Ares Capital Corp (ARCC) 2020 Q1 法說會逐字稿

Good afternoon. Welcome to Ares Capital Corporation's First Quarter, March 31, 2020, Earnings Conference Call. (Operator Instructions) As a reminder, this conference call is being recorded on Tuesday, May 5, 2020. (Operator Instructions) I will now turn the call over to Mr. John Stilmar, Managing Director of Investor Relations.

午安.歡迎參加 Ares Capital Corporation 於 2020 年 3 月 31 日舉行的第一季財報電話會議。（操作員說明）謹此提醒，本次電話會議於 2020 年 5 月 5 日星期二錄製。（操作員指示）我現在將電話轉給投資者關係董事總經理 John Stilmar 先生。

Thank you. Let me start with some important reminders. Comments made during the course of this conference call and webcast and the accompanying documents contain forward-looking statements and are subject to risks and uncertainties, including the impact of COVID-19, related changes in base rates and significant market volatility on our business and our portfolio companies.

謝謝。讓我從一些重要的提醒開始。本次電話會議和網路直播期間發表的評論以及隨附文件包含前瞻性陳述，並受到風險和不確定性的影響，包括COVID-19 的影響、基本費率的相關變化以及對我們業務和我們的重大市場波動的影響。投資組合公司。

Many of these forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as anticipates, believes, expects, intends, will, should, may and similar such expressions. The company's actual results could differ materially from those expressed in such forward-looking statements for any reason, including those listed in its SEC filings. Ares Capital Corporation assumes no obligation to update such forward-looking statements.

許多前瞻性陳述可以透過使用「預期」、「相信」、「期望」、「打算」、「將」、「應該」、「可能」等類似表達方式來識別。該公司的實際結果可能出於任何原因與此類前瞻性聲明中表達的結果存在重大差異，包括其向美國證券交易委員會提交的文件中列出的結果。Ares Capital Corporation 不承擔更新此類前瞻性陳述的義務。

Please also note that past performance or market information is not a guarantee of future results. During this conference call, the company may discuss certain non-GAAP measures as defined by SEC Regulation G, such as core earnings per share or Core EPS. The company believes that Core EPS provides useful information to investors regarding the financial performance because it is one method the company uses to measure its financial condition and results of operations.

另請注意，過去的表現或市場資訊並不能保證未來的結果。在本次電話會議期間，公司可能會討論 SEC G 條例定義的某些非 GAAP 指標，例如核心每股盈餘或核心每股盈餘。該公司認為，核心每股收益為投資者提供了有關財務業績的有用信息，因為它是公司用來衡量其財務狀況和經營業績的一種方法。

A reconciliation of core EPS to net per share increase or decrease in stockholders' equity resulting from operations, the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure, can be found in the accompanying slide presentation for this call.

核心每股收益與營運產生的每股淨股東權益增加或減少的調節表（最直接可比較的公認會計原則財務指標）可以在本次電話會議隨附的幻燈片演示中找到。

In addition, reconciliation of these measures may also be found in our earnings release filed this morning with the SEC on Form 8-K. Certain information discussed in this presentation, including information relating to portfolio companies, was derived from third-party sources and has not been independently verified. And accordingly, the company makes no representation or warranty in respect of this information.

此外，這些措施的協調也可以在我們今天早上向 SEC 提交的 8-K 表格收益報告中找到。本簡報中討論的某些資訊（包括與投資組合公司相關的資訊）來自第三方來源，未經獨立核實。因此，本公司對此資訊不作任何陳述或保證。

The company's first quarter ended March 31, 2020, earnings presentation can be found on the company's website at www.arescapitalcorp.com by clicking on the Q1 '20 Earnings Presentation link on the homepage of the Investor Resources section.

該公司截至 2020 年 3 月 31 日的第一季財報可在公司網站 www.arescapitalcorp.com 上找到，方法是點擊投資者資源部分主頁上的「20 年第一季財報」連結。

Ares Capital Corporation's earnings release and 10-Q are also available on the company's website.

Ares Capital Corporation 的收益報告和 10-Q 報告也可在該公司網站上取得。

I'd now like to turn the call over to Mr. Kipp DeVeer, Ares Capital Corporation's Chief Executive Officer.

現在我想將電話轉給 Ares Capital Corporation 執行長 Kipp DeVeer 先生。

Thanks, John. Hello to everyone, and thank you for joining us. I'm joined on the line by our Co-Presidents, Mitch Goldstein and Michael Smith; our Chief Financial Officer, Penni Roll; and several other members of the management team.

謝謝，約翰。大家好，感謝您加入我們。我們的聯合總裁米奇·戈德斯坦 (Mitch Goldstein) 和邁克爾·史密斯 (Michael Smith) 也加入了我的行列。我們的財務長 Penni Roll；以及管理團隊的其他幾位成員。

We want to start by recognizing this very challenging time for our country, and we send our thoughts and best wishes to those most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly those who have suffered from the virus and the extraordinary folks on the front lines who are allowing us to get by in these trying times.

首先，我們要認識到我們國家面臨著這個非常具有挑戰性的時刻，我們向受COVID-19 大流行影響最嚴重的人們致以我們的思念和最美好的祝愿，特別是那些遭受病毒折磨的人們以及奮戰在前線的傑出人士。讓我們度過這些艱難的時期。

We're fortunate that our employees are safe and healthy, and we've successfully navigated the transition to a remote working environment without experiencing significant disruption in our day-to-day operations.

我們很幸運，我們的員工安全健康，我們成功地過渡到遠距工作環境，而沒有對我們的日常營運造成重大干擾。

We will now dig in to provide highlights on the first quarter results for Ares Capital Corporation and then provide some thoughts on the company's position in light of the current market conditions. This morning, we reported first quarter core earnings of $0.41 per share, which is a strong result given the current economic and market disruptions.

我們現在將深入介紹 Ares Capital Corporation 第一季的業績重點，然後根據當前市場狀況提供對該公司地位的一些想法。今天早上，我們報告第一季核心收益為每股 0.41 美元，考慮到當前的經濟和市場混亂，這是一個強勁的業績。

As we will discuss in more detail later, most businesses across the U.S. have been impacted by the economic consequences of COVID-19 to varying degrees, and our portfolio companies are not immune to the consequences of this pandemic. However, we do believe that we are operating from a position of relative strength as our portfolio is highly diversified and well positioned in larger upper middle-market franchise businesses in defensive industries, like health care services, software and business services.

正如我們稍後將更詳細討論的那樣，美國各地的大多數企業都不同程度地受到了 COVID-19 經濟後果的影響，而我們的投資組合公司也未能倖免於這一流行病的後果。然而，我們確實相信，我們的營運處於相對優勢地位，因為我們的投資組合高度多元化，並且在醫療保健服務、軟體和商業服務等防禦性行業的大型中高端市場特許經營業務中處於有利地位。

Furthermore, we remain underweight to the most impacted sectors such as energy, travel, restaurants, hospitality and retail. Our recent focus has been on working with our portfolio companies, our management teams and private equity sponsors to determine each company's liquidity needs and operating plans to manage through to the recovery as we bridge to a time when the economy can restart.

此外，我們仍然減持受影響最嚴重的行業，如能源、旅遊、餐飲、酒店和零售。我們最近的重點是與我們的投資組合公司、管理團隊和私募股權發起人合作，確定每家公司的流動性需求和營運計劃，以在我們迎接經濟重啟之際實現復甦。

We're finding that each company has a different set of circumstances, and our close working relationship with each company, and often their private equity sponsor, is of significant benefit.

我們發現每家公司都有不同的情況，而我們與每家公司（通常也包括其私募股權發起人）的密切合作關係具有重大益處。

One key benefit in managing our portfolio in these difficult times is that we have one of the deepest and most experienced investment teams in the business. We have more than 130 investment professionals, including 25 dedicated portfolio management professionals. Keep in mind that Ares Capital does not have investment professionals solely focused on origination.

在這些困難時期管理我們的投資組合的一個關鍵好處是，我們擁有業內最深入、最有經驗的投資團隊之一。我們擁有超過 130 名投資專業人士，其中包括 25 名專門的投資組合管理專業人士。請記住，Ares Capital 沒有隻專注於發起的投資專業人士。

All of our investment professionals are involved in the underwriting and risk management aspects of our investing activities. During periods like this, this allows us to put all of our investment professionals into risk management roles, and bring very significant resources to bear on the portfolio. The size and breadth of our team's capabilities and experience allow us to be early, active and thorough in these volatile markets.

我們所有的投資專業人士都參與我們投資活動的承保和風險管理方面。在這樣的時期，這使我們能夠讓所有投資專業人士擔任風險管理角色，並為投資組合帶來非常重要的資源。我們團隊的規模和廣度、能力和經驗使我們能夠在這些動盪的市場中儘早、積極和徹底地採取行動。

As many of you know, we have a long track record of significant success managing through difficult economic environments, including selected workout situations with borrowers.

正如你們許多人所知，我們在應對困難的經濟環境方面有著長期的成功記錄，包括與借款人進行特定的解決情況。

In addition to working with portfolio companies, we believe we are operating with relative strength due to the way that we have constructed our funding and liabilities. We believe that our philosophy of fortifying the balance sheet with significant unsecured long-dated financing has us very well positioned to navigate volatile markets.

除了與投資組合公司合作外，我們相信，由於我們建立融資和負債的方式，我們的營運相對較強。我們相信，透過大量無擔保長期融資來強化資產負債表的概念使我們能夠很好地應對動盪的市場。

Our debt maturities are well-laddered, and we have no maturities until 2022. And in this case, total 2022 maturities are less than 12% of our current total debt outstanding. With regard to our secured credit facilities, we are significantly overcollateralized due to the predominantly unsecured nature of our capital structure, which gives us full access to these facilities.

我們的債務到期期限很長，直到 2022 年才到期。在這種情況下，2022 年到期的債務總額不到我們目前未償債務總額的 12%。就我們的擔保信貸便利而言，由於我們的資本結構主要無擔保性質，我們的抵押嚴重超額，這使我們能夠充分利用這些便利。

Today, we have approximately $2.6 billion of available liquidity, which is more than 2x our aggregate unfunded revolver and delayed draw term loan commitments of $1.2 billion. We believe this deep liquidity position will be important in enabling us to support our portfolio companies and to invest in the recovery.

如今，我們擁有約 26 億美元的可用流動資金，是我們無資金支持的循環貸款總額和 12 億美元延遲提取定期貸款承諾總額的 2 倍多。我們相信，這種深厚的流動性狀況對於我們支持投資組合公司和投資復甦至關重要。

Given this strong position, we declared a $0.40 per share quarterly cash dividend for the second quarter of 2020. Even as we factor in a cautious outlook for a possible slow and uneven recovery, we are confident that we can continue to support a steady dividend level for the foreseeable future.

鑑於這一強勢地位，我們宣布 2020 年第二季每股 0.40 美元的季度現金股息。儘管我們對可能出現的緩慢且不平衡的復甦持謹慎態度，但我們仍然有信心在可預見的未來繼續支持穩定的股息水平。

As we look ahead, while there's a high bar for investing new capital during these uncertain times, we're seeing increasingly attractive opportunities to invest. Our focus will be on making new investments in existing portfolio companies and select investment companies. Investment spreads have widened and documentation, terms and leverage have improved materially.

展望未來，雖然在這些不確定的時期投資新資本的門檻很高，但我們看到越來越有吸引力的投資機會。我們的重點將是對現有投資組合公司和精選投資公司進行新投資。投資利差擴大，文件、條款和槓桿率顯著改善。

Our view of attractive investment opportunities includes investing in our own stock, which is trading well below net asset value. During the first quarter, we repurchased $100 million of our stock at an average price per share of $11.83, implying a 13% annualized return using the most recently declared dividend.

我們對有吸引力的投資機會的看法包括投資我們自己的股票，該股票的交易價格遠低於資產淨值。第一季度，我們以每股 11.83 美元的平均價格回購了 1 億美元的股票，這意味著使用最近宣布的股息時的年化回報率為 13%。

Given the strength of our liquidity and balance sheet, we'll continue to consider acquiring our stock at attractive levels. Before I turn it over to Penni, let me reassure you with one additional thought. We do not foresee the need to issue any dilutive equity capital due to the current situation. I'll now turn it over to Penni to provide more details on our first quarter results.

鑑於我們的流動性和資產負債表的實力，我們將繼續考慮以有吸引力的水平收購我們的股票。在我把它交給佩妮之前，讓我再向你保證一個額外的想法。鑑於目前的情況，我們預計不需要發行任何稀釋性股本。現在我將把它交給 Penni，以提供有關我們第一季業績的更多詳細資訊。

Thank you, Kipp, and good afternoon. Our core earnings per share were $0.41 for the first quarter of 2020 compared to $0.45 for the fourth quarter of 2019 and $0.48 for the first quarter of 2019. We had a GAAP net loss per share for the first quarter of 2020 of $1.42, which compares to GAAP net income per share of $0.48 for the fourth quarter of 2019 and $0.50 for the first quarter of 2019.

謝謝你，基普，下午好。2020 年第一季我們的核心每股收益為 0.41 美元，而 2019 年第四季為 0.45 美元，2019 年第一季為 0.48 美元。2020 年第一季 GAAP 每股淨虧損為 1.42 美元，而 2019 年第四季 GAAP 每股淨利潤為 0.48 美元，2019 年第一季為 0.50 美元。

Our GAAP net loss per share for the first quarter of 2020 of $1.42 includes net realized gains of $0.08 per share and net unrealized losses of $2.04 per share. These net unrealized losses reflect the macroeconomic impact of COVID-19 on the fair value of our portfolio, largely driven by the widening of credit spreads and represented approximately 5% of total assets at fair value and 12% of net asset value. Our total portfolio at fair value at the end of the quarter was $14.4 billion.

我們 2020 年第一季的 GAAP 每股淨虧損為 1.42 美元，其中包括每股已實現淨收益 0.08 美元和每股未實現淨虧損 2.04 美元。這些未實現淨損失反映了 COVID-19 對我們投資組合公允價值的宏觀經濟影響，主要是由信用利差擴大推動的，約佔公允價值總資產的 5% 和資產淨值的 12%。截至本季末，我們的投資組合總公允價值為 144 億美元。

As of March 31, 2020, the weighted average yield on our debt and other income-producing securities at amortized cost was 8.9%, and the weighted average yield on total investments at amortized cost was 7.9% as compared to 9.6% and 8.6%, respectively, at December 31, 2019. The first quarter yield on total investments at amortized cost was down from the fourth quarter, largely due to further declines in LIBOR.

截至2020年3月31日，我們的債務和其他創收證券的攤餘成本加權平均收益率為8.9%，總投資的攤餘成本加權平均收益率為7.9%，而去年同期為9.6%和8.6% ，分別於2019年12月31日。第一季以攤餘成本計算的總投資報酬率較第四季下降，主要原因是倫敦銀行間同業拆借利率（LIBOR）進一步下降。

At March 31, 2020, 85% of our total portfolio was in floating-rate investments. Additionally, excluding our investment in the SDLP certificates, 79% of the remaining floating-rate investments had an average LIBOR floor of approximately 1.1%, which is above today's current 3-month LIBOR rate.

截至 2020 年 3 月 31 日，我們總投資組合的 85% 為浮動利率投資。此外，不包括我們對 SDLP 證書的投資，剩餘浮動利率投資中 79% 的平均 LIBOR 下限約為 1.1%，高於目前的 3 個月 LIBOR 利率。

Moving to the right-hand side of the balance sheet, we've continued to be active extending our liabilities and building our liquidity position. During the first quarter, we expanded ARCC's borrowing capacity by more than $1.3 billion, led by a 5-year $750 million unsecured note issuance with a 3.25% coupon.

轉向資產負債表的右側，我們繼續積極擴大負債並建立流動性部位。第一季度，我們將 ARCC 的借貸能力擴大了超過 13 億美元，其中以發行 7.5 億美元、票面利率 3.25% 的 5 年期無擔保票據為首。

This issuance was the lowest cost unsecured note execution in BDC history and the timing of the raise demonstrates our ability to execute when markets are favorable. In addition to this successful transaction, we added a total of $565 million of incremental committed bank borrowing capacity and extended the final maturity to 2025 on $5 billion of our secured credit facilities.

此次發行是 BDC 歷史上執行成本最低的無擔保票據，而此次融資的時機證明了我們在市場有利時執行的能力。除了這項成功的交易外，我們還增加了總計 5.65 億美元的增量承諾銀行借款能力，並將 50 億美元的擔保信貸額度的最終期限延長至 2025 年。

As a result, we ended the quarter with approximately $2.6 billion of available cash and borrowing capacity, which we believe positions us to have more than sufficient available liquidity for the existing unfunded loan commitments and to capitalize on the improving investing environment. In addition, we have embedded liquidity from our existing portfolio through investment repayments and sales, including through sales of loans to Ivy Hill Asset Management.

因此，我們在本季末擁有約 26 億美元的可用現金和借款能力，我們相信這使我們能夠擁有足夠的可用流動性來履行現有的無資金貸款承諾，並利用不斷改善的投資環境。此外，我們還透過投資償還和銷售（包括向 Ivy Hill 資產管理公司出售貸款）從現有投資組合中嵌入流動性。

With meaningful available liquidity in place, no term debt maturing until January 2022, and the earliest maturity of our bank credit facilities in 2024, we believe the strength of our capital structure represents a distinct competitive advantage for us in today's environment.

憑藉充足的可用流動性、2022 年 1 月之前沒有定期債務到期以及我們的銀行信貸額度最早將於 2024 年到期，我們相信我們的資本結構實力在當今環境下代表了我們獨特的競爭優勢。

An important component in the strength of our capitalization is having a balanced mix of secured and unsecured funding sources. At quarter end, 56% of our borrowings were from unsecured notes, which resulted in over 3/4 of our assets being supported by unsecured debt and equity. This approach to maintaining a largely unsecured capital structure provides for significant over-collateralization of our secured credit facilities.

我們資本實力的一個重要組成部分是擁有擔保和無擔保資金來源的平衡組合。截至季末，我們 56% 的借款來自無擔保票據，這導致我們超過 3/4 的資產由無擔保債務和股權支持。這種維持基本無擔保資本結構的方法為我們的有擔保信貸安排提供了大量超額抵押。

To demonstrate this, at quarter end, our credit lines had more than double the required assets to support the commitments under these facilities, which positions us well to fully access the total borrowing capacity available if we choose, even if there were to be further depreciation in the portfolio.

為了證明這一點，在季度末，我們的信貸額度擁有兩倍以上的資產來支持這些設施下的承諾，這使我們能夠充分利用可用的總借貸能力（如果我們選擇的話），即使會進一步貶值在投資組合中。

Now let's shift to discussing our shareholders' equity. At March 31, 2020, our stockholders' equity was $6.6 billion, resulting in a net asset value of $15.58 per share versus $7.5 billion or $17.32 per share at year-end 2019.

現在讓我們轉向討論我們的股東權益。截至 2020 年 3 月 31 日，我們的股東權益為 66 億美元，每股資產淨值為 15.58 美元，而 2019 年底為 75 億美元，每股資產淨值為 17.32 美元。

The decline in our net asset value was primarily driven by the net unrealized losses that we recognized in the first quarter of 2020 that I mentioned earlier. However, our NAV benefited by $0.08 per share from our accretive stock repurchase activity during the quarter.

我們的淨資產價值下降主要是由我之前提到的 2020 年第一季我們確認的未實現淨虧損造成的。然而，由於本季我們不斷增加的股票回購活動，我們的資產淨值每股收益增加了 0.08 美元。

As of today, we have $393 million remaining of our $500 million stock repurchase authorization. As of March 31, our debt-to-equity ratio was 1.26x, and our debt-to-equity ratio, net of available cash of $430 million, was 1.19x, compared to 0.95x and 0.93x, respectively, at December 31, 2019.

截至今天，我們的 5 億美元股票回購授權中還剩 3.93 億美元。截至 3 月 31 日，我們的負債股本比率為 1.26 倍，扣除 4.3 億美元可用現金後，我們的負債股本比率為 1.19 倍，而 12 月 31 日的負債股本比率分別為 0.95 倍及 0.93 倍，2019 。

We ended the first quarter of 2020 toward the higher end of our previously stated debt-to-equity target range of 0.9 to 1.25x due to increased net investment growth and the net unrealized losses to shareholders' equity at quarter end.

由於淨投資成長增加以及季末股東權益的未實現淨虧損，我們在 2020 年第一季結束時朝著先前規定的債務股本目標範圍 0.9 至 1.25 倍的上限邁進。

Depending on the level of net investment growth and any further impacts to shareholders' equity from fair value changes in upcoming quarters, you could see our GAAP net debt-to-equity ratio temporarily increase above the high end of our target leverage range.

根據淨投資成長水準以及未來幾季公允價值變動對股東權益的進一步影響，您可能會看到我們的 GAAP 淨負債與股本比率暫時升至目標槓桿範圍的高端之上。

Given our strong liquidity position, we feel comfortable temporarily operating above the high end of the range, which would still provide a significant cushion to our regulatory and bank leverage covenants.

鑑於我們強勁的流動性狀況，我們對暫時在該範圍的高端上方運行感到放心，這仍將為我們的監管和銀行槓桿契約提供重大緩衝。

Before I conclude, I want to discuss our undistributed taxable income and our dividends. We currently estimate that our spillover income was $408 million or $0.96 per share at the end of 2019. As we've said many times in the past, we believe having a strong and meaningful undistributed spillover supports our goal of maintaining a steady dividend through varying market conditions.

在結束之前，我想討論一下我們的未分配應稅收入和股息。目前，我們估計 2019 年底的溢出收入為 4.08 億美元，即每股 0.96 美元。正如我們過去多次說過的那樣，我們相信強大且有意義的未分配外溢效應支持我們在不同的市場條件下維持穩定股利的目標。

As Kipp mentioned, this morning, we declared a regular second quarter cash dividend of $0.40 per share, which is consistent with the regular quarterly dividend paid in the first quarter. This second quarter dividend is payable on June 30, 2020, stockholders of record on June 15, 2020.

正如基普所提到的，今天早上，我們宣布第二季度定期現金股息為每股 0.40 美元，這與第一季支付的定期季度股息一致。第二季股利將於2020年6月30日支付，登記股東於2020年6月15日支付。

Now I will turn the call over to Mitch to discuss our investment activities and our portfolio in more detail.

現在我將把電話轉給米奇，更詳細地討論我們的投資活動和我們的投資組合。

Thanks, Penni. As Mike Smith and I tend to do at this point, I would like to spend a few minutes providing more detail on our first quarter investment activity and portfolio performance and then hit upon some post-quarter-end activity.

謝謝，佩妮。正如邁克史密斯和我在這一點上傾向於做的那樣，我想花幾分鐘提供有關我們第一季度投資活動和投資組合表現的更多詳細信息，然後談談一些季度末後的活動。

During the first quarter, our team originated $1.3 billion of new investment commitments across 37 transactions. 85% of these commitments were senior secured and 54% of these transactions were to incumbent borrowers. Most of these new transactions closed prior to March 1. We also funded existing commitments during the quarter in support of the liquidity needs of our portfolio companies through the funding of $650 million of net revolver borrowings and delay to our term loans.

第一季度，我們的團隊在 37 筆交易中發起了 13 億美元的新投資承諾。其中 85% 的承諾是優先擔保的，其中 54% 的交易是針對現有借款人的。這些新交易大部分在3 月1 日之前完成。我們也在本季透過為6.5 億美元的淨循環借款和延遲定期貸款提供資金，為現有承諾提供資金，以支持我們投資組合公司的流動性需求。

It is important to point out, with minimal market M&A activity, we expect continued modest delay to our fundings as these commitments were generally put in place to support borrower acquisition. As of March 31, 68% of our revolver commitments were drawn and 25% of our DDTL commitments were drawn. Since quarter end, we have not seen any material changes to those levels.

需要指出的是，在市場併購活動很少的情況下，我們預計我們的融資將繼續適度延遲，因為這些承諾通常是為了支持借款人收購而做出的。截至 3 月 31 日，我們的左輪手槍承諾已提取 68%，DDTL 承諾提取 25%。自季度末以來，我們尚未看到這些水平發生任何重大變化。

Prior to the impact of C-'19, our portfolio companies demonstrated accelerated EBITDA growth of approximately 5% over the prior 12 months as compared to 3% reported last quarter, which brought them into this environment in a strong position. However, since the outbreak of C-'19, we have had to be in frequent dialogue with our portfolio companies to evaluate their earnings power and determine their liquidity needs.

在C-'19 影響之前，我們的投資組合公司在過去12 個月內實現了約5% 的EBITDA 加速成長，而上季報告的成長率為3%，這使他們在這種環境中處於有利地位。然而，自從C-'19爆發以來，我們不得不與我們的投資組合公司頻繁對話，以評估他們的盈利能力並確定他們的流動性需求。

As expected, certain companies in our portfolio are experiencing challenges associated with the shutdown. Our approach to downside protection begins with the fact that we always seek to be the agent on our deals and the largest lender. This allows us to drive the discussions and better control our outcomes. Our portfolio is 76% senior secured, and 83% of our portfolio companies are controlled by private equity firms that we believe have the resources to support these businesses.

正如預期的那樣，我們投資組合中的某些公司正在經歷與關閉相關的挑戰。我們的下行保護方法始於這樣一個事實：我們始終尋求成為我們交易的代理人和最大的貸方。這使我們能夠推動討論並更好地控制我們的結果。我們的投資組合中 76% 是高級擔保公司，83% 的投資組合公司由私募股權公司控制，我們相信這些公司擁有支持這些業務的資源。

Where additional support is required from us, we have been using any required amendments as an opportunity to tighten loan documentation, secure additional equity and reprice our risk. Given our view of the long-term value of our portfolio, we believe that liquidity is paramount for our companies.

當需要我們提供額外支援時，我們一直利用任何所需的修訂作為收緊貸款文件、確保額外股權和重新定價風險的機會。鑑於我們對投資組合的長期價值的看法，我們認為流動性對我們的公司至關重要。

As Kipp and Penni described, we are in the enviable position of having significant liquidity at ARCC to support our borrowers. Additionally, the SEC's recent co-investment relief will enable other Ares-managed funds to provide capital to our borrowers along with ARCC.

正如 Kipp 和 Penni 所描述的，我們處於令人羨慕的地位，在 ARCC 擁有大量流動性來支持我們的借款人。此外，SEC 最近的聯合投資減免將使其他 Ares 管理的基金能夠與 ARCC 一起向我們的借款人提供資金。

We view this additional potential support for the portfolio as a positive sign as it provides even greater access to our capital. While the impact of C-'19 has taken a toll on some of our portfolio companies, we believe our portfolio is well positioned for these turbulent times.

我們認為對投資組合的額外潛在支持是一個正面的訊號，因為它為我們提供了更多的資本獲取管道。雖然 C-'19 的影響對我們的一些投資組合公司造成了影響，但我們相信我們的投資組合在這些動盪時期處於有利地位。

During the first quarter, 99% of contractual interest payments for the quarter were collected. 3 new companies were added to the nonaccrual status in the first quarter, bringing a nonaccrual rate to 3.1% and 1.7% on a cost and fair value basis, respectively, as of March 31, 2020, an increase from 1.9% and -- 0.9%, respectively, at year-end 2019.

第一季度，該季度合約利息支付率已收回99%。第一季新增 3 家公司進入非應計狀態，截至 2020 年 3 月 31 日，以成本和公允價值計算的非應計比率分別從 1.9% 和 0.9% 上升至 3.1% 和 1.7%。分別為%。

Before I turn the call back over to Kipp, let me provide a brief update on our post quarter and investment activity. From April 1 through April 29, 2020, we made new investment commitments totaling $169 million, of which $130 million were funded, and we exited or were repaid on $137 million of investment commitments, resulting in a net realized loss of $1 million.

在我將電話轉回基普之前，讓我先簡單介紹一下我們的季度後和投資活動。從2020年4月1日到4月29日，我們做出了總計1.69億美元的新投資承諾，其中1.3億美元已得到資助，我們退出或償還了1.37億美元的投資承諾，導致已實現淨損失100萬美元。

The weighted average yield of debt and income-producing securities funded during the period was 14.7% at amortized cost and the weighted average yield of debt and income-producing securities exited or repaid during this period was 8% at amortized cost.

在此期間融資的債務和創收證券的加權平均收益率按攤餘成本計算為 14.7%，在此期間退出或償還的債務和創收證券的加權平均收益率按攤餘成本計算為 8%。

As of April 29, our backlog and pipeline stood at roughly $210 million and $140 million, respectively, with more than 90% focused on senior loans and a heavy bent towards existing portfolio of companies. Note that our backlog contains investments that are subject to approvals and documentation and may not close or we may sell a portion of these investments post-closing. I want to note that the investments exited or repaid since quarter end included $61 million of loans sold to funds managed by Ivy Hill Asset Management.

截至 4 月 29 日，我們的積壓貸款和管道貸款分別約為 2.1 億美元和 1.4 億美元，其中 90% 以上集中於高級貸款，並主要關注現有的公司投資組合。請注意，我們的積壓訂單包含需要獲得批准和文件記錄的投資，可能不會關閉，或者我們可能會在關閉後出售這些投資的一部分。我想指出的是，自季度末以來退出或償還的投資包括出售給 Ivy Hill Asset Management 管理的基金的 6,100 萬美元貸款。

IHAM sources middle-market loans from Ares Capital and other leading middle-market credit managers to build new or maintain existing CLOs for its investors and throughout our history, we have sold first lien senior loans in the ordinary course to IHAM at fair value on an arm's length basis.

IHAM 從Ares Capital 和其他領先的中間市場信貸管理公司獲取中間市場貸款，為其投資者建立新的或維持現有的CLO，在我們的歷史中，我們在正常情況下以公允價值向IHAM 出售了第一留置權優先貸款。公平交易基礎上。

In addition to the loans sold to IHAM in April, we have an additional $395 million of loan sales in process, and we currently anticipate that IHAM managed funds will have additional capacity to acquire more loans from us throughout the rest of the year.

除了 4 月出售給 IHAM 的貸款外，我們還有另外 3.95 億美元的貸款銷售正在進行中，我們目前預計 IHAM 管理的基金將有額外的能力在今年剩餘時間內從我們那裡獲得更多貸款。

I will now turn the call back over to Kipp for some closing remarks.

現在我將把電話轉回給基普，讓他發表一些結束語。

Thanks, Mitch. In closing, we recognize that we are in unprecedented economic times and face the prospects of a lasting economic recession and rising default rates. However, we remain optimistic with regard to Ares Capital Corporation today. As discussed, we have a defensively positioned portfolio with a lot of control over our own destiny in terms of risk management.

謝謝，米奇。最後，我們意識到我們正處於前所未有的經濟時代，面臨著持久的經濟衰退和違約率上升的前景。然而，我們今天對 Ares Capital Corporation 仍持樂觀態度。如同所討論的，我們擁有一個防禦性定位的投資組合，在風險管理方面對我們自己的命運有很大的控制權。

We benefit from the highly seasoned and cohesive team, which has significant experience managing through challenging times. And our robust portfolio management and restructuring infrastructure supports these efforts.

我們受益於經驗豐富、富有凝聚力的團隊，他們在應對充滿挑戰的時期擁有豐富的管理經驗。我們強大的投資組合管理和重組基礎設施來支持這些努力。

Additionally, we believe we have a strong balance sheet that provides a unique advantage in today's market. We have access to all of our undrawn liabilities, and this provides robust solutions to support portfolio companies.

此外，我們相信我們擁有強大的資產負債表，可以在當今市場上提供獨特的優勢。我們可以動用所有未提取的負債，這為支持投資組合公司提供了強大的解決方案。

We view liquidity in this market as a strategic asset that allows us to remain supportive of our existing sponsor relationships and portfolio companies while many others are retrenching. We also have no near-term debt maturities to satisfy, so we can focus our capital investing to support portfolio companies.

我們將這個市場的流動性視為一種策略資產，使我們能夠在許多其他公司緊縮開支時繼續支持我們現有的贊助商關係和投資組合公司。我們也沒有短期債務到期需要滿足，因此我們可以集中資本投資來支持投資組合公司。

So in closing, although the current market environment is extremely challenging for some, we're encouraged by the opportunities we see in this market for ARCC.

最後，儘管當前的市場環境對某些人來說極具挑戰性，但我們對 ARCC 在這個市場中看到的機會感到鼓舞。

We'd like to thank all of our shareholders for their loyalty and confidence in us through these very difficult times. I'd also like to thank the entire team for all of their hard work and dedication through this difficult period.

我們要感謝所有股東在這些非常困難的時期對我們的忠誠和信任。我還要感謝整個團隊在這段困難時期的辛勤工作和奉獻精神。

That concludes our prepared remarks. We're happy to open the line for questions.

我們準備好的演講到此結束。我們很高興開通提問專線。

(Operator Instructions) The first question comes from Arren Cyganovich of Citi.

（操作員說明） 第一個問題來自花旗銀行的 Arren Cyganovich。

You've been through this type of scenario in the past and have worked through the Great Recession, coming out stronger. Maybe you can talk a little bit about how this differs compared to what you've dealt with in the past, given that it's kind of just so broadly impacting across the entire country and what things you're doing to help support some of the portfolio company and what levels of support you're willing to give in terms of payment relief on some of your borrowings?

你過去經歷過這種情況，也經歷過大衰退，變得更強壯。也許您可以談談這與您過去處理過的情況相比有什麼不同，因為它對整個國家產生瞭如此廣泛的影響，以及您正在採取哪些措施來幫助支持某些投資組合公司以及您願意在部分借款的還款減免方面提供什麼程度的支持？

Sure. Arren, this is Kipp. I'm just checking to make sure you can hear me.

當然。阿倫，這是基普。我只是檢查一下以確保你能聽到我的聲音。

Yes. Yes, I can hear you.

是的。是的，我聽得到你的聲音。

Super. Thanks for the question. I won't go too much into comparing and contrasting the last go-around to this go-around, but it's very different. The last go-around, I viewed as -- I think we all viewed as a liability-driven issue. There was concern that the company didn't have liquidity or couldn't finance itself had a mismatch of assets and liabilities, et cetera and that maybe our collateral would get taken away.

極好的。謝謝你的提問。我不會過多地比較和對比上次復飛和這次復飛，但它非常不同。我認為最後一次復飛是一個責任驅動的問題。有人擔心公司沒有流動性或無法為自己融資，資產和負債不匹配等等，我們的抵押品可能會被拿走。

This one's very different, right? And we've tried to emphasize in the prepared remarks that we feel great about having long-term financing, having access to all of our borrowings and having lots of liquidity, which is what we've been emphasizing. Because I think it's always been our view that the next credit downturn would be a liquidity-driven downturn where having excess capital and having dry powder around would be very important.

這個很不一樣，對吧？我們試圖在準備好的發言中強調，我們對擁有長期融資、獲得所有借款和擁有大量流動性感到非常滿意，這也是我們一直強調的。因為我認為我們一直認為下一次信貸低迷將是流動性驅動的低迷，其中擁有過剩資本和乾火藥將非常重要。

Yes, this one is very different. We obviously have certain companies that are not operating, right, or have no attendance or revenue. If you're a restaurant that's closed, not doing takeout, for instance. Yes, that's a whole new reality.

是的，這個非常不同。顯然，我們有某些公司沒有運營，或沒有出勤率或收入。例如，如果您是一家關門的餐廳，不提供外帶服務。是的，這是一個全新的現實。

So I think the way we're looking at it is, we've got a tremendous amount of liquidity to support portfolio companies. Mitch made the remark in the prepared comments that we did collect 99% of contractual interest payments in March, which was a very good outcome from our perspective. We did make some modifications to a few portfolio companies' payments, but it was really a small number, less than 10.

所以我認為我們的看法是，我們有大量的流動性來支持投資組合公司。米奇在準備好的評論中表示，我們在 3 月確實收回了 99% 的合約利息，從我們的角度來看，這是一個非常好的結果。我們確實對一些投資組合公司的付款方式做了一些修改，但數量確實很少，不到10家。

So what we're doing right now is just digging in on the asset side with each company. And if they're private equity owned, with each private equity sponsor to figure out how to create enough liquidity for the company so that they can get to the other side and reemerge.

所以我們現在所做的只是與每家公司一起深入挖掘資產方面。如果他們是私募股權公司所有，那麼每個私募股權發起人都要弄清楚如何為公司創造足夠的流動性，以便他們可以到達另一邊並重新崛起。

I guess on that last point, how has the -- how have the private equity sponsors that you're working with -- I would imagine this is a very kind of joint effort to provide support, are they also willing to provide additional support along with you guys?

我想關於最後一點，與您合作的私募股權贊助商如何？我想這是一種提供支持的共同努力，他們是否也願意提供額外的支持和你們在一起嗎？

Yes, for sure. I mean, a lot of it's in process, right, and it was triaged to figure out how to get through quarter end in a few circumstances. And in some of those circumstances, equity from private equity firms did come into the companies and that was, obviously, hugely helpful.

是肯定的。我的意思是，很多事情都在進行中，對吧，並且經過分類以找出如何在某些情況下度過季度末。在某些情況下，私募股權公司的股權確實進入了公司，這顯然非常有幫助。

But yes, it's a joint approach. And the discussions that we're having around the most highly impacted names is exactly that, and it's kind of ongoing right now, i.e., how much liquidity headroom does a company have? Where can we create some additional liquidity if it's needed? But it's just so uncertain. It's difficult to forecast because we don't have a very good sense, and the private equity firms that we deal with in those circumstances don't have a great sense of when we reopen and how we reopen and what the ramp looks like.

但是，是的，這是一種聯合方法。我們圍繞著影響最大的名字進行的討論正是如此，而且目前正在進行中，即一家公司有多少流動性空間？如果需要的話，我們可以在哪裡創造一些額外的流動性？但它就是這麼不確定。這很難預測，因為我們沒有很好的判斷力，而在這種情況下與我們打交道的私募股權公司對我們何時重新開放、如何重新開放以及坡道是什麼樣子也沒有很好的感覺。

So we'll all trying to work through the same issues together, but I'd say, generally, the private equity clients that we work with have been very supportive.

因此，我們都會努力共同解決同樣的問題，但我想說，總的來說，與我們合作的私募股權客戶都非常支持。

Next question comes from Rick Shane of JPMorgan.

下一個問題來自摩根大通的里克·謝恩。

Guys, can you hear me?

夥計們，你聽得到我說話嗎？

Yes, I can hear you, Rick.

是的，我聽得到你的聲音，瑞克。

Excellent. So look, this is a very unusual quarter in terms of the fair value process given the degree of uncertainty. I'm just curious, as you went through the process, did you find that your approach was any different in terms of either mark-to-market or mark-to-model or some sort of qualitative overlay in terms of your valuations?

出色的。因此，考慮到不確定性，就公允價值流程而言，這是一個非常不尋常的季度。我只是好奇，當您經歷這個過程時，您是否發現您的方法在按市值計價或按模型計價或在估值方面進行某種定性疊加方面有什麼不同？

Sure. No. Exact same process, Rick. Typically, there's a little bit of a lag, right? So when you're doing a March valuation, you'll have January financials for the most part, so you're not going to see the full impact. So we had to take some qualitative view as to COVID impact, specifically in those companies that are most impacted.

當然。不。完全相同的過程，瑞克。通常，會有一點滯後，對吧？因此，當您進行 3 月份估值時，您將獲得大部分 1 月份的財務數據，因此您不會看到全部影響。因此，我們必須對新冠疫情的影響採取一些定性的看法，特別是那些受影響最嚴重的公司。

So what we did do was companies that were closer to the epicenter of the pandemic, I'd say, we were, of course, having very real-time conversations with all the way up to the end of the quarter and we incorporated those both quantitatively and qualitatively.

因此，我們所做的是距離大流行中心更近的公司，我想說，當然，我們一直在與本季末進行非常即時的對話，我們將這兩者結合起來定量和定性。

And an example of that would be a convention that we took upon ourselves that if we thought a company would have a liquidity need of, say, 10% of the outstanding debt, we actually factor that into the valuation where there were liquidity needs. But from a process perspective, nothing changed at all.

舉個例子，我們遵循的一個慣例是，如果我們認為一家公司的流動性需求為未償債務的 10%，那麼我們實際上會將其納入存在流動性需求的估值中。但從流程的角度來看，沒有任何改變。

The next question comes from John Hecht of Jefferies.

下一個問題來自傑富瑞 (Jefferies) 的約翰‧赫克特 (John Hecht)。

You guys gave us a pretty good picture of what was going on through March. I'm wondering, can you give us an update on April, just because that was the full month of activity, where there was the shutdown largely in place.

你們給我們很好地描繪了三月發生的事情。我想知道，您能否給我們 4 月份的最新情況，因為那是整個月的活動，其中大部分都已關閉。

And are you seeing in certain categories of your portfolio where maybe things are bottoming, and you can kind of see where those thresholds are? I'm just wondering if you can give us -- what you've seen through the course of April, I guess?

您是否看到投資組合的某些類別可能正在觸底，並且可以看到這些閾值在哪裡？我只是想知道你是否可以告訴我們——我猜你在四月期間看到了什麼？

Yes. I mean -- John, the month of March, I think, was better, right, than the month of April, and that, obviously, people were still sort of doing things through maybe the first week or 2 of March and the places that require attendance, whether it's a restaurant or retail or whatever, probably had tougher April than they had Marches.

是的。我的意思是 - 約翰，我認為三月比四月更好，是的，而且，顯然，人們仍然在三月的第一周或第二週以及那些地方做一些事情要求出席，無論是餐館還是零售店還是其他地方，四月可能比遊行更艱難。

But again, not materially different and no change in our approach. We're literally talking to private equity firms and our borrowers on a weekly basis, if not a daily basis.

但同樣，我們的方法沒有本質上的不同，也沒有改變。事實上，我們每週（甚至每天）都會與私募股權公司和借款人交談。

But yes, the biggest issue now is just the duration of how long this goes on. And obviously, the longer it goes on for certain of these companies, the more support they're going to require, and that's just where we have our hands today.

但是，是的，現在最大的問題只是這種情況持續多久。顯然，對於某些公司來說，這種情況持續的時間越長，他們需要的支持就越多，而這正是我們今天所掌握的。

Okay. And then you guys did mention spreads are up. And obviously, you guys are in a good position to take advantage of that at the right time and place. How much do we -- I guess, maybe can you give us a sense of how wide spreads have got since the end of the -- how much they've widened since the end of the quarter?

好的。然後你們確實提到點差上升了。顯然，你們處於有利的位置，可以在正確的時間和地點利用這一點。我想，也許你能讓我們了解自本季末以來利差有多大——自本季末以來利差擴大了多少？

Yes. I mean it's so hard to tell, and there's really not any new deal flow. I would say, in a regular way deal, which we've quoted on a couple -- there are a few things happening, we actually had a redo of an existing portfolio company that sold sponsor-to-sponsor right around quarter end.

是的。我的意思是，這很難說，而且確實沒有任何新的交易流。我想說的是，在常規交易中，我們已經在一些交易中引用過——發生了一些事情，我們實際上重做了一家現有的投資組合公司，該公司在季度末左右出售了贊助商到贊助商。

I would say it was -- it's at least 200 basis points for companies that are probably not COVID impacted and we don't think this one was. It was one of our software businesses. But things that are COVID related seem to have double-digit type yields on them now, even in large-cap land.

我想說的是，對於那些可能沒有受到新冠疫情影響的公司來說，這至少是 200 個基點，而我們認為這次也沒有受到影響。這是我們的軟體業務之一。但與新冠病毒相關的東西現在似乎有兩位數的收益率，即使是在大盤股中也是如此。

And we're looking at a lot of new capital in that range for existing companies. We're looking at secondary opportunities where we can buy first lien positions, where we have investments at a discount.

我們正在為現有公司尋找該範圍內的大量新資本。我們正在尋找二次機會，我們可以購買第一個留置權，我們可以以折扣價進行投資。

So it's 200 basis points at least in a kind of regular way unitranche, much better documentation. No response from sponsors on term sheets. They're just happy to get them, I think, for the most part, and see that there are folks willing to finance a transaction if they find something exciting.

因此，至少以一種常規方式統一，有 200 個基點，更好的文檔。贊助商沒有對投資意向書做出回應。我認為，在很大程度上，他們只是很高興得到它們，並且看到有人願意為交易提供資金，如果他們發現一些令人興奮的東西。

We did lay out one number, obviously, that Mitch referred to in April, where we invested some capital. And the average rate of return on that capital was almost 15%. I think Mitch said it was 14.7%. So there are some things to do here if you have capital and you have liquidity that are pretty interesting.

顯然，我們確實列出了一個數字，米奇在四月提到過，我們在那裡投資了一些資本。該資本的平均回報率接近 15%。我想米奇說的是 14.7%。因此，如果你有資金並且有流動性，這裡可以做一些非常有趣的事情。

The next question comes from Kenneth Lee of RBC Capital Markets.

下一個問題來自加拿大皇家銀行資本市場的肯尼斯李。

Just wondering, broadly, if you could just comment on whether you could see any kind of potential benefit within your portfolio company from the -- any of the federal reserve loan programs?

只是想知道，從廣義上講，您是否可以評論一下您是否可以從任何美聯儲貸款計劃中看到您的投資組合公司內的任何潛在利益？

Yes. Remember, that's not usually our decision to make, right? We're a lender to these companies. We've seen that some of the companies where we are a lender have actually taken advantage of the PPP program for the most part. It's a small number to date.

是的。請記住，這通常不是我們要做的決定，對吧？我們是這些公司的貸款人。我們已經看到，我們作為貸款人的一些公司實際上大部分都利用了 PPP 計劃。迄今為止，這個數字還很小。

And I think as most people know, it tends to be in the non-private equity-owned portfolio companies. So there have been some management teams there. And those businesses are typically either family-owned or owned by entrepreneurs, where those folks who own those companies have chosen to apply, and some of them had success actually getting capital under those programs. But we don't have a lot of influence as to whether they apply or how that all works for them.

我認為大多數人都知道，它往往發生在非私募股權擁有的投資組合公司。所以那裡有一些管理團隊。這些企業通常由家族擁有或由企業家擁有，擁有這些公司的人會選擇申請，其中一些實際上在這些計劃下成功獲得了資金。但對於它們是否適用或這一切如何對他們起作用，我們沒有太大的影響力。

Got you. Very helpful. And just 1 follow-up, if I may. Wonder if you can just provide any updated expectations on near-term loan originations, just given all the current environment.

明白你了。很有幫助。如果可以的話，只有 1 個後續行動。考慮到當前的環境，您是否可以提供對近期貸款發放的最新預期。

Yes. It's really hard. We typically don't provide guidance in any fashion. I would say that we do expect -- we had maybe a busier originations quarter in Q1. Having glanced at some of the research this morning and maybe people thought, Mitch made this point too, we funded a fair amount of revolvers going into the end of the quarter, so that is a big portion of it.

是的。真的很難。我們通常不提供任何方式的指導。我想說的是，我們確實預計——第一季的創始季度可能會更加繁忙。今天早上瀏覽了一些研究後，也許人們認為，米奇也指出了這一點，我們在本季度末資助了相當數量的左輪手槍，所以這是其中的很大一部分。

We also had the one deal that I mentioned, which is likely to syndicate that will make that growth number lower on a net basis but it's really difficult. I don't think that there's going to be the flurry of revolver drawings. And as Mitch mentioned, unlikely delayed draws will get funded because they're typically for acquisitions, which are difficult to do in this market.

我們還達成了我提到的一項交易，該交易可能會導致淨成長數字降低，但這確實很困難。我不認為會有大量的左輪手槍圖紙。正如米奇所提到的，不太可能延遲的抽籤將獲得資助，因為它們通常用於收購，而這在這個市場上很難做到。

So look, I wouldn't be surprised to do a couple of new deals, but it's really hard to pick a number. And certainly, the focus remains existing portfolio companies and financing where that's most needed.

所以看，如果達成幾筆新交易，我不會感到驚訝，但很難選擇一個數字。當然，重點仍然是現有的投資組合公司以及最需要的融資。

The next question comes from Finian O'Shea of Wells Fargo.

下一個問題來自富國銀行的菲尼安·奧謝。

I want to ask a question on the exemptive order, I think Mitch mentioned, where you can now take follow-ons with more funds unrelated pursuant to that relief.

我想問一個關於豁免令的問題，我想米奇提到過，你現在可以用更多與該救濟無關的資金進行後續行動。

Can you give us context on the nature of planned investments under this strategy? Would you be engaging in new follow-ons? Or given the scale of some of these issuers, would you buy out investor positions in the club or syndicated markets.

您能否向我們介紹一下該戰略下計劃投資的性質？您會參與新的追隨者嗎？或者考慮到其中一些發行人的規模，您會買斷俱樂部或銀團市場中的投資者頭寸嗎？

Thanks, Fin. I hope you're doing well. I think we can do both, right? So follow-ons are fine, secondaries are permissible and all of that. I think the big picture takeaway for us has been, it gives us just more liquidity, right?

謝謝，芬。我希望你一切都好。我想我們可以兩者兼而有之，對嗎？所以後續是可以的，次要是允許的等等。我認為對我們來說最重要的是，它為我們帶來了更多的流動性，對吧？

So in the past, if the BDC was invested in the company, our exemptive relief allowed for co-investment at the same time and at the same -- in the same security, right? This actually gives us additional capital to help kind of protect positions, support portfolio companies, et cetera, et cetera.

因此，在過去，如果 BDC 投資於該公司，我們的豁免救濟允許同時共同投資 - 相同的證券，對嗎？這實際上為我們提供了額外的資本來幫助保護頭寸、支持投資組合公司等等。

So it just gives us a bigger war chest to the extent ARCC ever had any issues doing follow-ons, which, again, to the point in the prepared remarks, I don't think we will. It just brings additional capital to bear.

因此，它只是為我們提供了更大的資金，讓 ARCC 在後續行動中遇到任何問題，同樣，就準備好的發言中的觀點而言，我認為我們不會。它只會帶來額外的資本。

Yes, completely agree. Other follow-on for Ivy Hill. This came down a little bit. Can you give any breakdown or context on the balance sheet investments that Ivy Hill holds? Is it mostly CLO equity in those vehicles? Or is it a breakdown of CLO debt and CLO equity?

是的，完全同意。Ivy Hill 的其他後續作品。這一點下降了。您能否提供 Ivy Hill 持有的資產負債表投資的詳細資訊或背景？這些工具主要是 CLO 股權嗎？還是 CLO 債務和 CLO 權益的細分？

And then if I can just do a 2-part on that. When you generally sell down to Ivy Hill, are these -- are you selling down in new commitments you make or do you sell down from the existing Ares balance sheet?

然後我可以把它分成兩個部分嗎？當你通常向 Ivy Hill 出售時，這些是 — — 你是在你所做的新承諾中出售還是從現有的 Ares 資產負債表中出售？

Yes. So Ivy Hill, we have investments in loads of funds that they've raised over the years. Those investments are typically in CLO equity. But as a reminder, they're not the traditional large-cap CLO that's levered 10 or 12:1, they typically have much less leverage than a typical CLO. But the marks in the quarter, obviously, in anything, CLO related, were down. So the marks in Ivy Hill were down a bit, too.

是的。Ivy Hill，我們對他們多年來籌集的大量資金進行了投資。這些投資通常是 CLO 股權。但提醒一下，它們不是槓桿率為 10 或 12:1 的傳統大盤 CLO，它們的槓桿率通常比典型的 CLO 要低得多。但很明顯，本季與 CLO 相關的任何事情的分數都下降了。因此，常春藤山的分數也有所下降。

In terms of the assets that we're selling to them, we typically are selling them existing investments that we've made. So they will, more often than not, be happy buyers of first-lien transactions that we've done. Most of the time we sell them as part of a general syndication.

就我們出售給他們的資產而言，我們通常是向他們出售我們所做的現有投資。因此，他們通常會成為我們所做的第一留置權交易的快樂買家。大多數時候，我們將它們作為整體聯合組織的一部分出售。

So a sale will come reasonably soon after the closing of a new transaction. Mitch referenced that in the prepared remarks, they'll buy paper from us, but look, most of the paper that they buy is from others.

因此，在新交易結束後不久就會進行銷售。米奇在準備好的發言中提到，他們會從我們這裡購買紙張，但看，他們購買的大部分紙張都是從其他人那裡購買的。

Okay. So the next question comes from Ryan Lynch of KBW.

好的。那麼下一個問題來自 KBW 的 Ryan Lynch。

I had a question on the -- and maybe you said it and I missed it, but of the $1.8 billion that you guys funded in the first quarter, how much of that was from existing, either revolving or delayed drawn unfunded commitments, through existing portfolio companies?

我有一個問題，也許你說過，但我沒有註意到，但是在你們第一季資助的18 億美元中，其中有多少來自現有的、循環的或延遲提取的無資金承諾，通過現有的投資組合公司？

Yes. Give us a second, and I may kind of wave at Penni here. I'm going to look through some of my notes. We're, obviously, trying to do this remotely, not all in the same room. Let us look real quick to see if we can come up with that number if we can. If not, I'll follow-up with you.

是的。請稍等一下，我可能會在這裡向佩尼揮手致意。我要翻閱我的一些筆記。顯然，我們正在嘗試遠端完成此操作，而不是在同一個房間裡。讓我們快速看看是否能得出這個數字（如果可以的話）。如果沒有，我會跟進你。

Sure. And then if I look at your guys' fee income over the last several quarters. I mean, it can fluctuate anywhere as high as north of [$40 million] to kind of in the 30s range. Obviously, that fee income is highly dependent on the level of, I would think, new originations that you all make in a quarter, and that seems like that's coming to a dramatic change in the second quarter, at least for the near term.

當然。然後，如果我看看你們過去幾季的費用收入。我的意思是，它的波動範圍可能高達 [4000 萬美元] 到 30 多美元的範圍內。顯然，我認為，費用收入很大程度上取決於你們在一個季度內創造的新產品的水平，而這似乎將在第二季度發生巨大變化，至少在短期內是如此。

Can you just talk about out of that fee income that you guys record on a quarterly basis, structure and fee income, is any of that recurring that, that just recurs every quarter or is that all based on structuring and origination fees that you guys take in?

您能否談談你們按季度記錄的費用收入、結構和費用收入是否是重複出現的、每個季度重複出現的，還是全部基於你們收取的結構費和發起費在？

And also as part of that, when you guys fund either revolving an undrawn revolving facility or a delayed draw term loan that you guys have to an existing borrower, what are the typical fees with those? Are those the same level of fees that you guys get on a new commitment? Or is it something substantially smaller? Or do they not exist at all?

此外，當你們為現有借款人的未提取循環貸款或延遲提取定期貸款提供資金時，這些費用的典型費用是多少？這些費用與你們在新承諾中獲得的費用水平相同嗎？還是它是小得多的東西？或者它們根本不存在？

Yes. I mean, the fee line is really 2 things, right? It's kind of new deal fees, which I think you're right, there will be fewer of for the remainder of this year. It's also amendment fees, which I think there will be more of than there's been historically.

是的。我的意思是，費用線實際上是兩件事，對吧？這是一種新的交易費用，我認為你是對的，今年剩餘時間的費用將會減少。還有修改費，我認為這將比歷史上更多。

Penni was just texting me here that the number we actually did say in Mitch's section, so I guess I forgot it, too, Ryan, so don't feel bad. We funded $650 million under revolver and delayed draw term loan fundings. The fees on those are typically paid at closing. So the fees in this quarter really don't reference those fundings. They're coming from other places.

佩妮剛剛在這裡發短信給我，我們實際上在米奇的部分說過的號碼，所以我想我也忘記了，瑞安，所以不要感到難過。我們透過循環貸款和延遲提取定期貸款融資提供了 6.5 億美元的資金。這些費用通常在交易結束時支付。因此，本季的費用實際上並未參考這些資金。他們來自其他地方。

Delayed draws are a little bit different. Revolver is typically upfront. Delayed draw sometimes will have a partial fee at closing and some paid at funding, they can differ.

延遲抽獎略有不同。左輪手槍通常位於前面。延遲提款有時會在結束時收取部分費用，部分費用在融資時支付，它們可能有所不同。

The next question comes from Chris York of JMP Securities.

下一個問題來自 JMP 證券的克里斯約克。

Kipp, can you hear me?

基普，你聽得到我說話嗎？

Now I can, Chris.

現在我可以了，克里斯。

Ryan asked my structuring fee question, so I'll move to high-level questions. In this environment, I think relationships are probably more important than ever to achieve good outcomes for partners, but they probably can be tested from competing interest during stress.

瑞安問了我的結構費問題，所以我將轉向高級問題。在這種環境下，我認為關係對於為合作夥伴取得良好成果而言可能比以往任何時候都更加重要，但它們可能會受到壓力期間競爭利益的考驗。

So the question for you, as you dig in here, how are you evaluating the need to protect shareholder capital by enforcing your rights as a lender when portfolio company conditions deteriorate versus the risk of impairing a sponsor relationship for future business?

因此，當您在這裡深入探討時，您將如何評估當投資組合公司狀況惡化時透過執行作為貸方的權利來保護股東資本的必要性以及損害未來業務的贊助商關係的風險？

Yes. I mean, look, we've been doing this for 20-something years. And obviously, we've built our company and our reputation on being a responsible counterparty. So not everything for us is a simple onetime negotiation, and we, obviously, have sponsors where we financed 5 to 10 transactions in the portfolio today.

是的。我的意思是，你看，我們這樣做已經有 20 多年了。顯然，我們已經將我們的公司和聲譽建立在負責任的交易對手的基礎上。因此，對我們來說，並不是所有事情都是簡單的一次性談判，而且顯然，我們有贊助商，我們今天為投資組合中的 5 到 10 筆交易提供了融資。

I think our relationships are really strong, and I think we have shared incentives right now with our private equity partners just to find solutions for these companies, right? That being said, I'm a little bit concerned that the current situation for private equity is difficult because high prices have been paid for companies on highly adjusted EBITDA, I think, less in our portfolio than in others.

我認為我們的關係非常牢固，而且我認為我們現在與私募股權合作夥伴共享激勵措施，只是為了為這些公司找到解決方案，對吧？話雖這麼說，我有點擔心私募股權目前的處境很困難，因為我認為，在我們的投資組合中，高度調整的 EBITDA 的公司支付的價格比其他公司要少。

But that discussion can be more challenging. And if need to, we can come in and own a business. It's as we've said to all of our private equity clients, certainly not our preferred outcome. But we know how to do it. And if that's where it gets, we'll obviously roll up our sleeves again with 130 or so people and own companies and get them through, and we think achieve good recovery.

但這種討論可能更具挑戰性。如果需要，我們可以進來並擁有一家企業。正如我們對所有私募股權客戶所說的那樣，這當然不是我們想要的結果。但我們知道該怎麼做。如果情況真的如此，我們顯然會再次捲起袖子，與 130 名左右的人員和自己的公司一起努力，讓他們渡過難關，我們認為會實現良好的復甦。

So certainly a balance. We're not in the business of making loans that we hope turn into equity stakes in companies, right? That's really not our business but we have an ability to do that where it's needed.

所以肯定是一個平衡。我們從事的業務並不是希望將貸款轉化為公司股權，對吧？這確實不是我們的事，但我們有能力在需要的地方做到這一點。

Perfect. I know investors appreciate 20 years or 2 decades more of long-term relationships. The follow-up question is on OTG, which was the largest portfolio company write-down in the quarter and then I think it was a top 5 investment.

完美的。我知道投資者欣賞 20 年或 20 年以上的長期關係。後續問題是關於 OTG 的，它是本季最大的投資組合公司減記，我認為它是前 5 名的投資。

So its business model, I think, faces a threat from COVID, airline travel may be severely altered. Obviously, there's tons of uncertainty here, in the future operating environment, but how comfortable are you in the company's liquidity and then your marks in all of your investments?

所以我認為它的商業模式面臨新冠疫情的威脅，航空旅行可能會嚴重改變。顯然，未來的營運環境存在大量的不確定性，但是您對公司的流動性以及您在所有投資中的表現感到滿意嗎？

Yes. I mean, I don't want to provide a lot of commentary on single names, but I'll provide a little bit on OTG to answer the question. Look, I mean, they operate at a fraction of the workforce that they've operated on in the past with the amount of passenger traffic going through airports. We think we've got the situation under control for now. But trying to forecast air travel for the back half of the year and get to a reasonable forecast for 2020 is tough, right?

是的。我的意思是，我不想對單一名稱提供太多評論，但我會提供一些關於 OTG 的評論來回答這個問題。聽著，我的意思是，他們的勞動力只是過去的一小部分，而機場的客運量卻很大。我們認為目前局勢已受到控制。但試圖預測今年下半年的航空旅行並對 2020 年做出合理的預測是很困難的，對吧？

I mean the good news is they're current on their interest payments. So they've done everything right and they have sufficient liquidity today to deal with the situation. We're obviously working with them and some advisers as well to figure out the best way to get through.

我的意思是好消息是他們正在支付利息。因此，他們所做的一切都是正確的，並且今天有足夠的流動性來應對這種情況。顯然，我們正在與他們和一些顧問合作，找出最好的渡過難關的方法。

The next question comes from Casey Alexander of Compass Point.

下一個問題來自 Compass Point 的 Casey Alexander。

Normally, I wouldn't ask a question like this, but I think it's -- the answer could be really instructive for all of us as we look across events across the space over the next few months. So I'm going to ask if you can explain what made you reclassify those 3 loans into nonaccrual? I mean was it forbearance or a past interest payment or PIK?

通常情況下，我不會問這樣的問題，但我認為，當我們審視未來幾個月整個領域發生的事件時，這個答案對我們所有人來說都非常有啟發性。所以我想問您是否可以解釋一下是什麼讓您將這 3 筆貸款重新分類為非應計貸款？我的意思是這是寬容還是過去的利息支付或 PIK？

And in conjunction with that, kind of what was the response from the private equity sponsor? Was it in a fund that was out of capital? I mean, I think the answers to questions like that can be very helpful to us looking out over the rest of the cycle.

同時，私募股權發起人的反應是什麼？是在資金耗盡的基金中嗎？我的意思是，我認為此類問題的答案對於我們展望本週期的剩餘時間非常有幫助。

Yes. Yes. Thanks, Casey. Look, I mean, our policy on nonaccruals remains unchanged, which is if a company doesn't make an interest payment, it goes on nonaccrual. In terms of PIK, if cash is converted to PIK income, that PIK income will not accrue or we won't accrue that PIK income if we deem it to be uncollectible, right? So the policy hasn't changed at all. Q1 was better than expected, as I mentioned.

是的。是的。謝謝，凱西。我的意思是，我們的非應計政策保持不變，即如果公司不支付利息，則繼續非應計政策。就 PIK 而言，如果現金轉換為 PIK 收入，則該 PIK 收入將不會產生，或者如果我們認為無法收回，我們將不會產生該 PIK 收入，對吧？所以政策根本沒有改變。正如我所提到的，第一季的情況好於預期。

I think Q2 is going to be an ongoing challenge as we look forward. But as I mentioned, we made fewer than 10 modifications in Q1, and we're working on solutions. So I hope that answers the question. If you want to follow-on, please.

我認為，展望未來，第二季將是一個持續的挑戰。但正如我所提到的，我們在第一季進行了不到 10 次修改，我們正在研究解決方案。所以我希望這能回答這個問題。如果您想跟進，請。

Yes. Well, the only part that it didn't answer was on those that were placed on nonaccrual, kind of what was the communication flow with the private equity sponsor?

是的。好吧，它唯一沒有回答的部分是那些非應計項目，與私募股權贊助商的溝通流程是怎樣的？

I don't think they -- nonaccrual for us is pretty black and white, right? So if that's -- if we think it's not collectible, et cetera, even if it's not past due, we won't collect it. But I don't think private equity firms spend a lot of time thinking about whether we have a loan on accrual or not.

我不認為非應計利息對我們來說是黑白分明的，對吧？因此，如果我們認為它不可收集，等等，即使它沒有逾期，我們也不會收集它。但我認為私募股權公司不會花很多時間考慮我們是否有應計貸款。

The next question comes from Robert Dodd of Raymond James.

下一個問題來自雷蒙德·詹姆斯的羅伯特·多德。

So a couple quick questions. One first, kind of a follow-up on John Hecht. So April, I mean, yes, you told us in the first quarter, 99% of the contracted interest payments were collected and that you only amended essentially 10 loan structures in the first quarter but, obviously, April is now behind us.

那麼幾個簡單的問題。第一個，有點像是約翰·赫克特的後續。所以四月份，我的意思是，是的，您在第一季告訴我們，99% 的合約利息支付已被收取，並且您在第一季度只修改了10 項貸款結構，但顯然，四月份已經過去了。

So for those that are contractually monthly payers, which I think is LIBOR, what percentage of the portfolio paid the contracted interest payment in April?

那麼，對於那些按合約每月付款的人（我認為是 LIBOR）來說，投資組合中 4 月份支付合約利息的百分比是多少？

Yes. We don't have many monthlies. We do have companies that have multiple term loans that roll different LIBOR contracts, right? So we haven't -- I'd just say, we haven't experienced any material changes in people making interest payments in April versus the end of March.

是的。我們的月刊不多。我們確實有一些公司擁有多種定期貸款，這些貸款滾動不同的 LIBOR 合約，對嗎？所以我只是說，與 3 月底相比，我們在 4 月支付利息方面沒有經歷任何重大變化。

Got it. Got it. And then on any change in the pace maybe of, I mean, 10 -- only 10 changes, amendments, whatever you want to call them, and Q1 is pretty good. Any change in the pace that you're seeing those come across the desk right now?

知道了。知道了。然後，關於節奏的任何變化，我的意思是，10——只有 10 個變化、修正，無論你怎麼稱呼它們，第一季都非常好。現在您看到這些人在辦公桌上出現的速度有什麼改變嗎？

Well, I mean, I think the longer this lasts, the more impacted companies become, right? So I'm trying to stay optimistic that we can work through solutions with folks but the longer this goes, the tougher it becomes. And we need money from private equity firms and part of that will come, I think, with concessions from us, which we're willing to make to be part of the solution.

嗯，我的意思是，我認為這種情況持續的時間越長，公司受到的影響就越大，對吧？因此，我試著保持樂觀，認為我們可以與人們一起找到解決方案，但這種情況持續的時間越長，就會變得越困難。我們需要私募股權公司的資金，我認為其中一部分將透過我們的讓步來實現，我們願意將其作為解決方案的一部分。

But yes, I mean, look, we're hopeful that we're moving towards some sort of limited reopening. And I think that a lot of these companies in early March didn't really have a plan because no one was expecting this. And the good news is everybody's hunkered down, whether it's private equity, lenders, management teams, et cetera, trying to figure out how to deal with this.

但是，是的，我的意思是，看，我們希望我們能夠朝著某種有限的重新開放的方向發展。我認為很多公司在三月初並沒有真正的計劃，因為沒有人預料到這一點。好消息是，每個人都在埋頭苦幹，無論是私募股權、貸款人、管理團隊等等，都在試圖找出如何應對這個問題的方法。

And most of the companies have dealt pretty effectively. I mean it's unfortunately included things like furloughing workers and having to talk to the government about programs on capital, et cetera. But I think it's about the same, and it's just so difficult to forecast where we go from here.

大多數公司的處理方式都相當有效。我的意思是，不幸的是，其中包括讓工人休假以及必須與政府討論資本計劃等問題。但我認為情況大致相同，很難預測我們接下來會走向何方。

Okay. Fair enough. On next question, I got is a sort of follow-up. I mean in the past, if you go back to '08, '09, et cetera, we go all the way back there, you've been pretty opportunistic in -- back then buying portfolios at deep discounts. Obviously, that hasn't happened yet. But if I look at 1 asset that stands out to me, it's tiny, right, but Systematic Power bought it at pennies on the dollar towards the end of the quarter.

好的。很公平。關於下一個問題，我得到的是一種後續行動。我的意思是，在過去，如果你回到 08 年、09 年等等，我們會一路回到那裡，你會非常投機——當時以大幅折扣購買投資組合。顯然，這還沒有發生。但如果我看一下對我來說很突出的一項資產，它很小，對吧，但 Systematic Power 在本季度末以幾美分的價格購買了它。

With the liquidity that you have available, what's your appetite to be really opportunistic in terms of maybe not even large portfolios, but this one was $1.7 million at cost but $4.5 million at par, of being opportunistic in picking up, not necessarily liquid loans, but opportunistic portfolio pieces from maybe some of the other distressed or stressed credit funds or potentially even BDCs out there. It looks like you've already started that process a little bit.

憑藉你所擁有的流動性，你有什麼興趣去真正投機取巧，甚至可能不是大型投資組合，但這個投資組合的成本為170 萬美元，票面價值為450 萬美元，在獲取不一定是流動性貸款時投機取巧，但機會主義的投資組合可能來自其他一些陷入困境或壓力重重的信貸基金，甚至可能是 BDC。看起來您已經開始了這個過程。

Yes. I mean, we think we know how to do that. We've obviously bought 2 reasonably large, I'd argue, underperforming BDCs in the past. We bought portfolios. We're absolutely open to it and I think we have enough capital to really be serious in doing that, but it's early. I know that there are a series of BDC earnings calls this week that I think people will probably pay a fair amount of attention to.

是的。我的意思是，我們認為我們知道該怎麼做。我認為，我們過去顯然已經購買了兩個相當大、表現不佳的 BDC。我們購買了投資組合。我們對此絕對持開放態度，我認為我們有足夠的資金來認真對待這一點，但現在還為時過早。我知道本週 BDC 召開了一系列財報電話會議，我認為人們可能會給予相當多的關注。

And I'm not sure we know exactly how everyone is truly positioned today, but for sure, we love buying things that what we think is a discount to fair value, and we'll absolutely look at that. There have been a few single name trades that we've done in the secondary markets and a few direct trades that we've done with some counterparties that you guys might be familiar with, but it's been small. It's been pretty limited so far.

我不確定我們是否確切地知道今天每個人的真實定位，但可以肯定的是，我們喜歡購買我們認為相對公允價值有折扣的東西，我們絕對會考慮這一點。我們在二級市場上進行了一些單一名稱交易，並與你們可能熟悉的一些交易對手進行了一些直接交易，但規模很小。到目前為止，這還相當有限。

The next question comes from Derek Hewett of Bank of America.

下一個問題來自美國銀行的德里克·休伊特。

Just could you provide a little bit more color on some of the credit statistics other than nonaccruals? It looks like the net leverage went -- actually went down and interest coverage improves. So could you talk about that dynamic?

您能否對非應計項目之外的一些信貸統計數據提供更多資訊？看起來淨槓桿率下降了——實際上下降了，利息保障倍數提高了。那麼您能談談這種動態嗎？

Yes. I mean I think the numbers are -- the numbers speak for themselves. There's nothing there, Derek, other than just the mix and running those calcs. I mean if anybody from the portfolio management team has any great thoughts, feel free to jump on, but if I remember correctly, it was generally in the same neighborhood as it's been in the past.

是的。我的意思是，我認為這些數字是——數字本身就說明了一切。德里克，除了混合和運行這些計算之外，什麼都沒有。我的意思是，如果投資組合管理團隊中的任何人有任何好的想法，請隨時加入，但如果我沒記錯的話，它通常與過去在同一個社區。

This concludes our question-and-answer session. I'd like to turn the conference back over to Mr. Kipp DeVeer for any closing remarks.

我們的問答環節到此結束。我想將會議轉回 Kipp DeVeer 先生做總結發言。

Well, I will I say thanks to everyone after our first remote earnings call. I think the company is pretty well positioned, and we've just got to get back to work dealing with all these portfolio companies, but certainly wish everybody on the line well.

好吧，在我們第一次遠距財報電話會議之後，我要向大家表示感謝。我認為該公司處於非常有利的位置，我們必須重新開始與所有這些投資組合公司打交道，但當然希望每個人都一切順利。

I appreciate you for taking the time today to listen to what's going on at the company, and we'll keep working hard for the shareholders through to the end of Q2, and we'll be back and talk to you in August. So thanks.

我感謝您今天抽出時間來聆聽公司的情況，我們將繼續為股東努力工作，直到第二季末，我們將在 8 月回來與您交談。那謝謝啦。

Ladies and gentlemen, this concludes our conference call for today. If you missed any part of today's call, an archived replay of the call will be available approximately 1 hour after the end of the call through May 19, 2020, at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time to domestic callers by dialing (877) 344-7529 and to international callers by dialing +1 (412) 317-0088.

女士們先生們，我們今天的電話會議到此結束。如果您錯過了今天通話的任何部分，則可在通話結束後約 1 小時至 2020 年 5 月 19 日下午 5:00 之前查看通話的存檔重播。東部時間 國內來電者請撥打 (877) 344-7529，國際來電者請撥 +1 (412) 317-0088。

For all replays, please reference conference number 10140269. Again, 10140269. An archived replay will also be available on a webcast link located on the homepage of the Investor Resources section of Ares Capital's website. Once again, the conference has ended. You may now disconnect. Thank you.

所有重播請參考會議編號10140269。再一次，10140269。存檔重播也可透過位於 Ares Capital 網站投資者資源部分主頁上的網路廣播連結取得。會議再次結束。您現在可以斷開連線。謝謝。