Barings BDC Inc (BBDC) 2024 Q3 法說會逐字稿

At this time, I would like to welcome everyone to Barings BDC Inc conference call for the quarter ended September 30, 2024. (Operator Instructions) Today's call is being recorded, and a replay will be available approximately two hours after the conclusion of the call on the company's website at www.baringsbdc.com under the Investor Relations section.

此時，我謹歡迎大家參加 Barings BDC Inc 截至 2024 年 9 月 30 日的季度的電話會議。（操作員說明）今天的電話會議正在錄音，電話會議結束後大約兩小時將在公司網站 www.baringsbdc.com 的投資者關係部分提供重播。

At this time, I will turn the call over to Joe Mazzoli, Head of Investor Relations for Barings BDC.

此時，我會將電話轉給 Barings BDC 投資者關係主管 Joe Mazzoli。

Please note that this call may contain forward-looking statements that include statements regarding the company's goals, beliefs, strategies, future operating results and cash flows. Although the company believes these statements are reasonable, actual results could differ materially from those projected in forward-looking statements.

請注意，本次電話會議可能包含前瞻性陳述，其中包括有關公司目標、信念、策略、未來營運績效和現金流量的陳述。儘管該公司認為這些陳述是合理的，但實際結果可能與前瞻性陳述中的預測有重大差異。

These statements are based on various underlying assumptions and are subject to numerous uncertainties and risks including those disclosed under the sections titled risk factors and forward-looking statements in the company's quarterly report on form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2024, as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Barings BDC undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements unless required by law.

這些陳述基於各種基本假設，並受到許多不確定性和風險的影響，包括在公司截至2024 年9 月30 日的季度10-Q 表格的季度報告中標題為風險因素和前瞻性陳述的部分中揭露的不確定性和風險，如下：向美國證券交易委員會備案。除非法律要求，霸菱 BDC 不承擔更新或修改任何前瞻性聲明的義務。

I'll now turn the call over to Eric Lloyd, Chief Executive Officer of Barings BDC.

我現在將把電話轉給巴林銀行 BDC 執行長 Eric Lloyd。

Thanks, Joe, and good morning, everyone. We appreciate you joining us for today's call. Please note that throughout today's call, we'll be referring to our third quarter 2024 earnings presentation that is posted on the Investor Relations section of our website.

謝謝喬，大家早安。我們感謝您參加今天的電話會議。請注意，在今天的電話會議中，我們將參考發佈在我們網站投資者關係部分的 2024 年第三季收益演示。

On the call today, I'm joined by Barings BDC's President, Matt Freund; Chief Financial Officer, Elizabeth Murray; and Baring's Head of Global Private Finance and BBDC Portfolio Manager, Bryan High.

Barings BDC 總裁 Matt Freund 也參加了今天的電話會議。財務長伊麗莎白·穆雷；以及霸菱全球私人金融主管兼 BBDC 投資組合經理 Bryan High。

In the third quarter, BBDC delivered another strong and consistent set of results, fueled by best-in-class credit performance and the strength and stability of our franchise. Our focus on the top of the capital structure investments and sponsor-backed middle-market issuers continues to serve our investors well.

在一流的信用表現以及我們特許經營的實力和穩定性的推動下，BBDC 在第三季度再次取得了強勁且一致的業績。我們對頂級資本結構投資和保薦人支持的中間市場發行人的關注繼續為我們的投資者提供良好的服務。

Our focus on the core of the middle market is reflective of lower leverage levels and more attractive risk-adjusted returns, which is why we find this to be the best segment of the market for BBDC and our shareholders.

我們對中間市場核心的關注反映了較低的槓桿水平和更具吸引力的風險調整回報，這就是為什麼我們認為這是 BBDC 和我們股東的最佳市場細分市場。

The core portfolio is complemented by a selection of non-sponsored and platform investments that we believe benefit our shareholders in the form of higher potential returns and diversification.

核心投資組合輔以精選的非贊助投資和平台投資，我們相信這些投資以更高的潛在回報和多元化的形式使我們的股東受益。

Our portfolio strategy is outlined in greater detail on slide 5, and we continue to successfully invest throughout the market and deliver compelling returns to our shareholders. As we reflect on the first three quarters of 2024, the performance of BBDC has been strong against a relatively benign economic backdrop. Interest rates while elevated have been stable for several quarters.

我們的投資組合策略在投影片 5 中有更詳細的概述，我們將繼續成功地在整個市場進行投資，並為股東帶來可觀的回報。回顧 2024 年前三季度，在相對良性的經濟背景下，BBDC 的表現依然強勁。利率雖然有所上升，但幾個季度以來一直保持穩定。

Credit performance appears to be holding up broadly across the industry, save a few idiosyncratic examples. Inflation has started to recede and with it, interest rates are likely to follow in the quarters to come. The long hoped for soft landing appears to be coming into clearer focus.

除了一些特殊的例子外，整個行業的信用表現似乎普遍保持良好。通貨膨脹已經開始消退，隨之而來的是，利率可能會在未來幾季隨之下降。長期以來所希望的軟著陸似乎正在變得更加清晰。

As we have discussed previously, we believe that a reduction in interest rates will have an overall positive impact on our business as it further improves credit metrics in the existing portfolio and sparks a sentiment shift among sponsors and spurs further deal activity, which in turn may drive higher spreads and additional transaction fees.

正如我們之前討論的，我們認為利率降低將對我們的業務產生總體積極影響，因為它進一步改善現有投資組合中的信用指標，引發贊助商之間的情緒轉變並刺激進一步的交易活動，這反過來可能推動更高的點差和額外的交易費用。

While soft landing is possible, BBDC's portfolio has been intentionally constructed to withstand a variety of economic scenarios. To the extent volatility is on the horizon, we have confidence in our credit selection and believe our underwriting discipline will continue to proof -- provide stable returns in the quarters to come.

雖然軟著陸是可能的，但 BBDC 的投資組合經過精心構建，可以承受各種經濟情景。就即將出現的波動而言，我們對我們的信貸選擇充滿信心，並相信我們的承保紀律將繼續證明——在未來幾季提供穩定的回報。

We are extremely happy to announce that we have extended the maturities of our revolving credit facility on terms we find extremely compelling. Elizabeth will touch on this development in greater detail, but I wanted to be sure and express my personal appreciation for the support of our lending partners in accomplishing this important goal of ours in 2024.

我們非常高興地宣布，我們已經按照我們認為極具吸引力的條款延長了循環信貸額度的期限。伊麗莎白將更詳細地談到這一進展，但我想確定並表達我個人對我們的貸款合作夥伴的支持的感謝，以實現我們在 2024 年實現這一重要目標。

Turning to some specifics of BBDC. Net asset value per share was $11.32 compared to $11.28 at the prior fiscal year-end, reflecting an increase of 0.4% and a testament to the portfolio stability. Net investment income for the quarter was $0.29 per share and outearned our dividend of $0.26 per share.

轉向 BBDC 的一些細節。每股淨值為 11.32 美元，較上一財年末的 11.28 美元成長 0.4%，證明了投資組合的穩定性。本季的淨投資收益為每股 0.29 美元，超過了每股 0.26 美元的股息。

Non-accruals as a percent of fair value were modest at 0.5%. As our investors know, the stability of our performance is result of our focus on thorough and conservative underwriting at the top of the capital structure and with more defensive industries.

非應計費用佔公允價值的百分比較低，為 0.5%。正如我們的投資者所知，我們業績的穩定性是由於我們專注於資本結構頂層和防禦性更強的行業的徹底和保守的承銷。

Digging a bit deeper into the portfolio, we continue to actively maximize the value in legacy holdings acquired from MVC Capital and Sierra. Our goal remains to divest of these assets at attractive valuations as we did this quarter.

透過更深入地挖掘投資組合，我們繼續積極最大化從 MVC Capital 和 Sierra 收購的遺留資產的價值。我們的目標仍然是像本季那樣以有吸引力的估值剝離這些資產。

Barings originated positions are now 92% of the portfolio at fair value, up from 76% at the beginning of 2022. As a reminder, potential losses from acquired assets are protected by credit support agreements, limiting downside for BBDC investors.

以公允價值計算，霸菱發起的部位目前佔投資組合的 92%，高於 2022 年初的 76%。需要提醒的是，所收購資產的潛在損失受到信貸支持協議的保護，從而限制了 BBDC 投資者的下行風險。

Our investment portfolio continued to perform well in the third quarter. There is no substitute for fundamental credit analysis, which is always been at the core of our investment philosophy and is reflected in the health of BBDC's portfolio today.

我們的投資組合在第三季繼續表現良好。基本信用分析是無可取代的，它始終是我們投資理念的核心，並反映在當今 BBDC 投資組合的健康狀況中。

And including the acquired Sierra and MVC assets, our total non-accruals are an industry-leading 0.5% on a fair value basis and 1.8% of the portfolio on a cost basis. This is down from 1.5% on a fair value basis and 2.5% on a cost basis as of December 31, 2023.

包括收購的 Sierra 和 MVC 資產在內，我們的非應計費用總額以公允價值計算為業界領先的 0.5%，以成本計算為投資組合的 1.8%。截至 2023 年 12 月 31 日，以公允價值計算的利率為 1.5%，以成本計算的利率為 2.5%。

Turning to the earnings power of the portfolio. The weighted average yield at fair value was 11%. We remain conservative on our base dividend policy, and our Board declared a fourth quarter dividend of $0.26 per share, consistent with the prior quarter.

轉向投資組合的獲利能力。以公允價值計算的加權平均收益率為11%。我們對基本股利政策保持保守，董事會宣布第四季股利為每股 0.26 美元，與上一季一致。

On an annualized basis, the dividend level equates to a 9.2% yield on our net asset value of $11.32. We believe the best measures of the portfolio's performance, non-accruals, net asset value and NII were extremely compelling for the September quarter and anticipate continued strength in the quarters ahead.

以年化計算，股息水準相當於我們 11.32 美元的資產淨值的 9.2% 收益率。我們認為，投資組合業績、非應計費用、資產淨值和NII的最佳衡量指標在9月份季度中非常引人注目，並預計未來幾季將繼續強勁。

I'll now turn it over to Matt.

我現在把它交給馬特。

Thanks, Eric. Recall that BBDC is managed by Barings LLC, a credit-focused asset manager with over $431 billion of assets under management. The bulk of BBDC's portfolio is sourced from the Global Private Finance team, an organization with more than 100 investment professionals located around the globe providing financing solutions to high-quality market-leading middle-market companies, sponsored by top-tier private equity firms.

謝謝，埃里克。回想一下，BBDC 由 Barings LLC 管理，這是一家專注於信貸的資產管理公司，管理超過 4,310 億美元的資產。BBDC 的大部分投資組合來自全球私人融資團隊，該團隊在全球擁有 100 多名投資專業人士，在頂級私募股權公司的贊助下，為市場領先的優質中端市場公司提供融資解決方案。

BBDC deployed $125 million of capital this quarter, offset by $121 million of sales and repayments, resulting in net deployments of $4 million. Repayments during the quarter included a large position inherited from Sierra Income, Aviation Technical Services and reflects the continued execution of our stated strategy to rotate out of acquired assets.

BBDC 本季部署了 1.25 億美元的資本，被 1.21 億美元的銷售和還款所抵消，淨部署額為 400 萬美元。本季度的還款包括從 Sierra Income、航空技術服務公司繼承的大量頭寸，這反映了我們繼續執行所定策略，以輪換所收購的資產。

As Eric noted, we are executing the strategy we have been telegraphing for the past 18 months, simplifying the portfolio and selectively investing in what we believe are the most compelling direct lending opportunities in the market.

正如 Eric 指出的那樣，我們正在執行過去 18 個月以來一直傳達的策略，簡化投資組合，並有選擇地投資於我們認為市場上最引人注目的直接貸款機會。

LBO activity during 2024 remains muted, but the third quarter began exhibiting some green shoots as deployment opportunities improved over the first and second quarters. Data reviewed by our liquid high-yield team, which we use as a proxy for market data related to private markets revealed that only 13% of transaction volume through the year-to-date July period represented, quote new money financings unquote, with the overwhelming majority of capital being dedicated towards refinancings and repricings.

2024 年槓桿收購活動仍然平靜，但隨著部署機會比第一季和第二季有所改善，第三季開始出現一些復甦。我們的流動性高收益團隊審查的數據（我們將其用作與私募市場相關的市場數據的代理）顯示，截至今年7 月期間，僅佔交易量的13%（未報價的新資金融資），其中絕大多數資金用於再融資和重新定價。

The long-term historical average for new money transactions ranges between 40% and 45%. While we are encouraged that activity and pipeline opportunities have improved in recent months, we cannot be certain if this marks a sustained trend or a temporary pop ahead of the election cycle. We are optimistic in the former.

新貨幣交易的長期歷史平均值在 40% 至 45% 之間。儘管過去幾個月來活動和管道機會有所改善，我們感到鼓舞，但我們無法確定這是否標誌著持續趨勢或選舉週期前的暫時流行。我們對前者持樂觀態度。

Nevertheless, the scale of BBDC's portfolio and the number of issuers remain an important differentiator, with approximately one-third of gross fundings during the quarter supporting existing issuers with either incremental facilities or advances on existing commitments.

儘管如此，BBDC 投資組合的規模和發行人的數量仍然是一個重要的區別因素，本季約三分之一的總資金透過增量融資或現有承諾的預付款支持現有發行人。

Turning to our current portfolio, 72% consists of secured investments with approximately 68% of investments constituting first lien securities. BBDC has experienced a stabilization of interest coverage during 2024 and finished the quarter with a weighted average interest coverage throughout the portfolio of 2.2 times, above industry averages and demonstrating the merits of our approach of focusing on lending to companies in defensive sectors and thoroughly underwriting their ability to weather a range of economic conditions.

就我們目前的投資組合而言，72% 是有擔保投資，其中約 68% 的投資構成第一留置權證券。BBDC 的利息覆蓋率在2024 年期間趨於穩定，本季度結束時，整個投資組合的加權平均利息覆蓋率達到2.2 倍，高於行業平均水平，這證明了我們專注於向防禦性行業公司提供貸款並徹底承保其投資的方法的優點。

Given the current shape of the forward SOFR curve, we believe the portfolio now reflects the full negative impact of rate rises, and credit and cash flow metrics are likely to result from the benefit of any decline in base rates. Furthermore, as base rates decline, our hurdle rate structure will continue demonstrating shareholder alignment with our manager.

鑑於遠期 SOFR 曲線目前的形狀，我們認為該投資組合現在反映了利率上升的全部負面影響，而信貸和現金流量指標可能會受益於基本利率的任何下降。此外，隨著基本利率下降，我們的最低利率結構將繼續表明股東與我們經理的一致性。

The portfolio composition remains highly diversified, with the top 10 issuers accounting for 24% of the fair market value. Recall that the top two positions within the portfolio, Eclipse Business Capital and Rocade Holdings are strategic platform investments that we own to provide BBDC shareholders access to differentiated compelling opportunities to invest in asset-backed loans and litigation funding solutions. Two specialized areas we believe provide attractive total return and diversification benefits.

投資組合組成仍高度多元化，前 10 名發行人佔公平市值的 24%。回想一下，投資組合中排名前兩位的 Eclipse Business Capital 和 Rocade Holdings 是我們擁有的策略平台投資，旨在為 BBDC 股東提供投資資產支持貸款和訴訟融資解決方案的差異化引人注目的機會。我們相信兩個專業領域能夠提供有吸引力的總回報和多元化收益。

Turning to portfolio quality, risk ratings exhibited minimal movement during the quarter as our issuers (technical difficulty) classified as risk ratings four and five were 10% on a combined basis quarter-over-quarter and compared to 9% in the immediately preceding quarter.

談到投資組合質量，風險評級在本季度表現出最小的變化，因為我們的發行人（技術難度）被分類為風險評級四級和五級，季度環比合計為10%，而上一季為9 %。

Non-accruals accounted for only $13 million of fair market value in the portfolio and 0.5% of assets, which we believe is one of the lowest levels of non-accruals in the industry. We remain confident in the credit quality of the underlying portfolio.

非應計費用僅佔投資組合的公平市場價值 1,300 萬美元，佔資產的 0.5%，我們認為這是業內非應計費用水準最低的之一。我們對基礎投資組合的信用品質仍然充滿信心。

We expect BBDC's differentiated reach and scale, coupled with its core focus on middle market credit and a focus on shareholders will continue driving positive outcomes in the quarters and years to come. The BBDC portfolio is a through-the-cycle portfolio designed to withstand a variety of economic environments and prevailing interest rate levels.

我們預計 BBDC 的差異化覆蓋範圍和規模，加上其對中間市場信貸的核心關注和對股東的關注，將在未來幾季和幾年繼續推動積極成果。BBDC 投資組合是一個貫穿週期的投資組合，旨在承受各種經濟環境和現行利率水準。

To this end, BBDC was structured to align both fees and credit performance hurdles with shareholders as outlined on slide 14. With the increase in base rates experienced over the past two years, effectively all publicly listed BDCs have delivered earnings in excess of their hurdle rates.

為此，BBDC 的結構旨在使費用和信用績效障礙與股東保持一致，如幻燈片 14 所示。隨著過去兩年基準利率的上升，實際上所有上市 BDC 的獲利都超過了其最低門檻利率。

The relative distinction between hurdle rate levels has fallen out of focus. However, as base rates begin to fall, BBDC investors will again benefit from the impacts of a high hurdle rate at our strategy compared to other industry participants.

最低報酬率水準之間的相對差異已經不再受到關注。然而，隨著基本利率開始下降，與其他行業參與者相比，BBDC 投資者將再次受益於我們策略的高門檻利率的影響。

As noted on slide 15, we have detailed -- we have endeavored to illustrate the benefits of BBDC's fee structure compared with the fee structure within the public BDC ecosystem. We want to stress that this analysis requires making a number of assumptions that require the, quote all else equal unquote, designation, but the result cannot be argued.

正如幻燈片 15 所指出的，我們已經詳細說明了 BBDC 的費用結構與公共 BDC 生態系統內的費用結構相比的優勢。我們想強調的是，這種分析需要做出許多假設，這些假設需要「引用所有其他內容都等於不引用」這個名稱，但結果無可爭議。

BBDC's hurdle rate of 8.25% compares to a median of 7.03% among our externally managed public peers, with some managers having significantly lower hurdles. To the extent BBDC's pre-incentive fee returns fall between 8.25% and 10.3%, shareholders can expect the stability of an 8.25% return. While BDCs with lower hurdle rates experiencing the same pre-incentive fees would receive lower net returns.

BBDC 的門檻率為 8.25%，而我們的外部管理公共同業的門檻率為 7.03%，其中一些管理公司的門檻明顯較低。如果 BBDC 的激勵前費用回報率下降到 8.25% 至 10.3% 之間，股東可以預期穩定的 8.25% 回報率。雖然門檻利率較低的 BDC 在支付相同的激勵前費用後將獲得較低的淨回報。

With that, I'd like to now turn the call over to Elizabeth.

現在我想把電話轉給伊莉莎白。

Thanks, Matt. On slide 16, you can see the full bridge of the NAV per share movement in the third quarter. NAV per share was $11.32 as of September 30, which is a decrease of 0.4% over the prior quarter and an increase of 0.6% year over year. Our net investment income exceeded the $0.26 per share dividend by $0.03 per share or 10%.

謝謝，馬特。在投影片 16 上，您可以看到第三季每股淨值變動的全橋。截至9月30日，每股資產淨值為11.32美元，季減0.4%，年增0.6%。我們的淨投資收益超出了每股 0.26 美元的股息 0.03 美元，即 10%。

Net unrealized appreciation from investments CSAs and FX equaled $0.02 and was offset by net realized losses on the portfolio and FX of $0.10 per share. The net realized loss on the portfolio was predominantly due to the exit of our investment in ANG Software, which was reclassed from unrealized depreciation.

CSA 和外匯投資的未實現淨增值為 0.02 美元，並被投資組合和外匯的每股 0.10 美元的已實現淨虧損所抵消。投資組合的已實現淨損失主要是由於我們退出對 ANG Software 的投資，該投資是根據未實現折舊重新分類的。

The valuation of the credit support agreement increased by approximately $0.7 million. The fair value of the Sierra CSA decreased from $32.6 million in the second quarter to $32.2 million as of September 30. During the third quarter, the Sierra portfolio had sales and repayments of approximately $30 million and had [28 positions] remaining in the portfolio, down from [29 positions] as of June 30.

信貸支持協議的估值增加了約 70 萬美元。截至 9 月 30 日，Sierra CSA 的公允價值從第二季的 3,260 萬美元下降至 3,220 萬美元。第三季度，Sierra 投資組合的銷售額和還款額約為 3,000 萬美元，投資組合中剩餘 [28 個頭寸]，低於截至 6 月 30 日的 [29 個頭寸]。

The fair value of the MVC CSA increased from $18 million to $19 million as of September 30, predominantly due to rolling the maturity of the contract forward one quarter with our four positions remaining. Our net investment income was $0.29 per share for the quarter or $0.30 per share on a pre-tax basis compared to $0.40 per share in the prior quarter and $0.31 per share for the third quarter of 2023.

截至 9 月 30 日，MVC CSA 的公允價值從 1,800 萬美元增加到 1,900 萬美元，主要是由於合約到期日提前四分之一，而我們還保留了四個頭寸。我們本季的淨投資收益為每股 0.29 美元，稅前每股為 0.30 美元，上一季為每股 0.40 美元，2023 年第三季為每股 0.31 美元。

Investment income in the quarter was primarily driven by repayment activity at the end of the second quarter and the beginning of the third quarter that was redeployed late in the third quarter and early in the fourth quarter and dividends from joint ventures and platform investments.

本季的投資收入主要由第二季末和第三季初的還款活動（在第三季末和第四季初重新部署）以及合資企業和平台投資的股息推動。

Incentive fee expense returned to normalized levels versus the capped incentive fee in the second quarter. Our net leverage ratio, which is defined as regulatory leverage net of unrestricted cash and net unsettled transactions was 1.09 times at quarter end, up slightly from 1.07 times in the quarter ended June 30 and currently sits within our long-term target of 0.9 to 1.25 times.

與第二季的激勵費用上限相比，激勵費用支出恢復到正常水準。我們的淨槓桿率（定義為扣除不受限制的現金和淨未結算交易的監管槓桿）截至季度末為1.09 倍，略高於截至6 月30 日的季度的1.07 倍，目前處於我們0.9 至1.25的長期目標之內次。

Our current leverage provides ample capacity to seize opportunities and pursue attractive deployments in the quarters to come. Our funding mix remains highly defensible both in terms of seniority and asset class, including the significant level of support provided by the unsecured debt in our capital structure.

我們目前的槓桿作用提供了充足的能力來抓住機會並在未來幾季尋求有吸引力的部署。我們的融資組合在優先順序和資產類別方面仍然具有高度的防禦性，包括我們資本結構中無擔保債務提供的大量支持。

At September 30, our unsecured debt accounted for $1 billion of our funding and equated to 75% of our outstanding debt balances. Since our last earnings call, we are pleased to announce we amended and extended our revolving credit facility.

截至 9 月 30 日，我們的無擔保債務占我們資金的 10 億美元，相當於我們未償債務餘額的 75%。自上次財報電話會議以來，我們很高興地宣布我們修改並延長了循環信貸額度。

As part of the amendment, the facility size reduced to $825 million in conjunction with our second public unsecured issuance earlier this year. In addition, that the revolving period and state of maturity of the facility were extended with the final maturity date being reset from February 2026 to November 2029.

作為修正案的一部分，隨著我們今年稍早的第二次公開無擔保發行，融資規模減少至 8.25 億美元。此外，該工具的循環期和到期狀態也延長，最終到期日從2026年2月重設為2029年11月。

Lastly, we reduced the spread on facility borrowings from 200 basis points to 187.5 basis points. This extension provides further flexibility in our capital structure and further diversifies our ladder of maturities out to 2029.

最後，我們將融資借貸利差從 200 個基點降至 187.5 個基點。此次延期為我們的資本結構提供了進一步的靈活性，並使我們的期限階梯進一步多樣化，直至 2029 年。

Barings BDC currently has $241 million of unfunded commitments to our portfolio companies as well as $65 million of outstanding commitments through our joint venture investment. Our overall liquidity remains strong with over $540 million of available capital, and we are well positioned to continue to support our unfunded commitments and new origination activity.

Barings BDC 目前對我們的投資組合公司有 2.41 億美元的無資金承諾，以及透過我們的合資企業投資獲得的 6,500 萬美元的未償承諾。我們的整體流動性仍然強勁，可用資本超過 5.4 億美元，我們有能力繼續支持我們的無資金承諾和新的發起活動。

As mentioned earlier, the Board declared a fourth quarter dividend of $0.26 per share, a 9.2% distribution on net asset value and is consistent with our third quarter 2024 dividend. In addition, we continue to be active users of our 2024 share repurchase plan and repurchased almost 200,000 shares during the period and we have repurchased over 500,000 shares through September 30.

如前所述，董事會宣布第四季度股息為每股 0.26 美元，佔資產淨值的 9.2%，與我們 2024 年第三季的股息一致。此外，我們繼續積極執行 2024 年股票回購計劃，在此期間回購了近 20 萬股股票，截至 9 月 30 日，我們已回購了超過 50 萬股股票。

Our focus on share repurchases is one example of BBDC's thoughtful approach to aligning our interests with shareholders. I'll wrap up our prepared remarks with a note on our investment pipeline. Thus far, in the fourth quarter, we have made $117 million in new commitments and funded $96 million.

我們對股票回購的關注是 BBDC 深思熟慮地協調我們與股東利益的例子之一。我將用關於我們的投資管道的說明來結束我們準備好的發言。到目前為止，第四季度我們已做出 1.17 億美元的新承諾，並提供了 9,600 萬美元的資金。

With that operator, we will open the line for questions.

透過該接線員，我們將開通提問熱線。

So we're not sure about others on the line, but we're experiencing some technical difficulties here. Some of us have received a couple of emails saying that other people are experiencing some technical difficulties also.

所以我們不確定其他人的情況，但我們在這裡遇到了一些技術困難。我們中的一些人收到了幾封電子郵件，表示其他人也遇到了一些技術困難。

We want to make sure we stay available for any questions that people have, but we need to get those access through the system. And so, I just ask for your patients to remain. And we're communicating with this, the people at the company now to try to make sure we can get the questions so we can make sure we're responsive to any questions from any analyst or any shareholders.

我們希望確保能夠解答人們提出的任何問題，但我們需要透過系統取得這些存取權限。所以，我只要求你們的病人留下來。我們現在正在與公司的人員進行溝通，以確保我們能夠得到問題，這樣我們就可以確保我們能夠對任何分析師或股東提出的任何問題做出回應。

So we are having a difficult time accessing any questions. And for that we apologize. It's not on our end, it's through the system and the organization that arranged the call. What I would encourage you to do, many of you know the executive management team, you can reach out to us directly through the investor hotline. Whatever is the most appropriate from your perspective because we want to make sure we're responsive to any questions from anybody and we greatly apologize for this inconvenience.

因此，我們很難回答任何問題。為此我們深表歉意。這不是我們這邊的事，而是透過系統和安排通話的組織。我鼓勵你們這樣做，你們中的許多人都認識執行管理團隊，你們可以透過投資者熱線直接與我們聯繫。從您的角度來看，什麼是最合適的，因為我們希望確保我們能夠回應任何人的任何問題，對於由此帶來的不便，我們深表歉意。

With that, I'm just going to terminate the call rather than ask people just to hold on, understanding I am not sure when this would be resolved.

有了這個，我只是要終止通話，而不是讓人們堅持下去，因為我不確定這個問題何時會得到解決。