Advanced Flower Capital Inc (AFCG) 2025 Q1 法說會逐字稿

(audio in progress)

（音訊正在播放）

$10 million and $40 million.

1000萬美元和4000萬美元。

Lastly, we have focused our portfolio management efforts on underperforming credits in order to preserve capital. We believe that as we begin to get repaid on some of these underperforming assets and reinvest that capital into performing credits, we may unlock future earnings potential. Dan will dive deeper into the portfolio shortly. But I am pleased that through our portfolio management efforts in 2024, we received $119 million of paydowns from five underperforming credits and redeployed that capital across nine new loans to-date.

最後，我們將投資組合管理重點放在表現不佳的信貸上，以保留資本。我們相信，隨著我們開始收回部分錶現不佳的資產，並將這些資本重新投資於表現良好的信貸，我們可能會釋放未來的獲利潛力。丹很快就會深入研究該投資組合。但我很高興，透過我們在 2024 年的投資組合管理工作，我們從五筆表現不佳的貸款中獲得了 1.19 億美元的償還款，並將這筆資金重新部署到迄今為止的九筆新貸款中。

With that, I'll turn it over to Dan who will discuss our fourth quarter performance, the cannabis industry, and provide an update on our portfolio.

接下來，我將把話題交給丹，他將討論我們第四季度的業績、大麻產業，並提供我們投資組合的最新情況。

Thanks, Robyn. Good morning, everyone. I'll begin with an overview of our results, followed by some commentary on the industry and an update on our portfolio.

謝謝，羅賓。大家早安。我將首先概述我們的業績，然後對行業進行一些評論，並更新我們的投資組合。

For the fourth quarter of 2024, AFC generated distributable earnings of $0.29 per basic weighted average share of common stock. While we have made significant progress over the last year reducing our exposure to underperforming credits, there is still work to be done. And our earnings in the fourth quarter and through the start of this year were impacted by the underperformance of some of our legacy loans.

2024 年第四季度，AFC 每股基本加權平均普通股的可分配收益為 0.29 美元。儘管我們在去年減少了不良貸款的風險敞口，取得了重大進展，但仍有工作要做。由於部分遺留貸款表現不佳，我們第四季以及今年年初的收益受到了影響。

As a result, the Board of Directors has declared a first quarter dividend of $0.23 per share which will be paid on April 15, 2025, to shareholders of record on March 31, 2025. We are focused on paying a dividend that is sustainable based on the current performing asset base and believe that the $0.23 dividend should be in line or close to our first and second quarter distributable earnings.

因此，董事會宣布第一季股利為每股 0.23 美元，將於 2025 年 4 月 15 日支付給 2025 年 3 月 31 日登記在冊的股東。我們專注於根據當前表現良好的資產基礎支付可持續的股息，並認為 0.23 美元的股息應與我們第一季和第二季的可分配收益持平或接近。

Before turning to the existing portfolio, I would like to highlight a recent transaction that we closed. In mid-February, we committed and funded a $15 million senior secured credit facility to Story of Ohio. Story intends to use the proceeds of this loan to acquire and build out dispensaries in Ohio. Our first lien term loan is secured by all of Story's assets in Ohio, with its Georgia assets initially included as additional collateral. This transaction reflects our continued focus on supporting strong operators in attractive limited license dates and further diversifying our portfolio.

在談到現有投資組合之前，我想先強調一下我們最近完成的一筆交易。二月中旬，我們承諾向俄亥俄州斯托里市提供 1500 萬美元的優先擔保信貸額度。斯托里打算利用這筆貸款的收益在俄亥俄州收購並建造藥局。我們的第一筆留置權定期貸款由 Story 在俄亥俄州的所有資產擔保，其喬治亞州的資產最初作為額外抵押品。此次交易體現了我們持續致力於在有吸引力的有限許可期限內支持實力雄厚的運營商，並進一步實現產品組合多元化。

As Robyn described earlier, our active pipeline remains strong, with over $380 million in deals as of March 1, 2025. We are focused on sourcing and backing operators with a prior track record of success and selectively providing construction financing to operators with existing operations in other states. We see a growing supply/demand imbalance for debt capital across the sector, with rising demand outpacing an already limited supply. This demand is driven by refinancing activity, adult use in medical expansions, and increased M&A in the cannabis space.

正如羅賓之前所述，我們的活躍管道依然強勁，截至 2025 年 3 月 1 日，交易額已超過 3.8 億美元。我們專注於尋找和支援具有成功記錄的營運商，並有選擇地向已在其他州開展業務的營運商提供建設融資。我們發現整個產業債務資本的供需失衡日益加劇，需求的成長超過了本已有限的供應。這項需求是由再融資活動、成人醫療擴張用途以及大麻領域併購增加所推動的。

Given the Republican sweep and stalled progress on federal reform, we don't see many new capital providers entering the market, providing AFC with an opportunity to continue lending to strong operators at attractive risk-adjusted returns.

鑑於共和黨的全面勝利和聯邦改革進程的停滯，我們看不到許多新的資本提供者進入市場，這為 AFC 提供了一個機會，可以繼續以有吸引力的風險調整回報向實力雄厚的運營商提供貸款。

Turning to our current portfolio management efforts. We have continued the liquidation process for Private Company A, which recently completed the sale of its Georgia assets for $15 million of net proceeds. We are awaiting approval from the receivership to direct distribution of these proceeds, which should go to pay down the loan. As the borrower monetizes additional assets and we receive paydowns from Private Company A, we expect to earn additional revenue redeploying that capital, as Private Company A is on non-accrual and any capital received currently goes to principal paydown.

談到我們目前的投資組合管理工作。我們繼續對私人公司 A 進行清算，該公司最近完成了其喬治亞州資產的出售，淨收益為 1500 萬美元。我們正在等待破產管理機構的批准，以直接分配這些收益，這些收益將用於償還貸款。隨著借款人將額外資產貨幣化，並且我們從私人公司 A 收到還款，我們預計透過重新部署該資本將獲得額外收入，因為私人公司 A 不計息，目前收到的任何資本都用於償還本金。

Turning to subsidiary of Private Company G. On a positive note, since we entered the forbearance agreement in March 2024, the borrower has infused additional equity capital and put experienced operators in place of its Pennsylvania and New Jersey operations. Subsidiary of Private Company G is also known and operates as Justice Grown. However, we have recently uncovered and notified the company of additional defaults under the forbearance agreement and additional defaults under its credit facility. In response, the company sued the CRO of the New Jersey operations.

談到私人公司 G 的子公司。從積極的一面來看，自從我們在 2024 年 3 月達成寬限協議以來，借款人已註入了額外的股本，並任命經驗豐富的運營商取代其賓夕法尼亞州和新澤西州的業務。私人公司 G 的子公司也被稱為 Justice Grown，並以此名稱運作。然而，我們最近發現並通知該公司在寬容協議和信貸安排下存在更多違約情況。作為回應，該公司起訴了新澤西州業務的首席風險長。

With respect to this loan, we are secured by the vertical assets in New Jersey which include an owned cultivation facility and three dispensaries, two of which are owned. In Pennsylvania, we are secured by three dispensaries and an owned cultivation facility, which is currently not operational. Additionally, we have a parent guarantee and a shareholder guarantee as an added protective measure. We intend to aggressively pursue all rights and remedies we have under the credit facility and the guarantees to protect and preserve our shareholders' capital.

就這筆貸款而言，我們以新澤西州的垂直資產作為擔保，其中包括一個自有種植設施和三個藥房，其中兩個為自有。在賓州，我們有三家藥局和一家自有種植設施，但目前該設施尚未投入營運。此外，我們還有母公司擔保和股東擔保作為額外的保護措施。我們打算積極爭取信貸安排和擔保下的所有權利和補救措施，以保護和維護我們股東的資本。

In the complaint against the CRO, Justice Grown also accused AFC of attempting to take the keys. While we would not normally comment on baseless accusations, I feel the need to address this issue head on given the potential for it to cause significant harm to AFC's business.

在針對 CRO 的投訴中，Grown 法官還指控 AFC 試圖奪取鑰匙。雖然我們通常不會對毫無根據的指控發表評論，但我認為有必要正面解決這個問題，因為它可能會對亞足聯的業務造成重大損害。

Our business is simple. We lend money out seeking to earn an attractive risk-adjusted return, and we expect to be paid back. In the history of AFC, we have never sought to enforce a foreclosure outside of a payment event of default. When borrowers run into issues, which is not uncommon given the emerging nature of the cannabis industry, we always seek to work with them to find a solution that puts the borrower on more stable footing while also protecting our shareholders' capital.

我們的業務很簡單。我們借出資金是為了獲得有吸引力的風險調整回報，我們期望得到償還。在 AFC 的歷史上，我們從未在付款違約事件之外尋求強制執行止贖。當借款人遇到問題時（考慮到大麻產業的新興性質，這種情況並不少見），我們始終尋求與他們合作，找到解決方案，使借款人的基礎更加穩定，同時保護我們股東的資本。

We entered into the credit facility with Justice Grown in April 2021 and subsequently entered into multiple amendments and two forbearance agreements, each of which they material defaulted on. We are lenders and have no intention of taking the keys and indeed, are prohibited from doing so under our legal standing. Additionally, the multiple amendments and forbearance agreements show we bent over backwards to avoid auctioning the borrower's assets to the highest third-party through a foreclosure.

我們於 2021 年 4 月與 Justice Grown 達成了信貸協議，隨後又達成了多項修訂和兩份寬限協議，但他們都嚴重違約。我們是貸款人，無意拿走鑰匙，事實上，根據我們的法律地位，我們也被禁止這樣做。此外，多次修訂和寬限協議表明，我們竭盡全力避免透過取消抵押品贖回權將借款人的資產拍賣給出價最高的第三方。

In short, these accusations are baseless, and our only focus is being a trusted lending partner to strong operators with a history of success in the cannabis industry.

簡而言之，這些指控毫無根據，我們唯一的重點是成為大麻產業成功歷史的強大營運商值得信賴的貸款合作夥伴。

While I am disappointed that Justice Grown is still not on more stable footing, we achieved a number of positive outcomes related to other loans on the portfolio management front in 2024. We saw $119 million of capital returns across five underperforming loans last year, including a $4 million exit of our loan to Private Company I, a $22 million paydown from Private Company L, a $5 million paydown from Private Company A, a $4 million net paydown from private Company B, and an $84 million exit of our loan to subsidiary of Public Company H. As a reminder, this loan to subsidiary of Public Company H went into payment default in May 2024, and we received a full paydown of the loan at par, including back interest and default interest, only a month later.

雖然我對 Justice Grown 的基礎仍然不夠穩定感到失望，但我們在 2024 年的投資組合管理方面取得了與其它貸款相關的許多積極成果。去年，我們從五筆表現不佳的貸款中獲得了 1.19 億美元的資本回報，其中包括向私人公司 I 償還 400 萬美元的貸款、向私人公司 L 償還 2200 萬美元的貸款、向私人公司 A 償還 500 萬美元的貸款、向私人公司 B 淨償還 400 萬美元的公司貸款，以及向私人公司為 H800 萬美元的子公司償還 400 萬美元的子公司。提醒一下，這筆向上市公司 H 的子公司提供的貸款於 2024 年 5 月出現還款違約，僅在一個月後，我們就收到了按面值全額償還的貸款，包括補發利息和違約利息。

While past performance is not indicative of future results, we are no stranger to portfolio management and will act aggressively to protect our shareholders' capital. As of December 31, 2024, we had $2.24 per share in unrealized losses and CECL reserves. During 2024, positions we exited had CECL reserves and unrealized losses of $0.31 per share associated with them. By selling or being repaid on these positions at par, the $0.31 per share of reserves and unrealized losses were added back to book value.

雖然過去的表現並不能代表未來的結果，但我們對投資組合管理並不陌生，並將積極採取行動保護股東的資本。截至 2024 年 12 月 31 日，我們的未實現損失和 CECL 準備金為每股 2.24 美元。2024 年期間，我們退出的部位有 CECL 儲備金和與之相關的每股 0.31 美元的未實現損失。透過以面額出售或償還這些頭寸，每股 0.31 美元的準備金和未實現損失被加回到帳面價值中。

We are laser focused on unlocking value from underperforming loans and are excited about the new lending opportunities that we are seeing.

我們專注於從表現不佳的貸款中釋放價值，並對我們所看到的新貸款機會感到興奮。

Now, I'll turn it over to Brandon to discuss our financial results in more detail.

現在，我將讓布蘭登更詳細地討論我們的財務表現。

Thank you, Dan. For the quarter ended December 31, 2024, we generated net interest income of $7.6 million and distributable earnings of $6.3 million or $0.29 per basic weighted average common share and had a GAAP net loss of $1 million or $0.05 per basic weighted average common share.

謝謝你，丹。截至 2024 年 12 月 31 日的季度，我們產生了 760 萬美元的淨利息收入和 630 萬美元的可分配收益，即每股基本加權平均普通股 0.29 美元，而 GAAP 淨虧損為 100 萬美元，即每股基本加權平均普通股 0.05 美元。

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2024, we generated net interest income of $45.7 million and distributable earnings of $34.9 million or $1.68 per basic weighted average common share, and had a GAAP net income of $16.8 million or $0.78 per basic weighted average common share.

截至 2024 年 12 月 31 日的財政年度，我們產生了 4,570 萬美元的淨利息收入和 3,490 萬美元的可分配收益，即每股基本加權平均普通股 1.68 美元，而 GAAP 淨收入為 1,680 萬美元，即每股基本加權平均普通股 0.78 美元。

As previously mentioned, we believe providing distributable earnings is helpful to shareholders in assessing the overall performance of AFC's business. Distributable earnings represents the net income computed in accordance with GAAP, excluding non-cash items such as stock compensation expense, any unrealized gains or losses, provision for current expected credit losses also known as CECL, taxable REIT subsidiary income or loss net of dividends, and other non-cash items recorded in net income or loss for the period.

如前所述，我們認為提供可分配收益有助於股東評估亞足聯業務的整體表現。可分配收益是指根據 GAAP 計算的淨收入，不包括股票薪酬費用、任何未實現收益或損失、當前預期信用損失準備金（也稱為 CECL）、應稅 REIT 子公司收益或損失（扣除股息）以及記錄在期間淨收益或損失中的其他非現金項目。

We ended the fourth quarter of 2024 with $356.8 million of principal outstanding spread across 16 loans. As of March 1, 2025, our portfolio consisted of $368.8 million of principal outstanding across 17 loans. The weighted average portfolio yield to maturity, which is measured for each loan over the life of such loan, was approximately 18% as of December 31, 2024 and March 1, 2025.

截至 2024 年第四季度，我們的 16 筆貸款的未償還本金為 3.568 億美元。截至 2025 年 3 月 1 日，我們的投資組合包括 17 筆貸款的未償還本金 3.688 億美元。截至 2024 年 12 月 31 日及 2025 年 3 月 1 日，以每筆貸款在其整個期限內衡量的加權平均投資組合到期收益率約為 18%。

As of December 31, 2024, we had total assets of $402.1 million, including cash and cash equivalents of $103.6 million which included $100 million drawn on our lines of credit which were both subsequently repaid in full on January 2, 2025. As of December 31, 2024, the CECL reserve was $30.6 million or approximately 10.4% of our loans at carrying value. And we had a total unrealized loss included on the balance sheet of $19.7 million for our loans held at fair value. As of December 31, 2024, our total shareholder equity was $201.4 million and our book value per share was $9.02.

截至 2024 年 12 月 31 日，我們的總資產為 4.021 億美元，包括現金和現金等價物 1.036 億美元，其中包括從我們的信用額度中提取的 1 億美元，隨後於 2025 年 1 月 2 日全額償還。截至 2024 年 12 月 31 日，CECL 準備金為 3,060 萬美元，約占我們貸款帳面價值的 10.4%。我們的資產負債表上以公允價值持有的貸款的未實現損失總額為 1,970 萬美元。截至 2024 年 12 月 31 日，我們的股東權益總額為 2.014 億美元，每股帳面價值為 9.02 美元。

With that, I will now turn it back over to the operator to start the Q&A.

現在，我將把時間交還給操作員，開始問答環節。

(Operator Instructions)

（操作員指示）

Aaron Grey, AGP.

亞倫·格雷，AGP。

Good morning and thank you for the questions here. First question for me just on Justice Grown, Private Company G. Obviously, you guys had done a lot of work to restore that to accrual and had worked out some forbearance agreements. I imagine a lot of this is still new, but just how best to think about some of these next steps? It looks like you guys talked about the (inaudible) work, everything's kind of still on the table. Are you guys still looking to come to a potential new agreement? Or what are the potential next steps we should be thinking about in the timeline because obviously, this is one of the bigger borrowers in the portfolio today. So any incremental color though would be helpful. Thanks.

早安，感謝您的提問。我的第一個問題是關於 Justice Grown、私人公司 G 的。顯然，你們已經做了很多工作來恢復應計，並製定了一些寬容協議。我想其中很多內容仍是新的，但如何最好地思考接下來的一些步驟呢？看起來你們談論了（聽不清楚）工作，一切都還在討論中。你們還在尋求潛在的新協議嗎？或者我們應該在時間表中考慮下一步的潛在措施是什麼，因為顯然，這是目前投資組合中較大的借款人之一。因此，任何增量顏色都會有幫助。謝謝。

Thanks for the question, Aaron. Look, we're not going to negotiate in public here and so I think what we, the management team and the Board of Directors, have done is to set our dividend at a sustainable level based on the current performing assets within the portfolio, and we added some commentary to that effect based on where we stand today. And should we receive paydowns and redeploy that capital into productive assets in the future, it's pretty simple arithmetic, and you guys can do your own math on what the income statement would look like if we redeploy that capital into productive assets.

謝謝你的提問，Aaron。你看，我們不會在這裡公開談判，所以我認為，我們管理團隊和董事會所做的就是根據投資組合中當前表現良好的資產將我們的股息設定在可持續的水平，並且我們根據我們目前的狀況添加了一些評論。如果我們在未來收到還款並將這些資本重新部署到生產性資產中，這是一個非常簡單的算術，如果我們將這些資本重新部署到生產性資產中，你們可以自己計算一下損益表會是什麼樣子。

Okay. Great. Thanks for the color there. And then just commentary in terms of the pipeline, how should we think about the mix of opportunities that you see most appealing? You talked about refinancing CapEx as well as M&A in terms of potential new capital deployment for the year. So what are you seeing in terms of near term opportunities? And how much of that pipeline might be able to come to fruition for the year? Thanks.

好的。偉大的。感謝那裡的色彩。然後僅從管道方面進行評論，我們應該如何看待您認為最有吸引力的機會組合？您談到了今年潛在的新資本部署方面的資本支出再融資以及併購。那麼，您認為近期有哪些機會呢？今年有多少專案能夠實現？謝謝。

We're seeing a lot of interesting opportunities kind of across those broad swaths. Some opportunities in new medical markets like Kentucky which we view as an attractive and limited-license state that obviously is going to require significant capital for build-out. Some of those opportunities are in recently adult-use flip states that are -- and the Story of Ohio alone that we did would be a great example of that, and there's certainly more capital as additional dispensaries and capacity is built to service the Ohio market.

我們在這些廣闊的領域中看到了很多有趣的機會。肯塔基州等新興醫療市場存在一些機遇，我們認為該州是一個有吸引力且許可有限的州，顯然需要大量資金來建造。其中一些機會出現在最近成人使用翻轉的州——我們所做的俄亥俄州的故事就是一個很好的例子，隨著更多藥房和產能的建設以服務俄亥俄州市場，肯定會有更多的資本。

Other opportunities are refinancing opportunities. We're seeing certainly some exits from the space from other funds that have operated in the space historically that are not raising new funds or redeploying capital. And that is creating a need for good borrowers with good assets that could use that capital.

其他機會是再融資機會。我們確實看到一些其他基金退出了該領域，這些基金過去一直在該領域運營，沒有籌集新資金或重新部署資本。這就需要有良好資產、能夠利用這些資本的優質借款人。

Ad then on the flip side, we have seen not as much on the public side of things, but more on the private side, some significant M&A. And often times, consideration for any of those M&A transactions is typically a third debt, a third cash, a third stock. And we're happy to be a provider of M&A and expansion capital to folks that are good operators that are looking to take advantage of some of the distress in the space and scale up their portfolios. So it's a mix of all of the above.

另一方面，我們在公共領域看到的併購並不多，但在私人領域看到的併購則更多，出現了一些重大併購。通常，任何併購交易的對價通常是第三種債務、第三種現金和第三種股票。我們很高興能夠為那些希望利用該領域的一些困境並擴大投資組合的優秀營運商提供併購和擴張資本。所以它是以上所有情況的混合。

On the redeployment side of things, I think at least for the time being, given some of the uncertainty related to the underperforming assets in the portfolio, a target for that is going to be partially dependent on how much capital we receive back over the course of the year. But I would say that we are seeing a robust pipeline of good operators with strong credits that fit our profile and we'll be able to deploy any of the capital that we receive back plus the capital that we have available under our current liquidity into good credits in the space this year.

在重新部署方面，我認為至少就目前而言，考慮到與投資組合中表現不佳的資產相關的一些不確定性，重新部署的目標將部分取決於我們在今年收回多少資本。但我想說的是，我們看到了一批優秀的運營商，他們擁有符合我們形象的強大信用，我們將能夠將我們收到的任何資本加上我們目前流動性下可用的資本部署到今年該領域的良好信用中。

Okay. Great. Thanks for the color there. I'll jump back into the queue.

好的。偉大的。感謝那裡的色彩。我將重新回到隊列中。

Pablo Zuanic, Zuanic and Associates.

帕布羅·祖安尼克（Pablo Zuanic），祖安尼克及其合夥人。

Thank you. Good morning, everyone. Maybe, Dan, just to follow up in terms of the outlook for the book for 2025. I think, last year, you had set a target of $100 million in new funding. I don't know if you're setting a new target. You talked about the $54 million in commitments so far in '25. How much has been drawn in the first quarter? If you can talk about that. I think you have about $35 million in maturities this year. Just trying to understand the year-end look of the book in terms of total. Thank you.

謝謝。大家早安。丹，也許只是為了跟進一下 2025 年這本書的展望。我認為，去年您設定了 1 億美元新融資的目標。我不知道您是否正在設定新的目標。您談到了 25 年迄今為止 5400 萬美元的承諾。第一季已經提取了多少？如果你可以談論這個的話。我認為您今年的到期債務約為 3500 萬美元。只是想從整體上了解這本書的年底情況。謝謝。

Sure. So with the deployment of our loan to Story of Ohio, we did get slightly into leverage at the start of this year. Obviously, we have availability under, some of the various credit facilities that we have to continue to deploy capital into the space. On a target, I think that we'll look to probably wait to give that target likely next quarter, given that some of the recent events are a little bit newer here. And so how much we redeploy this year is one, a function of obviously availability under liquidity; but two, a function of how much capital we get back and the timing of getting that capital back.

當然。因此，隨著我們向俄亥俄州斯托里市提供貸款，我們在今年年初確實略微陷入了槓桿。顯然，我們擁有各種信貸工具，可以繼續向該領域投入資金。對於目標，我認為我們可能會等到下個季度再設定這個目標，因為最近發生的一些事件比較新。因此，我們今年重新部署多少資金，首先顯然取決於流動性的可用性；其次，也取決於我們收回多少資本以及收回這些資本的時機。

I would say that, last year, we set a target of $100 million. We deployed $125 million of capital. I think with the opportunities today, it's even better than it was six to nine months ago. And so we're seeing a good pipeline of borrowers that were able to move up the quality curve on the credit profiles, the quality of the operators, the states that they're exposed to while still earning -- still targeting IRRs that are within our historical norms and our targets.

我想說，去年我們設定的目標是 1 億美元。我們部署了1.25億美元的資金。我認為，有了今天的機遇，情況甚至比六到九個月前更好。因此，我們看到一群優秀的借款人能夠提升信用狀況、運營商品質和所處狀態的品質曲線，同時仍然盈利 - 仍然以符合我們的歷史規範和目標的內部收益率為目標。

Right. And just can you remind us of the liquidity? I mean, obviously, yo have your balance sheet, cash flow available. And then in terms of the credit lines, what's left? Just a reminder on that.

正確的。您能提醒我們一下流動性嗎？我的意思是，顯然你有資產負債表和現金流。那麼就信用額度而言，還剩下什麼？只是提醒一下這一點。

Sure. And you can see it in our investor presentation as well. So we currently have two revolving lines of credit that allow us to borrow up to $100 million. As of March 1, we had approximately $89 million available under those facilities.

當然。您也可以在我們的投資者介紹中看到這一點。因此，我們目前有兩條循環信用額度，最多可以藉到 1 億美元。截至 3 月 1 日，我們在這些設施下有大約 8,900 萬美元可用。

All right. Understood. And then just going back to the dividend, I mean, obviously, it has to be a number that's sustainable. You had issued $0.33 after the spin. So should we have thought of that as more of an extraordinary one-time dividend? Or was it that things really changed between that announcement and the $0.23 that you're doing now? Is it all Justice Grown-related, I guess, what I'm asking. I suppose you already knew about Justice Grown when you announced the $0.33 last quarter. Thank you.

好的。明白了。然後回到股息問題，我的意思是，顯然它必須是一個可持續的數字。旋轉後您已發行了 0.33 美元。那麼，我們是否應該將其視為一次性的特殊股利？或者說，從那次聲明到現在的 0.23 美元，情況真的改變了嗎？我想問的是，這一切是否都與《正義成長》有關？我想當您上個季度宣布 0.33 美元時，您就已經知道 Justice Grown 了。謝謝。

No. These issues are more recent, so it's -- The way the forbearance agreement was structured, there were excess cash flow sweeps associated with the cash flow generation of this business. And there's been significant developments as we've entered into the new year here. So there was nothing extraordinary about the $0.33. And we're looking to set -- given the uncertainty around this situation as well as some of the paydowns related to Private Company A, which are larger loans, we wanted to set the dividend at a level that is based on the performing book ex any of the underperforming legacy loans.

不。這些問題是最近才出現的，所以——寬容協議的結構方式，與該業務的現金流量產生相關的超額現金流清掃。隨著我們進入新的一年，我們取得了重大進展。所以0.33美元並沒有什麼特別之處。考慮到目前情況的不確定性，以及與私人公司A相關的一些還款（這些貸款規模較大），我們希望將股息設定在一個基於賬面表現的水平，扣除任何表現不佳的遺留貸款。

Understood. That's good color. Thank you. And look, I understand the need to exit those underperforming loans and replace them with stronger operators and better credits. And obviously, you're doing that with Story, for example, right, a very strong operator out there. But does that mean that you're being put in a position to offer maybe a more competitive rate than you have taken in the past; that maybe in this need to swap the quality of your portfolio, you're having to bid more aggressively only in rates than you would have had in the past?

明白了。這顏色真好。謝謝。而且，我明白有必要退出那些表現不佳的貸款，並用更強大的運營商和更好的信貸來取而代之。顯然，您正在使用 Story 來做到這一點，對吧，這是一個非常強大的操作員。但這是否意味著，您能夠提供比過去更具競爭力的利率？或者，為了改變投資組合的質量，您不得不在利率方面比過去更積極地競標？

I think it's situational based on the credit, right? There are some loans that we're entering that are very low leveraged, that amortize quickly, that have a great collateral package and great security. And for a loan like that, it's going to be priced at a little lower cost of capital than a regular way cannabis loan would be priced. And there are also loans that are a little bit more development assets, I would say, in states that we really like. We have exposure to a small construction loan in Georgia. It's one of six licenses in the entirety of Georgia. And you have to structure a loan like that with appropriate protections in terms of construction reserves, interest reserves, et cetera, to make sure you have adequate security and protection in the structuring of the loan. And a loan like that is going to earn a little bit higher rate than your average cannabis loan. So we're not just picking one number and going out with term sheets with that. This is bespoke credit investing, and each one of these companies, credits, and structures is its own unique snowflake.

我認為這是根據信用情況而定的，對嗎？我們正在進行的一些貸款槓桿率非常低，攤銷速度很快，有很好的抵押品組合和很好的安全性。對於這樣的貸款，其資本成本將比常規大麻貸款的定價略低。我想說，在我們真正喜歡的州，還有一些貸款是更多的開發資產。我們在喬治亞州有一筆小額建築貸款。這是整個喬治亞州的六個許可證之一。您必須建造這樣的貸款，並在建設準備金、利息準備金等方面提供適當的保護，以確保在貸款建造過程中獲得足夠的安全和保護。這樣的貸款利率會比普通的大麻貸款略高一些。因此，我們不只是選擇一個數字，然後根據該數字制定條款清單。這是客製化的信貸投資，其中的每一家公司、信貸和結構都是獨一無二的。

Right. And one more, I realized that being Nasdaq listed, you cannot own (inaudible) assets, so that's something you have to keep in mind when there's receivers being appointed and those type of things. But how would you describe the demand for assets in New Jersey and Pennsylvania right now? On the one hand, Pennsylvania would go (inaudible), so there should be strong demand. But there seems to be a lot of distressed assets in that market. And in the case of New Jersey, it's supposed to be an exciting market, but a lot of competition with a lot of new stores, right? So how would you describe the environment in terms of demand for assets in those two states?

正確的。另外，我意識到，作為納斯達克上市公司，你不能擁有（聽不清楚）資產，所以在任命接管人和諸如此類的事情時，你必須記住這一點。但是您如何描述目前新澤西州和賓夕法尼亞州對資產的需求？一方面，賓州將會（聽不清楚），因此應該會有強勁的需求。但該市場似乎存在大量不良資產。就新澤西州而言，它應該是一個令人興奮的市場，但是由於新店眾多，競爭也十分激烈，對嗎？那麼，您如何描述這兩個州的資產需求環境？

Unfortunately, Pablo, we're not going to be in a position to comment there. I think you all can make your own observations about those markets and the attractiveness of those markets. And I'd leave it at that.

不幸的是，Pablo，我們無法對此發表評論。我想大家可以對這些市場以及這些市場的吸引力做出自己的觀察。我就不多說了。

Okay. And if I may, I want to add just one more last one. Regarding 280E, in my opinion, what a lot of the companies are doing makes a lot of sense, right? Most companies are filing as normal corporations and just accruing the tax liability as some certain tax benefits and will see what happens in four, six years' time, right? These are not debts with a maturity date and there's a lot of -- so this could take a while, right? So you could make the argument that these companies are going to be in much better financial shape, generating positive cash flow, because of the way they are dealing with 280E. I'm just thinking from your perspective, do you agree with that view that these companies, as a result of not paying 280E and are in better shape, although it would have a big tax liability piling up on their balance sheet, right? Thanks.

好的。如果可以的話，我只想補充最後一點。關於 280E，我認為很多公司的做法都很有意義，對嗎？大多數公司都以普通公司的身份進行申報，並將納稅義務作為某些稅收優惠累積起來，看看四年、六年後會發生什麼，對嗎？這些債務沒有到期日，而且有很多——所以這可能需要一段時間，對吧？因此，你可以說，由於這些公司處理 280E 的方式，它們的財務狀況將會好得多，產生正現金流。我只是從您的角度思考，您是否同意這樣的觀點：這些公司由於不支付 280E，因此狀況更好，儘管這會在他們的資產負債表上累積大量稅務負擔，對嗎？謝謝。

There's puts and takes. Obviously, not paying your taxes is a choice. I wish I had that choice. But the old saying, There are two certainties in life, death and taxes, I think still does apply. And some of these companies, I think, are not paying taxes because they can't afford to pay those taxes. I also think that not paying taxes also potentially presents some issues for companies because in certain states, you can only -- due to the regulatory regime and the regulatory overlay, you can only do equity transfers as opposed to asset sales. And so in an equity transfer scenario, the tax is attached to that individual asset and somebody eventually has to pay the tax man.

有得有失。顯然，不繳稅是一種選擇。我希望我有這樣的選擇。但我認為那句老話「人生有兩件事是確定的：死亡和稅收」仍然適用。我認為，其中一些公司不繳稅是因為他們無力繳納這些稅金。我還認為，不納稅也可能給公司帶來一些問題，因為在某些州，由於監管制度和監管覆蓋，你只能進行股權轉讓而不是資產出售。因此，在股權轉讓的情況下，稅金與單一資產掛鉤，最終有人必須向稅務機關繳稅。

And so I think there's puts and takes. We don't really have a strong view one way or another. We would love for both the industry and for our borrowers to get 280E reform over the line. I think it's a crime that it's still out there and these companies are paying exorbitant rates. But unfortunately, I'm not sure that that's really a high priority item or a focus for the Republican administration.

所以我認為，這其中有得有失。我們對此並沒有真正強烈的看法。我們希望產業和借款人都能順利完成 280E 改革。我認為這種現象仍然存在並且這些公司支付高昂的費用是一種犯罪。但不幸的是，我不確定這是否真的是共和黨政府的首要任務或焦點。

All right. Thank you very much.

好的。非常感謝。

That concludes today's question-and-answer session. I'd like to turn the call back to Dan Neville for closing remarks.

今天的問答環節到此結束。我想請丹‧內維爾 (Dan Neville) 作最後發言。

Thank you so much for joining us today and for the questions.

非常感謝您今天參加我們的活動並提出問題。

This concludes today's conference call. Thank you for participating. You may now disconnect.

今天的電話會議到此結束。感謝您的參與。您現在可以斷開連線。