Lument Finance Trust Inc (LFT) 2024 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Good morning. Thank you for joining the Lument Finance Trust fourth-quarter 2024 earnings call. Today's call is being recorded and will be made available by webcast on the company's website. I would now like to turn the conference over to Andrew Zhang with Investor Relations at Lument Investment Management. Please go ahead.

早安.感謝您參加 Lument Finance Trust 2024 年第四季財報電話會議。今天的電話會議正在錄音，並將透過公司網站的網路直播提供。現在，我想將會議交給 Lument Investment Management 投資者關係部門的 Andrew Zhang。請繼續。

Thank you. Good morning, everyone. Thank you for joining our call to discuss Lument Finance Trust's fourth-quarter 2024 financial results. With me on the call today are Jim Flynn, our CEO; Jim Briggs, our CFO; Jim Henson, our President; and Zach Halpern, our Managing Director of Portfolio Management.

謝謝。大家早安。感謝您參加我們的電話會議討論 Lument Finance Trust 2024 年第四季的財務表現。今天與我一起參加電話會議的還有我們的執行長 Jim Flynn；我們的財務長 Jim Briggs；我們的總裁 Jim Henson；以及我們的投資組合管理董事總經理 Zach Halpern。

On Wednesday, March 19, we filed our 10-K with the SEC and issued a press release to provide details on our recent financial results. We also provided a supplemental earnings presentation, which can be found on our website.

3 月 19 日星期三，我們向美國證券交易委員會提交了 10-K 文件，並發布了一份新聞稿，提供有關我們近期財務業績的詳細資訊。我們還提供了補充收益報告，可以在我們的網站上找到。

Before handing the call over to Jim Flynn, I'd like to remind everyone that certain statements made during the course of this call are not based on historical information and may constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.

在將電話交給吉姆·弗林之前，我想提醒大家，本次電話會議過程中所作的某些陳述並非基於歷史信息，並且可能構成《1933 年證券法》第 27A 條、《1934 年證券交易法》第 21E 條所定義的前瞻性陳述。

Such forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statement. These risks and uncertainties are discussed in the company's reports filed with the SEC, in particular, the risk factors section of our Form 10-K.

此類前瞻性陳述受各種風險和不確定性的影響，可能導致實際結果與前瞻性陳述中的結果有重大差異。這些風險和不確定性在公司向美國證券交易委員會提交的報告中進行了討論，特別是我們的 10-K 表中的風險因素部分。

It is not possible to predict or identify all such risks, and listeners are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. The company undertakes no obligation to update any of these forward-looking statements.

我們不可能預測或識別所有此類風險，因此請聽眾不要過度依賴這些前瞻性陳述。該公司不承擔更新任何這些前瞻性陳述的義務。

Further, certain non-GAAP financial measures will be discussed on this conference call. Presentation of this information is not intended to be considered in isolation nor as a substitute for the financial information presented in accordance with the GAAP. Reconciliations of these non-GAAP financial measures, to the most comparable measures prepared in accordance with GAAP can be accessed through our filings with the SEC.

此外，本次電話會議將討論某些非公認會計準則財務指標。此資訊的呈現並非旨在單獨考慮，也不能取代根據 GAAP 呈現的財務資訊。這些非公認會計準則財務指標與根據公認會計準則編制的最具可比性的指標的對帳表可透過我們向美國證券交易委員會 (SEC) 提交的文件查閱。

For the fourth-quarter and fiscal year 2024, we report GAAP net income of $0.07 per share and $0.34 per share of common stock, respectively. For the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2024, we reported distributable earnings of $0.10 and $0.44 per share of common stock, respectively.

對於 2024 年第四季和財年，我們報告的 GAAP 淨收入分別為每股 0.07 美元和每股普通股 0.34 美元。對於 2024 財年第四季度，我們報告的每股普通股可分配收益分別為 0.10 美元和 0.44 美元。

This past December, we declared a quarterly dividend of $0.08 per share with respect to the fourth quarter, and an additional one-time special dividend of $0.09 per share, bringing our cumulative dividends declared for 2024 to $0.40 per common share.

去年 12 月，我們宣布第四季度的季度股息為每股 0.08 美元，並額外派發每股 0.09 美元的一次性特別股息，使我們 2024 年宣布的累計股息達到每股 0.40 美元。

I will now turn the call over to Jim Flynn. Please go ahead.

現在我將電話轉給吉姆·弗林。請繼續。

Thank you, Andrew. Good morning, everyone. Welcome to Lument Finance Trust earnings call for the fourth quarter of '24. Appreciate everyone joining us today. We'll start with a quick view of the overall market.

謝謝你，安德魯。大家早安。歡迎參加 Lument Finance Trust 2024 年第四季財報電話會議。感謝今天與我們一起的各位。我們先來快速了解整體市場。

The broader macroeconomic environment continues to be shaped by geopolitical uncertainty, financial market volatility, and to a lesser degree today, inflation. As we entered 2024, we anticipated multiple rate cuts over the course of the year but given the resilience of the economy and the ongoing inflationary pressures, most of those costs did not materialize, and now it's clear that interest rates will remain elevated.

更廣泛的宏觀經濟環境繼續受到地緣政治不確定性、金融市場波動以及目前程度較小程度的通貨膨脹的影響。進入 2024 年，我們預計今年將多次降息，但鑑於經濟的韌性和持續的通膨壓力，大部分降息成本並未實現，現在很明顯，利率將維持在高位。

With inflation currently moderating and the economy cooling, the Federal Reserve is currently projected to make two cuts in 2025. Despite the volatility, we are encouraged by increasing stability in commercial real estate, particularly cap rates, which have begun to normalize after a period of dislocation.

由於目前通膨正在緩和且經濟正在降溫，聯準會目前預計將在 2025 年兩次降息。儘管存在波動，但我們對商業房地產日益穩定的態勢感到鼓舞，尤其是資本化率在經過一段時間的混亂之後已開始正常化。

Rental growth is anticipated in nearly all major measures this year and beyond, and transaction volumes, while below historic norms, have also picked it up in recent months. We believe the positive momentum for lending activity that we saw in late 2024 relative to earlier in the year will continue in 2025. Although we remain cautious, we are optimistic that as market conditions continue to stabilize, opportunities to deploy capital and attractive risk adjusted returns will emerge.

今年及以後，幾乎所有主要指標都預計租金將上漲，交易量雖然低於歷史正常水平，但近幾個月也有所回升。我們相信，2024 年底相對於年初而言看到的貸款活動的積極勢頭將持續到 2025 年。儘管我們仍保持謹慎，但我們樂觀地認為，隨著市場狀況持續穩定，配置資本的機會和具有吸引力的風調整後回報將會出現。

On the asset management side, we continue to prioritize proactive asset management across our portfolio to drive positive outcomes. The credit risk ratings have remained largely stable, reflecting disciplined underwriting and ongoing borrower engagement, and while we've made modest increases to specific reserves, these adjustments have been prudent and in line with our expectations for the portfolio performance.

在資產管理方面，我們持續優先考慮整個投資組合中的主動資產管理，以推動正面成果。信用風險評級基本上保持穩定，反映了嚴格的承保和持續的借款人參與，雖然我們對特定準備金進行了適度的增加，但這些調整是審慎的，符合我們對投資組合表現的預期。

Managing our existing book of credit remains a core focus, and our team continues to work closely with all borrowers to maximize recovery values and ensure that assets perform in line with our underwriting expectations. We remain confident in our ability to effectively navigate this environment and optimize outcomes for all shareholders.

管理我們現有的信貸帳簿仍然是我們的核心重點，我們的團隊繼續與所有借款人密切合作，以最大限度地提高回收價值並確保資產表現符合我們的承保預期。我們仍然有信心，我們有能力有效駕馭這種環境，並為所有股東帶來最佳收益。

While the manager's lending affiliate, Lument, continues to actively deploy capital into new loan investments with a focus on multi-family backed by strong sponsors, LFT's investment activity during the quarter was modest, primarily limited by the available reinvestment capital. Our 2023 secured financing vehicle, LMF 23-1, remains in its reinvestment period into July of this year, and we expect to source new loan assets as investment capacity becomes available.

雖然該管理公司的貸款附屬公司 Lument 繼續積極地將資本投入到新的貸款投資中，重點關注由強大贊助商支持的多戶型房屋，但 LFT 在本季度的投資活動卻不多，主要受到可用的再投資資本的限制。我們的 2023 年擔保融資工具 LMF 23-1 截至今年 7 月仍處於再投資期，我們預計在投資能力成熟時將獲得新的貸款資產。

During the period, we also had significant payoffs of season loans in the portfolio. In terms of our financing strategy, as our 2021 securitization continues to delever, we have dedicated significant time with our lending partners and advisors to explore options to refinance our investment portfolio.

在此期間，我們也償還了投資組合中的大量季節性貸款。在我們的融資策略方面，隨著我們的 2021 年證券化繼續去槓桿，我們花了大量時間與我們的貸款合作夥伴和顧問一起探索為我們的投資組合再融資的方案。

In recognition of the fact that our portfolio today is primarily comprised of seasoned assets, and we expect some loan borrowers will be challenged to exit our loans at the time anticipated in their underwritten property business plans, we believe it prudent to continue to defer the execution of the CRE CLO or similar securitization transaction until such time that we have more visibility into those loan resolutions.

考慮到我們今天的投資組合主要由成熟資產組成，並且我們預計一些貸款借款人將面臨在其承保的房地產業務計劃預期的時間退出我們的貸款的挑戰，我們認為繼續推遲執行CRE CLO或類似的證券化交易是明智之舉，直到我們對這些貸款的解決方案有了更多的了解。

In the interim, we have engaged in active discussions with select counterparties for other forms of potential secure financing, including bank-provided warehouse facilities which provide us with the flexibility to better manage both our performing loan portfolio and a handful of more challenged assets and expect to provide additional details in the coming quarter as these conversations progress.

在此期間，我們已與選定的交易對手積極討論其他形式的潛在安全融資，包括銀行提供的倉儲設施，這為我們提供了更好地管理我們的正常貸款組合和少數更具挑戰性的資產的靈活性，並期望隨著這些對話的進展在下個季度提供更多細節。

We expect such secured financing will allow us to remain highly flexible from a liquidity perspective and position ourselves to achieve positive asset management outcomes for our existing portfolio without sacrificing significant economics. That said, we continue to believe that that a securitization transaction later this year remains a viable potential option, as obtaining non-mark to market match term secured financing, as always, is an attractive economic priority for the company.

我們預計，這種有擔保的融資將使我們在流動性方面保持高度靈活性，並在不犧牲重大經濟利益的情況下實現現有投資組合的積極資產管理成果。儘管如此，我們仍然相信今年稍後進行證券化交易仍然是一個可行的潛在選擇，因為獲得非按市價匹配的定期擔保融資一如既往地是該公司具有吸引力的經濟優先事項。

As we look ahead, we remain committed to our core investment strategy of deploying capital into transitional floating rate mortgages with a particular emphasis on middle market multi-family assets. Multi-family and fundamentals remain strong, supported by robust demand, constrained supply, and resilient rental trends.

展望未來，我們將繼續致力於我們的核心投資策略，即將資本部署到過渡浮動利率抵押貸款中，特別注重中端市場的多戶型資產。在強勁的需求、有限的供應和強勁的租賃趨勢的支持下，多戶型住宅和基本面仍然強勁。

We continue to leverage the origination underwriting and asset management expertise of our manager and its affiliates to identify and capitalize on compelling investment opportunities. Our ability to navigate the current environment, prudently manage our liquidity, and optimize capital deployment on a levered basis, will be key to delivering long-term value to our shareholders.

我們繼續利用我們的管理人及其附屬公司的發起承保和資產管理專業知識來識別和利用引人注目的投資機會。我們能否駕馭當前環境、審慎管理流動性、並在槓桿基礎上優化資本配置，對於為股東帶來長期價值至關重要。

With that, I'd like to turn the call over to Jim Briggs, who will provide details on our financial results. Jim?

說到這裡，我想把電話轉給吉姆·布里格斯，他將提供有關我們的財務表現的詳細資訊。吉姆？

Thanks, Jim. Good morning, everyone. Last evening, we filed our annual report on Form 10-K and provided a supplemental investor presentation on our website, which we will be referencing during our remarks. Supplemental investor presentation has been uploaded to the webcast as well for your reference. On pages 4 through 7 of the presentation, you'll find key updates and earnings summary for the quarter.

謝謝，吉姆。大家早安。昨晚，我們提交了 10-K 表年度報告，並在我們的網站上提供了一份補充投資者介紹，我們將在發言中參考該介紹。補充投資者介紹也已上傳至網路廣播，供您參考。在簡報的第 4 頁至第 7 頁，您將找到本季的重要更新和收益摘要。

For the fourth quarter of '24, we reported net income to common stockholders of approximately $3.6 million or $0.07 per share. We also reported distributable earnings of approximately $5.4 million or $0.10 per share.

24 年第四季度，我們報告普通股股東淨利潤約為 360 萬美元，即每股 0.07 美元。我們還報告可分配收益約為 540 萬美元，即每股 0.10 美元。

Few items I'd like to highlight with regards to the Q4 P&L. Our Q4 net interest income was 9.4 million, which is relatively flat to the $9.5 million recorded in Q3. The weighted average coupon and average outstanding UPB, the portfolio declined sequentially, largely due to declines in the so for benchmark rate and the deleveraging of our 2021 securitization.

關於第四季損益表，我想強調幾點。我們第四季的淨利息收入為 940 萬美元，與第三季的 950 萬美元基本持平。投資組合的加權平均票面利率和平均未償還 UPB 均環比下降，這主要是由於基準利率的下降以及我們 2021 年證券化的去槓桿化。

These reductions in net interest income were largely offset by increased exit fees related to loan payoffs. Payoffs during Q4 totaled $144 million as compared to $51 million in the prior quarter, with the company recognizing approximately $1.1 million of exit fees during Q4 compared to approximately $150,000 in Q3.

淨利息收入的減少在很大程度上被與貸款償還相關的退出費用的增加所抵消。第四季的支出總額為 1.44 億美元，而上一季為 5,100 萬美元，公司在第四季確認的退出費約為 110 萬美元，而第三季約為 15 萬美元。

Our total operating expenses were largely flat quarter on quarter, so we recognize the expenses of $2.8 million in Q4 versus $2.9 million in Q3. The primary difference between our reported net income and distributable earnings was a $1.8 million net increase in our allowance for credit losses. I'll walk through the components of that.

我們的總營運費用與上一季基本持平，因此我們確認第四季的費用為 280 萬美元，而第三季的費用為 290 萬美元。我們報告的淨收入和可分配收益之間的主要差異是我們的信用損失準備金淨增加值180萬美元。我將逐步介紹其各個組成部分。

As of December 31, we had six loans risk graded to 5, including four assets downgraded to 5 in Q4. All six loans were collateralized. Five loans were collateralized by multi-family assets. One of those loans are collateralized by healthcare. Jim Henson will provide a bit more detail on the six in his remarks.

截至 12 月 31 日，我們有 6 筆貸款的風險等級為 5 級，其中 4 筆資產的風險等級在第四季度被降級為 5 級。全部六筆貸款均有抵押。五筆貸款由多戶資產抵押。其中一筆貸款以醫療保健作為抵押。吉姆漢森將在他的演講中對這六個問題提供更詳細的介紹。

We evaluated those six 5-rated loans individually to determine whether assets specific reserves for credit losses were necessary. And after analysis of the fair value of the underlying collateral, we increased our specific reserves to $3.7 million as of 12/31, an increase of $2.9 million versus the prior quarter. Our general reserve for credit losses decreased by $1.1 million during the period, primarily driven by payoffs of performing loans and the move of four assets to specific evaluation. In terms of basis points of reserve on the general pool, that was flat quarter on quarter.

我們分別評估了這六筆 5 級貸款，以確定是否需要為信貸損失提取資產專案準備金。在分析了基礎抵押品的公允價值後，我們將特定儲備金增加至截至 12 月 31 日的 370 萬美元，較上一季增加了 290 萬美元。我們的信貸損失一般準備金在此期間減少了 110 萬美元，主要原因是償還正常貸款以及將四項資產轉為特定評估。就一般儲備池的基點而言，該數字與上一季持平。

We ended the fourth quarter with an unrestricted cash balance of $69 million and our investment capacity through our two secured finances was fully deployed. The company's total equity at the end of the quarter was $238 million. Total book value of common stock was approximately $178 million for $3.40 per share, decreasing sequentially from $3.50 per share as of September 30 as a result of aggregate dividends, including the $0.09 special common dividend paid on January 15.

截至第四季度，我們的無限制現金餘額為 6,900 萬美元，我們透過兩筆擔保融資的投資能力已充分利用。季度末該公司的總股本為2.38億美元。普通股的總帳面價值約為 1.78 億美元，每股 3.40 美元，較 9 月 30 日的每股 3.50 美元環比下降，原因是總股息（包括 1 月 15 日支付的 0.09 美元特別普通股股息）。

As a REIT, we are required to distribute at least 90% of our taxable income in order to meet REIT testing requirements. Our $0.09 special dividend declared in December was calibrated to distribute 100% of our taxable income, so that the company will not be taxed at the corporate rate for any of its 2024 taxable income.

作為房地產投資信託基金 (REIT)，我們需要分配至少 90% 的應稅收入才能滿足房地產投資信託基金 (REIT) 測試要求。我們在 12 月宣布的 0.09 美元特別股息經過校準，以分配我們 100% 的應稅收入，這樣公司就不會按照其 2024 年的任何應稅收入按照公司稅率納稅。

The $0.09 special dividend also largely tracks the annual difference between distributable income and GAAP income of $0.10, which was driven by unrealized provisions for credit losses during '24, which does not impact taxable or distributable income.

0.09 美元的特別股息也主要追蹤可分配收入與 0.10 美元的 GAAP 收入之間的年度差額，這是由 '24 年期間未實現的信貸損失準備金推動的，不會影響應稅或可分配收入。

We now turn the call over to Jim Henson to provide details to the company's investment activity and portfolio performance during the quarter.

現在我們將電話轉給吉姆漢森，讓他詳細介紹該公司本季的投資活動和投資組合表現。

Thank you, Jim. During the fourth quarter, LFT experienced $144 million of loan payoffs and acquired one new loan asset with an initial principal balance of $13 million. And a weighted average cost of funds of SOFR plus 375 basis points.

謝謝你，吉姆。第四季度，LFT 償還了 1.44 億美元的貸款，並獲得了一項新的貸款資產，初始本金餘額為 1,300 萬美元。加權平均資金成本為SOFR加上375個基點。

As of December 31, our portfolio consisted of 65 floating rate loans with an aggregate unpaid principal balance of approximately $1.1 billion. 100% of the portfolio was indexed to one-month SOFR and 92% of the portfolio was collateralized by multi-family properties.

截至 12 月 31 日，我們的投資組合包括 65 筆浮動利率貸款，未償還本金餘額總計約 11 億美元。該投資組合的 100% 與一個月期 SOFR 掛鉤，且 92% 的投資組合以多戶型房產作為抵押。

As of the end of the fourth quarter, our portfolio had a weighted average floating note rate of SOFR plus 358 basis points and an unamortized aggregate purchase discount of $3.5 million. The weighted average remaining term of our book as of quarter end was approximately 26 months, assuming all available extensions are exercised by our borrowers.

截至第四季末，我們的投資組合的加權平均浮動票據利率為 SOFR 加 358 個基點，未攤銷的總購買折扣為 350 萬美元。假設我們的借款人行使所有可用的延期，截至季度末，我們帳簿的加權平均剩餘期限約為 26 個月。

The CRE CLO securitization transaction we issued in 2021 provided effective leverage of 75% to our loan assets at a weighted average cost of funds of SOFR plus 175 -- 171 basis points. The LMF financing completed in 2023 provided the portfolio with effective leverage of 83% at a weighted average cost of funds of SOFR plus 314 basis points.

我們於 2021 年發行的 CRE CLO 證券化交易為我們的貸款資產提供了 75% 的有效槓桿，加權平均資金成本為 SOFR 加上 175-171 個基點。2023 年完成的 LMF 融資為該投資組合提供了 83% 的有效槓桿率，加權平均資金成本為 SOFR 加上 314 個基點。

On a combined basis, the two securitizations provided our portfolio with effective leverage of 78% and a weighted average cost of funds of SOFR plus 226 basis points as of quarter end. As of December 31, approximately 64% of the loans in our portfolio were risk rated a 3 or better, compared to 60% at the end of the prior quarter. Our weighted average risk rating remained relatively unchanged, improving modestly to 3.5 versus 3.6 at the end of Q3.

綜合來看，截至季末，這兩次證券化為我們的投資組合提供了 78% 的有效槓桿率和 SOFR 加上 226 個基點的加權平均資金成本。截至 12 月 31 日，我們投資組合中約有 64% 的貸款風險評級為 3 或更高，而上一季末這一比例為 60%。我們的加權平均風險評級保持相對不變，從第三季末的 3.6 小幅上升至 3.5。

We had six loan assets rated risk rated at 5 with an aggregate principal amount of $98 million or approximately 9% of the unpaid principal balance of our investment portfolio. One was a $15 million loan collateralized by two multi-family properties in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. This loan asset was risk rated 5 due to monetary default.

我們有六項貸款資產的風險評級為 5，總本金金額為 9,800 萬美元，約占我們投資組合未償還本金餘額的 9%。其中一筆是賓州費城兩處多戶型房產作為抵押的 1,500 萬美元貸款。該筆貸款資產因貨幣違約風險評等為5。

During Q4, the company recognized approximately $432,000 of cash received from the borrower as a reduction in our carrying basis of this loan. Another 5 risk-rated asset was a $32 million loan collateralized by a multi-family property in Dallas, Texas that was in technical default. Both of those loans were also risk rated 5 at the end of the third quarter.

在第四季度，公司確認從借款人收到的約 432,000 美元現金作為該筆貸款帳面基礎的減少。另一項風險評級為 5 的資產是德克薩斯州達拉斯的一處多戶型房產作為抵押的 3,200 萬美元貸款，該房產已處於技術性違約狀態。第三季末，這兩筆貸款的風險評級均為 5。

The third 5 risk-rated asset was a $20 million loan collateralized by property in Orlando, Florida that was in monetary default. The fourth 5 risk-rated asset was a $15 million loan collateralized by a multi-family property in San Antonio, Texas that was in technical default. The fifth risk-rated loan was a $6 million loan collateralized by two multi-family properties in Orlando [Fort] in the Orlando, Florida MSA that was in monetary default. And the sixth risk-rated asset was a $10.5 million loan collateralized by a multi-family property in Colorado Springs that was in monetary default.

第三項風險評級為 5 的資產是一筆 2000 萬美元的貸款，以位於佛羅裡達州奧蘭多的房產作為抵押，但目前該資產已發生債務違約。第四項風險評級為 5 的資產是一筆 1500 萬美元的貸款，由德克薩斯州聖安東尼奧的一處多戶型房產作為抵押，該房產已處於技術性違約狀態。第五筆風險評級貸款是一筆 600 萬美元的貸款，由位於佛羅裡達州奧蘭多市 MSA 的奧蘭多 [Fort] 的兩處多戶型房產作為抵押，該房產已發生債務違約。第六項風險評級資產是一筆 1,050 萬美元的貸款，由科羅拉多州斯普林斯的一處多戶住宅作為抵押，該住宅已發生債務違約。

During the fourth quarter, we were successful in achieving positive outcomes on two of the four loans that were 5-rated as of September 30. These included a $220 million loan collateralized by multi-family properties in Augusta, Georgia, and a $17 million loan collateralized by a multi-family property in Brooklyn, New York. We received full recovery of principle on both of these investments thanks to the diligent efforts of our managers asset management team. There were no existing specific reserves on these two resolve assets. We continue to work closely with borrowers on the six 5-rated assets that were outstanding at the end of the year.

在第四季度，我們成功地在截至 9 月 30 日評級為 5 級的四筆貸款中的兩筆上取得了積極成果。其中包括以喬治亞州奧古斯塔的多戶型房產作為抵押的 2.2 億美元貸款，以及以紐約布魯克林的多戶型房產作為抵押的 1,700 萬美元貸款。由於我們管理人員資產管理團隊的辛勤努力，我們已全部收回了這兩項投資的本金。目前，上述兩項處分資產均無專案儲備。我們將繼續與借款人密切合作，處理年底未償還的六項 5 級資產。

With that, I will pass it back to Jim Flynn, for closing remarks and questions.

說完這些，我將把話題交還給吉姆·弗林，請他做結束語並提問。

Thank you, Jim. I would like to take the opportunity to thank Jim Henson for his dedication, sage advice, and support of the LFT platform. We wish Jim the best in his retirement, and I'd also like to welcome Greg Calvert as our new President. Being part of a large organization with a well-capitalized parent, as we are, gives us the opportunity to have a deep bench of experienced professionals. Greg has had a more than 30-year career in real estate, primarily on the investment and credit side, and he will be a great addition to our team in 2025.

謝謝你，吉姆。我想藉此機會感謝 Jim Henson 對 LFT 平台的奉獻、明智建議和支持。我們祝福吉姆退休後一切順利，同時我也歡迎格雷格·卡爾弗特擔任我們的新總裁。作為一家擁有雄厚資本的母公司的大型組織的一部分，我們有機會擁有一群經驗豐富的專業人士。格雷格在房地產領域擁有 30 多年的職業生涯，主要從事投資和信貸方面，他將在 2025 年成為我們團隊的一大助力。

Lastly, I want to thank all of our guests. We appreciate your time and your interest in our platform. I look forward to hearing from you. And with that, I'll ask the operator to open the call to any questions.

最後，我要感謝所有來賓。我們感謝您的時間和對我們平台的關注。我期待您的回覆。說完這些，我將請接線生打開電話回答任何問題。

(Operator Instructions) Stephen Laws, Raymond James.

（操作員指示）史蒂芬·勞斯、雷蒙德·詹姆斯。

Appreciate the comments and the prepared, appreciate the comments and prepared remarks. I wanted to touch on the '21 CLO, how does that -- given it's paid down, how does that currently compare from a blended financing cost to current market conditions and the -- for a new CLO and around your comments, I know you're considering some financing lines and other options, but as you look to the -- maybe doing another securitization or deal later this year, is that a -- would you collapse the FL1 from '21 and roll the collateral in kind of how do you think about managing the financing side of the balance sheet through the year?

欣賞評論和準備好的評論，欣賞評論和準備好的評論。我想談談 21 年的 CLO，考慮到它已經還清，目前與混合融資成本和當前市場條件相比如何，以及——對於新的 CLO 以及您的評論，我知道您正在考慮一些融資額度和其他選擇，但正如您所期待的——也許在今年晚些時候進行另一次證券化或交易，您如何看待 21 年的 FL1 資產並將其轉入一年的資產

Yeah, so obviously we're looking at all of those things. We are looking to basically refinance the portfolio as we move forward here in the coming quarters. FL1 today is about 75% advance at a cost of 171 over SOFR. That -- the cost is still attractive, but the leverage obviously is lower. We've seen deals going off kind of in the mid- to high-80s on an advanced rate.

是的，顯然我們正在關注所有這些事情。我們希望在未來幾季內對投資組合進行再融資。目前的 FL1 比 SOFR 上漲了約 75%，成本為 171 美元。成本仍然具有吸引力，但槓桿率顯然較低。我們已經看到交易以預先利率的形式達到了 85% 左右。

So in terms of how we're looking at the portfolio, as we said, we are working with some of our partners to consider some alternatives that give us a little more flexibility in the short term around dealing with some of these assets that we're working through with existing borrowers or potentially new borrowers. And do expect to move forward with one or more of those types of financing arrangements as we move through the year.

因此就我們如何看待投資組合而言，正如我們所說的，我們正在與我們的一些合作夥伴一起考慮一些替代方案，這些替代方案使我們在短期內能夠更靈活地處理我們正在與現有借款人或潛在的新借款人合作的一些資產。我們確實期望在今年內推進一種或多種此類融資安排。

Great. And then I thought here we are almost in the Q1, can you give us an update on originations and repayments year to date and how do we think about when leverage is going to trough? I assume you need a new financing facility in place before we see it turn up, but is that a two you event with leverage troughing?

偉大的。然後我想我們快要進入第一季了，您能否向我們介紹今年迄今為止的發起和償還情況，以及我們如何看待槓桿率何時會降至低谷？我認為在我們看到它出現之前你需要一個新的融資工具，但這是否是槓桿率觸底的雙贏事件？

Sorry, the Q2 event for -- what's (multiple speakers)

抱歉，第二季的活動—（多位發言者）

So for the first question, year-to-date originations and we're almost at the end of Q1. So can you talk about portfolio, how much is runoff, repayments versus originations in Q1?

對於第一個問題，今年迄今的起源已經快到第一季末了。那可以談談投資組合嗎？第一季的虧損、償還和發放金額分別為多少？

Got it. So on the origination side, I mean we've had very -- LFT has had very few, right? Because we don't have any capacity at FL1, and that LMF it's been minimal. We've got about $25 million of payoffs in there and do you expect more in the coming quarters here?

知道了。因此在發起方面，我的意思是我們已經擁有非常多的——LFT 已經擁有非常多的了，對嗎？因為我們在 FL1 沒有任何容量，且 LMF 容量也非常小。我們已經獲得了約 2500 萬美元的回報，您預計未來幾季還會有更多回報嗎？

On the origination side, again, just broadly at the at the parent level in terms of what we're seeing, we've got somewhere around $400 million or $500 million we've originated since October-ish. The beginning of 2024 was pretty light across the industry. It's picked up significantly. While it's not back to the levels it was -- even forgetting about peak kind of normal level that I would say it's not quite there, but we are seeing significant opportunity and we are making those loans. We have them on our -- the manager's balance sheet, so opportunity is there and we feel good about that.

在發起方面，就我們看到的母公司層面的情況而言，自 10 月以來，我們已經發起了約 4 億或 5 億美元的貸款。2024 年初，整個產業的情況相當清淡。它已經顯著回升了。雖然它還沒有恢復到以前的水平——甚至忘記了峰值正常水平，我想說它還沒有完全恢復，但我們看到了重大的機會，並且正在提供這些貸款。我們已經將它們列入了經理的資產負債表，因此機會就在那裡，我們對此感到很高興。

And in our book, we've continued to manage it. We have a very experienced management team, both in Special and REO, and we've been able to get to a positive resolution in LFP's book and across most of the parents' book wherever we've needed to.

在我們的書中，我們一直在管理它。我們擁有一支經驗豐富的管理團隊，包括特別管理團隊和 REO 管理團隊，並且我們已經能夠在 LFP 的帳簿上以及在大多數家長的帳簿上找到我們需要解決的積極解決方案。

The biggest challenge we have and have had, or one of the biggest challenges is just the timing of those things. One, not controllable by us. And two, just take a bit longer than you'd like, which is why we're moving toward or evaluating financing options that give us flexibility with that in mind.

我們現在面臨的最大挑戰，或者說最大的挑戰之一就是這些事情的時機。一、不受我們控制。第二，所需時間會比你希望的要長一點，這就是為什麼我們要轉向或評估能夠為我們提供靈活性的融資選擇。

Great. Appreciate the comments this morning. Thank you.

偉大的。感謝今天早上的評論。謝謝。

Steve DeLaney, Citizens Bank.

史蒂夫·德萊尼，公民銀行。

Thank you for taking the question. Obviously, a little activity in terms of downgrades, with the new 5 risk ratings, and it looks like you did boost your specific reserves. Could you -- first, let me make sure I have the numbers right on the, 5-rated loans. Am I correct that specific reserves, and I assume they're on the 5-rated loans, was $3.7 million as of year in 2024. Is that the correct level?

感謝您回答這個問題。顯然，在降級方面有一些活動，有了新的 5 個風險評級，看起來你確實增加了特定儲備。您能否——首先，讓我確保 5 級貸款的數字正確無誤。我是否正確認為特定儲備金（我假設它們是 5 級貸款）截至 2024 年為 370 萬美元。這是正確的水平嗎？

Yeah, that's right, Steve.

是的，沒錯，史蒂夫。

Okay. And so, look, these around -- you've got what, six loans, $98 million, so $15 million or so average loan size it would seem. As we're -- everything runs nicely through [GAAP], but then for as we're modeling for this year and trying to come up with distributable EPS, can you give us some sense of like from your -- where you sit internally your expectations of timing of resolutions, are you going to get after -- well, first quarter is already done, and we're not talking about anything. Well, of course you're reporting on 4Q.

好的。所以，看看這些——你有六筆貸款，總額 9800 萬美元，所以平均貸款額似乎是 1500 萬美元左右。由於我們 — — 一切都按照 [GAAP] 順利進行，但是由於我們正在為今年建模並試圖得出可分配每股收益，您能否從內部角度告訴我們，您對決議時間的預期是什麼，您會在之後得到什麼 — — 好吧，第一季度已經結束，我們什麼都沒有談論。嗯，當然你是在報告第四季的情況。

Is it going to be more back end weighted in 2025 in terms of the resolutions as we want to try to start loading some realized losses into our distributable earnings estimates? I guess I'm just trying to get a sense. I know you can't be specific, but how we should sort of look at 2025 with respect to those realized losses.

由於我們想嘗試將一些已實現的損失加載到我們的可分配收益估算中，因此在 2025 年的決議中是否會更加重視後端？我想我只是想了解一下。我知道你不能具體說，但我們應該如何看待 2025 年已實現的損失。

Thank you, Steve. Look, obviously it's a difficult question to answer, as given where we are, yeah, no, given where we are, I mean, is would I wait toward the back end versus, say the second quarter or early third? I would because, from a modeling and perspective and that's how we're thinking about it we're similarly to you and how we manage the book in the portfolio.

謝謝你，史蒂夫。看，顯然這是一個很難回答的問題，考慮到我們現在的情況，是的，不，考慮到我們現在的情況，我的意思是，我是否應該等到後端，而不是第二季或第三季初？我會這樣做，因為從建模和角度來看，我們的想法與您類似，我們也管理投資組合中的書籍。

That being said, and what we've seen, and I think this is a little bit related to the market, right, we've seen things starting to loosen up where people are wanting to get to resolutions, whether, and I mean sponsors in particular whether those resolutions are them wanting to walk away and just doing it or whether they think there's actually opportunity for them to continue to create value at these assets.

話雖如此，我們看到，我認為這與市場有一點相關，對吧，我們看到事情開始放鬆，人們想要達成決議，無論是，我的意思是特別是讚助商，這些決議是否是他們想離開並直接這樣做，還是他們是否認為他們實際上有機會繼續在這些資產上創造價值。

The timeline of getting those done is difficult and sometimes in some cases, we -- if we have a borrower that is not negotiating with us or not in a way to discussing a real resolution, we've had to move towards foreclosure and other remedies in order to either bring them to the table or from our perspective to say, okay, let's bring someone to the table who would.

完成這些工作的時間表很困難，有時在某些情況下，如果借款人不與我們談判或不與我們討論真正的解決方案，我們就必須採取取消抵押品贖回權和其它補救措施，以便讓他們坐到談判桌上，或者從我們的角度來看，好吧，讓我們找一個願意談判的人來坐到談判桌上。

So I still -- we still have -- we have had assets that have had reserves where we've resolved them and gotten paid back in full, including default interests and other fees and expenses. I suspect that will be the case for some of our assets here, but we also have assets that have been challenged and in a greater way than we anticipated.

因此，我仍然 - 我們仍然 - 我們擁有一些資產，這些資產有儲備，我們已經解決了這些問題並獲得了全額償還，包括違約利息和其他費用和開支。我懷疑我們這裡的一些資產將會出現這種情況，但我們的一些資產也面臨挑戰，而且挑戰比我們預期的更大。

I do think that we are relative to the market, our book is still fairly healthy. We have not modified loans with sponsors through [PIF] and [AB] structures and other types of tools that we've seen in the market. We do think there's opportunity for us to bring in new sponsors into some of our deals, perhaps offering them dollar financing or other opportunities or other structures that could make it a more attractive asset to a new sponsor who wants to take over the asset.

我確實認為，相對於市場而言，我們的帳面仍然相當健康。我們尚未透過 [PIF] 和 [AB] 結構以及我們在市場上看到的其他類型的工具來修改與發起人的貸款。我們確實認為我們有機會在某些交易中引入新的贊助商，或許為他們提供美元融資或其他機會或其他結構，使其成為對想要​​接管該資產的新贊助商更具吸引力的資產。

Time is a big one, right? So a new sponsor wants to say how much time do I have, because the further out that horizon goes, the more likely they're being attractive assets. So in terms of resolutions and to your -- to the first part of your question, I do -- I would put it back weighted, in terms of our team and our discussions, we are kind of on a daily basis trying to -- either with the existing sponsor group or a new sponsor trying to put these assets in a place that says, okay, these are now performing assets, finish the business plan, rent growth is expected, as I mentioned earlier, in almost all markets.

時間很重要，對吧？因此，新的贊助商想知道我有多少時間，因為視野越遠，他們就越有可能成為有吸引力的資產。因此，就解決方案以及您問題的第一部分而言，我會將其重新加權，就我們的團隊和討論而言，我們每天都在嘗試 - 無論是與現有的讚助商團體還是新的讚助商一起嘗試將這些資產放在一個地方，好的，這些現在是表現良好的資產，完成商業計劃，正如我之前提到的，預計幾乎所有市場的租金都會增長。

There is still some absorption issues in certain markets that we need to manage through over the coming 12 months. But we're hopeful that we can continue to have positive resolutions as we have in the past.

某些市場仍存在一些吸收問題，我們需要在未來 12 個月內解決這些問題。但我們希望能夠像過去一樣繼續取得正面的成果。

Thanks. That's helpful context for for the way you view it, and I hear you loud and clear. Just a quick follow up. Your loan portfolio is about $1.1 billion on roughly $240 million of capital. Jim Flynn, you talked about, a new kind of state-of-the-art CLO, you -- as you look at -- apart from this credit resolution issue we were talking about earlier, but just looking at the portfolio in more of a macro sense, is there -- with a new improved financing structure, let's just say mid-2025 CLO I assume, do you see potential for expanding the portfolio slightly but with the existing capital base with some improved financing structure?

謝謝。這對您看待這個問題的方式很有幫助，我清楚地聽到了您的聲音。只需快速跟進。您的貸款組合價值約為 11 億美元，資本約為 2.4 億美元。吉姆弗林，您談到了一種新型的最先進的 CLO，除了我們之前談到的信用解決方案問題之外，如果僅從宏觀角度來看待投資組合，是否有新的改進的融資結構，比如說 2025 年中期的 CLO，您是否認為在現有資本基礎上通過一些改進的融資結構來稍微擴大投資組合？

Yeah, the answer is -- I mean, the short answer is yes. I think that we've -- during this -- now it's been a couple of years, we've maintained a higher liquidity than, we have in the past -- in the historical past, for a good reason. We are delevering today, through the FL1 payoff and in a normalized market. And as we get through resolving these assets in a positive way, I do think, again, using that match term financing like a CLO and understanding the size of this of this entity that we're slightly under levered compared to historical norms.

是的，答案是——我的意思是，簡短的回答是肯定的。我認為，在這幾年裡，我們保持了比過去更高的流動性，這是有原因的。今天，我們正在透過 FL1 支付和在正常化的市場中進行去槓桿。當我們以積極的方式解決這些資產問題時，我確實認為，再次使用像 CLO 這樣的匹配期限融資，並了解這個實體的規模，與歷史標準相比，我們的槓桿率略低。

And assuming that we are comfortable with our liquidity position comfortable that we've resolved, the assets that we want to make sure that we get through, I think that there's a reasonable expectation that the portfolio would grow a bit.

假設我們對我們的流動性狀況感到滿意，並且已經解決了我們希望確保獲得的資產，我認為，可以合理地預期投資組合會有所增長。

And even on the resolutions, a lot of what I'm talking about is liquidity, right? We can't control when we need the liquidity. We might need liquidity for three assets over one quarter. And if we only need it for one, we would think about it differently. So there really is a drag from maintaining that flexibility and that we hope to go away or at least decrease over the coming quarters.

即使在決議中，我談論的很多內容也都是流動性，對嗎？我們無法控制何時需要流動性。一個季度內，我們可能需要三種資產的流動性。如果我們只需要一個，我們就會以不同的方式來考慮它。因此，保持這種靈活性確實會帶來阻力，我們希望這種阻力在未來幾季內消失或至少減少。

Thank you both for the additional color this morning.

感謝你們二位為今早增添的色彩。

(Operator Instructions) Christopher Nolan, Ladenburg Thalmann.

（操作員指令）克里斯多福諾蘭、拉登堡塔爾曼。

on the question of loan loss provision expenses, what's the correlation between your risk rating and provision charges?

關於貸款損失準備費用的問題，你們的風險評級和準備費用之間的相關性是怎麼樣的？

On the specific reserves there, Chris, as is policy, when we specifically evaluate those, we're looking at the fair value of the underlying collateral, so 5s we look at individually in terms of the general pool for the portfolio, clearly the risk ratings are going to bring with it a higher probability of default. As you scale up, from threes to fours, and as I mentioned, the fives are specifically evaluated. So it's also dependent upon, underlying loan metrics that's going to drive risk rating, but it's also going to be driving probability of default in in the model that we and others use for the for the general pool.

關於那裡的具體儲備，克里斯，按照政策，當我們具體評估這些儲備時，我們會考慮基礎抵押品的公允價值，因此，我們會根據投資組合的一般資金池單獨查看 5 個儲備，顯然風險評級會帶來更高的違約概率。隨著你的規模從三到四，正如我所提到的那樣，五是經過特別評估的。因此，它也取決於推動風險評級的底層貸款指標，但它也將推動我們和其他人用於一般資金池的模型中的違約機率。

Great. Thank you. And then -- please.

偉大的。謝謝。然後——請。

But to be clear for the fives, we're looking at the underlying cloud.

但為了更清楚地了解這五個，我們正在觀察底層的雲。

Okay, understood. And then in the early market comments talking about the stability of multi-family cap rates, does the changing market expectation in terms of rate cuts sort of start derailing refinancing and negotiations for any portfolio companies or so simply -- is that really coming in affecting it at all or is really the financing all about the cash flow of the property?

好的，明白了。然後在早期的市場評論中談論多戶型資本化率的穩定性，市場對降息的預期變化是否會開始破壞任何投資組合公司的再融資和談判，或者簡單地說 - 這真的會對它產生影響嗎？或者融資真的只與房地產的現金流有關嗎？

Yeah, I -- look, obviously any in the short term rates helps current sponsors. I don't think that 25 or 50 basis point cap this year is having a huge impact or will have a huge impact in how people think or act psychologically. I think it's probably a good thing.

是的，我看，顯然任何短期利率都會對當前的贊助商有所幫助。我認為今年的 25 或 50 個基點上限不會對人們的思維或心理行為產生巨大影響。我認為這可能是一件好事。

And again, one thing to remember if we're cutting rates that the expect -- the reason for the costs, I mean, just broadly speaking, it's either because inflation is completely in check or there's some concern about the health of the economy and whether we're heading toward a recession.

再次強調，要記住一件事，如果我們降低預期的利率，那麼增加成本的原因，我的意思是，從廣義上講，要么是因為通貨膨脹完全受到控制，要么是對經濟健康狀況以及我們是否正在走向衰退存在擔憂。

So neither -- especially the latter is not exactly a positive event. But when you also consider multi-family historically, the multi-family still performs pretty well in those times in the market. People are buying homes less, they stay in their apartments, they rent more. So there's kind of a odd dynamic there with the economy versus performance and multi-family.

所以兩者都不是一件好事，尤其是後者。但如果你從歷史上考慮多戶型住宅，你會發現在當時的市場上，多戶型住宅的表現仍然相當不錯。人們越來越少買房，越來越多人選擇住在公寓或租房子。因此，經濟與績效和多戶型之間存在著一種奇怪的動態。

I think the bigger driver is that the 10-year has stayed in the relatively low 4s here for a few months. Most expectations for the year and 10-year have come down a bit over the last quarter and a half. Many are -- some are still up towards 5, but consensus is more in the 4 to 4.5 range. And I think that is the big driver. You have a lot of capital that wants to be deployed, some international, I mean, large checks that want to get back into the US market that have sat on the sideline, that's going to drive some value appreciation in my opinion, and also just transaction volume going up.

我認為更大的驅動因素是 10 年期公債殖利率幾個月來一直徘徊在 4% 的相對低位。過去一個半季度，大多數對今年和十年的預期都有所下降。許多人都這麼認為 — — 有些人仍將目標定在 5，但普遍的看法是在 4 到 4.5 的範圍內。我認為這就是最大的驅動力。你有很多資本想要部署，一些國際資本，我的意思是，一些大額支票想要回到美國市場，而這些資金一直處於觀望狀態，在我看來，這將推動價值升值，同時也會使交易量上升。

So there's a lot of positives there. As you know, deliveries in most markets, not every single market, but in most markets have peaked, and will continue to run off and so there's a bit of an absorption issue, but there's still, long term, a supply demand balance in most markets. That's why we're currently seeing rent growth in almost all major metros and where we're not seeing rent growth, there's still projections for rent growth as we move throughout the year.

因此這其中有很多正面的方面。如您所知，大多數市場（不是每個市場，但在大多數市場中）的交付量都已達到峰值，並將繼續下降，因此存在一些吸收問題，但從長遠來看，大多數市場仍然存在供需平衡。這就是為什麼我們目前看到幾乎所有主要城市的租金都在增長，而在我們沒有看到租金增長的地方，預計全年租金仍會增長。

You have a lot of all of those signs, I think for sponsors and people that are either managing an existing asset or thinking about getting back in the market are a bit more bullish and real than maybe they've been in the past year or two.

你看到了很多這樣的跡象，我認為對於贊助商和那些管理現有資產或考慮重返市場的人來說，他們可能比過去一兩年更加樂觀和現實。

Okay, thank you.

好的，謝謝。

Thank you. And I'm showing no further questions at this time. I would like to turn it back to James Flynn for closing remarks.

謝謝。我現在沒有其他問題了。我想請詹姆斯·弗林作最後發言。

Just appreciate everyone joining and the interest in the platform and look forward to speaking to you all again next quarter. Take care.

感謝大家的加入以及對該平台的興趣，並期待下個季度再次與大家交談。小心。

Thank you. And ladies and gentlemen, this concludes today's conference call. Thank you all for joining. You may now disconnect.

謝謝。女士們、先生們，今天的電話會議到此結束。感謝大家的加入。您現在可以斷開連線。