludes revenue from properties classified as assets held for sale.

 
(9)

Committed occupancy as at May 7, 2025.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This press release may contain statements that, to the extent they are not recitations of historical fact, constitute “forward-looking statements” or “forward-looking information” within the meaning of applicable securities legislation, including the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended, the United States Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking statements and forward-looking information may include, among others, statements regarding Granite’s future plans, goals, strategies, intentions, beliefs, estimates, costs, objectives, capital structure, cost of capital, tenant base, tax consequences, economic performance or expectations, or the assumptions underlying any of the foregoing. Words such as “outlook”, “may”, “would”, “could”, “should”, “will”, “likely”, “expect”, “anticipate”, “believe”, “intend”, “plan”, “forecast”, “project”, “estimate”, “seek” and similar expressions are used to identify forward-looking statements and forward-looking information. Forward-looking statements and forward-looking information should not be read as guarantees of future events, performance or results and will not necessarily be accurate indications of whether or the times at or by which such future performance will be achieved. Undue reliance should not be placed on such statements. There can also be no assurance that Granite’s expectations regarding various matters, including the following, will be realized in a timely manner, with the expected impact or at all: the effectiveness of measures intended to mitigate such impact, and Granite’s ability to deliver cash flow stability and growth and create long-term value for unitholders; Granite’s ability to advance its ESG+R program and related targets and goals; the expansion and diversification of Granite’s real estate portfolio and the reduction in Granite’s exposure to Magna and the special purpose properties; Granite’s ability to accelerate growth and to grow its net asset value, FFO and AFFO per unit, and constant currency same property NOI – cash basis; Granite’s ability to execute on its strategic plan and its priorities in 2025; Granite’s 2025 outlook for FFO per unit, AFFO per unit and constant currency same property NOI, including the anticipated impact of future foreign currency exchange rates on FFO and AFFO per unit and expectations regarding Granite’s business strategy; fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates and the effect on Granite’s revenues, expenses, cash flows, assets and liabilities; Granite’s ability to offset interest or realize interest savings relating to its term loans, debentures and cross currency interest rate swaps; Granite’s ability to find and integrate satisfactory acquisition, joint venture and development opportunities and to strategically deploy the proceeds from recently sold properties and financing initiatives; Granite’s intended use of available liquidity, its ability to obtain secured funding against its unencumbered assets and its expectations regarding the funding of its ongoing operations and future growth; any future offerings under Granite’s base shelf prospectuses; obtaining site planning approval of a 0.7 million square foot distribution facility on the 34.0 acre site in Brantford, Ontario; obtaining site plan approval for the future phases of its development for up to 0.7 million square feet on the 68.7 acre site in Houston, Texas and up to 0.4 million square feet on the 30.8 acre site in Houston, Texas and the expected timing and potential yield from each project; the development of 12.9 acres of land in West Jefferson, Ohio and the potential yield from that project; the development of a 0.6 million square foot multi-phased business park on the remaining 36.0 acre parcel of land in Brantford, Ontario and the potential yield from that project; the development of a 0.2 million square foot modern distribution/logistics facility on the 10.1 acres of land in Brant County, Ontario and the potential yield of the project; estimates regarding Granite’s development properties and expansion projects, including square footage of construction, total construction costs and total costs; Granite’s ability to meet its target occupancy goals; Granite’s ability to secure sustainability or other certifications for any of its properties; Granite’s ability to generate peak solar capacity on its properties; the impact of the refinancing of the term loans on Granite’s returns and cash flow; the amount of any distributions; and the effect of any legal proceedings on Granite. Forward-looking statements and forward-looking information are based on information available at the time and/or management’s good faith assumptions and analyses made in light of Granite’s perception of historical trends, current conditions and expected future developments, as well as other factors Granite believes are appropriate in the circumstances. Forward-looking statements and forward-looking information are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other unpredictable factors, many of which are beyond Granite’s control, that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from such forward-looking statements and forward-looking information. Important factors that could cause such differences include, but are not limited to, the risk of changes to tax or other laws and treaties that may adversely affect Granite’s mutual fund trust status under the Income Tax Act (Canada) or the effective tax rate in other jurisdictions in which Granite operates; the risk related to tariffs, global trade and supply chains that may adversely impact Granite’s tenants’ operations and in turn impact Granite’s operations and financial performance; economic, market and competitive conditions and other risks that may adversely affect Granite’s ability to expand and diversify its real estate portfolio; and the risks set forth under “Risks and Uncertainties” in Granite’s Management’s Discussion and Analysis for the quarter ended March 31, 2025 filed on May 7, 2025 and in the “Risk Factors” section in Granite’s AIF for 2024 dated February 26, 2025, filed on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca and attached as Exhibit 1 to the Trust’s Annual Report on Form 40-F for the year ended December 31, 2024 filed with the SEC and available online on EDGAR at www.sec.gov, all of which investors are strongly advised to review. The “Risk Factors” section also contains information about the material factors or assumptions underlying such forward-looking statements and forward-looking information. Forward-looking statements and forward-looking information speak only as of the date the statements and information were made and unless otherwise required by applicable securities laws, Granite expressly disclaims any intention and undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements or forward-looking information contained in this press release to reflect subsequent information, events or circumstances or otherwise.

Teresa Neto

Chief Financial Officer

(647) 925-7560

KEYWORDS: United States North America Canada

INDUSTRY KEYWORDS: REIT Finance Professional Services Commercial Building & Real Estate Construction & Property

MEDIA:

ADM Declares Cash Dividend

ADM Declares Cash Dividend

CHICAGO–(BUSINESS WIRE)–
ADM’s (NYSE: ADM) Board of Directors has declared a cash dividend of 51.0 cents per share on the company’s common stock. The dividend is payable on June 11, 2025, to shareholders of record on May 21, 2025.

This is ADM’s 374th consecutive quarterly payment, a record of more than 93 years of uninterrupted dividends. As of March 31, 2025, there were 480,443,947 shares of ADM common stock outstanding.

About ADM

ADM unlocks the power of nature to enrich the quality of life. We’re an essential global agricultural supply chain manager and processor, providing food security by connecting local needs with global capabilities. We’re a premier human and animal nutrition provider, offering one of the industry’s broadest portfolios of ingredients and solutions from nature. We’re a trailblazer in health and well-being, with an industry-leading range of products for consumers looking for new ways to live healthier lives. We’re a cutting-edge innovator, guiding the way to a future of new bio-based consumer and industrial solutions. And we’re leading in business-driven sustainability efforts that support a strong agricultural sector, resilient supply chains, and a vast and growing bioeconomy. Around the globe, our expertise and innovation are meeting critical needs from harvest to home. Learn more at www.adm.com.

Source: Corporate Release

Source: ADM

ADM Media Relations

Jackie Anderson

[email protected]

312-634-8484

KEYWORDS: United States North America Illinois

INDUSTRY KEYWORDS: Agriculture Natural Resources

MEDIA:

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DXC Technology to Present at TD Cowen’s 53rd Annual TMT Conference

DXC Technology to Present at TD Cowen’s 53rd Annual TMT Conference

ASHBURN, Va.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–DXC Technology (NYSE: DXC), a leading Fortune 500 global technology services company, today announced it will participate at the TD Cowen 53rd Annual Technology, Media & Telecom Conference on May 29, 2025 in New York City. Raul Fernandez, DXC’s President and CEO, is scheduled to present at 1:15 pm ET. A webcast of the fire side chat will be available on the “Events and Presentations” section of DXC’s investor webpage at https://investors.dxc.com

About DXC Technology

DXC Technology (NYSE: DXC) helps global companies run their mission critical systems and operations while modernizing IT, optimizing data architectures, and ensuring security and scalability across public, private and hybrid clouds. The world’s largest companies and public sector organizations trust DXC to deploy services to drive new levels of performance, competitiveness, and customer experience across their IT estates. Learn more about how we deliver excellence for our customers and colleagues at DXC.com

Source: DXC Technology

Category: Investor Relations

Roger Sachs, CFA, Investor Relations, +1-201-250-0801, [email protected]

Suzanne Cross, Corporate Media Relations, +1-518-506-8848, [email protected]

KEYWORDS: United States North America Virginia

INDUSTRY KEYWORDS: Internet Security Data Management Other Technology Technology

MEDIA:

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Abeona Therapeutics® Announces New Employee Inducement Grants Under Nasdaq Listing Rule 5635(c)(4)

CLEVELAND, May 07, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Abeona Therapeutics Inc. (Nasdaq: ABEO) today announced it has granted equity awards to new non-executive employees who joined the Company. The equity awards were approved in accordance with Nasdaq Listing Rule 5635(c)(4).

On April 30, 2025, the Compensation Committee of Abeona’s Board of Directors granted restricted stock equity awards as a material inducement to employment to seven individuals hired by Abeona, which equity awards relate to, in the aggregate, up to 21,500 restricted shares of Abeona common stock. One-third of the shares subject to such restricted stock awards will vest yearly on each anniversary of the Grant Date, such that the shares subject to such restricted stock awards granted to each employee will be fully vested on the third anniversary of the Grant Date, in each case, subject to each employee’s continued employment with Abeona on the applicable vesting dates.

About Abeona Therapeutics

Abeona Therapeutics Inc. is a commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company developing cell and gene therapies for serious diseases. Abeona’s ZEVASKYN™ (prademagene zamikeracel) is the first and only autologous cell-based gene therapy for the treatment of wounds in adults and pediatric patients with recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa (RDEB). The Company’s fully integrated cell and gene therapy cGMP manufacturing facility in Cleveland, Ohio serves as the manufacturing site for ZEVASKYN commercial production. The Company’s development portfolio features adeno-associated virus (AAV)-based gene therapies for ophthalmic diseases with high unmet medical need. Abeona’s novel, next-generation AAV capsids are being evaluated to improve tropism profiles for a variety of devastating diseases. For more information, visit www.abeonatherapeutics.com.

ZEVASKYNTM, Abeona AssistTM, Abeona Therapeutics®, and their related logos are trademarks of Abeona Therapeutics Inc.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains certain statements that are forward-looking within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and that involve risks and uncertainties. We have attempted to identify forward-looking statements by such terminology as “may,” “will,” “believe,” “anticipate,” “expect,” “intend,” “potential,” and similar words and expressions (as well as other words or expressions referencing future events, conditions or circumstances), which constitute and are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Actual results may differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements as a result of various important factors, numerous risks and uncertainties, including but not limited to, the timing and outcome of the FDA’s review of our BLA resubmission for pz-cel; the FDA’s grant of a Priority Review Voucher upon pz-cel approval; continued interest in our rare disease portfolio; our ability to enroll patients in clinical trials; the outcome of future meetings with the FDA or other regulatory agencies, including those relating to preclinical programs; the ability to achieve or obtain necessary regulatory approvals; the impact of any changes in the financial markets and global economic conditions; risks associated with data analysis and reporting; and other risks disclosed in the Company’s most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and subsequent periodic reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company undertakes no obligation to revise the forward-looking statements or to update them to reflect events or circumstances occurring after the date of this press release, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise, except as required by the federal securities laws.



Investor and Media Contact:
Greg Gin
VP, Investor Relations and Corporate Communications
Abeona Therapeutics
[email protected]

Ellington Financial Inc. Reports First Quarter 2025 Results

Ellington Financial Inc. Reports First Quarter 2025 Results

OLD GREENWICH, Conn.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–
Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE: EFC) (“we”) today reported financial results for the quarter ended March 31, 2025.

Highlights

  • Net income attributable to common stockholders of $31.6 million, or $0.35 per common share.1

    • $57.1 million, or $0.63 per common share, from the investment portfolio.

      • $52.9 million, or $0.58 per common share, from the credit strategy.
      • $4.2 million, or $0.05 per common share, from the Agency strategy.
    • $(1.0) million, or $(0.01) per common share, from Longbridge.
  • Adjusted Distributable Earnings2 of $35.5 million, or $0.39 per common share.
  • Book value per common share as of March 31, 2025 of $13.44, including the effects of dividends of $0.39 per common share for the quarter.
  • Dividend yield of 12.2% based on the May 6, 2025 closing stock price of $12.75 per share, and monthly dividend of $0.13 per common share declared on May 7, 2025.
  • Recourse debt-to-equity ratio3 of 1.7:1 as of March 31, 2025. Including all recourse and non-recourse borrowings, which primarily consist of securitization-related liabilities, debt-to-equity ratio of 8.7:14.
  • Cash and cash equivalents of $203.3 million as of March 31, 2025, in addition to other unencumbered assets of $650.2 million.

First Quarter 2025 Results

“Ellington Financial’s first quarter results reflect continued strength in our diversified residential and commercial mortgage loan portfolios, and ongoing momentum in our securitization platform,” said Laurence Penn, Chief Executive Officer and President. “For the quarter, Ellington Financial generated net income of $0.35 per common share and adjusted distributable earnings of $0.39 per common share.

“Our loan businesses continued to generate steady growth and income, particularly in commercial mortgage bridge loans, non-QM loans, proprietary reverse mortgage loans, and closed-end second lien loans. In addition, we accessed the securitization markets opportunistically in the first quarter. We were able to price five separate securitization transactions before the recent market volatility and yield spread widening, thus locking in long-term, non-market-to-market financing at attractive economics, while also expanding our portfolio of high-yielding retained tranches. We also closed on two additional loan financing facilities to support future portfolio growth, and took advantage of the tight yield spreads earlier in the quarter to sell portions of our portfolio into a strong market, including Agency and non-Agency RMBS, non-QM retained tranches, and CLO notes.

“Finally, we made notable progress on our handful of commercial mortgage workouts, and we expect that by the end of the second quarter we will only have one significant remaining workout asset detracting from our adjusted distributable earnings.

“The high current levels of volatility are recharging the opportunity set and creating compelling trading opportunities; this is an environment that we believe is well-suited to our core strengths. As in past periods of market stress, we are bringing to bear our dynamic hedging strategies, diversified portfolio, multiple financing sources, and low leverage, aiming to preserve book value and navigate the evolving landscape successfully. In fact, we had already built up our credit hedges considerably since mid-2024, and profits on those credit hedges in April 2025 more than offset any valuation declines we saw in the long portfolio. Despite the widespread market weakness in April, we estimate that our economic return was still positive for the month.”

Financial Results

Investment Portfolio Segment

The investment portfolio segment generated net income of $57.4 million in the first quarter, consisting of $53.2 million from the credit strategy and $4.2 million from the Agency strategy.

Credit Performance

The total adjusted long credit portfolio5 decreased by 4% to $3.30 billion as of March 31, 2025, compared to $3.42 billion as of December 31, 2024. The decline was due to the impact of securitizations completed during the quarter, as well as a smaller residential transition loan portfolio, with principal paydowns in that portfolio exceeding new purchases, and net sales of CLOs. Offsetting a portion of the decline were larger commercial mortgage bridge and non-QM loan portfolios, driven by net purchases.

Key Highlights6:

  • Overall positive performance driven by higher net interest income and net gains from forward MSR-related investments, commercial mortgage loans, closed-end second lien loans, and non-QM retained tranches.
  • Positive results from equity investments in loan originators.
  • Partially offsetting higher net interest income were net realized and unrealized losses on consumer loans, CLOs, non-QM loans, and residential transition loans; as well as losses on residential and commercial REO.

During the quarter, the net interest margin7 on our credit portfolio decreased to 2.90% from 3.02%, as a higher cost of funds more than offset higher asset yields. We continued to benefit from positive carry on our interest rate swap hedges, where we overall receive a higher floating rate and pay a lower fixed rate.

Agency Performance

The long Agency RMBS portfolio decreased by 14% quarter over quarter to $256.1 million as of March 31, 2025, driven by net sales.

Key Highlights6:

  • Agency RMBS yield spreads tightened in January and February, before reversing course and widening in March, driven in part by rising volatility related to uncertain tariff policies.
  • Net gains on Agency RMBS, driven by strong results in January and February, exceeded hedging-related losses, which delivered positive results overall in the Agency strategy.
  • Pay-ups on specified pools increased slightly to 0.69% as of March 31, 2025, from 0.67% as of December 31, 2024.

The net interest margin7 on our Agency portfolio (excluding the Catch-up Amortization Adjustment) increased to 2.46% as of March 31, 2025 from 2.22% as of December 31, 2024, driven by a lower cost of funds.

Longbridge Segment

The Longbridge segment reported a net loss of $(1.0) million for the first quarter. The Longbridge portfolio (excluding non-retained tranches of consolidated securitization trusts) increased by 31% sequentially to $549.0 million as of March 31, 2025, driven by proprietary reverse mortgage loan originations.

Key Highlights6:

  • Positive contribution from originations, driven by higher origination margins for proprietary reverse mortgage loans and steady margins for HECM, despite lower origination volumes quarter over quarter.
  • Net gain on the HMBS MSR Equivalent, driven primarily by tighter HMBS yield spreads.
  • Overall net loss in the segment was driven by net losses on interest rate hedges.

Corporate/Other Summary

With interest rates lower during the quarter, we had gains on the fixed receiver interest rate swaps used to hedge the fixed payments on our unsecured notes and preferred equity. These gains exceeded net losses on our unsecured notes, which included a mark-to-market loss on our unsecured notes driven by lower interest rates, as well as a realized loss related to the par redemption of our 6.75% senior notes that we had carried at a slight discount to par.

_____________________________________________________________

1 Includes $(24.4) million of preferred dividends accrued and certain corporate/other income and expense items not attributed to either the investment portfolio or Longbridge segments.

2 Adjusted Distributable Earnings is a non-GAAP financial measure. See “Reconciliation of Net Income (Loss) to Adjusted Distributable Earnings” below for an explanation regarding the calculation of Adjusted Distributable Earnings.

3 Excludes U.S. Treasury securities and repo borrowings at certain unconsolidated entities that are recourse to us. Including such borrowings, our debt-to-equity ratio, adjusted for unsettled purchases and sales, based on total recourse borrowings was 2.1:1 as of March 31, 2025.

4 Excludes U.S. Treasury securities and repo borrowings at certain unconsolidated entities.

5 Excludes non-retained tranches of consolidated securitization trusts. The adjusted long credit portfolio also includes the proceeds from financings related to the MSRs underlying our Forward MSR-related investments. Forward MSR-related investments, at fair value are presented on our Consolidated Balance Sheet net of such financings; as of both March 31, 2025 and December 31, 2024, such borrowings were $93.5 million.

6 Sector-level results include associated financing costs and hedging gains/losses where applicable.

7 Net interest margin represents the weighted average asset yield less the weighted average secured financing cost of funds on such assets. It also includes the effect of actual and accrued periodic payments on interest rate swaps used to hedge the assets.

Credit Portfolio(1)

The following table summarizes our credit portfolio holdings as of March 31, 2025 and December 31, 2024:

 

 

March 31, 2025

 

December 31, 2024

($ in thousands)

 

Fair Value

 

%

 

Fair Value

 

%

Dollar denominated:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CLOs

 

$

27,958

 

0.6

%

 

$

61,085

 

1.3

%

CMBS

 

 

36,545

 

0.8

%

 

 

39,206

 

0.8

%

Commercial mortgage loans(2)(3)

 

 

505,459

 

11.1

%

 

 

470,142

 

10.0

%

Consumer loans and ABS backed by consumer loans(4)

 

 

87,172

 

1.9

%

 

 

87,249

 

1.9

%

Corporate debt and equity and corporate loans

 

 

24,915

 

0.5

%

 

 

27,598

 

0.6

%

Debt and equity investments in loan origination-related entities(5)

 

 

59,791

 

1.3

%

 

 

61,619

 

1.3

%

Forward MSR-related investments

 

 

87,203

 

1.9

%

 

 

77,848

 

1.7

%

Home equity line of credit and closed-end second lien loans and retained RMBS(4)(6)

 

 

341,196

 

7.5

%

 

 

432,861

 

9.2

%

Non-Agency RMBS

 

 

183,099

 

4.0

%

 

 

166,587

 

3.6

%

Non-QM loans and retained RMBS(2)(4)(6)

 

 

2,067,841

 

45.6

%

 

 

2,007,670

 

43.0

%

Other investments(7)(8)

 

 

58,134

 

1.3

%

 

 

61,508

 

1.3

%

Residential transition loans and other residential mortgage loans(2)

 

 

1,002,344

 

22.1

%

 

 

1,127,770

 

24.1

%

Non-Dollar denominated:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CLOs

 

 

6,558

 

0.2

%

 

 

6,333

 

0.1

%

Corporate debt and equity

 

 

190

 

%

 

 

181

 

%

RMBS(9)

 

 

13,271

 

0.3

%

 

 

14,394

 

0.3

%

Other residential mortgage loans

 

 

38,364

 

0.9

%

 

 

39,168

 

0.8

%

Total long credit portfolio

 

$

4,540,040

 

100.0

%

 

$

4,681,219

 

100.0

%

Adjustments:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Less: Non-retained tranches of consolidated securitization trusts

 

 

1,337,020

 

 

 

 

1,353,055

 

 

Plus: Financing underlying Forward MSR-related investments(10)

 

 

93,500

 

 

 

 

93,500

 

 

Total adjusted long credit portfolio

 

$

3,296,520

 

 

 

$

3,421,664

 

 

(1)

This information does not include U.S. Treasury securities, securities sold short, or financial derivatives.

(2)

Includes related REO. In accordance with U.S. GAAP, REO is not considered a financial instrument and as a result is included at the lower of cost or fair value.

(3)

Also includes equity investments in unconsolidated entities holding commercial mortgage loans and REO.

(4)

Also includes equity investments in securitization-related vehicles.

(5)

Also includes corporate loans made to certain loan origination entities in which we hold an equity investment.

(6)

Retained RMBS represents RMBS issued by non-consolidated Ellington-sponsored loan securitization trusts, and interests in entities holding such RMBS.

(7)

Also includes equity investment in Ellington affiliate.

(8)

Includes equity investment in an unconsolidated entity which purchases certain other loans for eventual securitization.

(9)

Includes an equity investment in an unconsolidated entity holding European RMBS.

(10)

We participate in the economic returns of a portfolio of forward MSRs under various agreements with a licensed mortgage servicer holding such MSRs. Under such agreements, we can direct the servicer to finance the MSRs and distribute the proceeds of such financings to us. Forward MSR-related investments, at fair value are presented on our Consolidated Balance sheet net of any such financings; as of both March 31, 2025 and December 31, 2024, such borrowings were $93.5 million.

Agency RMBS Portfolio

The following table(1) summarizes our Agency RMBS portfolio holdings as of March 31, 2025 and December 31, 2024:

 

 

March 31, 2025

 

December 31, 2024

($ in thousands)

 

Fair Value

 

%

 

Fair Value

 

%

Long Agency RMBS:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fixed rate

 

$

241,580

 

94.3

%

 

$

250,376

 

84.4

%

Reverse mortgages

 

 

1,499

 

0.6

%

 

 

33,124

 

11.2

%

IOs

 

 

13,016

 

5.1

%

 

 

13,217

 

4.4

%

Total long Agency RMBS

 

$

256,095

 

100.0

%

 

$

296,717

 

100.0

%

(1)

This information does not include U.S. Treasury securities, securities sold short, or financial derivatives.

Longbridge Portfolio

Longbridge originates reverse mortgage loans, including home equity conversion mortgage loans, or “HECMs,” which are insured by the FHA and which are eligible for inclusion in GNMA-guaranteed HECM-backed MBS, or “HMBS.” Upon securitization, the HECMs remain on our balance sheet under GAAP, and Longbridge retains the mortgage servicing rights associated with the HMBS, or the “HMBS MSR Equivalent.” Longbridge also originates “proprietary reverse mortgage loans,” which are not insured by the FHA, and Longbridge has typically retained the associated MSRs. We have securitized some of the proprietary reverse mortgage loans originated by Longbridge, and we have retained certain of the securitization tranches in compliance with credit risk retention rules.

The following table summarizes loan-related assets(1) in the Longbridge segment as of March 31, 2025 and December 31, 2024:

 

 

March 31, 2025

 

December 31, 2024

 

 

(In thousands)

HMBS assets(2)

 

$

9,597,451

 

 

$

9,245,834

 

Less: HMBS liabilities

 

 

(9,495,132

)

 

 

(9,150,883

)

HMBS MSR Equivalent

 

 

102,319

 

 

 

94,951

 

Unsecuritized HECM loans(3)

 

 

131,883

 

 

 

140,709

 

Proprietary reverse mortgage loans(4)

 

 

866,425

 

 

 

728,959

 

Reverse MSRs

 

 

29,536

 

 

 

29,766

 

Unsecuritized REO

 

 

2,489

 

 

 

2,323

 

Total

 

 

1,132,652

 

 

 

996,708

 

Less: Non-retained tranches of consolidated securitization trusts

 

 

583,686

 

 

 

576,474

 

Total, excluding non-retained tranches of consolidated securitization trusts

 

$

548,966

 

 

$

420,234

 

(1)

This information does not include financial derivatives or loan commitments.

(2)

Includes HECM loans, related REO, and claims or other receivables.

(3)

As of March 31, 2025, includes $14.0 million of active HECM buyout loans, $14.1 million of inactive HECM buyout loans, and $5.2 million of other inactive HECM loans. As of December 31, 2024, includes $7.8 million of active HECM buyout loans, $11.1 million of inactive HECM buyout loans, and $5.0 million of other inactive HECM loans.

(4)

As of March 31, 2025, includes $615.3 million of securitized proprietary reverse mortgage loans and $12.4 million of cash held in a securitization reserve fund. As of December 31, 2024, includes $606.8 million of securitized proprietary reverse mortgage loans and $15.0 million of cash held in a securitization reserve fund.

The following table summarizes Longbridge’s origination volumes by channel for the three-month periods ended March 31, 2025 and December 31, 2024:

($ In thousands)

 

March 31, 2025

 

December 31, 2024

Channel

 

Units

 

New Loan

Origination

Volume(1)

 

% of New

Loan

Origination Volume

 

Units

 

New Loan

Origination

Volume(1)

 

% of New

Loan Origination

Volume

Retail

 

554

 

$

96,776

 

29

%

 

613

 

$

104,917

 

25

%

Wholesale and correspondent

 

1,267

 

 

241,675

 

71

%

 

1,626

 

 

314,987

 

75

%

Total

 

1,821

 

$

338,451

 

100

%

 

2,239

 

$

419,904

 

100

%

(1)

Represents initial borrowed amounts on reverse mortgage loans.

Financing

Key Highlights:

  • Recourse Debt-to-Equity Ratio3 (adjusted for unsettled trades): declined to 1.7:1 as of March 31, 2025, compared to 1.8:1 as of December 31, primarily due to higher shareholders’ equity and the repayment of our 6.75% senior notes upon their maturity in March, partially offset by an increase in secured borrowings.
  • Overall Debt-to-Equity Ratio4 (adjusted for unsettled trades): decreasedto 8.7:1 from 8.8:1 during the quarter, reflecting an increase in shareholders’ equity, partially offset by an increase in non-recourse borrowings.

The following table summarizes our outstanding borrowings and debt-to-equity ratios as of March 31, 2025 and December 31, 2024:

 

 

March 31, 2025

 

December 31, 2024

 

 

Outstanding

Borrowings(1)

 

Debt-to-

Equity Ratio(2)

 

Outstanding

Borrowings(1)

 

Debt-to-

Equity Ratio(2)

 

 

(In thousands)

 

 

 

(In thousands)

 

 

Recourse borrowings(3)(4)

 

$

3,099,550

 

1.9:1

 

$

3,135,021

 

2.0:1

Non-recourse borrowings(4)

 

 

11,421,843

 

7.0:1

 

 

11,085,192

 

7.0:1

Total Borrowings

 

$

14,521,393

 

8.9:1

 

$

14,220,213

 

8.9:1

Total Equity

 

$

1,637,616

 

 

 

$

1,590,822

 

 

Recourse borrowings excluding U.S. Treasury securities, adjusted for unsettled purchases and sales

 

 

 

1.7:1

 

 

 

1.8:1

Total borrowings excluding U.S. Treasury securities, adjusted for unsettled purchases and sales

 

 

 

8.7:1

 

 

 

8.8:1

(1)

Includes borrowings under repurchase agreements, other secured borrowings, other secured borrowings, at fair value, and unsecured debt, at par.

(2)

Recourse and overall debt-to-equity ratios are computed by dividing outstanding recourse and overall borrowings, respectively, by total equity. Debt-to-equity ratios do not account for liabilities other than debt financings.

(3)

Excludes repo borrowings at certain unconsolidated entities that are recourse to us. Including such borrowings, our debt-to-equity ratio based on total recourse borrowings is 1.9:1 and 2.1:1 as of March 31, 2025 and December 31, 2024, respectively.

(4)

All of our non-recourse borrowings are secured by collateral. In the event of default under a non-recourse borrowing, the lender has a claim against the collateral but not any of the other assets held by us or our consolidated subsidiaries. In the event of default under a recourse borrowing, the lender’s claim is not limited to the collateral (if any).

Operating Results

The following table summarizes our operating results by strategy for the three-month period ended March 31, 2025:

 

Investment Portfolio

 

Longbridge

 

Corporate

/Other

 

Total

 

Per

Share

(In thousands except per share amounts)

Credit

 

Agency

 

Investment

Portfolio

Subtotal

 

 

 

 

Interest income and other income(1)

$

87,077

 

 

$

4,140

 

 

$

91,217

 

 

$

23,056

 

 

$

1,714

 

 

$

115,987

 

 

$

1.25

 

Interest expense

 

(46,503

)

 

 

(2,498

)

 

 

(49,001

)

 

 

(13,745

)

 

 

(4,481

)

 

 

(67,227

)

 

 

(0.73

)

Realized gain (loss), net

 

(12,421

)

 

 

(1,190

)

 

 

(13,611

)

 

 

 

 

 

(1,383

)

 

 

(14,994

)

 

 

(0.16

)

Unrealized gain (loss), net

 

24,059

 

 

 

5,673

 

 

 

29,732

 

 

 

4,408

 

 

 

1,027

 

 

 

35,167

 

 

 

0.38

 

Net change from reverse mortgage loans and HMBS obligations

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

29,519

 

 

 

 

 

 

29,519

 

 

 

0.32

 

Earnings in unconsolidated entities

 

8,304

 

 

 

 

 

 

8,304

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

8,304

 

 

 

0.09

 

Interest rate hedges and other activity, net(2)

 

(5,917

)

 

 

(1,908

)

 

 

(7,825

)

 

 

(12,273

)

 

 

1,284

 

 

 

(18,814

)

 

 

(0.20

)

Credit hedges and other activities, net(3)

 

3,616

 

 

 

 

 

 

3,616

 

 

 

(394

)

 

 

 

 

 

3,222

 

 

 

0.03

 

Income tax (expense) benefit

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

96

 

 

 

96

 

 

 

 

Investment related expenses

 

(2,770

)

 

 

 

 

 

(2,770

)

 

 

(10,810

)

 

 

 

 

 

(13,580

)

 

 

(0.14

)

Other expenses

 

(2,259

)

 

 

 

 

 

(2,259

)

 

 

(20,756

)

 

 

(15,341

)

 

 

(38,356

)

 

 

(0.41

)

Net income (loss)

 

53,186

 

 

 

4,217

 

 

 

57,403

 

 

 

(995

)

 

 

(17,084

)

 

 

39,324

 

 

 

0.43

 

Dividends on preferred stock

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(7,035

)

 

 

(7,035

)

 

 

(0.08

)

Net (income) loss attributable to non-participating non-controlling interests

 

(316

)

 

 

 

 

 

(316

)

 

 

 

 

 

(3

)

 

 

(319

)

 

 

 

Net income (loss) attributable to common stockholders and participating non-controlling interests

 

52,870

 

 

 

4,217

 

 

 

57,087

 

 

 

(995

)

 

 

(24,122

)

 

 

31,970

 

 

 

0.35

 

Net (income) loss attributable to participating non-controlling interests

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(321

)

 

 

(321

)

 

 

 

Net income (loss) attributable to common stockholders

$

52,870

 

 

$

4,217

 

 

$

57,087

 

 

$

(995

)

 

$

(24,443

)

 

$

31,649

 

 

$

0.35

 

Net income (loss) attributable to common stockholders per share of common stock

$

0.58

 

 

$

0.05

 

 

$

0.63

 

 

$

(0.01

)

 

$

(0.27

)

 

$

0.35

 

 

 

Weighted average shares of common stock and convertible units(4) outstanding

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

92,529

 

 

 

Weighted average shares of common stock outstanding

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

91,601

 

 

 

(1)

 

Other income primarily consists of rental income on real estate owned, loan origination fees, and servicing income.

(2)

 

Includes U.S. Treasury securities, if applicable.

(3)

Other activities include certain equity and other trading strategies and related hedges, and net realized and unrealized gains (losses) on foreign currency.

(4)

Convertible units include Operating Partnership units attributable to participating non-controlling interests.

The following table summarizes our operating results by strategy for the three-month period ended December 31, 2024:

 

 

Investment Portfolio

 

Longbridge

 

Corporate

/Other

 

Total

 

Per

Share

(In thousands except per share amounts)

 

Credit

 

Agency

 

Investment

Portfolio

Subtotal

 

 

 

 

Interest income and other income(1)

 

$

82,813

 

 

$

3,293

 

 

$

86,106

 

 

$

20,176

 

 

$

1,732

 

 

$

108,014

 

 

$

1.18

 

Interest expense

 

 

(43,508

)

 

 

(3,474

)

 

 

(46,982

)

 

 

(11,616

)

 

 

(4,557

)

 

 

(63,155

)

 

 

(0.69

)

Realized gain (loss), net

 

 

3,088

 

 

 

(2,504

)

 

 

584

 

 

 

(45

)

 

 

 

 

 

539

 

 

 

0.01

 

Unrealized gain (loss), net

 

 

(21,322

)

 

 

(8,463

)

 

 

(29,785

)

 

 

10,938

 

 

 

(3,784

)

 

 

(22,631

)

 

 

(0.25

)

Net change from reverse mortgage loans and HMBS obligations

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

20,080

 

 

 

 

 

 

20,080

 

 

 

0.22

 

Earnings in unconsolidated entities

 

 

10,895

 

 

 

 

 

 

10,895

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

10,895

 

 

 

0.12

 

Interest rate hedges and other activity, net(2)

 

 

11,062

 

 

 

7,142

 

 

 

18,204

 

 

 

22,554

 

 

 

(4,683

)

 

 

36,075

 

 

 

0.39

 

Credit hedges and other activities, net(3)

 

 

(6,671

)

 

 

 

 

 

(6,671

)

 

 

(297

)

 

 

 

 

 

(6,968

)

 

 

(0.08

)

Income tax (expense) benefit

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(397

)

 

 

(397

)

 

 

 

Investment related expenses

 

 

(4,758

)

 

 

 

 

 

(4,758

)

 

 

(12,279

)

 

 

 

 

 

(17,037

)

 

 

(0.19

)

Other expenses

 

 

(1,929

)

 

 

 

 

 

(1,929

)

 

 

(22,679

)

 

 

(10,149

)

 

 

(34,757

)

 

 

(0.38

)

Net income (loss)

 

 

29,670

 

 

 

(4,006

)

 

 

25,664

 

 

 

26,832

 

 

 

(21,838

)

 

 

30,658

 

 

 

0.33

 

Dividends on preferred stock(4)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(7,720

)

 

 

(7,720

)

 

 

(0.08

)

Net (income) loss attributable to non-participating non-controlling interests

 

 

(327

)

 

 

 

 

 

(327

)

 

 

 

 

 

(4

)

 

 

(331

)

 

 

 

Net income (loss) attributable to common stockholders and participating non-controlling interests

 

 

29,343

 

 

 

(4,006

)

 

 

25,337

 

 

 

26,832

 

 

 

(29,562

)

 

 

22,607

 

 

 

0.25

 

Net (income) loss attributable to participating non-controlling interests

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(215

)

 

 

(215

)

 

 

 

Net income (loss) attributable to common stockholders

 

$

29,343

 

 

$

(4,006

)

 

$

25,337

 

 

$

26,832

 

 

$

(29,777

)

 

$

22,392

 

 

$

0.25

 

Net income (loss) attributable to common stockholders per share of common stock

 

$

0.32

 

 

$

(0.04

)

 

$

0.28

 

 

$

0.30

 

 

$

(0.33

)

 

$

0.25

 

 

 

Weighted average shares of common stock and convertible units(5) outstanding

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

91,533

 

 

 

Weighted average shares of common stock outstanding

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

90,663

 

 

 

(1)

Other income primarily consists of rental income on real estate owned, loan origination fees, and servicing income.

(2)

Includes U.S. Treasury securities, if applicable.

(3)

Other activities include certain equity and other trading strategies and related hedges, and net realized and unrealized gains (losses) on foreign currency.

(4)

Includes $0.3 million loss on redemption of preferred stock, equal to the difference between the carrying amount and the liquidation preference.

(5)

Convertible units include Operating Partnership units attributable to participating non-controlling interests.

About Ellington Financial

Ellington Financial invests in a diverse array of financial assets, including residential and commercial mortgage loans and mortgage-backed securities, reverse mortgage loans, mortgage servicing rights and related investments, consumer loans, asset-backed securities, collateralized loan obligations, non-mortgage and mortgage-related derivatives, debt and equity investments in loan origination companies, and other strategic investments. Ellington Financial is externally managed and advised by Ellington Financial Management LLC, an affiliate of Ellington Management Group, L.L.C.

Conference Call

We will host a conference call at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time on Thursday, May 8, 2025, to discuss our financial results for the quarter ended March 31, 2025. To participate in the event by telephone, please dial (800) 245-3047 at least 10 minutes prior to the start time and reference the conference ID EFCQ125. International callers should dial (203) 518-9765 and reference the same conference ID. The conference call will also be webcast live over the Internet and can be accessed via the “For Investors” section of our web site at www.ellingtonfinancial.com. To listen to the live webcast, please visit www.ellingtonfinancial.com at least 15 minutes prior to the start of the call to register, download, and install necessary audio software. In connection with the release of these financial results, we also posted an investor presentation, that will accompany the conference call, on our website at www.ellingtonfinancial.com under “For Investors—Presentations.”

A dial-in replay of the conference call will be available on Thursday, May 8, 2025, at approximately 2:00 p.m. Eastern Time through Thursday, March 15, 2025 at approximately 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time. To access this replay, please dial (800) 938-2490. International callers should dial (402) 220-9028. A replay of the conference call will also be archived on our web site at www.ellingtonfinancial.com.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements involve numerous risks and uncertainties. Our actual results may differ from our beliefs, expectations, estimates, and projections and, consequently, you should not rely on these forward-looking statements as predictions of future events. Forward-looking statements are not historical in nature and can be identified by words such as “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “project,” “plan,” “continue,” “intend,” “should,” “would,” “could,” “goal,” “objective,” “will,” “may,” “seek” or similar expressions or their negative forms, or by references to strategy, plans, or intentions. Forward-looking statements are based on our beliefs, assumptions and expectations of our future operations, business strategies, performance, financial condition, liquidity and prospects, taking into account information currently available to us. These beliefs, assumptions, and expectations are subject to risks and uncertainties and can change as a result of many possible events or factors, not all of which are known to us. If a change occurs, our business, financial condition, liquidity, results of operations and strategies may vary materially from those expressed or implied in our forward-looking statements. The following factors are examples of those that could cause actual results to vary from our forward-looking statements: changes in interest rates and the market value of our investments, market volatility, changes in mortgage default rates and prepayment rates, our ability to borrow to finance our assets, changes in government regulations affecting our business, our ability to maintain our exclusion from registration under the Investment Company Act of 1940, our ability to maintain our qualification as a real estate investment trust, or “REIT,” and other changes in market conditions and economic trends, such as changes to fiscal or monetary policy, heightened inflation, slower growth or recession, and currency fluctuations. Furthermore, forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, including, among other things, those described under Item 1A of our Annual Report on Form 10-K, which can be accessed through our website at www.ellingtonfinancial.com or at the SEC’s website (www.sec.gov). Other risks, uncertainties, and factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected may be described from time to time in reports we file with the SEC, including reports on Forms 10-Q, 10-K and 8-K. We undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.

This release and the information contained herein do not constitute an offer of any securities or solicitation of an offer to purchase securities.

ELLINGTON FINANCIAL INC.

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS

(UNAUDITED)

 

Three-Month Period Ended

 

March 31, 2025

 

December 31, 2024

(In thousands, except per share amounts)

 

 

 

NET INTEREST INCOME

 

 

 

Interest income

$

115,913

 

 

$

106,743

 

Interest expense

 

(72,656

)

 

 

(68,613

)

Total net interest income

 

43,257

 

 

 

38,130

 

Other Income (Loss)

 

 

 

Realized gains (losses) on securities and loans, net

 

(8,804

)

 

 

1,436

 

Realized gains (losses) on financial derivatives, net

 

11,641

 

 

 

15,580

 

Realized gains (losses) on real estate owned, net

 

(934

)

 

 

(1,879

)

Realized gains (losses) on unsecured borrowings, at fair value

 

(1,383

)

 

 

 

Unrealized gains (losses) on securities and loans, net

 

46,108

 

 

 

(63,310

)

Unrealized gains (losses) on financial derivatives, net

 

(27,115

)

 

 

18,316

 

Unrealized gains (losses) on real estate owned, net

 

(3,311

)

 

 

1,199

 

Unrealized gains (losses) on other secured borrowings, at fair value, net

 

(31,364

)

 

 

34,357

 

Unrealized gains (losses) on unsecured borrowings, at fair value

 

1,027

 

 

 

(3,784

)

Net change from HECM reverse mortgage loans, at fair value

 

176,990

 

 

 

126,262

 

Net change related to HMBS obligations, at fair value

 

(147,471

)

 

 

(106,182

)

Other, net

 

24,266

 

 

 

11,847

 

Total other income (loss)

 

39,650

 

 

 

33,842

 

EXPENSES

 

 

 

Base management fee to affiliate, net of rebates

 

6,092

 

 

 

5,888

 

Incentive fee to affiliate

 

4,533

 

 

 

 

Investment related expenses:

 

 

 

Servicing expense

 

7,019

 

 

 

6,375

 

Debt issuance costs related to Other secured borrowings, at fair value

 

 

 

 

2,210

 

Other

 

6,608

 

 

 

8,470

 

Professional fees

 

3,716

 

 

 

3,176

 

Compensation and benefits

 

16,942

 

 

 

18,748

 

Other expenses

 

7,073

 

 

 

6,945

 

Total expenses

 

51,983

 

 

 

51,812

 

Net Income (Loss) before Income Tax Expense (Benefit) and Earnings from Investments in Unconsolidated Entities

 

30,924

 

 

 

20,160

 

Income tax expense (benefit)

 

(96

)

 

 

397

 

Earnings (losses) from investments in unconsolidated entities

 

8,304

 

 

 

10,895

 

Net Income (Loss)

 

39,324

 

 

 

30,658

 

Net Income (Loss) attributable to non-controlling interests

 

640

 

 

 

546

 

Dividends on preferred stock

 

7,035

 

 

 

7,385

 

(Gain) loss on redemption of preferred stock

 

 

 

 

335

 

Net Income (Loss) Attributable to Common Stockholders

$

31,649

 

 

$

22,392

 

Net Income (Loss) per Common Share:

 

 

 

Basic and Diluted

$

0.35

 

 

$

0.25

 

Weighted average shares of common stock outstanding

 

91,601

 

 

 

90,663

 

Weighted average shares of common stock and convertible units outstanding

 

92,529

 

 

 

91,533

 

ELLINGTON FINANCIAL INC.

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

(UNAUDITED)

 

 

As of

(In thousands, except share and per share amounts)

March 31, 2025

 

December 31, 2024(1)

ASSETS

 

 

 

Cash and cash equivalents

$

203,288

 

 

$

192,387

 

Restricted cash

 

14,027

 

 

 

16,561

 

Securities, at fair value

 

943,281

 

 

 

962,254

 

Loans, at fair value

 

14,274,158

 

 

 

13,999,572

 

Loan commitments, at fair value

 

7,215

 

 

 

6,692

 

Forward MSR-related investments, at fair value

 

87,203

 

 

 

77,848

 

Mortgage servicing rights, at fair value

 

29,536

 

 

 

29,766

 

Investments in unconsolidated entities, at fair value

 

269,093

 

 

 

220,078

 

Real estate owned

 

65,447

 

 

 

46,661

 

Financial derivatives–assets, at fair value

 

157,308

 

 

 

184,395

 

Reverse repurchase agreements

 

334,145

 

 

 

336,743

 

Due from brokers

 

43,023

 

 

 

22,186

 

Investment related receivables

 

184,431

 

 

 

189,081

 

Other assets

 

32,073

 

 

 

32,804

 

Total Assets

$

16,644,228

 

 

$

16,317,028

 

LIABILITIES

 

 

 

Securities sold short, at fair value

$

264,511

 

 

$

293,574

 

Repurchase agreements

 

2,568,627

 

 

 

2,584,040

 

Financial derivatives–liabilities, at fair value

 

63,149

 

 

 

71,024

 

Due to brokers

 

53,848

 

 

 

55,429

 

Investment related payables

 

28,546

 

 

 

22,714

 

Other secured borrowings

 

268,173

 

 

 

253,300

 

Other secured borrowings, at fair value

 

1,926,711

 

 

 

1,934,309

 

HMBS-related obligations, at fair value

 

9,495,132

 

 

 

9,150,883

 

Unsecured borrowings, at fair value

 

247,337

 

 

 

281,912

 

Base management fee payable to affiliate

 

6,092

 

 

 

5,888

 

Incentive fee payable to affiliate

 

4,533

 

 

 

 

Dividend payable

 

17,015

 

 

 

16,611

 

Interest payable

 

20,474

 

 

 

17,956

 

Accrued expenses and other liabilities

 

42,464

 

 

 

38,566

 

Total Liabilities

 

15,006,612

 

 

 

14,726,206

 

EQUITY

 

 

 

Preferred stock, par value $0.001 per share, 100,000,000 shares authorized; 13,800,089 and 13,800,089 shares issued and outstanding, and $345,002 and $345,002 aggregate liquidation preference, respectively

 

331,958

 

 

 

331,958

 

Common stock, par value $0.001 per share, 300,000,000, and 300,000,000 shares authorized, respectively; 94,428,880 and 90,678,492 shares issued and outstanding, respectively(2)

 

94

 

 

 

91

 

Additional paid-in-capital

 

1,661,528

 

 

 

1,613,540

 

Retained earnings (accumulated deficit)

 

(379,316

)

 

 

(375,113

)

Total Stockholders’ Equity

 

1,614,264

 

 

 

1,570,476

 

Non-controlling interests

 

23,352

 

 

 

20,346

 

Total Equity

 

1,637,616

 

 

 

1,590,822

 

TOTAL LIABILITIES AND EQUITY

$

16,644,228

 

 

$

16,317,028

 

SUPPLEMENTAL PER SHARE INFORMATION:

 

 

 

Book Value Per Common Share (3)

$

13.44

 

 

$

13.52

 

(1)

Derived from audited financial statements as of December 31, 2024.

(2)

Common shares issued and outstanding at March 31, 2025 includes 3,750,388 shares of common stock issued under our ATM program during the three-month period ended March 31, 2025.

(3)

Based on total stockholders’ equity less the aggregate liquidation preference of our preferred stock outstanding.

Reconciliation of Net Income (Loss) to Adjusted Distributable Earnings

We calculate Adjusted Distributable Earnings as U.S. GAAP net income (loss) as adjusted for: (i) realized and unrealized gain (loss) on securities and loans, REO, mortgage servicing rights, financial derivatives (excluding periodic settlements on interest rate swaps), any borrowings carried at fair value, and foreign currency transactions; (ii) incentive fee to affiliate; (iii) Catch-up Amortization Adjustment (as defined below); (iv) non-cash equity compensation expense; (v) provision for income taxes; (vi) certain non-capitalized transaction costs; and (vii) other income or loss items that are of a non-recurring nature. For certain investments in unconsolidated entities, we include the relevant components of net operating income in Adjusted Distributable Earnings. The Catch-up Amortization Adjustment is a quarterly adjustment to premium amortization or discount accretion triggered by changes in actual and projected prepayments on our Agency RMBS (accompanied by a corresponding offsetting adjustment to realized and unrealized gains and losses). The adjustment is calculated as of the beginning of each quarter based on our then-current assumptions about cashflows and prepayments, and can vary significantly from quarter to quarter. Non-capitalized transaction costs include expenses, generally professional fees, incurred in connection with the acquisition of an investment or issuance of long-term debt. We also include in Adjusted Distributable Earnings, for all loans that we originate through Longbridge, any realized and unrealized gains (losses) on such loans up to the point of loan sale or securitization, net of sale or securitization costs.

Adjusted Distributable Earnings is a supplemental non-GAAP financial measure. We believe that the presentation of Adjusted Distributable Earnings provides information useful to investors, because: (i) we believe that it is a useful indicator of both current and projected long-term financial performance, in that it excludes the impact of certain current-period earnings components that we believe are less useful in forecasting long-term performance and dividend-paying ability; (ii) we use it to evaluate the effective net yield provided by our investment portfolio, after the effects of financial leverage and by Longbridge, to reflect the earnings from its reverse mortgage origination and servicing operations; and (iii) we believe that presenting Adjusted Distributable Earnings assists investors in measuring and evaluating our operating performance, and comparing our operating performance to that of our residential mortgage REIT and mortgage originator peers. Please note, however, that: (I) our calculation of Adjusted Distributable Earnings may differ from the calculation of similarly titled non-GAAP financial measures by our peers, with the result that these non-GAAP financial measures might not be directly comparable; and (II) Adjusted Distributable Earnings excludes certain items that may impact the amount of cash that is actually available for distribution.

In addition, because Adjusted Distributable Earnings is an incomplete measure of our financial results and differs from net income (loss) computed in accordance with U.S. GAAP, it should be considered supplementary to, and not as a substitute for, net income (loss) computed in accordance with U.S. GAAP.

Furthermore, Adjusted Distributable Earnings is different from REIT taxable income. As a result, the determination of whether we have met the requirement to distribute at least 90% of our annual REIT taxable income (subject to certain adjustments) to our stockholders, in order to maintain our qualification as a REIT, is not based on whether we distributed 90% of our Adjusted Distributable Earnings.

In setting our dividends, our Board of Directors considers our earnings, liquidity, financial condition, REIT distribution requirements, and financial covenants, along with other factors that the Board of Directors may deem relevant from time to time.

The following table reconciles, for the three-month periods ended March 31, 2025 and December 31, 2024, our Adjusted Distributable Earnings to the line on our Condensed Consolidated Statement of Operations entitled Net Income (Loss), which we believe is the most directly comparable U.S. GAAP measure:

 

 

Three-Month Period Ended

 

 

March 31, 2025

 

December 31, 2024(1)

(In thousands, except per share amounts)

 

Investment

Portfolio

 

Longbridge

 

Corporate

/Other

 

Total

 

Investment

Portfolio

 

Longbridge

 

Corporate

/Other

 

Total

Net Income (Loss)

 

$

57,403

 

 

$

(995

)

 

$

(17,084

)

 

$

39,324

 

 

$

25,664

 

 

$

26,832

 

 

$

(21,838

)

 

$

30,658

 

Income tax expense (benefit)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(96

)

 

 

(96

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

397

 

 

 

397

 

Net income (loss) before income tax expense (benefit)

 

 

57,403

 

 

 

(995

)

 

 

(17,180

)

 

 

39,228

 

 

 

25,664

 

 

 

26,832

 

 

 

(21,441

)

 

 

31,055

 

Adjustments:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Realized (gains) losses, net(2)

 

 

7,448

 

 

 

 

 

 

1,382

 

 

 

8,830

 

 

 

(11,876

)

 

 

 

 

 

(9

)

 

 

(11,885

)

Unrealized (gains) losses, net(3)

 

 

(11,346

)

 

 

5,429

 

 

 

(2,772

)

 

 

(8,689

)

 

 

37,029

 

 

 

4,543

 

 

 

7,679

 

 

 

49,251

 

Unrealized (gains) losses on reverse MSRs, net of hedging (gains) losses(4)

 

 

 

 

 

3,869

 

 

 

 

 

 

3,869

 

 

 

 

 

 

(14,906

)

 

 

 

 

 

(14,906

)

Incentive fee to affiliate

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4,533

 

 

 

4,533

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Negative (positive) component of interest income represented by Catch-up Amortization Adjustment

 

 

(938

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(938

)

 

 

471

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

471

 

Adjustment related to consolidated proprietary reverse mortgage loan securitizations(5)

 

 

 

 

 

(4,011

)

 

 

 

 

 

(4,011

)

 

 

 

 

 

(2,627

)

 

 

 

 

 

(2,627

)

Non-capitalized transaction costs and other expense adjustments(6)

 

 

1,109

 

 

 

1,669

 

 

 

262

 

 

 

3,040

 

 

 

2,186

 

 

 

1,127

 

 

 

261

 

 

 

3,574

 

(Earnings) losses from investments in unconsolidated entities

 

 

(8,304

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(8,304

)

 

 

(10,895

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(10,895

)

Adjusted distributable earnings from investments in unconsolidated entities(7)

 

 

5,702

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5,702

 

 

 

9,903

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

9,903

 

Total Adjusted Distributable Earnings

 

$

51,074

 

 

$

5,961

 

 

$

(13,775

)

 

$

43,260

 

 

$

52,482

 

 

$

14,969

 

 

$

(13,510

)

 

$

53,941

 

Dividends on preferred stock

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

7,035

 

 

 

7,035

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

7,385

 

 

 

7,385

 

Adjusted Distributable Earnings attributable to non-controlling interests

 

 

373

 

 

 

 

 

 

359

 

 

 

732

 

 

 

506

 

 

 

 

 

 

438

 

 

 

944

 

Adjusted Distributable Earnings Attributable to Common Stockholders

 

$

50,701

 

 

$

5,961

 

 

$

(21,169

)

 

$

35,493

 

 

$

51,976

 

 

$

14,969

 

 

$

(21,333

)

 

$

45,612

 

Adjusted Distributable Earnings Attributable to Common Stockholders, per share

 

$

0.55

 

 

$

0.07

 

 

$

(0.23

)

 

$

0.39

 

 

$

0.57

 

 

$

0.17

 

 

$

(0.24

)

 

$

0.50

 

(1)

Conformed to current period methodology.

(2)

Includes realized (gains) losses on securities and loans, REO, financial derivatives (excluding periodic settlements on interest rate swaps), and foreign currency transactions which are components of Other Income (Loss) on the Condensed Consolidated Statement of Operations.

(3)

Includes unrealized (gains) losses on securities and loans, REO, financial derivatives (excluding periodic settlements on interest rate swaps), borrowings carried at fair value, MSR-related investments, and foreign currency translations which are components of Other Income (Loss) on the Condensed Consolidated Statement of Operations.

(4)

Represents net change in fair value of the HMBS MSR Equivalent and Reverse MSRs attributable to changes in market conditions and model assumptions. This adjustment also includes net (gains) losses on certain hedging instruments (including interest rate swaps, futures, and short U.S. Treasury securities), which are components of realized and/or unrealized gains (losses) on financial derivatives, net, realized and/or unrealized gains (losses) on securities and loans, net, interest income, and interest expense on the Condensed Consolidated Statement of Operations.

(5)

Represents the effect of replacing mortgage loan interest income (net of securitization debt expense) with interest income of the retained tranches.

(6)

For the three-month period ended March 31, 2025, includes $1.7 million of non-capitalized transaction costs, $0.6 million of non-cash equity compensation and depreciation expense, and $0.7 million of various other expenses. For the three-month period ended December 31, 2024, includes $2.9 million of non-capitalized transaction costs, $0.5 million of non-cash equity compensation and depreciation expense, and $0.2 million of various other expenses.

(7)

Includes the Company’s proportionate share of net interest income, net loan origination income (expense), and operating expenses for certain investments in unconsolidated entities including certain of its non-consolidated equity investments in loan originators that have been making (or are expected to make) distributions to the Company. The additional adjusted distributable earnings related to the Company’s equity investments in certain loan originators was $5.0 million, or $0.05 per common share, for the three-month period ended December 31, 2024.

 

Investors:

Ellington Financial

Investor Relations

(203) 409-3575

[email protected]

or

Media:

Amanda Shpiner/Grace Cartwright

Gasthalter & Co.

for Ellington Financial

(212) 257-4170

[email protected]

KEYWORDS: United States North America Connecticut

INDUSTRY KEYWORDS: Commercial Building & Real Estate Construction & Property Finance Consulting Banking Professional Services REIT Residential Building & Real Estate

MEDIA:

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Okeanis Eco Tankers Corp. – Files Two Registration Statements on Form F-3

ATHENS, Greece, May 07, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Okeanis Eco Tankers Corp. (the “Company” or “OET”) (NYSE:ECO / OSE:OET), announced today that it has filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) a shelf registration statement on Form F-3 on May 7, 2025. The shelf registration statement will enable the Company to more quickly and efficiently raise capital in the future. It provides for up to $500,000,000 in capital, which may be used for, among other things, potential acquisitions, strategic initiatives, reducing outstanding debt or other general corporate purposes. In addition, the Company also filed with the SEC a separate “resale” registration statement on Form F-3 relating to the resale of up to 18,102,286 common shares that are beneficially held by affiliates of the Company and that are otherwise currently not freely tradable in the United States without limitations. Each registration statement on Form F-3 may be found on the SEC’s website (http://www.sec.gov).

The Company has no present intention to utilize the shelf registration statement, and has received no indication whether the Company’s affiliates are planning to sell any of their shares in the Company that are registered under the “resale” registration statement on Form F-3.

Contacts

Company:

Iraklis Sbarounis, CFO
Tel: +30 210 480 4200
[email protected]

Investor Relations / Media Contact:

Nicolas Bornozis, President
Capital Link, Inc.
230 Park Avenue, Suite 1540, New York, N.Y. 10169
Tel: +1 (212) 661-7566
[email protected]

About OET

OET is a leading international tanker company providing seaborne transportation of crude oil and refined products. The Company was incorporated on April 30, 2018 under the laws of the Republic of the Marshall Islands and is listed on Oslo Stock Exchange under the symbol OET and the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol ECO. The sailing fleet consists of six modern scrubber-fitted Suezmax tankers and eight modern scrubber-fitted VLCC tankers.

Forward-Looking Statements

This communication contains “forward-looking statements”, including as defined under U.S. federal securities laws. Forward-looking statements provide the Company’s current expectations or forecasts of future events. Forward-looking statements include statements about the Company’s expectations, beliefs, plans, objectives, intentions, assumptions and other statements that are not historical facts or that are not present facts or conditions. Words or phrases such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “continue,” “estimate,” “expect,” “hope,” “intend,” “may,” “ongoing,” “plan,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,” “should,” “will” or similar words or phrases, or the negatives of those words or phrases, may identify forward-looking statements, but the absence of these words does not necessarily mean that a statement is not forward-looking. Forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties and are based on potentially inaccurate assumptions that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expected or implied by the forward-looking statements. The Company’s actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in forward-looking statements for many reasons, including as described in the Company’s filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”). Accordingly, you should not unduly rely on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this communication. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially include, but are not limited to, the Company’s operating or financial results; the Company’s liquidity, including its ability to service its indebtedness; competitive factors in the market in which the Company operates; shipping industry trends, including charter rates, vessel values and factors affecting vessel supply and demand; future, pending or recent acquisitions and dispositions, business strategy, areas of possible expansion or contraction, and expected capital spending or operating expenses; risks associated with operations; broader market impacts arising from war (or threatened war) or international hostilities; risks associated with pandemics, including effects on demand for oil and other products transported by tankers and the transportation thereof; and other factors listed from time to time in the Company’s filings with the SEC. Except to the extent required by law, the Company expressly disclaims any obligations or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect any change in the Company’s expectations with respect thereto or any change in events, conditions, or circumstances on which any statement is based. You should, however, review the factors and risks the Company describes in the reports it files and furnishes from time to time with the SEC, which can be obtained free of charge on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov.

This information is subject to the disclosure requirements pursuant to section 5-12 of the Norwegian Securities Trading Act.



The Herzfeld Caribbean Basin Fund, Inc. Announces Special Meeting of Stockholders to be Held on June 17, 2025

MIAMI BEACH, Fla., May 07, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The Herzfeld Caribbean Basin Fund, Inc. (NASDAQ: CUBA) (the “Fund”) today announced that the Fund has filed preliminary proxy materials (“Proxy Materials”) with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in connection with a special meeting of stockholders to be held on June 17, 2025, for its stockholders to consider and vote on proposals necessary to approve the Fund’s conversion from its current investment strategy and redirect the Fund to focus on a “CLO Equity Strategy”. With this change, the Fund’s primary investment objective will change to a total return strategy with a secondary objective of generating high current income for stockholders. In accordance with the change in investment objective, the Fund will focus on investing in equity and junior debt tranches of collateralized loan obligations, or “CLOs”. CLOs are portfolios of collateralized loans consisting primarily of below investment grade U.S. senior secured loans with a large number of distinct underlying borrowers across various industry sectors.

The Fund’s Board of Directors (“Board”) has fixed May 5, 2025, as the record date for determination of the Fund’s stockholders entitle to notice of and to vote at the Fund’s special meeting.

The Fund’s special meeting will be held at the Fund’s offices at 119 Washington Avenue, Suite 504, Miami Beach, Florida 33139, on June 17, 2025, at 10:00 a.m., Eastern Time.

There are three proposals to be considered by the Fund’s stockholders at the special meeting:

  • Proposal 1 seeks approval of an amended and restated investment advisory agreement between the Fund and Thomas J. Herzfeld Advisors, Inc. (the “Adviser”) to permit the Adviser to receive a fee based on “managed assets” and an incentive fee.
  • Proposal 2 seeks approval to revise the Fund’s investment objective from obtaining “long term capital appreciation” to a primary objective of “maximizing risk adjusted total returns” with a secondary objective of “generating high current income;” and to reclassify the Fund’s investment objective as non-fundamental.
  • Proposal 3 seeks approval to amend the fundamental policies of the Fund related to borrowing, the issuance of senior securities, underwriting securities issued by other persons, industry concentration, the purchase or sale of real estate, the purchase or sale of commodities, and making loans to other persons.

The Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”), requires any change to a fundamental policy and the entering into of the new investment management agreement be approved by “a majority of the outstanding voting securities” of the Fund (as defined under the 1940 Act).

The Proposals referred to above are discussed in detail in the Proxy Materials filed today with the SEC.

Additional Information about the Special Meeting

The Fund is filing today with the SEC its preliminary Proxy Materials (Filing Type: PRE 14A). The Fund’s definitive Proxy Statement currently is anticipated to be filed with the SEC late in May 2025 (Filing Type: DEF 14A). Stockholders can obtain these documents (when available) free of charge from the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. The definitive Proxy Statement for the Fund also will be posted (when available) on the Fund’s website at www.herzfeld.com/cuba. In addition, free copies (when it becomes available) of the definitive Proxy Statement and other documents filed with the SEC may also be obtained by directing a request to the Fund at (800) 854-3863.

This press release is for informational purposes and is not intended to, and does not, solicit a proxy from any shareholder of the Fund. The solicitation of proxies to effect the proposed changes is only be made by a definitive Proxy Statement.

This press release references a preliminary Proxy Materials filed by the Fund. The definitive Proxy Statement has yet to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”). After the definitive Proxy Statement is filed with the SEC, it may be amended or withdrawn.

The Fund and its directors, officers and employees, and the Adviser, and its shareholders, officers and employees and other persons may be deemed to be participants in the solicitation of proxies with respect to the proposed fundamental policy changes and the proposed approval of the investment advisory agreement. Investors and shareholders may obtain more detailed information regarding the direct and indirect interests of the Fund’s directors, officers and employees, and Adviser and its stockholders, officers and employees and other persons by reading the definitive Proxy Statement when it is filed with the SEC.    INVESTORS AND SECURITY HOLDERS OF THE FUND ARE URGED TO READ THE DEFINITIVE PROXY STATEMENT AND OTHER DOCUMENTS FILED WITH THE SEC CAREFULLY AND IN THEIR ENTIRETY WHEN THEY BECOME AVAILABLE BECAUSE THESE DOCUMENTS WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT THE PROPOSALS. INVESTORS SHOULD CONSIDER THE INVESTMENT OBJECTIVE, RISKS, CHARGES AND EXPENSES OF THE FUND CAREFULLY. THE DEFINITIVE PROXY STATEMENT WILL CONTAIN INFORMATION WITH RESPECT TO THE INVESTMENT OBJECTIVE, RISKS, CHARGES AND EXPENSES OF THE FUND.

The definitive Proxy Statement will not constitute an offer to buy or sell securities, in any state where such offer or sale is not permitted. Security holders may obtain free copies (when it becomes available) of the definitive Proxy Statement and other documents filed with the SEC at the SEC’s web site at www.sec.gov. In addition, free copies (when it becomes available) of the definitive Proxy Statement and other documents filed with the SEC may also be obtained by directing a request to the Fund at (800) 854-3863

About Thomas J. Herzfeld Advisors, Inc.

Thomas J. Herzfeld Advisors, Inc., founded in 1984, is an SEC registered investment advisor, specializing in investment analysis and account management in closed-end funds.

More information about the advisor can be found at www.herzfeld.com.

Past performance is no guarantee of future performance. An investment in the Fund is subject to certain risks, including market risk. In general, shares of closed-end funds often trade at a discount from their net asset value and at the time of sale may be trading on the exchange at a price which is more or less than the original purchase price or the net asset value. An investor should carefully consider the Fund’s investment objective, risks, charges and expenses. Please read the Fund’s disclosure documents before investing.


Forward-Looking Statements

This press release, and other statements that TJHA or the Fund may make, may contain forward looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act, with respect to the Fund’s or TJHA’s future financial or business performance, strategies or expectations. Forward-looking statements are typically identified by words or phrases such as “trend,” “potential,” “opportunity,” “pipeline,” “believe,” “comfortable,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “current,” “intention,” “estimate,” “position,” “assume,” “outlook,” “continue,” “remain,” “maintain,” “sustain,” “seek,” “achieve,” and similar expressions, or future or conditional verbs such as “will,” “would,” “should,” “could,” “may” or similar expressions. TJHA and the Fund caution that forward-looking statements are subject to numerous assumptions, risks and uncertainties, which change over time. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made, and TJHA and the Fund assume no duty to and do not undertake to update forward-looking statements. Actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in forward-looking statements and future results could differ materially from historical performance. With respect to the Fund, the following factors, among others, could cause actual events to differ materially from forward-looking statements or historical performance: (1) changes and volatility in political, economic or industry conditions, particularly with respect to Cuba and other Caribbean Basin countries, the interest rate environment, foreign exchange rates or financial and capital markets, which could result in changes in demand for the Fund or in the Fund’s net asset value; (2) the relative and absolute investment performance of the Fund and its investments; (3) the impact of increased competition; (4) the unfavorable resolution of any legal proceedings; (5) the extent and timing of any distributions or share repurchases; (6) the impact, extent and timing of technological changes; (7) the impact of legislative and regulatory actions and reforms, including the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, and regulatory, supervisory or enforcement actions of government agencies relating to the Fund or TJHA, as applicable; (8) terrorist activities, international hostilities and natural disasters, which may adversely affect the general economy, domestic and local financial and capital markets, specific industries or TJHA or the Fund; (9) TJHA’s and the Fund’s ability to attract and retain highly talented professionals; (10) the impact of TJHA electing to provide support to its products from time to time; (11) the impact of problems at other financial institutions or the failure or negative performance of products at other financial institutions; and (12) the effects of an epidemic, pandemic or public health emergency, including without limitation, COVID-19. Annual and Semi-Annual Reports and other regulatory filings of the Fund with the SEC are accessible on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov and on TJHA’s website at www.herzfeld.com/cuba, and may discuss these or other factors that affect the Fund. The information contained on TJHA’s website is not a part of this press release.

TJHA has received certain nominations or awards by third-parties as reflected herein. Investors should review the criteria for each nomination or award as reflected on the third-party’s webpage. In addition, the nominations and awards reflect past performance of the nominee or award designee and may not reflect the current performance or status of any such firm or individual and may no longer be applicable. Morningstar award content presented with permission and licensing fee. Contact us for more information on how the ratings are apportioned and for full disclosures regarding third party news and awards.

Contact:
Thomas Morgan
Chief Compliance Officer
Thomas J. Herzfeld Advisors, Inc.
1-305-777-1660