Hercules Capital Inc (HTGC) 2023 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Thank you for standing by, and welcome to Hercules Capital fourth quarter and full-year 2023 financial results conference call. (Operator Instructions)

感謝您的耐心等待，歡迎參加海格資本 2023 年第四季及全年財務業績電話會議。（操作員說明）

Please be advised that today's call is being recorded. I will now turn the conference over to your host, Mr. Michael Hara, Managing Director of Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

請注意，今天的通話正在錄音。現在我將會議交給東道主投資者關係董事總經理 Michael Hara 先生。請繼續。

Thank you, Valerie. Good afternoon, everyone, and welcome to Hercules' conference call for the fourth quarter and full year of 2023. With us on the call today from Hercules are Scott Bluestein, CEO and Chief Investment Officer; and Seth Meyer, CFO.

謝謝你，瓦萊麗。大家下午好，歡迎參加 Hercules 2023 年第四季和全年電話會議。今天與我們一起參加 Hercules 電話會議的是執行長兼首席投資長 Scott Bluestein；和財務長塞思·邁耶 (Seth Meyer)。

Hercules' financial results were released just after today's market closed and can be accessed from Hercules' Investor Relations section at investor.htgc.com. Excuse me, an archived webcast replay will be available on the Investor Relations webpage for at least 30 days following the conference call.

Hercules 的財務表現於今天收盤後發布，可透過 Investor.htgc.com 的 Hercules 投資者關係部分查看。打擾一下，電話會議後至少 30 天內，投資者關係網頁上將提供存檔的網路廣播重播。

During this call, we may make forward-looking statements based on our own assumptions and current expectations. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and should not be relied upon in making any investment decision. Actual financial results may differ from the forward-looking statements made during this call for a number of reasons, including but not limited to, the risks identified in our annual report on Form 10-K and other filings that are publicly available on the SEC's website. Any forward-looking statements made during this call are made only as of today's date, and Hercules assumes no obligation to update any such statements in the future.

在本次電話會議中，我們可能會根據我們自己的假設和當前預期做出前瞻性陳述。這些前瞻性陳述並非對未來績效的保證，不應作為做出任何投資決策的依據。由於多種原因，實際財務結果可能與本次電話會議期間做出的前瞻性陳述有所不同，包括但不限於我們在 10-K 表格年度報告和 SEC 網站上公開提供的其他文件中確定的風險。本次電話會議期間所做的任何前瞻性陳述僅截至今天為止，Hercules 不承擔將來更新任何此類陳述的義務。

And with that, I will turn the call over to Scott.

這樣，我會將電話轉給史考特。

Thank you, Michael, and thank you all for joining the Hercules Capital Q4 and full-year 2023 earnings call. Following our record operating performance in 2022, Hercules Capital once again raised the bar higher and delivered record performance in 2023.

謝謝邁克爾，也謝謝大家參加 Hercules Capital 第四季和 2023 年全年財報電話會議。繼 2022 年創紀錄的經營業績之後，大力士資本再次提高了標準，並在 2023 年創造了創紀錄的業績。

2023 was a banner year for Hercules Capital, where we set several new financial and performance records. And I am incredibly proud of what our talented and growing team accomplished. Our record-setting performance in 2023 culminated with the strongest total and net investment income quarter in the company's history and the recent declaration of a new supplemental distribution program for our shareholders.

2023 年對 Hercules Capital 來說是輝煌的一年，我們創下了多項新的財務和業績記錄。我對我們才華橫溢且不斷成長的團隊所取得的成就感到無比自豪。我們在 2023 年創下了創紀錄的業績，最終實現了公司歷史上最強勁的總投資收益季度和淨投資收益季度，以及最近宣布的股東新的補充分配計劃。

Our performance in 2023 reflects the benefits of being able to operate in institutional venture and growth-stage lending platform at scale, maintain robust liquidity and a strong balance sheet, and working with a best-in-class team with significant experience in this asset class. Thanks to the growth of both the BDC and our private credit funds business, Hercules Capital is now managing approximately $4.2 billion of assets, an increase of over 15% from where we were at year-end 2022.

我們 2023 年的業績反映了能夠在機構風險投資和成長階段貸款平台上大規模運營、保持強勁的流動性和強大的資產負債表以及與在該資產類別中擁有豐富經驗的一流團隊合作的優勢。由於 BDC 和我們的私人信貸基金業務的成長，Hercules Capital 目前管理著約 42 億美元的資產，比 2022 年底成長了 15% 以上。

Despite ongoing market, macro, and geopolitical volatility, which impacted growth-stage companies throughout 2023, the continued strength and expansion of our origination platform, robust liquidity position, and strong balance sheet put us in position to deliver achievements on multiple fronts in 2023, including record full-year 2023 total gross fundings of $1.6 billion, an increase of 9.1% year over year; record full-year 2023 total investment income of $460.7 million, an increase of 43.2% year over year; record full-year 2023 net investment income of $304 million, an increase of 61.7% year over year; four consecutive years of delivering supplemental distributions to our shareholders; and finally, strong net debt portfolio growth of over $240 million, which excludes the portfolio growth of our private fund business.

儘管持續的市場、宏觀和地緣政治波動影響了整個2023 年成長階段的公司，但我們的創始平台的持續實力和擴張、強勁的流動性狀況和強勁的資產負債表使我們有能力在2023 年在多方面取得成就，包括 2023 年全年融資總額創紀錄的 16 億美元，較去年同期成長 9.1%； 2023年全年總投資收益創歷史新高4.607億美元，年增43.2%； 2023年全年淨投資收益創紀錄3.04億美元，年增61.7%；連續四年向股東進行補充分配；最後，淨債務投資組合強勁成長，超過 2.4 億美元，其中不包括我們私募基金業務的投資組合成長。

We are pleased that we were able to deliver record operating performance in Q4 and the full year, while at the same time, managing the business quite conservatively with very low leverage and excess liquidity. We expect 2024 to be another year with higher-than-normal volatility and a higher-for-longer rate environment. But as we discussed on our last call, we expect the market environment for new originations to improve throughout 2024. We are already seeing this come to fruition in Q1, where we are benefiting from the balance sheet decisions that we made in 2023.

我們很高興能夠在第四季度和全年實現創紀錄的經營業績，同時以非常低的槓桿率和過剩的流動性以相當保守的方式管理業務。我們預計 2024 年將是波動性高於正常水平且利率環境長期較高的一年。但正如我們在上次電話會議中討論的那樣，我們預計新產品的市場環境將在 2024 年得到改善。我們已經看到這一目標在第一季取得了成果，我們從 2023 年做出的資產負債表決策中受益。

Going forward, we will continue to take steps to manage our business and balance sheet defensively, while maintaining maximum flexibility to shift to offense quickly and aggressively if deal quality warranted as we are doing in Q1. This includes continuing to enhance our strong liquidity position, maintaining low leverage, tightening our credit screens for new underwritings, and driving our first lien exposure up, which reached 89% in Q4, our highest level since Q1 2017.

展望未來，我們將繼續採取措施，以防禦性方式管理我們的業務和資產負債表，同時保持最大的靈活性，以便在交易品質得到保證的情況下，迅速、積極地轉向進攻，就像我們在第一季所做的那樣。這包括持續增強我們強勁的流動性部位、維持低槓桿率、收緊新承銷的信用篩選，以及推動我們的首次留置權敞口上升，該敞口在第四季度達到89%，這是自2017年第一季以來的最高水準。

Let me now recap some of the key highlights of our performance for Q4. In Q4, we generated record total investment income of $122.6 million, up 22% year over year; and record net investment income of $86 million, up over 38% year over year, or $0.56 per share, and providing 140% coverage of our base distribution of $0.40 per share.

現在讓我回顧一下我們第四季業績的一些主要亮點。第四季度，我們創造了創紀錄的總投資收益 1.226 億美元，年增 22%；淨投資收入達到 8,600 萬美元，年成長超過 38%，即每股 0.56 美元，覆蓋我們每股 0.40 美元的基本分配的 140%。

We were able to achieve 140% coverage of our base distribution, despite ending the quarter with very conservative GAAP leverage of 87.1%. This is our third consecutive quarter of over $100 million of quarterly core income, which excludes the benefit of prepayment fees or fee accelerations from early repayments and our fifth consecutive quarter of delivering record net investment income.

儘管本季末的 GAAP 槓桿率非常保守，為 87.1%，但我們仍能達到 140% 的基礎分佈覆蓋率。這是我們連續第三個季度的季度核心收入超過 1 億美元，其中不包括預付款費用或提前還款帶來的費用加速的好處，也是我們連續第五個季度實現創紀錄的淨投資收入。

We also generated return on equity in Q4 of over 20% for the third consecutive quarter. Our portfolio generated a GAAP effective yield of 15.3% in Q4 and a core yield of 14.3%.

我們第四季的股本回報率也連續第三個季度超過 20%。我們的投資組合在第四季的 GAAP 有效收益率為 15.3%，核心收益率為 14.3%。

Our balance sheet remains very well positioned to support our continued growth objectives and serves as a key differentiator of our business relative to others in the asset class. The focus of our origination efforts in Q4 was once again on quality and diversification. Our Q4 originations activity was driven by both our technology and life sciences teams, delivering healthy funding performance during the quarter, although new business activity was, again, intentionally weighted slightly more towards life sciences companies.

我們的資產負債表仍然能夠很好地支持我們的持續成長目標，並成為我們業務相對於其他資產類別的關鍵差異化因素。我們在第四季的原創工作的重點再次集中在品質和多元化上。我們的第四季度發起活動是由我們的技術和生命科學團隊推動的，在本季度提供了健康的融資業績，儘管新的業務活動再次故意稍微偏重於生命科學公司。

In Q4, approximately 57% of our fundings were to life sciences companies, while approximately 66% of our commitments during the quarter were to life sciences companies. This reflects our slightly more cautious view on the technology sector through year end. We funded debt capital to 27 different companies in Q4, of which five were new borrower relationships.

在第四季度，我們約 57% 的資金流向了生命科學公司，而本季我們約 66% 的承諾流向了生命科學公司。這反映出我們對年底前科技業的看法略為謹慎。我們在第四季向 27 家不同的公司提供了債務資本，其中 5 家是新的借款人關係。

Consistent with what we have seen throughout the year, we expanded our funding relationship with numerous portfolio companies that continue to show strength and achieve performance milestones during the fourth quarter. In addition, the strong level of fundings to existing companies also helped to maintain our available unfunded commitments at approximately $335 million, which decreased from $400 million in Q3.

與我們全年所見的情況一致，我們擴大了與眾多投資組合公司的融資關係，這些公司在第四季度繼續展現實力並實現業績里程碑。此外，現有公司的強勁資金水準也有助於將我們可用的無資金承諾維持在約 3.35 億美元，較第三季的 4 億美元有所下降。

As anticipated, our origination activity has begun to accelerate in Q1. Since the close of Q4 and as of February 13, 2024, our deal team has closed $551.8 million of new commitments, and we have funded $383.8 million. We have pending commitments of an additional $506.5 million in signed non-binding term sheets.

正如預期的那樣，我們的發起活動在第一季開始加速。自第四季結束以來，截至 2024 年 2 月 13 日，我們的交易團隊已完成 5.518 億美元的新承諾，我們已融資 3.838 億美元。我們在已簽署的不具約束力的條款清單中還有待額外承諾 5.065 億美元。

The bar for us on new originations remains very high, and we continue to pass on the vast majority of deals that we are currently seeing in the market. Many of the quality later-stage deals -- companies, excuse me, that put off debt decisions in 2023 are now back at the table, and that is driving our very strong start to the year on originations. Having a strong balance sheet, staying power, and relationships that run wide and deep in the ecosystem gives us great confidence in our ability to continue to generate and deliver quality asset growth over the coming quarters.

我們對新產品的門檻仍然非常高，我們繼續放棄目前市場上看到的絕大多數交易。許多高品質的後期交易——對不起，推遲到 2023 年做出債務決定的公司現在又回到了談判桌上，這推動了我們今年在創始方面的強勁開局。擁有強大的資產負債表、持久力以及在生態系統中廣泛而深入的關係，讓我們對未來幾季繼續創造和實現優質資產成長的能力充滿信心。

We believe that Hercules is best positioned in the asset class for continued and sustained success. Consistent with our historical approach to underwriting credit, we will remain disciplined on new originations, and we will prioritize credit quality over chasing higher risk transactions with a yield premium.

我們相信，Hercules 在該資產類別中處於最佳位置，並且能夠持續取得持續成功。與我們承銷信貸的歷史方法一致，我們將繼續對新的信貸發放保持嚴格的紀律，並且我們將優先考慮信貸質量，而不是追求收益率溢價的高風險交易。

Given the market backdrop throughout 2023, we are pleased with the exit activity that we saw in our portfolio during the year. In Q4, we had two additional portfolio companies complete acquisitions for fiscal year 2023. We had one portfolio companies complete their IPO and two additional portfolio companies filed for IPOs, along with 17 portfolio companies completing M&A transactions.

考慮到 2023 年全年的市場背景，我們對這一年投資組合中出現的退出活動感到滿意。第四季度，我們有另外兩家投資組合公司完成了 2023 財年的收購。我們有 1 家投資組合公司完成了 IPO，另有 2 家投資組合公司申請了 IPO，還有 17 家投資組合公司完成了併購交易。

Our solid portfolio activity, despite the challenging broader exit environment, continues to validate the great work and selective underwriting that our investment teams do. As we anticipated, early loan repayments increased in Q4 to approximately $278 million, which came in above our guidance of $150 million to $250 million. For Q1 2024, we expect prepayments to decrease from Q4 levels and be in the range of $125 million to $225 million, although this could change as we progress in the quarter.

儘管退出環境充滿挑戰，但我們穩健的投資組合活動繼續驗證了我們投資團隊所做的出色工作和選擇性承保。正如我們預期的那樣，第四季度提前償還貸款增加至約 2.78 億美元，高於我們 1.5 億至 2.5 億美元的指引。對於 2024 年第一季度，我們預計預付款項將比第四季度的水平減少，在 1.25 億美元至 2.25 億美元之間，儘管隨著本季度的進展，這種情況可能會發生變化。

Credit quality of the debt investment portfolio remains stable. Our weighted average internal credit rating of 2.24 improved slightly from the 2.28 rating in Q3 and remains at the lower end of our normal historical range. Our Grade 1 and 2 credits improved to 62.6% compared to 62.1% in Q3. Grade 3 credits were slightly lower at 34% in Q3 versus 34.5% in Q3. Our rated 4 credits increased moderately to 3.4% from 2.6% in Q3, and we had no rated 5 credits in Q4.

債權投資組合信用品質維持穩定。我們的加權平均內部信用評級為 2.24，較第三季的 2.28 略有提高，仍處於正常歷史範圍的下限。我們的 1 級和 2 級學分從第三季的 62.1% 提高到 62.6%。第三季的 3 級學分略有下降，為 34%，而第三季為 34.5%。我們的評級 4 學分從第三季的 2.6% 適度增加到 3.4%，並且我們在第四季度沒有評級 5 學分。

In Q4, the number of loans on non-accrual decreased by one. We have one debt investment on non-accrual with an investment cost and fair value of approximately $30.9 million and [zero million], respectively, or 1% and 0% as a percentage of the company's total investment portfolio at cost and value, respectively.

第四季度，非應計貸款減少1筆。我們有一項非應計債務投資，其投資成本和公允價值分別約為 3,090 萬美元和[零百萬]，或以成本和價值分別占公司總投資組合的 1% 和 0%。

As of our most recent reporting, 100% of our debt portfolio companies remain current on contractual payments to Hercules. Our workout efforts with regards to convoy remain ongoing, and our recovery efforts will likely wrap up early this year, although that situation remains ongoing and fluid.

截至我們最近的報告，我們 100% 的債務投資組合公司仍按合約向 Hercules 付款。我們對車隊的鍛鍊工作仍在繼續，我們的恢復工作可能會在今年年初結束，儘管這種情況仍然持續且不穩定。

With respect to our broader credit book and outlook, we generally remain pleased by what we are seeing on a portfolio level, and our monitoring remains enhanced given continued market volatility and uncertainty. Our focus on credit underwriting and a diversified asset base is continuing to serve us well. We are continuing to see general outperformance and positive momentum in terms of capital raising, M&A activity, and milestone achievement throughout our life sciences book, while things continue to remain more muted on the technology side with respect to the same.

就我們更廣泛的信用帳簿和前景而言，我們總體上對投資組合層面的情況感到滿意，鑑於市場持續波動和不確定性，我們的監控仍然加強。我們對信貸承銷和多元化資產基礎的關注繼續為我們提供良好服務。我們在整個生命科學書中繼續看到在融資、併購活動和里程碑成就方面的整體優異表現和積極勢頭，而在技術方面，情況仍然更加平靜。

During Q4 and throughout the year, we experienced many of the same themes that we have been discussing over the last several quarters. With so much attention paid to what the market has been describing as the VC winter, capital raising across our portfolio remained relatively strong, with over $1.1 billion raised in Q4. In total, for the year, we had 58 portfolio companies raised approximately $6 billion in new capital, which was heavily weighted towards our life sciences portfolio.

在第四季度和全年中，我們經歷了許多與過去幾個季度討論的相同主題。由於市場對創投冬天的關注如此之多，我們投資組合的融資仍然相對強勁，在第四季度籌集了超過 11 億美元。今年，我們總共有 58 家投資組合公司籌集了約 60 億美元的新資本，其中很大一部分投資於我們的生命科學投資組合。

During Q4 2023, Hercules had net realized gains of $2.8 million, comprised of net realized gains of $4.6 million, primarily due to the gain on equity investments, offset by approximately $1.8 million due to the loss on debt and warrant investments. For 2023, we generated $8.4 million of realized gains. Our net asset value per share in Q4 was $11.43, an increase of 4.6% from Q3 2023.

2023 年第四季度，Hercules 的已實現淨收益為280 萬美元，其中已實現淨收益為460 萬美元，主要歸因於股權投資收益，並因債務和認股權證投資損失而抵消了約180 萬美元。2023 年，我們實現了 840 萬美元的已實現收益。我們第四季的每股淨資產值為 11.43 美元，比 2023 年第三季成長 4.6%。

We ended Q4 with strong liquidity of nearly $750 million. Inclusive of available liquidity in our private funds, we have more than $1 billion of liquidity as of the end of Q4. Our balance sheet is both strong and stable, and it puts us in a strong position to be able to benefit from a new business environment that we anticipate will get better throughout 2024.

在第四季結束時，我們的流動性強勁，接近 7.5 億美元。包括私募基金的可用流動性在內，截至第四季末，我們的流動性超過 10 億美元。我們的資產負債表強勁而穩定，這使我們處於有利地位，能夠從新的商業環境中受益，我們預計這一環境將在 2024 年變得更好。

Venture capital ecosystem fundraising and investment activity finished 2023 with fundraising activity at approximately $67 billion and investment activity at approximately $171 billion according to data gathered by PitchBook and VCA. To put that into perspective, investment activity equaled 2020 levels in both dollars invested and number of companies raising capital at over 13,000 companies.

根據 PitchBook 和 VCA 收集的數據，2023 年創投生態系統的募款和投資活動結束，募款活動約 670 億美元，投資活動約 1,710 億美元。從這個角度來看，超過 13,000 家公司的投資活動無論是投資金額還是籌集資金的公司數量都相當於 2020 年的水準。

Fundraising for the year exceeded 2019 levels. However, we expect fundraising to stay at the current level for the foreseeable future. We do not expect investment activity to reach the levels that we saw during the COVID pandemic near term, but we do expect investment activity to remain at healthy levels with more selectivity in terms of the profile of the companies that are receiving equity funding.

全年籌款金額超過2019年水準。然而，我們預計在可預見的未來籌款金額將維持在目前水準。我們預計投資活動短期內不會達到新冠疫情期間的水平，但我們確實預計投資活動將保持在健康水平，並且對接受股權融資的公司的情況有更多的選擇性。

With our record operating performance in 2023, we exited Q4 with undistributed earnings spillover of over $125 million, or $0.80 per ending share outstanding. We are also very pleased to announce that RRIA has delivered its first distribution to HTGC shareholders.

憑藉 2023 年創紀錄的經營業績，我們第四季末的未分配盈餘溢出超過 1.25 億美元，即每股已發行股 0.80 美元。我們也非常高興地宣布 RRIA 已向 HTGC 股東交付了第一次分配。

For Q4, we are maintaining our base distribution of $0.40, and we declared a new supplemental distribution of $0.32 for 2024, which will be distributed equally over the next four quarters, or $0.08 per share per quarter, for a total of $0.48 of shareholder distributions. This is our fourth consecutive year of being able to provide our shareholders with a supplemental distribution on top of our regular quarterly base distribution.

對於第四季度，我們維持 0.40 美元的基本分配，並宣布 2024 年新的補充分配為 0.32 美元，將在接下來的四個季度平均分配，即每季度每股 0.08 美元，股東分配總額為 0.48 美元。這是我們連續第四年能夠在定期季度基本分配的基礎上向股東提供補充分配。

In closing, 2024 marks our 20th year investing in the venture and growth-stage asset class, which is another milestone for our company. Our scale, institutionalized lending platform, and our ability to capitalize on a rapidly changing competitive and macro environment continues to drive our business forward and our operating performance to record levels.

最後，2024 年標誌著我們投資風險和成長期資產類別的第 20 個年頭，這是我們公司的另一個里程碑。我們的規模、制度化的貸款平台以及我們利用快速變化的競爭和宏觀環境的能力繼續推動我們的業務向前發展，並將我們的經營業績推向創紀錄的水平。

Our success since inception over 20 years ago is attributable to the tremendous dedication, efforts and capabilities of our employees, and the trust that our venture capital and private equity partners place with us every day. We are thankful to the many companies, management teams, and investors that continue to make Hercules their partner of choice.

自20多年前成立以來，我們的成功歸功於員工的巨大奉獻、努力和能力，以及創投和私募股權合作夥伴每天對我們的信任。我們感謝許多公司、管理團隊和投資者繼續將 Hercules 作為他們的首選合作夥伴。

I will now turn the call over to Seth.

我現在將把電話轉給塞斯。

Thank you, Scott, and good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. As Scott mentioned, this was another record quarter for Hercules Capital, capping off a record-breaking 2023. In addition to record investment activity in 2023, Hercules broke quarterly and annual records in many dimensions, including total investment income, net investment income, core income, and many more, all while managing the balance sheet conservatively with low leverage and strong liquidity.

謝謝斯科特，女士們先生們下午好。正如斯科特所提到的，這是 Hercules Capital 另一個創紀錄的季度，為創紀錄的 2023 年畫下句號。除了2023年創紀錄的投資活動外，赫拉克勒斯在總投資收益、淨投資收益、核心收益等多個維度都打破了季度和年度記錄，同時以低槓桿和強大的流動性保守地管理資產負債表。

In 2023, we further validated the benefits of operating at scale by demonstrating meaningful operating leverage as we grew assets under management to record levels. This allowed us to deliver NII margin of 70.2% in Q4, the highest that we have ever achieved.

2023 年，隨著我們管理的資產規模達到創紀錄的水平，我們展示了有意義的營運槓桿，進一步驗證了大規模營運的好處。這使我們在第四季度實現了 70.2% 的 NII 利潤率，這是我們取得的最高水準。

In 2023, our weighted average cost of debt remained below 5% and leverage remained conservatively low, putting us in a very strong position relative to others in our asset class. We were able to do this by proactively strengthening our balance sheet and liquidity positions early in the year by renewing our $400 million credit facility led by MUFG and putting in place a new committed letter of credit facility with SMBC to cover $175 million of our available unfunded commitment in a more cost-effective manner.

2023 年，我們的加權平均債務成本保持在 5% 以下，槓桿率保持在保守的低水平，使我們相對於其他資產類別處於非常有利的地位。為了做到這一點，我們在今年年初主動加強了我們的資產負債表和流動性頭寸，更新了由三菱日聯金融集團(MUFG) 牽頭的4 億美元信貸安排，並與SMBC 建立了新的承諾信用證安排，以涵蓋我們可用的未融資資金中的1.75 億美元以更具成本效益的方式做出承諾。

We continued to supplement liquidity by raising net of fees $108 million with the equity offering in August and another $230 million throughout the year via our ATM program. We have started 2024 with nearly $750 million in available liquidity; a net regulatory leverage of approximately 72% in possession of our fourth greenlight letter from the SBA, which will provide $175 million of additional regulatory exempt leverage; and a very small maturing private placement of $105 million in July. This positions us very well to invest in the strong pipeline Scott discussed and be able to strategically time accessing the market for additional liquidity to support the business side of the balance sheet if needed.

我們繼續補充流動性，透過 8 月份的股票發行籌集淨費用 1.08 億美元，全年透過 ATM 計劃籌集 2.3 億美元。2024 年伊始，我們可用的流動資金已接近 7.5 億美元；在獲得 SBA 頒發的第四份綠燈信後，淨監管槓桿約為 72%，這將提供 1.75 億美元的額外監管豁免槓桿； 7 月也進行了 1.05 億美元的小型到期私募。這使我們能夠很好地投資斯科特討論的強大管道，並能夠策略性地安排時間進入市場以獲得額外的流動性，以在需要時支持資產負債表的業務方面。

With all that in mind, let's review the following areas: the income statement performance and highlights, NAV unrealized and realized activity, leverage and liquidity, and the financial outlook. First, on the income statement performance and highlights for Q4, total investment income exceeded the prior quarter at $122.6 million, driven by the year-to-date growth in the debt portfolio on consistent business underwriting and a small increase due to the $1.4 million dividend from our wholly owned RIA. Core investment income, a non-GAAP measure, again, exceeded $100 million at $114.5 million. Core investment income excludes the benefit of income recognized as a result of loan prepayments.

考慮到所有這些，讓我們回顧一下以下幾個方面：損益表表現和亮點、資產淨值未實現和已實現的活動、槓桿和流動性以及財務前景。首先，就第四季度的損益表表現和亮點而言，總投資收入超過上一季度，達到1.226 億美元，這是由於持續業務承保的債務投資組合今年迄今的增長以及由於140 萬美元的股息而小幅成長所推動的來自我們全資擁有的 RIA。核心投資收入（非公認會計準則衡量標準）再次超過 1 億美元，達到 1.145 億美元。核心投資收入不包括因提前償還貸款而確認的收入收益。

Net investment income was another record at $86 million, a 12% quarter-over-quarter increase, or $0.56 per share in Q4. As mentioned, NI margin was 70.2% for Q4 and has increased every quarter since Q1 2022. Our effective and core yields changed modestly in the fourth quarter to 15.3% and 14.3%, respectively, compared to 15.5% and 14.2% in the prior quarter. The decrease to the effective yield was due to lower backend and one-time fees on prepayments versus the prior quarter.

第四季淨投資收益再創新高，達到 8,600 萬美元，季增 12%，即每股收益 0.56 美元。如前所述，NI 第四季的利潤率為 70.2%，自 2022 年第一季以來每季都在成長。第四季我們的有效殖利率和核心殖利率分別小幅變化至 15.3% 和 14.3%，而上一季分別為 15.5% 和 14.2%。有效收益率下降是由於預付款後端費用和一次性費用較上一季降低。

Turning to expenses, our gross operating expenses decreased on lower compensation accruals of $38.2 million, compared to $42.4 million in the prior quarter. Net of costs recharged to the RIA, our net operating expenses decreased to $36.6 million.

說到費用，我們的總營運費用有所下降，因為應計薪酬減少了 3,820 萬美元，而上一季為 4,240 萬美元。扣除向 RIA 充值的成本後，我們的淨營運費用減少至 3,660 萬美元。

Interest expense and fees increased modestly to $19.9 million from $19 million in the prior quarter due to greater utilization of the credit facilities. SG&A reduced to $18.2 million, below my guidance of $21 million to $22 million on lower compensation accruals. Net of costs recharged to the RIA, the SG&A expenses were at $16.6 million.

由於信貸額度的利用率提高，利息支出和費用從上一季的 1,900 萬美元小幅增加至 1,990 萬美元。SG&A 減少至 1820 萬美元，低於我因應計薪酬減少而設定的 2100 萬至 2200 萬美元的指導值。扣除向 RIA 充值的成本後，SG&A 費用為 1,660 萬美元。

Our weighted average cost of debt was 4.9, a slight increase compared to the prior quarter, reflecting greater utilization of the credit facilities. Our ROAE, or NII over average equity, increased another 110 basis points to 21.3% for the fourth quarter. And our ROAA, or NI over average total assets, was 10.6%.

我們的加權平均債務成本為 4.9，與上一季相比略有上升，反映出信貸額度的使用率有所提高。第四季度，我們的 ROAE（即 NII 與平均股本相比）又增加了 110 個基點，達到 21.3%。我們的 ROAA（NI 平均總資產）為 10.6%。

Switching to the NAV unrealized and realized activity. During the quarter, our NAV increased $0.50 per share to $11.43 per share. This represents a NAV per-share increase of 4.6% quarter over quarter. The main drivers were the record net investment income of $86 million; unrealized appreciation of $31.3 million, including the reversal of prior unrealized depreciation of $9.9 million; net realized gains mainly on the sales of equity positions of $2.8 million; accretion due to the use of the ATM; all of which exceeded the dividends paid in the quarter.

切換到資產淨值未實現和已實現的活動。本季度，我們的資產淨值每股增加 0.50 美元，達到每股 11.43 美元。這意味著每股資產淨值環比增長 4.6%。主要驅動因素是創紀錄的淨投資收入 8,600 萬美元；未實現升值3 130萬美元，包括衝回之前未實現折舊990萬美元；主要透過出售股權部位實現的淨收益為 280 萬美元；由於使用 ATM 所造成的累積；所有這些都超過了本季度支付的股息。

Our $31.3 million of unrealized depreciation was primarily driven by $9.2 million of net unrealized appreciation on the loan portfolio and $12 million of appreciation to the public equity and warrant portfolio.

我們 3,130 萬美元的未實現折舊主要是由貸款組合的 920 萬美元的未實現淨增值以及公共股權和認股權證投資組合的 1,200 萬美元的增值推動的。

On leverage and liquidity, our GAAP and regulatory leverage decreased to 87.1% and 77.4%, respectively, compared to the prior quarter, due to the equity raise via our ATM. Netting out leverage with cash on the balance sheet, our net GAAP and net regulatory leverage was 81.6% and 71.9%, respectively.

在槓桿和流動性方面，由於透過 ATM 進行股權融資，我們的 GAAP 槓桿和監管槓桿與上一季相比分別下降至 87.1% 和 77.4%。以資產負債表上的現金扣除槓桿後，我們的淨 GAAP 和淨監管槓桿分別為 81.6% 和 71.9%。

We ended the quarter with nearly $750 million of available liquidity. As a reminder, this excludes capital raised by the funds managed by our wholly owned registered investment advisor subsidiary. Inclusive of these amounts, the Hercules platform had more than $1 billion of available liquidity at year end. The strong liquidity positions us very well to support our existing portfolio of companies and source new opportunities.

本季末，我們的可用流動資金接近 7.5 億美元。需要提醒的是，這不包括我們全資註冊投資顧問子公司管理的基金所募集的資金。包括這些金額在內，Hercules 平台截至年底的可用流動性超過 10 億美元。強大的流動性使我們能夠很好地支持我們現有的公司投資組合併尋找新的機會。

As a final point, we continued to opportunistically access the ATM market during the quarter and raised approximately $100 million, resulting in a $0.16 per share accretion to NAV. For the year, we raised approximately $230 million from the ATM program.

最後一點，我們本季繼續機會主義地進入 ATM 市場，籌集了大約 1 億美元，導致每股資產淨值增加 0.16 美元。今年，我們從 ATM 計畫籌集了約 2.3 億美元。

On the outlook points, for the first quarter, we're maintaining our core yield guidance range of 13.8% to 14%, excluding any future benchmark interest changes. And as a reminder, approximately 95% of our portfolio was floating with a floor. So any Fed decreases in interest rate may not have an equal reduction in our core yield.

在展望方面，我們維持第一季 13.8% 至 14% 的核心殖利率指引範圍，不包括任何未來基準利率變動。提醒一下，我們大約 95% 的投資組合都是有下限浮動的。因此，聯準會降息可能不會同等程度地降低我們的核心殖利率。

Although very difficult to predict, as communicated by Scott, we expect $125 million to $225 million in prepayment activity in the first quarter. We expect our first-quarter interest expense to remain relatively flat compared to the prior quarter. For the first quarter, we expect SG&A expenses growth of $25.5 million to $26.5 million and an RIA expense allocation of approximately $2.5 million to $3 million. As a reminder, the first quarter always has higher payroll taxes and benefit expenses.

儘管很難預測，但正如 Scott 所說，我們預計第一季的預付款活動將達到 1.25 億至 2.25 億美元。我們預計第一季的利息支出與上一季相比將保持相對穩定。對於第一季度，我們預計 SG&A 費用將成長 2,550 萬美元至 2,650 萬美元，RIA 費用分配約為 250 萬美元至 300 萬美元。提醒一下，第一季的薪資稅和福利費用總是較高。

As previously guided, the advisor business began paying dividends in the fourth quarter to Hercules Capital. Going forward, we expect a quarterly dividend from the RIA approximately $1 million to $1.5 million per quarter.

正如先前的指導，顧問業務從第四季度開始向 Hercules Capital 支付股息。展望未來，我們預計 RIA 每季的季度股息約為 100 萬至 150 萬美元。

In closing, as we reflect on the record achievements of 2023, we remain optimistic about 2024 and our ability to continue to drive growth across the platform, while maintaining focused on delivery and best-in-class shareholder returns.

最後，當我們回顧 2023 年創紀錄的成就時，我們對 2024 年以及我們繼續推動整個平台成長的能力保持樂觀，同時繼續專注於交付和一流的股東回報。

I will now turn the call over to the operator to begin the Q&A portion of our call. Valerie, over to you.

我現在將把電話轉給接線員，開始我們電話的問答部分。瓦萊麗，交給你了。

Brian McKenna, Citizen GMP.

Brian McKenna，公民 GMP。

Okay, great. Thanks. Good evening, everyone. So just a question on the dividend to start. It's clearly a record quarter of results. And as you noted, dividend coverage on a core basis totaled 140%. So it would seem like the starting point for earnings in 2024 is quite a bit higher than the base dividend you announced yesterday. So could you just walk us through the rationale about maintaining and not increasing the current base dividend?

好的，太好了。謝謝。各位晚上好。所以首先要問一個關於股利的問題。這顯然是創紀錄的季度業績。正如您所指出的，核心股息覆蓋率總計 140%。因此，2024 年的獲利起點似乎比您昨天宣布的基本股息高出不少。那麼您能否向我們介紹一下維持而不增加當前基本股利的理由？

Sure. Thanks, Brian. I think we've been pretty consistent over the course of the last several years in terms of how we manage the base distribution. We never want to set the base distribution at a number that we think would jeopardize our ability to maintain it, irrespective of market and rate environment conditions.

當然。謝謝，布萊恩。我認為過去幾年我們在管理基礎發行版方面一直非常一致。我們絕不希望將基礎分配設定為一個我們認為會危及我們維持它的能力的數字，無論市場和利率環境條件如何。

We set the base distribution based on our outlook for core income, where we essentially backed out the benefit of any prepayments and accelerations. And right now, we want to continue to take a conservative position. That was the choice that we made with respect to Q4.

我們根據核心收入的前景設定了基本分配，我們基本上放棄了任何預付款和加速的好處。現在，我們希望繼續採取保守立場。這就是我們對第四季所做的選擇。

We are continuing to deliver that outperformance to our shareholders via the supplemental distributions. This is the fourth consecutive year where we've been able to enhance the quarterly base distribution with an additional supplemental distribution. And we think that that's the right way to operate the business in the current environment.

我們將繼續透過補充分配向股東提供優異的績效。這是我們連續第四年透過額外的補充分配來增強季度基本分配。我們認為這是在當前環境下經營業務的正確方式。

It certainly does not mean that that's not going to change on a go-forward basis, but that was the rationale for the decision to maintain the $0.40 and declare a $0.32 supplemental distribution, payable $0.08 per quarter in 2024.

這當然並不意味著這種情況不會在未來發生變化，但這就是決定維持 0.40 美元並宣布 0.32 美元補充分配的理由，2024 年每季支付 0.08 美元。

Got it. Helpful. And then maybe just a bigger-picture question for you, Scott. So you noted Hercules has been operating the business for 20 years now. You've clearly seen a lot of evolution across the industry over this time. But when you think about the next 5 or 10 years-plus, how do you see the sector evolving from here? And then what are you doing at Hercules today to make sure you're positioning the firm for this change over time?

知道了。有幫助。斯科特，也許這對你來說是一個更宏觀的問題。您提到 Hercules 經營這項業務已有 20 年了。這段時間您已經清楚地看到整個產業發生了很大的變化。但當您思考未來 5 年或 10 年以上時，您如何看待該行業今後的發展？那麼，您今天在赫拉克勒斯做了什麼，以確保您為公司做好準備，以適應隨著時間的推移而發生的這種變化？

Yeah, thanks for the question, Brian. I think when you look back over 20 years, it's a long period of time. And while that performance, for us, has been incredibly impressive, I think what's most unique about Hercules is how optimistic the team and I are about what the next 5 to 10 years look like despite the tremendous success that we've had.

是的，謝謝你的提問，布萊恩。我想當你回顧20多年的時候，這是一段很長的時間。雖然這種表現對我們來說令人印象深刻，但我認為 Hercules 最獨特的地方在於，儘管我們取得了巨大的成功，但我和團隊對未來 5 到 10 年的前景抱有多麼樂觀的態度。

Our firm has grown exponentially. We've maintained a very strong culture. We have always, since inception, operated the firm with a focus on serving our clients and the venture ecosystem exclusively. There are a number of opportunities in terms of platform expansion that we expect to continue to play out over the coming years. Over the last two to three years, you've seen us rapidly build and grow our private funds business. And we really think that this is just the beginning of the next level of evolution for us as an operating company.

我們公司呈指數級成長。我們一直保持著非常強大的文化。自成立以來，我們一直專注於為我們的客戶和風險生態系統提供服務。我們預計在未來幾年將繼續發揮平台擴展的許多機會。在過去的兩到三年裡，您已經看到我們快速建立和發展我們的私募基金業務。我們確實認為，這只是我們作為一家營運公司的下一個發展階段的開始。

All right. Great. I'll leave it there, and congrats on another great quarter.

好的。偉大的。我將把它留在那裡，並祝賀又一個偉大的季度。

Thanks, Brian.

謝謝，布萊恩。

Crispin Love, Piper Sandler.

克里斯平·洛夫，派珀·桑德勒。

Thanks. Good afternoon. Just first looking at funding, they were a little softer in the 4Q versus prior quarters, but 1Q '24 commitments are very strong. So what do you believe the biggest changes are since late 2023 to the first quarter so far? Is some of that just timing? And then also looking out to the year, do you believe that fundings in 2024 should increase relative to the $1.6 billion you did in '23?

謝謝。午安.首先來看看融資情況，第四季的融資情況比前幾季要軟一些，但 24 年第一季的承諾非常強勁。那麼，您認為自 2023 年底到第一季迄今為止最大的變化是什麼？其中一些只是時機嗎？然後展望今年，您認為 2024 年的資金相對於 23 年的 16 億美元是否應該增加？

Sure. Thanks, Crispin. A couple of things. The benefit of being an internally managed BDC is that we do not need to chase deals if the quality does not meet our expectations. In Q4, we saw a tremendous amount of deal flow, and we thought that a lot of it frankly did not meet our underwriting standards. And so we chose to be a little bit defensive.

當然。謝謝，克里斯平。有幾件事。成為內部管理的 BDC 的好處是，如果品質未達到我們的期望，我們不需要追逐交易。在第四季度，我們看到了大量的交易流，坦白說，我們認為其中許多不符合我們的承銷標準。所以我們選擇採取一點防禦措施。

We still had a very strong quarter in Q4, $413 million of commitments. We funded $307 million. We funded some great new companies, and we were able to expand our funding relationship with several companies that are in the current portfolio and are outperforming expectations.

第四季我們的季度業績仍然非常強勁，承諾金額為 4.13 億美元。我們資助了 3.07 億美元。我們資助了一些很棒的新公司，並且我們能夠擴大與當前投資組合中的幾家公司的資助關係，這些公司的表現超出了預期。

Starting in Q3 of last year, we gave some pretty clear guidance that we expected the new deal environment to improve in 2024. That was based on conversations that our teams were having with companies in the market. If you think about the way most of our business works, where companies raise equity capital every 12 to 14, 12 to 18 months, you can sort of model in the cycle of fundraising for those companies. And we expected to see a tremendous increase in later-stage quality companies coming to the table in early 2024.

從去年第三季開始，我們給了一些非常明確的指導，預計新交易環境將在 2024 年得到改善。這是基於我們的團隊與市場上的公司進行的對話。如果您考慮我們大多數業務的運作方式，即公司每 12 至 14、12 至 18 個月籌集股本資本，您可以在這些公司的籌款週期中建立某種模型。我們預計到 2024 年初，後期優質公司將大幅增加。

And that's exactly what has happened so far. You mentioned the pipeline, and it's the strongest that it's ever been both in terms of closed commitments quarter to date and signed commitments quarter to date. Our team, through February 13, has already closed $552 million of commitments. We have another $500 million-plus in signed non-binding commitments. And so we feel very good about what our funding trajectory will look like.

這正是迄今為止所發生的情況。您提到了管道，就季度迄今已完成的承諾和迄今為止已簽署的承諾而言，它是有史以來最強大的。截至 2 月 13 日，我們的團隊已完成 5.52 億美元的承諾。我們還簽署了另外 5 億多美元的非約束性承諾。因此，我們對我們的融資軌跡感到非常滿意。

We don't provide full-year guidance with respect to funding numbers. But certainly, if we continued on the trajectory that we're seeing to start the year, we would expect to exceed that $1.6 billion number that we achieved last year.

我們不提供有關資金數額的全年指導。但可以肯定的是，如果我們繼續沿著今年年初所看到的軌跡前進，我們預計將超過去年實現的 16 億美元數字。

Thanks. Thanks, Scott. That all makes sense. And then just on expenses, Seth, as you said, you came in below the SG&A guide. Looks to be primarily driven by lower comp and benefits expenses. I think that line was down over 30% sequentially. You mentioned the belief that it was due to lower variable comp. But what was the reason there just given the strong results? And what does that mean for that line as you start 2024? Should there be a pretty big jump there in the first quarter?

謝謝。謝謝，斯科特。這一切都是有道理的。然後就費用而言，Seth，正如您所說，您的 SG&A 指南低於您的水平。看起來主要是由較低的薪資和福利費用推動的。我認為該線比上一季下降了 30% 以上。您提到了這一信念，即這是由於可變因素較低所致。但究竟是什麼原因導致如此強勁的成績呢？2024 年伊始，這對這條線意味著什麼？第一季應該會有相當大的跳躍嗎？

Yeah, and that's why I guided higher, Crispin. So you hit the right punch line that we would expect to see a reversion back to normal. But it was based on the lower funding volume in Q4, and that's what really drove the variable comp portion of the accrual. It's that simple.

是的，這就是為什麼我指導得更高，克里斯平。所以你擊中了正確的妙語，我們希望看到經濟回歸正常。但這是基於第四季度較低的資金量，這才是真正推動應計費用的可變補償部分的原因。就是這麼簡單。

Okay. Sounds good. Thank you and appreciate you taking my questions.

好的。聽起來不錯。謝謝您並感謝您回答我的問題。

Thanks, Crispin.

謝謝，克里斯平。

(Operator Instructions) Christopher Nolan, Ladenburg Thalmann.

（操作員說明）克里斯多福諾蘭、拉登堡塔爾曼。

Hey, guys. Hey, Seth. The RIA dividend of $1 million to $1.5 million, Is that quarterly or annual?

大家好。嘿，塞思。RIA 股息為 100 萬至 150 萬美元，是季度股息還是年度股息？

That's quarterly. Good question. Yeah, I should have emphasized that. Thanks, Chris.

那是季度的。好問題。是的，我應該強調這一點。謝謝，克里斯。

Also, back to the earlier of dividend question, your excise tax seems to be growing a bit year over year. Could we see, while you're keeping the base dividend steady, a supplement on top of the one you just announced just to manage the excise tax expense?

另外，回到前面的股息問題，您的消費稅似乎逐年增加。我們是否可以看到，在保持基本股息穩定的同時，在您剛剛宣布的股息之上追加一項補充，以管理消費稅費用？

Yeah. Well, it's two dimensional. One, we keep the base dividend at a level that we believe is sustainable through an entire interest rate cycle. Two, we do distribute an additional supplemental level to make sure that we are keeping the excise tax in check, but also the requirement as a registered investment company that we need to distribute 90% of our income.

是的。嗯，這是二維的。第一，我們將基本股利維持在我們認為在整個利率週期中可持續的水平。第二，我們確實分配了額外的補充水平，以確保我們控制消費稅，但同時也要求作為註冊投資公司，我們需要分配 90% 的收入。

So we're balancing all those dimensions out, making sure that we're returning the income to the shareholders, retaining what we can and should for building out the infrastructure and the structure for future investment. But it is a balancing act between those. And the excise tax would naturally go up as our income levels go up. So the small amount that we're retaining is certainly going to attract a higher amount of nominal tax at a 4% rate.

因此，我們正在平衡所有這些方面，確保我們將收入返還給股東，保留我們能夠和應該為未來投資建立基礎設施和結構的東西。但這是這些之間的平衡行為。隨著我們收入水準的提高，消費稅自然會提高。因此，我們保留的少量資金肯定會吸引更高金額的名義稅（稅率為 4%）。

Got you. And then I guess a final broader question. Following the demise of SVB, I presume more of your portfolio companies are banking at a broader array of banks. Given the threat posed to that sector by commercial real estate, how do your investment loans -- what portion of your portfolio companies have a bank facility ahead of your loans?

明白你了。然後我猜最後一個更廣泛的問題。隨著 SVB 的消亡，我想您的投資組合公司中有更多會在更多的銀行開展業務。考慮到商業房地產對該行業的威脅，您的投資貸款如何—您的投資組合公司中有哪些部分在貸款之前擁有銀行融資？

Hey, Chris, a couple of things there. First, I would not characterize it as the demise of SVB. It was certainly the demise of SVB as we all once knew the firm, but the firm is continuing to operate under the First Citizens' umbrella. We continue to see them in the market from time to time. We've done a handful of transactions with them.

嘿，克里斯，有幾件事。首先，我不會將其視為 SVB 的消亡。這當然是 SVB 的消亡，因為我們都曾經知道這家公司，但該公司仍在 First Citizens 的保護下繼續營運。我們不時在市場上看到它們。我們已經與他們進行了一些交易。

And so the firm didn't, all of a sudden, in March of last year just go away. Obviously, they're rebranded, and the team has changed quite a bit, but we are still seeing them in the market.

因此，該公司並沒有在去年三月突然消失。顯然，他們已經重新命名，團隊也發生了很大變化，但我們仍然在市場上看到他們。

We made the comment in the prepared remarks about our first lien exposure. That first lien exposure has been moving up steadily throughout 2023. And we ended the year at about 89%, which is the highest we've had since 2017. That gives you a pretty good indication of a couple of things.

我們在關於我們的第一次留置權暴露的準備好的評論中發表了評論。2023 年，第一留置權風險一直穩定上升。今年年底，我們的利用率約為 89%，這是自 2017 年以來的最高水準。這為您提供了一些很好的指示。

Number one, we are managing the business more conservatively, and we're focusing in on first lien exposure. And number two, banks in general are just being a little bit less active. So we're able to get more deals done alone than historically we have been able to. And so that really speaks to both of those points at the same time.

第一，我們正在更保守地管理業務，我們專注於第一留置權風險。第二，銀行整體上較不活躍。因此，我們能夠單獨完成比以往更多的交易。所以這確實同時說明了這兩點。

Okay. Thanks, Scott.

好的。謝謝，斯科特。

Thanks, Chris.

謝謝，克里斯。

Ryan Lynch, KBW.

瑞安林奇，KBW。

Hey, good afternoon. First question, I wanted to circle back around to some of the previous comments you made regarding just the level of activity you're experiencing thus far in 2024, because it's been quite remarkable. If I look at the gross debt and equity commitments you did in all of 2023, it was $2.2 billion. If you look at the investments you've closed and pending commitments you've done in the first 45 days of 2024, it's $1.1 billion. So it's half of the amount you did in the entire year of 2023.

嘿，下午好。第一個問題，我想回顧一下您之前就 2024 年迄今為止所經歷的活動水平發表的一些評論，因為這是相當了不起的。如果我看一下你們在 2023 年全年所做的債務和股權承諾總額，那就是 22 億美元。如果你看看 2024 年前 45 天內已完成的投資和待完成的承諾，你會發現金額為 11 億美元。所以這是您 2023 年全年所做金額的一半。

I'm just curious, I know you said -- you've provided some commentary on why there was a pickup. I'm just curious, in addition to what you said, is there any change in the size of average position you were looking at? Are you targeting larger businesses and larger companies in this marketplace? Is that part of the reason that you're seeing such a big uptick in commitments? Or is it purely just that much activity and that much higher quality, favorable activity occurring in 2024?

我只是很好奇，我知道你說過——你已經對為什麼會被接聽提供了一些評論。我只是好奇，除了你所說的之外，你所看到的平均頭寸規模是否有任何變化？您的目標是這個市場中的大型企業和大型公司嗎？這是您看到承諾大幅增加的部分原因嗎？或者只是 2024 年發生的如此多的活動和更高品質、更有利的活動？

Sure. Thanks, Ryan. A couple of couple of things there. First, I just want to point out, the $1.1 billion is not just through 45 days, right? $551 million of that has actually closed through the first 45 days, and then that next $500 million is signed as of the 45th day. So we would expect that that $505 million, which is signed, if it gets through our diligence process to get to the closing side of things over the next 30 to 60 days.

當然。謝謝，瑞安。有幾件事。首先我想指出的是，11億美元不只是45天的時間，對吧？其中 5.51 億美元實際上已在前 45 天完成，接下來的 5 億美元在第 45 天簽署。因此，如果已簽署的 5.05 億美元能夠通過我們的盡職調查流程，並在未來 30 至 60 天內完成交易，我們預計這筆資金將完成。

So don't think of that $1.1 billion as something that we've done in 45 days. I would think of it as something that we would expect to do over the first 90 to 115 days of the year. So still incredibly impressive, but I just wanted to point that out.

因此，不要認為這 11 億美元是我們在 45 天內完成的事情。我認為這是我們預計在一年的前 90 到 115 天要做的事情。仍然令人印象深刻，但我只是想指出這一點。

In terms of the second part of the question, it's primarily just based on activity. There is certainly a component of we are looking at as we've signaled the last several quarters, larger, more scaled, more stable businesses. That is an intentional shift that we've made. We continue to be of the view that a lot of the smaller companies that received financing historically are going to struggle to receive equity support on a go-forward basis.

就問題的第二部分而言，它主要基於活動。正如我們在過去幾個季度所暗示的那樣，我們肯定會關注其中的一個組成部分，即規模更大、規模更大、更穩定的業務。這是我們有意做出的轉變。我們仍然認為，許多歷史上獲得融資的小公司將難以在未來的基礎上獲得股權支持。

So when we think about things from a risk adjusted return perspective, we want to focus right now and we're going to continue to focus on larger, more scaled, more stable businesses. And we think that that's the best thing to do for our shareholders long term. If you look at it in terms of average dollars per deal, the numbers are up slightly, but it's not really materially increased from where it was throughout 2023.

因此，當我們從風險調整回報的角度考慮問題時，我們希望現在就集中精力，並將繼續專注於規模更大、規模更大、更穩定的業務。我們認為，從長遠來看，這對我們的股東來說是最好的事情。如果從每筆交易的平均美元來看，數字略有上升，但與 2023 年全年相比並沒有真正實質增加。

Okay, understood. And then on the guidance you gave regarding the advisor, I think you said, and correct me if I'm wrong, $2.5 million to $3 million of RIA expense reductions and then $1 million to $1.5 million from the RIA for dividend. So that's $3 million to $4.5 million of total value that's going to come back to the BDC from either expense reductions or dividends.

好的，明白了。然後，根據您提供的有關顧問的指導，我想您說過，如果我錯了，請糾正我，RIA 費用減少 250 萬至 300 萬美元，然後從 RIA 中獲得 100 萬至 150 萬美元的股息。因此，BDC 將透過費用削減或股息獲得 300 萬至 450 萬美元的總價值。

That's a pretty big jump from certainly what you were doing in the beginning of 2023 and even from the most recent this fourth quarter in just total value that the RIA's generating. Can you talk about what's really driving that sizable increase in value coming back to BDC shareholders recently?

與您在 2023 年初所做的事情相比，甚至與 RIA 產生的總價值相比，甚至與最近的第四季度相比，這都是一個相當大的跳躍。您能否談談最近 BDC 股東價值大幅增加的真正原因是什麼？

Sure. Thanks, Ryan. So $2.5 million to $3 million is not actually outside of the scope of what we've been doing on a per-quarter basis. We had a little bit lower allocation on the fact that our total SG&A costs went down in the fourth quarter as discussed previously on the variable comp accruals. And so there's nothing abnormal about that, although the portfolio does continue to grow that we're managing in the private funds, and therefore, it absolutely is driven and connected to that.

當然。謝謝，瑞安。因此，250 萬至 300 萬美元實際上並不超出我們每季所做的工作範圍。正如前面關於可變補償應計項目所討論的那樣，第四季度我們的總 SG&A 成本有所下降，因此我們的分配略低一些。因此，這並沒有什麼不正常的，儘管我們在私募基金中管理的投資組合確實在持續增長，因此，它絕對是與之相關的驅動和聯繫。

Originations are the biggest portion of our expense allocation on a per-quarter basis. So the variable comp that is associated with originating new deals is something that also gets tacked and allocated to those deals that are allocated or originated by the RIA managed funds. So there's a direct relationship there.

按季度計算，起源是我們支出分配的最大部分。因此，與發起新交易相關的可變補償也會被附加並分配給那些由 RIA 管理的基金分配或發起的交易。所以這裡面有直接的關係。

To (technical difficulty) and is new is this $1 million to $1.5 million per quarter of the dividend flow coming into Hercules Capital, the BDC, and then ultimately to our shareholders. That we had guided from the very beginning that this would eventually come as soon as the RIA managed to overcome the original establishment costs as it was getting started and generating enough of a carry and a management fee to start paying the dividend to the BDC.

（技術難度）新的一點是，每季 100 萬至 150 萬美元的股息流將流入 Hercules Capital、BDC，然後最終流向我們的股東。我們從一開始就指導，只要 RIA 能夠克服最初的設立成本，並產生足夠的利差和管理費，開始向 BDC 支付股息，最終就會實現這一目標。

So absolutely in line with what the original guidance is. It just looks like a lot right now because we had a lower allocation in Q4, and these are the initial dividend flows that are occurring.

所以絕對符合最初的指導方針。現在看起來很多，因為我們在第四季度的分配較低，這些是正在發生的初始股息流。

Okay. Makes sense. Appreciate the time this afternoon and really great quarter, guys.

好的。說得通。夥計們，感謝今天下午的時間和非常美好的季度。

Thanks, Ryan.

謝謝，瑞安。

John Hecht, Jefferies.

約翰‧赫克特，傑弗里斯。

Hey, guys. Thanks for taking my questions, and congrats. First question is -- you've grown a lot. You've got very, very low non-performing assets, and your leverage is, in the context of your targets, is pretty low. I'm just wondering, for this year, should we think about some sort of desire to increase leverage? Or how do we think about your target leverage ratios as you grow this year?

大家好。感謝您回答我的問題，恭喜您。第一個問題是──你成長了很多。你的不良資產非常非常低，就你的目標而言，你的槓桿率非常低。我只是想知道，今年我們是否應該考慮某種增加槓桿的願望？或者，隨著您今年的成長，我們如何看待您的目標槓桿率？

Thanks for the question, John. No change in terms of our guidance for leverage. You've been following us for a long time, so you'll appreciate the comment. We've always sort of run the balance sheet conservatively. Right now, we're running it conservatively and we're taking a defensive posture. So we're running it at even lower leverage than we typically do. I think our expectation is, given our funding goals for 2024, that leverage will increase slowly throughout the year. But we would expect to continue to manage the business from a balance sheet perspective conservatively with low leverage and long liquidity.

謝謝你的提問，約翰。我們的槓桿指引沒有變化。您已經關注我們很長時間了，所以您會感謝您的評論。我們一直以保守的方式管理資產負債表。目前，我們正在保守地運行它，我們正在採取防禦姿態。因此，我們的槓桿率比平常更低。我認為，考慮到 2024 年的融資目標，我們的預期是槓桿率將在全年緩慢增加。但我們預計將繼續從資產負債表的角度以低槓桿和長期流動性的方式保守地管理業務。

Okay. And then maybe can you talk about LTV and spreads on recent transactions and how that maybe has changed over the course of the last few months?

好的。然後，也許您可以談談最近交易的生命週期價值和利差，以及在過去幾個月裡這可能發生了怎樣的變化？

Sure. LTV's pretty consistent with our historical underwriting. The range for us, if you look at our publicly reported data over the last several years, has been on the very low end, 5%, on the very high end, 20%. The majority of deals that we're doing currently are in that sort of low-teens from an LTV perspective. And I think that's what we're going to continue to target short to medium term here.

當然。LTV 與我們的歷史承保情況非常一致。如果你看看我們過去幾年公開報告的數據，我們的範圍一直處於非常低端，5%，非常高端，20%。從生命週期價值的角度來看，我們目前正在進行的大多數交易都處於十幾歲左右。我認為這就是我們中短期的持續目標。

And then in terms of spreads, we're not seeing a lot of pressure right now on spreads. Seth just updated our guidance, in terms of core yield, we expect to continue to be in that very high-13%, low-14% from a core yield perspective. And we've done a great job, or Seth's done a great job in terms of managing the liability side of the balance sheet to maintain those spreads, which have continued to increase over the last several years as the rate environment has improved in our favor.

然後就利差而言，我們目前沒有看到利差面臨很大壓力。Seth 剛剛更新了我們的指導，就核心收益率而言，從核心收益率的角度來看，我們預計將繼續保持在 13% 的高水平和 14% 的低水平。我們做得很好，或者說賽斯在管理資產負債表的負債方面以維持這些利差方面做得很好，隨著利率環境的改善對我們有利，利差在過去幾年中持續增加。

Great. Thanks very much, guys. All my other questions have been answered.

偉大的。非常感謝，夥計們。我所有其他問題都已得到解答。

Thanks, John.

謝謝，約翰。

Thank you. I'm showing no further questions at this time. I'll just turn the call back over to Scott Bluestein, CEO, for any closing remarks.

謝謝。我目前沒有提出任何進一步的問題。我會將電話轉回執行長 Scott Bluestein (Scott Bluestein)，讓其發表結束語。

Thank you, Valerie, and thanks to everyone for joining our call today. As a final note, we will be participating in the UBS Financial Services Conference on February 26 to 29 in Miami. If you are interested in meeting with us at this event, please contact UBS directly or Michael Hara. We look forward to reporting our progress on our Q1 2024 earnings call. Thanks, everybody.

謝謝你，瓦萊麗，也謝謝大家今天加入我們的電話會議。最後一點，我們將參加 2 月 26 日至 29 日在邁阿密舉行的瑞銀金融服務會議。如果您有興趣在本次活動中與我們會面，請直接聯絡 UBS 或 Michael Hara。我們期待在 2024 年第一季財報電話會議上報告我們的進展。謝謝大家。

Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, this does conclude today's conference. Thank you all for participating. You may now disconnect. Have a great day.

謝謝。女士們、先生們，今天的會議到此結束。感謝大家的參與。您現在可以斷開連線。祝你有美好的一天。