Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Corp (NCDL) 2024 Q3 法說會逐字稿

Welcome to Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Corps third quarter 2024 earnings call. (Operator Instructions)

歡迎參加 Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Corps 2024 年第三季財報電話會議。（操作員指令）

I'd like to turn the call over to Robert Paun, Head of Investor Relations. Please proceed.

我想將電話轉給投資者關係主管羅伯特·帕恩 (Robert Paun)。請繼續。

Good morning and welcome to Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Corp's third quarter 2024 earnings call.

早安，歡迎參加 Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Corp 2024 年第三季財報電話會議。

Today I'm joined by NCDL's Chairman, President, and CEO, Ken Kencel; and Chief Financial Officer, Shai Vichness. Following our prepared remarks, we will be available to take your questions. Today's call may include forward-looking statements. Such statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors and undue reliance should not be placed thereon.

今天我與 NCDL 董事長、總裁兼執行長 Ken Kencel 一起出席；和財務長Shai Vichness。在我們發表準備好的發言後，我們將回答您的問題。今天的電話會議可能包含前瞻性陳述。此類聲明涉及已知和未知的風險、不確定性和其他因素，不應過度依賴。

These forward-looking statements are not historical facts but rather are based on current expectations, estimates and projections about the company. Our current and prospective portfolio investments, our industry, our beliefs and opinions and our assumptions.

這些前瞻性陳述不是歷史事實，而是基於對公司當前的預期、估計和預測。我們目前和未來的投資組合、我們的產業、我們的信念和觀點以及我們的假設。

These statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors. Some of which are beyond our control and difficult to predict. Actual results may differ materially from those expressed or forecasted in the forward-looking statements. We ask that you refer to the company's most recent filings with the SEC for important risk factors.

這些聲明並非對未來表現的保證，並且受風險、不確定性和其他因素的影響。其中有些是我們無法控制的，也很難預測。實際結果可能與前瞻性陳述中表達或預測的結果有重大差異。我們要求您參閱該公司向美國證券交易委員會提交的最新文件以了解重要風險因素。

Any forward-looking statements made today do not guarantee future performance and undue reliance should not be placed on them. The company assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements at any time. Our earnings release 10-Q and supplemental earnings presentation are available on the investor relations section of our website at ncdl.com.

今天做出的任何前瞻性陳述都不能保證未來的表現，因此不應過度依賴它們。本公司不承擔隨時更新任何前瞻性陳述的義務。我們的收益報告 10-Q 和補充收益報告可在我們網站 ncdl.com 的投資者關係部分查閱。

Now, I would like to turn the call over to Ken.

現在，我想將電話轉給肯。

Thank you, Robert, and thank you, everyone, for joining us on the call today. I'd like to start by discussing our results for the third quarter, and then I'll provide some thoughts on the current market and economic environment and our outlook for the coming months.

謝謝羅伯特，也謝謝大家今天參加我們的電話會議。我想先討論一下我們第三季的業績，然後我會就當前的市場和經濟環境以及我們對未來幾個月的展望發表一些看法。

After that, I'll hand the call over to Shai for a more detailed discussion of our financial performance. Overall, we are very pleased with the returns we generated this quarter, reflecting the strength of our platform, the earnings power of NCDL and the continued growth of the private credit markets.

之後，我會將電話交給 Shai，更詳細地討論我們的財務表現。總體而言，我們對本季產生的回報非常滿意，這反映了我們平台的實力、NCDL 的獲利能力以及私人信貸市場的持續成長。

This morning, we reported strong third quarter results. We delivered net investment income of $0.58 per share, fully covering our regular quarterly distribution of $0.45 per share and our $0.10 per share special distribution.

今天上午，我們報告了強勁的第三季業績。我們實現每股 0.58 美元的淨投資收益，完全涵蓋每股 0.45 美元的定期季度分配和每股 0.10 美元的特別分配。

Our investment portfolio continued to perform well, primarily driven by the strength of our senior loan investments and we had no new nonaccruals during the quarter. Investment activity during the third quarter was approximately $226 million of new originations was primarily focused on senior secured first lien loans from our traditional middle market pipeline.

我們的投資組合持續表現良好，主要得益於我們的優先貸款投資強勁，並且本季我們沒有出現新的未計項目。第三季的投資活動約為 2.26 億美元的新貸款，主要集中在來自我們傳統中間市場管道的優先擔保第一留置權貸款。

As we discussed last quarter, now that NCDL's portfolio is essentially fully ramped, we are focused on rotating out of higher priced, lower spread, upper middle market positions and into our traditional middle market pipeline, which benefits from wider spreads and generally more attractive terms.

正如我們上個季度所討論的那樣，現在 NCDL 的投資組合基本上已經完全飽和，我們專注於從價格較高、利差較低、中上層市場部位轉向我們傳統的中端市場管道，該管道受益於更大的利差和通常更具吸引力的條款。

Our strong results in the quarter led to an increase in our net asset value to $18.15 per share at September 30 from the $18.03 per share that we reported as of June 30.

本季的強勁業績使我們的淨資產價值從 6 月 30 日報告的每股 18.03 美元增至 9 月 30 日的每股 18.15 美元。

As we look towards the end of the year and into 2025, we remain optimistic about NCDL's positioning as a leader in the core middle market. Given our long-standing performance track record, deep network of sponsor relationships and extensive LP commitments across the broader Churchill platform, which enable us to continue to see a wide range of attractive investment opportunities.

展望今年年底和 2025 年，我們仍然對 NCDL 作為核心中端市場領導者的地位持樂觀態度。鑑於我們長期的業績記錄、深厚的贊助商關係網絡以及遍布邱吉爾平台的廣泛 LP 承諾，我們能夠繼續看到廣泛而有吸引力的投資機會。

As we assess the overall market, credit quality and portfolio company performance remains strong, despite the persistence of elevated interest rates. As inflationary pressures on borrowers eased moderately, we saw a long anticipated 50 basis point Fed rate cut in September.

當我們評估整體市場時，儘管利率持續上升，但信貸品質和投資組合公司業績仍然強勁。隨著借款人的通膨壓力適度緩解，我們看到聯準會在9月將利率下調了50個基點，這是人們期待已久的。

The other theme we've observed is an increase in the competitive dynamics in the private credit market, which drove additional spread compression in Q3, albeit at a slower pace than in the second quarter.

我們觀察到的另一個主題是私人信貸市場競爭態勢增強，這推動第三季利差進一步壓縮，儘管壓縮速度低於第二季。

In the face of increased competition, we believe that our focus on the core middle market enables us to remain largely insulated from the pricing pressure, increased volatility and generally weaker terms that we see in the upper middle and BSL markets.

面對日益激烈的競爭，我們相信，專注於核心中端市場使我們能夠在很大程度上免受中高端和 BSL 市場中出現的價格壓力、波動性加劇和普遍較弱的條款的影響。

We believe that traditional middle market companies with EBITDA of between $15 million and $75 million, tend to be lower levered, better structured, less cyclical and more focused on growth industries such as business and health care services.

我們認為，EBITDA 在 1500 萬至 7500 萬美元之間的傳統中型市場公司往往槓桿率較低、結構更好、週期性較小，並且更專注於商業和醫療保健服務等成長行業。

When backed by the operating expertise and capital support of leading private equity sponsors, we believe all of the elements are there to generate a strong value proposition for investors. As a result, we believe that the risk-adjusted returns available to scaled, highly selective managers like Churchill with deep, long-standing private equity relationships in the core middle market are among the most attractive in the private credit market today.

我們相信，在領先私募股權發起人的營運專業知識和資本支持下，所有要素都將為投資者創造強大的價值主張。因此，我們相信，像邱吉爾這樣在核心中端市場擁有深厚、長期的私募股權關係的規模化、高度選擇性的管理者可以獲得的風險調整回報是當今私人信貸市場上最具吸引力的回報之一。

With respect to the macroeconomic environment, we believe a healthy and resilient US economy will continue in the near term. We continue to see steady revenue and EBITDA growth from our portfolio companies, with inflationary pressures moderating.

就宏觀經濟環境而言，我們認為短期內美國經濟仍將維持健康、有韌性的態勢。我們繼續看到投資組合公司的收入和 EBITDA 穩定成長，同時通膨壓力正在緩和。

We also believe at the beginning of a rate reduction cycle will spur increased M&A activity, which we have already begun to see in our investment pipeline. As a result, we feel quite positive heading into 2025 with respect to both deal flow generation and health of our underlying borrowers.

我們也認為，降息週期開始時將刺激併購活動的增加，這一點我們已經在投資管道中看到。因此，我們對 2025 年的交易流量產生和基礎借款人的健康狀況都抱持著非常樂觀的態度。

Turning to deployment. Deal activity and originations across the Churchill platform continued at a strong pace this quarter, which benefited NCDL. Our investment team originated approximately $226 million of new investment commitments in NCDL during the quarter.

轉向部署。本季度，邱吉爾平台上的交易活動和發起繼續保持強勁勢頭，這為 NCDL 帶來了好處。我們的投資團隊在本季向 NCDL 發放了約 2.26 億美元的新投資承諾。

Our new commitments were focused on senior lending, which represented 98% of NCDL's origination activity. First lien debt remained steady as a percentage of the NCDL's portfolio, representing approximately 90% of fair value of the overall portfolio.

我們的新承諾集中在高級貸款上，這佔 NCDL 發起活動的 98%。第一留置權債務在 NCDL 投資組合中的比例保持穩定，約佔整體投資組合公允價值的 90%。

We will continue to prioritize opportunities to deploy capital in core middle market senior loan investments, as we pursue portfolio growth and diversification as a public company. We feel this asset class provides strong long-term risk mitigation characteristics, including floating rates, generally lower leverage and traditional financial covenants and our core middle market transactions.

作為一家上市公司，我們追求投資組合的成長和多樣化，我們將繼續優先考慮在核心中端市場高級貸款投資中部署資本的機會。我們認為，此資產類別具有強大的長期風險緩解特性，包括浮動利率、通常較低的槓桿率、傳統金融契約以及我們的核心中間市場交易。

One of the key benefits and differentiating factors of NCDL is the power of incumbency that the Churchill platform provides. We continue to source attractive investment opportunities from our existing portfolio of companies, and we believe that continuing to invest in these companies that we know well leads to better long-term credit performance and reduces underwriting risk.

NCDL 的一個主要優勢和差異化因素是邱吉爾平台提供的服務權力。我們繼續從現有的公司組合中尋找有吸引力的投資機會，我們相信繼續投資這些我們熟悉的公司將帶來更好的長期信用表現並降低承保風險。

In terms of credit quality, company performance across our overall portfolio remains strong and healthy, reflecting the quality of the deal flow we've experienced over the last several years. Our weighted average internal risk rating remains at 4.2 versus an original rating of 4.0 for all of our investments at the time of origination.

在信用品質方面，我們整體投資組合中的公司業績仍然強勁而健康，反映了我們過去幾年經歷的交易流的品質。我們的加權平均內部風險評級仍為 4.2，而我們所有投資發起時的原始評級為 4.0。

And our watch list remains at a very manageable level of 5.6% of fair value. Additionally, we are pleased with the credit fundamentals within the NCDL portfolio, with portfolio company total leverage of 4.9 times, interest coverage of 2.1 times on a first lien senior loans and a weighted average asset yield of just below 11%.

我們的關註名單仍然處於公允價值 5.6% 的非常可控的水平。此外，我們對 NCDL 投資組合內的信用基本面感到滿意，投資組合公司的總槓桿率為 4.9 倍，第一留置權優先貸款的利息覆蓋率為 2.1 倍，加權平均資產收益率略低於 11%。

These metrics are a direct result of conservative structuring and relatively low attachment points that we target when underwriting new transactions. This conservative approach has served us well in the elevated rate environment. And we would expect these metrics to improve as rates come down further over the remainder of 2024 and into 2025.

這些指標是我們在承保新交易時瞄準的保守結構和相對較低的附著點的直接結果。這種保守的做法在利率上升的環境下發揮了很好的作用。我們預計，隨著 2024 年剩餘時間和 2025 年利率進一步下降，這些指標將會改善。

During the third quarter, we did not add any new nonaccruals and the level of nonaccruals remained very low as of quarter end at roughly [0.5%] of fair value and 1.4% of cost. With a highly diversified portfolio of over 200 companies and only three names on nonaccrual status, we believe this metric compares favorably versus BDC industry averages.

在第三季度，我們沒有增加任何新的不提項目，截至季度末，不提項目的水平仍然非常低，約為公允價值的 [0.5%] 和成本的 1.4%。由於我們的投資組合高度多元化，涵蓋超過 200 家公司，且只有三家公司處於非應計狀態，我們認為這項指標與 BDC 行業平均值相比具有優勢。

We remain focused on diversification as a key risk mitigation tool in our investment portfolio. This has been achieved with a continued high level of investment selectivity, facilitated by the significant proprietary deal flow, our sourcing engine is able to generate from the breadth and depth of our private equity relationships. As of September 30, we had 202 companies in our portfolio and our top 10 investments represented only 14.1% of the total portfolio, down from 14.4% as of June 30.

我們仍然專注於將多元化作為投資組合中緩解風險的關鍵工具。這是透過持續的高水準投資選擇性實現的，由於大量自營交易流，我們的採購引擎能夠從我們私募股權關係的廣度和深度中產生收益。截至 9 月 30 日，我們的投資組合中共有 202 家公司，前十大投資僅佔總投資組合的 14.1%，低於 6 月 30 日的 14.4%。

This diversification is critical as we seek to maintain exceptional credit quality and originate additional attractive opportunities. Looking ahead, we believe we are well positioned for continued strong performance for the remainder of the year and into 2025, particularly given our standing as one of the largest and most active BDCs focused on the core middle market.

當我們尋求維持卓越的信用品質並創造更多有吸引力的機會時，這種多樣化至關重要。展望未來，我們相信，我們有能力在今年剩餘時間和 2025 年繼續保持強勁表現，尤其是考慮到我們作為專注於核心中端市場的最大、最活躍的 BDC 之一的地位。

As we've spoken about in the past, our outlook is driven by our approach to portfolio construction and management with three key factors worth reiterating. First, NCDL has a strong focus on a high level of portfolio diversification across a number of key metrics. We have constructed a defensive portfolio that is balanced across multiple measures, whether you're looking at sponsor, position size or industry.

正如我們過去所談到的，我們的前景取決於我們的投資組合建構和管理方法，其中有三個關鍵因素值得重申。首先，NCDL 高度重視一系列關鍵指標的高水準投資組合多樣化。我們建立了一個在多個指標上實現平衡的防禦性投資組合，無論您關注的是贊助商、頭寸規模還是行業。

We've achieved this level of diversification across all our different investment vehicles across the platform, and it represents a consistent commitment embedded in Churchill's DNA. Second, we have a rigorous investment process that puts credit quality above all else.

我們在整個平台上的所有不同投資工具中都實現了這種程度的多樣化，它代表了邱吉爾 DNA 中始終如一的承諾。其次，我們擁有嚴格的投資流程，將信用品質放在第一位。

As we look for opportunities to underwrite, we focus on high-quality, market-leading businesses that operate in recession-resistant industries with leading market positions and high barriers to entry backed by top-tier private equity sponsors.

在尋找承銷機會時，我們重點關注那些在抗衰退行業中運營的高品質、市場領先的企業，這些企業擁有領先的市場地位和高進入壁壘，並得到頂級私募股權發起人的支持。

Our strong deal flow and unique sourcing model enables us to maintain a rigorous investment process and strong credit discipline. We're also carefully attuned to the interest burden facing both our existing portfolio companies as well as new borrowers.

我們強大的交易流程和獨特的採購模式使我們能夠保持嚴格的投資流程和強大的信用紀律。我們也密切關注現有投資組合公司以及新借款人所面臨的利息負擔。

This consideration influences our conservative approach to structuring new transactions with lower overall leverage and tighter covenant packages. This discipline is crucial, particularly in an environment where spreads are tighter, and terms are more aggressive.

這種考慮影響了我們採用保守的方法來建構新交易，降低整體槓桿率並採用更嚴格的契約方案。這種紀律至關重要，特別是在利差較小、條款較為激進的環境下。

That is why we're willing and able to walk away from certain deals that we assess are too risky. And the third factor that is especially important is our highly differentiated origination and sourcing model. We enjoy strong private equity LP relationships.

這就是為什麼我們願意並且能夠放棄某些我們認為風險太大的交易。第三個特別重要的因素是我們高度差異化的起源和採購模式。我們與私募股權 LP 擁有牢固的關係。

Over nearly two decades Churchill has worked with approximately 500 middle market private equity firms. In fact, today, Churchill has commitments to over 310 leading US middle-market private equity funds and sits on over 245 advisory boards.

近二十年來，邱吉爾曾與約 500 家中型市場私募股權公司合作。事實上，如今邱吉爾已承諾投資超過 310 家美國領先的中型市場私募股權基金，並擔任超過 245 個顧問委員會的成員。

We have been and continue to be a trusted and established investor in the core middle market with deep long-term relationships, which provides NCDL with a strong information and sourcing advantage. Before handing it over to Shai, I'd like to add that we are extremely proud of our team and our recent results are evidence of their hard work and dedication.

我們一直是核心中端市場中值得信賴的成熟投資者，並與其建立了長期深厚的合作關係，這為 NCDL 提供了強大的資訊和採購優勢。在將其交給 Shai 之前，我想補充一點，我們對我們的團隊感到非常自豪，我們最近的成績證明了他們的辛勤工作和奉獻精神。

We believe NCDL is uniquely positioned for long-term success and remain optimistic about the company's outlook. And we believe NCDL is well positioned to benefit from increased transaction activity that we expect in 2025.

我們相信 NCDL 具有獨特的優勢，能夠取得長期成功，我們對公司的前景仍持樂觀態度。我們相信，NCDL 有能力從我們預計的 2025 年交易活動的增加中獲益。

And now I'll turn the call over to Shai to discuss our financial results in more detail.

現在我將把電話轉給 Shai，更詳細地討論我們的財務表現。

Thank you, Ken, and thank you all for joining us to review our third quarter results. For Q3, we generated net investment income of $0.58 per share compared to $0.57 per share in the second quarter of 2024. Our total investment income increased by $5.2 million or 9% quarter over quarter, driven by higher interest income as a result of continued strong deployment and increased leverage utilization, which helped to offset the modest tightening in spreads that we saw during the quarter as well as the decline in base rates.

謝謝你，肯，也謝謝大家加入我們一起回顧我們的第三季業績。第三季度，我們產生的淨投資收益為每股 0.58 美元，而 2024 年第二季為每股 0.57 美元。我們的總投資收入比上一季增加了 520 萬美元，增幅為 9%，這得益於持續強勁部署和槓桿利用率提高帶來的利息收入增加，這有助於抵消本季利差的小幅收緊以及基準利率的下降。

In October, we paid a total dividend of $0.55 per share, consisting of a regular dividend of $0.45 per share and a special dividend of $0.10 per share. In aggregate, this $0.55 dividend equates to an annualized yield of approximately 12.1% based on our quarter end net asset value.

10 月份，我們派發了每股 0.55 美元的總股息，其中包括每股 0.45 美元的常規股息和每股 0.10 美元的特別股息。總體而言，根據我們的季度末淨資產價值，0.55 美元的股息相當於約 12.1% 的年化殖利率。

As a reminder, the $0.10 per share special dividend that we paid in October was our second of four special dividends that we declared at the time of our IPO earlier this year. The two remaining special dividends will be paid through the second quarter of 2025 to shareholders of record as of November 11 of this year and February 12, 2025.

提醒一下，我們 10 月支付的每股 0.10 美元的特別股息是我們今年稍早首次公開募股時宣布的四次特別股息中的第二次。剩餘兩次特別股利將於 2025 年第二季支付給截至今年 11 月 11 日及 2025 年 2 月 12 日登記在冊的股東。

As discussed previously, we intend to operate with a supplemental dividend program that sees us paying out a portion of the excess earnings over and above our regular dividend, allowing us to deliver the benefits of higher returns in the current environment to shareholders as well as grow our NAV.

正如前面所討論的，我們打算實施一項補充股息計劃，該計劃將讓我們支付超出常規股息的部分超額收益，從而使我們能夠在當前環境下為股東帶來更高回報，並增加我們的資產淨值。

Our total GAAP net income for the quarter was $0.67 per share compared to $0.37 per share in the second quarter. Our third quarter net income was positively impacted by $0.09 per share of net realized and unrealized gains.

我們本季的 GAAP 淨收入總額為每股 0.67 美元，而第二季為每股 0.37 美元。我們第三季的淨收入受到每股 0.09 美元的淨已實現和未實現收益的正面影響。

We generated approximately $0.02 per share of realized gains on repayments and sales, and $0.07 per share of unrealized gains, primarily due to improved credit metrics for a number of our portfolio companies. The realized gains on sales were generated from selling out of select upper middle market positions as we continue to rotate out of more liquid positions with lower spreads into our traditional middle market pipeline deals.

我們在還款和銷售中產生了每股約 0.02 美元的已實現收益，以及每股 0.07 美元的未實現收益，這主要歸功於我們投資組合中多家公司的信用指標有所改善。銷售實現的收益來自於出售精選的中上層市場頭寸，因為我們繼續將價差較低的流動性更強的頭寸轉向我們傳統的中端市場管道交易。

Our debt-to-equity ratio at the end of the quarter was 1.11 times, which is consistent with the guidance we previously provided and within our target leverage range of 1 times to 1.25 times. During the quarter, our net asset value per share increased to $18.15 from $18.03 at June 30.

我們本季末的負債權益比為 1.11 倍，與我們先前提供的指引一致，且在我們的 1 倍至 1.25 倍的目標槓桿率範圍內。本季度，我們的每股淨資產價值從 6 月 30 日的 18.03 美元增加至 18.15 美元。

This increase was attributable to the net realized and unrealized gains during the quarter as well as the excess earnings we generated over and above the regular and special dividends that we paid during the quarter.

這一增長歸因於本季度的淨已實現和未實現收益以及我們在本季度支付的常規和特別股息之外產生的超額收益。

As of September 30, our investment portfolio had a fair value of $2.05 billion compared to a fair value of $1.99 billion as of the end of Q2. Similar to the prior quarter, the third quarter was a very strong one for us in terms of new origination, with $226 million in gross originations and $203 million of gross investments funding during the quarter.

截至 9 月 30 日，我們的投資組合的公允價值為 20.5 億美元，而截至第二季末的公允價值為 19.9 億美元。與上一季類似，第三季我們的新資金發起表現非常強勁，本季總發起資金為 2.26 億美元，總投資資金為 2.03 億美元。

This increase in the fair value of our assets was largely attributable to new originations, which accounted for 18 of the transactions done during the quarter totaling approximately $120 million. We continue to benefit from add-on financing opportunities, which allowed us to generate 11 deals in the form of incremental transactions for existing portfolio companies, totaling approximately $46 million.

我們資產公允價值的增加主要歸因於新發起交易，這佔本季完成的交易的 18 筆，總額約為 1.2 億美元。我們繼續受益於附加融資機會，這使我們能夠為現有投資組合公司以增量交易的形式達成 11 筆交易，總額約為 4,600 萬美元。

Lastly, we saw drawdowns of roughly $37 million on our delayed draw term loans as our portfolio companies continued to be active in growing the acquisitions.

最後，由於我們的投資組合公司繼續積極收購，我們的延期提取定期貸款約有 3700 萬美元被提取。

Repayments in the third quarter totaled 4.8% compared to 4.9% in the second quarter and remained in line with our long-range assumption of 5% per quarter. We had full repayments on nine deals, totaling $95 million and partial prepayments for another $8 million. We also sold $53 million worth of upper middle market transactions during the quarter.

第三季的還款總額為 4.8%，而第二季為 4.9%，與我們每季 5% 的長期假設一致。我們已全額償還了九筆交易，總額為 9500 萬美元，並預付了另外 800 萬美元的部分款項。本季度，我們也售出了價值 5,300 萬美元的中上層市場交易產品。

As we've spoken about in prior calls, we continue to benefit from the power of incumbency in our portfolio, reinvesting in four of the nine deals that fully repaid during the quarter. Additionally, nearly two-thirds of the dollars that we invested during the quarter were inter portfolio companies, where we had an existing relationship across the broader Churchill platform.

正如我們在之前的電話會議中提到的那樣，我們繼續受益於我們投資組合中的在職權力，對本季度全額償還的九筆交易中的四筆進行了再投資。此外，我們在本季投資的資金中，有近三分之二是跨投資組合公司投資的，我們在更廣泛的邱吉爾平台上與這些公司建立了合作關係。

On a net basis, we deployed approximately $48 million during the quarter. As Ken discussed earlier in the call, the deployment that we saw in Q3 was consistent with our strategy of optimizing NCDL's portfolio. We expect to continue to deploy capital primarily into traditional middle market transactions as we complete the rotation of the portfolio away from more liquid upper middle market assets, redeploy cash received from repayments and modestly increase our leverage utilization.

以淨額計算，我們在本季度部署了約 4800 萬美元。正如 Ken 在電話會議早些時候所討論的那樣，我們在第三季度看到的部署與我們優化 NCDL 投資組合的策略一致。我們預計將繼續將資本主要部署到傳統的中端市場交易中，因為我們完成了投資組合從流動性更強的中上層市場資產的輪換，重新部署了從還款中獲得的現金，並適度提高了我們的槓桿利用率。

Our total portfolio consisted of 202 names as of quarter end compared to 198 names at the end of the second quarter and remains highly diversified with the top 10 positions representing only 14.1% of the fair value of the portfolio, down from 14.4% in the prior quarter. Our largest exposure is only 1.5% of the total portfolio, and our average position size is 0.5%.

截至季末，我們的總投資組合由 202 個股票組成，而第二季末則為 198 個股票，並且仍然高度多樣化，前 10 個股票僅佔投資組合公允價值的 14.1%，低於上一季的 14.4%。我們最大的曝險僅佔總投資組合的 1.5％，我們的平均部位規模為 0.5％。

We continue to view this high level of diversification by position size as a key risk mitigation tool. In terms of asset selection, our new originations during the quarter were again heavily weighted towards traditional middle-market senior loans, with only 1% of the investments made going into the upper middle market.

我們持續將這種以部位規模進行的高度多樣化視為關鍵的風險緩解工具。在資產選擇方面，我們本季的新貸款再次主要集中在傳統的中端市場高級貸款上，只有 1% 的投資流向了中高端市場。

This focus on the traditional middle market segment, we believe, will benefit NCDL shareholders as we see meaningfully higher spreads and tighter documentation terms in the traditional middle market versus the upper middle and BSL markets.

我們相信，專注於傳統中端市場將使 NCDL 股東受益，因為我們看到與中高端和 BSL 市場相比，傳統中端市場的利差明顯更高且文件條款更為嚴格。

Despite a further tightening of spreads across markets during the quarter, our continued focus on the traditional middle market segment allowed us to maintain spreads on new floating rate loans at 500 basis points over SOFR, which was the same level that we saw in Q2.

儘管本季各市場利差進一步收緊，但我們繼續專注於傳統的中端市場，這使我們能夠將新的浮動利率貸款利差維持在高於 SOFR 500 個基點的水平，與第二季度的水平相同。

Our weighted average yield on debt and income-producing investments at cost declined to 10.9% at the end of the third quarter from 11.3% at the end of Q2, driven primarily by the decline in SOFR together with a handful of repricing transactions during the quarter.

我們的債務和創收投資的加權平均成本收益率從第二季末的 11.3% 下降至第三季末的 10.9%，這主要受到 SOFR 下降以及本季少量重新定價交易的影響。

We continue to remain focused on the top of the capital structure with first lien loans representing 90.1% of the portfolio at quarter end, in line with -- at the end of the second quarter. We also continue to opportunistically invest in junior debt and equity, which comprised 8.3% and 1.7% of the portfolio overall as of the end of the third quarter.

我們繼續關注資本結構的頂端，其中第一留置權貸款佔季末投資組合的 90.1%，與第二季末持平。我們也繼續伺機投資次級債務和股權，截至第三季末，它們佔投資組合總額的 8.3% 和 1.7%。

As a reminder, we remain committed to the target allocations that we communicated at the time of our IPO, with a target of 85% to 90% senior loans and the balance in junior debt and equity co-investments with equity staying in the low single-digit percentage range.

提醒一下，我們仍然致力於我們在首次公開募股時傳達的目標配置，目標是85％至90％的優先貸款以及次級債務和股權共同投資的餘額，其中股權保持在個位數的低百分比範圍內。

Turning to credit quality. Our investment portfolio is in very good shape, as our weighted average internal risk rating remained relatively steady quarter over quarter at [4.2% as compared to 4.1%] at the end of Q2.

轉向信用品質。我們的投資組合狀況非常好，因為我們的加權平均內部風險評級與上一季相比保持相對穩定，在第二季末為 [4.2% 相比 4.1%]。

We had no new nonaccruals this quarter, with only three names on nonaccrual status, representing just 0.55% of the fair value of the portfolio and only 1.4% at cost. The fair value of the nonaccrual assets increased modestly from the 0.49% that we reported last quarter, as a result of modest improvement in valuations in two of the three nonaccrual names.

本季我們沒有新的不提項目，只有三個不提項目，僅佔投資組合公允價值的 0.55% 和成本的 1.4%。非應計資產的公允價值較我們上季報告的 0.49% 小幅上升，原因是三家非應計資產中兩家的估值略有提升。

Our watch list did see an increase with four names added on a net basis comprised of five downgrades and one upgrade. As a percentage of NCDL's overall portfolio fair value, our watch list remains at a relatively low level of only 5.6%.

我們的關註名單確實有所增加，淨增加了 4 個名字，其中 5 個被降級，1 個被升級。作為 NCDL 整體投資組合公允價值的百分比，我們的關註名單仍保持在相對較低的水平，僅為 5.6%。

In terms of leverage utilization, our debt-to-equity ratio increased to 1.11 times as of September 30 compared to 1.04 times as of June 30. We were pleased with this incremental leverage utilization, which was directly in line with our expectations at the time of our IPO.

在槓桿率方面，我們的負債權益比率從 6 月 30 日的 1.04 倍上升至 9 月 30 日的 1.11 倍。我們對這一增量槓桿利用率感到滿意，這與我們首次公開發行時的預期完全一致。

As we move through the balance of the year and into early 2025, we expect to continue to be able to deploy capital efficiently and move our leverage ratio up modestly within our target range of 1 times to 1.25 times debt-to-equity.

隨著我們度過今年餘下的時間並進入 2025 年初，我們預計將繼續能夠有效地部署資本，並在 1 倍至 1.25 倍債務與股權比率的目標範圍內適度提高我們的槓桿率。

Subsequent to quarter end, we took an additional step towards optimizing our capital structure by paying off and terminating our asset-based credit facility with SMBC, replacing it with borrowings on our corporate revolver, which we repriced down to SOFR plus 200 basis points in October.

季度末之後，我們採取了進一步措施來優化我們的資本結構，償還並終止了與三井住友銀行的資產抵押貸款，代之以我們的企業循環信貸借款，並於 10 月份將其定價下調至 SOFR 加 200 個基點。

This eliminated our most expensive facility, which was priced at SOFR plus 2.65%, and will allow us to further reduce our borrowing costs going forward. As I mentioned last quarter, we continue to keep a close eye on the unsecured debt market as we evaluate a long term capital structure and are encouraged by the pricing trends and issuance levels that we have seen over the past two quarters.

這消除了我們最昂貴的貸款額度（其定價為 SOFR 加 2.65%），並將使我們能夠進一步降低未來的借貸成本。正如我上個季度提到的，我們繼續密切關注無擔保債務市場，因為我們正在評估長期資本結構，並且受到過去兩個季度看到的定價趨勢和發行水平的鼓舞。

With over $361 million of available liquidity as of the end of the third quarter and no near-term debt maturities, we remain incredibly well positioned to take advantage of attractive investment opportunities and to fund our unfunded commitments and share repurchase program.

截至第三季末，我們擁有超過 3.61 億美元的可用流動資金，且沒有近期債務到期，我們仍然處於非常有利的位置，可以利用有吸引力的投資機會並為我們的未撥付承諾和股票回購計劃提供資金。

As discussed, our focus for the near-term is on optimizing the asset mix within the portfolio and actively reinvesting cash received and repayments, while modestly increasing our leverage utilization.

如上所述，我們近期的重點是優化投資組合中的資產組合，並積極再投資收到的現金和償還的款項，同時適度提高我們的槓桿率。

Our share repurchase program continues to operate effectively and represents a modest use of our available liquidity. Through October 31, we've utilized approximately $14 million under the program, leaving approximately $86 million remaining.

我們的股票回購計劃繼續有效運行，並適度利用了我們的可用流動性。截至 10 月 31 日，我們已在該計劃下使用了大約 1400 萬美元，剩餘約 8,600 萬美元。

Finally, our third lockup release occurred on October 21, which saw the remaining 50% of our non-affiliated pre-IPO shares released from lockup, bringing the total number of shares that are available for trading to approximately [37 million, a seven-fold increase from the 5.5 million shares] that we issued in our IPO.

最後，我們於 10 月 21 日進行了第三次解鎖，剩餘 50% 的非關聯 IPO 前股份解鎖，使可供交易的股份總數增至首次公開發行時發行的約 [3700 萬股，較 550 萬股增加了 7 倍] 。

As a reminder, at the time of our IPO, we put in place a thoughtful staggered lockup release schedule for our pre-IPO shareholders coupled with the special dividends payable over four quarters that I mentioned earlier. Affiliated shareholders were locked up for a full year and non-affiliated pre-IPO shareholders were locked up for 90, 180 and 270 days.

提醒一下，在我們首次公開募股時，我們為首次公開募股前的股東制定了周到的分階段解除鎖定計劃，並結合了我之前提到的四個季度支付的特別股息。關聯股東鎖定期為一年，非關聯上市前股東鎖定期間為90天、180天及270天。

Our final lockup release for affiliated pre-IPO shareholders will occur on January 24, 2025, and will bring our public float to over 50 million shares.

我們對 IPO 前關聯股東的最後一次禁售將於 2025 年 1 月 24 日解除，屆時我們的公眾持股量將超過 5,000 萬股。

I'll now turn it back to Ken for closing remarks.

現在我將話題轉回給肯，請他作最後發言。

Thank you, Shai. In closing, I want to congratulate our team on another strong quarter of results as we continue to fully earn both our regular and special dividends on a per share basis. We are excited about the prospects ahead as we believe we are well positioned to take advantage of the significant market opportunities and our ability to continue to reward shareholders with an attractive distribution yield.

謝謝你，Shai。最後，我要祝賀我們的團隊又一個季度取得強勁業績，我們繼續以每股基礎全額賺取常規股息和特別股息。我們對未來的前景感到興奮，因為我們相信我們有能力利用巨大的市場機遇，並繼續以有吸引力的分配收益率回報股東。

I will now turn the call over to the operator for Q&A.

我現在將把電話轉給接線員進行問答。

(Operator Instructions)

（操作員指令）

Brian McKenna, Citizens.

布萊恩·麥肯納，公民。

Great, thanks. And I hope everyone is doing well. I appreciate all the commentary on your origination platform and really your large network of middle market private equity firms. I'm curious though, is there any white space across the broader Churchill platform to further penetrate this part of the market in terms of expanding or adding new relationships from here?

太好了，謝謝。我希望大家都一切順利。我非常感謝大家對你們的發起平台以及你們龐大的中型私募股權公司網路的評論。不過我很好奇，在更廣泛的邱吉爾平台上是否存在任何空白，可以透過擴大或增加新的關係來進一步滲透這部分市場？

And I guess, are there any other ways to further leverage these relationships that can ultimately drive additional benefits to NCDL?

我想，還有其他方法可以進一步利用這些關係，最終為 NCDL 帶來更多好處嗎？

Yeah. Thanks, Brian. It's Ken. No, it's a great question. And we focus a lot on the ongoing effort to expand firms that we're seeing deals from and expand our relationship base. I would make a couple of comments. One is we've had pretty good success there this year, about 30% increase in firms where we're doing new deals with those firms.

是的。謝謝，布萊恩。是肯。不，這是一個很好的問題。我們非常重視持續努力擴大與我們有交易的公司並擴大我們的關係基礎。我想提幾點評論。一是我們今年在那裡取得了相當大的成功，與我們開展新交易的公司數量增加了約 30%。

So in that sense, expanding those relationships deal wise. The other thing I would say is that we have -- as I think you're aware, an ongoing allocation to new investments in new private equity funds every year. So each year, we're adding 7 to 10 new private equity LP relationships.

因此從這個意義上來說，擴大這些關係是明智的。我想說的另一件事是——我想您知道——我們每年都會持續向新的私募股權基金分配新投資。因此，每年我們都會增加 7 到 10 個新的私募股權 LP 關係。

Obviously, those relationships are based upon an assessment of their performance, their track record, their history of investing in complementary industries such as software and health care and business services. So we have both the effort to broaden out our relationships with deal activity, but also new LP relationships being brought into the fold on an annual basis, and we're constantly scouring the market environment for high-quality firms, maybe spinning off from existing relationships of ours or otherwise.

顯然，這些關係是基於對他們的業績、業績記錄以及在軟體、醫療保健和商業服務等互補行業投資歷史的評估。因此，我們既努力透過交易活動拓寬我們的關係，也每年建立新的 LP 關係，並且我們不斷在市場環境中尋找高品質的公司，這些公司可能是從我們現有的關係中分離出來的，也可能是以其他方式分離出來的。

So there is a continued white space, which is driving an increase in the scope of our investment activity. But I can't overstate how important those relationships are to driving deal flow and investment activity. About 75% of our senior lending activity is with firms where we have an LP relationship.

因此，仍然存在著空白，這推動了我們投資活動範圍的擴大。但我不能過度強調這些關係對於推動交易流程和投資活動的重要性。我們的約 75% 的高級貸款活動是與我們有 LP 關係的公司進行的。

So we've done the homework, we've done the research. We understand their performance and their track record. And obviously, the ongoing dialogue with them as an LP drives tremendous continuity and deal activity with them.

因此，我們已經完成了作業，也完成了研究。我們了解他們的表現和業績。顯然，作為 LP 與他們的持續對話將推動與他們進行巨大的連續性和交易活動。

Okay. Great. That's helpful. Thanks, Ken. And then just a question on deal activity more broadly. Sponsor deals are starting to pick up here, but we really haven't seen a real inflection yet in related activity. I think, getting some clarity around the election helps.

好的。偉大的。這很有幫助。謝謝，肯。然後是關於更廣泛的交易活動的問題。贊助商交易開始逐漸增多，但我們還沒有看到相關活動出現真正的轉折。我認為，了解一些有關選舉的情況是有幫助的。

But what are you seeing across the platform today in terms of new deal flow? And has there been any change in tone with sponsors more recently? And then from here, I know a lot can change and happen across the markets, but what do you see as the biggest driver for an acceleration in sponsor M&A into 2025?

但是，就新交易流程而言，您今天在整個平台上看到了什麼？最近，贊助商的態度有什麼改變嗎？從現在開始，我知道市場會發生很多變化和變化，但您認為 2025 年贊助商併購加速的最大驅動力是什麼？

Sure. Well, it's quite interesting. We actually have seen a continued increase in deal activity as we've gone through 2024. I think certainly, clarity around interest rates, a recognition that rates have peaked and are obviously coming down. And I think is lending to more clarity around opportunities in the marketplace.

當然。嗯，這很有趣。事實上，隨著 2024 年的到來，我們看到交易活動持續增加。我認為，當然，利率要清晰，要認識到利率已達到峰值，並且顯然正在下降。我認為這會使市場機會更加明朗。

I think it's lending itself to buyers and sellers coming together more regarding price and underlying terms. So deal activity, as we see it actually has already begun to pick up. In fact, if you look across our platform, Q2 was a very strong quarter for us in terms of deal activity.

我認為這有利於買家和賣家就價格和基本條款進行更深入的溝通。因此，我們看到交易活動實際上已經開始回升。事實上，如果你看看我們的平台，你會發現第二季對我們的交易活動來說是一個非常強勁的季度。

Q3 was even stronger. If you look at our level of activity in senior lending in 2024, it's up over 60% year over year from 2023, and we're up about 30% overall, including all of our investments year over year on the platform. So senior lending up 60% and quarter over quarter activity has been very strong.

Q3 表現更強。如果您查看我們 2024 年在高級貸款方面的活動水平，您會發現它比 2023 年同比增長了 60% 以上，而且我們的總體增長率約為 30%，其中包括我們在平台上的所有投資同比增長。因此，高級貸款增加了 60%，季度環比活動非常強勁。

So I think a lot of that is attributable to the fact that in the core middle market, the primary amount of activity is really new deal LBO activity. In fact, about 88% of the activity in the core middle market lending space is new deals.

所以我認為這在很大程度上是由於在核心中端市場中，主要的活動實際上是新交易槓桿收購活動。事實上，核心中端市場貸款領域約 88% 的活動都是新交易。

And I think that is certainly benefiting us in terms of our level of investment activity and deal flow across the platform. So we're super busy right now, and we continue to be our pipeline is quite good going into the fourth quarter, and we expect a very solid color as we move forward.

我認為，就我們整個平台的投資活動水平和交易流程而言，這無疑對我們有利。所以我們現在非常忙，而且我們進入第四季後，我們的管道仍然非常良好，我們預計在未來會有一個非常穩固的色彩。

Got it. Thanks. I'll leave it there and congrats on another strong quarter.

知道了。謝謝。我就到此為止，並祝賀又一個強勁的季度。

Thanks, Brian.

謝謝，布萊恩。

Maxwell Fritscher, Truist.

馬克斯韋爾‧弗里舍 (Maxwell Fritscher)，Truist。

Hi, good morning. I'm on for Mark Hughes. Can you give us a sense on how amendment activity was, if any, in the quarter?

嗨，早安。我支持馬克·休斯。您能否告訴我們本季的修訂活動情況（如果有的話）？

Yeah, Max, it's Shai. Happy to comment on that. We really didn't see a big pickup quarter over quarter. One of the things that we commented on both last quarter and this quarter, and you see it kind of in the yield metrics in the portfolio, this phenomenon around repricing of existing transactions for borrowers that we know and like and that are performing continued quarter over quarter, but frankly, it really wasn't an uplift, if anything, it was kind of a moderation of that trend.

是的，馬克斯，我是謝伊。很高興對此發表評論。我們確實沒有看到季度環比大幅增長。我們在上個季度和本季度都評論過的事情之一，你可以在投資組合的收益率指標中看到，這種圍繞借款人現有交易重新定價的現象，我們了解和喜歡的，而且表現持續了一個季度又一個季度，但坦率地說，這真的不是一種提升，如果有的話，這是一種對這種趨勢的緩和。

And you also see that kind of translate into kind of the spreads that we were able to realize on investments quarter over quarter. We've actually been pretty stable on new floating rate investments at roughly 500 over SOFR.

您也會看到，這種轉換就意味著我們能夠實現逐季投資利差。我們的新浮動利率投資實際上一直相當穩定，大約比 SOFR 高出 500 倍。

And I think that's indicative of a market where activity, yes, is picking up. As Ken just commented on in terms of new deals, but I would say that the pace of repricing, if you will, and those related amendments has moderated quarter over quarter.

我認為這表明市場活動正在活躍起來。正如肯剛才就新交易所評論的那樣，但我想說的是，重新定價的速度（如果你願意的話）以及那些相關的修訂已經逐季放緩。

Got it. Thank you. And you had mentioned that your top of the capital structure priority. But can you comment on how spreads and competition for the junior debt is holding up?

知道了。謝謝。您曾提到，這是資本結構最優先考慮的事情。但您能否評論一下次級債券的利差和競爭力如何？

Yeah. I'd comment on it. It's Ken. I would say it's interesting. If you look at our junior debt strategy, it is heavily grounded in those LP relationships. In fact, virtually 100% of our junior capital investments are coming directly from those LP relationships.

是的。我會對此發表評論。是肯。我想說這很有趣。如果你看一下我們的次級債務策略，你會發現它很大程度上依賴那些 LP 關係。事實上，我們幾乎所有的初級資本投資都直接來自於這些 LP 關係。

So where there is a subordinated debt investment, it is very much coming straight from the private equity from where we have that OP connectivity in that history. And the same, frankly, for equity co-investments. So while senior lending is probably 75% or so LP relationships, it's highly curated and coming directly from the sponsors. If you look at the overall pricing in our junior capital business, it's been extremely stable.

因此，如果存在次級債務投資，它很大程度上直接來自私募股權，我們在歷史上擁有 OP 連結。坦白說，股權共同投資也是如此。因此，雖然優先貸款大概有 75% 左右是 LP 關係，但它是經過嚴格策劃並直接來自發起人的。如果你看一下我們的初級資本業務的整體定價，它一直非常穩定。

It's been running around [13%] three quarters to 14% on a consistent basis, really over the entirety of 2024. So we are seeing some very attractive opportunities. Obviously, it's a much smaller percent of the portfolio overall. We're being very selective. But where we can get good relative value, we're dipping into those opportunities.

從前三個季度開始，這一比例一直穩定在 [13%] 至 14% 左右，實際上在整個 2024 年都是如此。因此我們看到了一些非常有吸引力的機會。顯然，它在整個投資組合中所佔的比例要小得多。我們非常挑剔。但只要我們能獲得良好的相對價值，我們就會抓住這些機會。

And again, we're not out in the market competing on price with other subordinated lenders. We're really seeing those opportunities directly from the sponsor where they have a situation and they need a junior capital lender, and we're obviously a long-standing partner of theirs.

再次強調，我們不會在市場上與其他次級貸款機構進行價格競爭。我們確實直接從發起人那裡看到了這些機會，他們遇到了麻煩，需要初級資本貸款人，而我們顯然是他們的長期合作夥伴。

Okay. Appreciate the answers. Thank you, both.

好的。感謝您的回答。謝謝你們兩位。

Thank you.

謝謝。

(Operator Instructions)

（操作員指令）

Derek Hewett, Bank of America.

美國銀行的德里克休伊特 (Derek Hewett)。

Good morning. So what's the size of that upper middle market portfolio that will be rotated to the core middle market strategy? And then from a yield perspective, what's the unlevered yields of those two strategies, so we can kind of get a sense of what the potential could be for top line growth?

早安.那麼，將轉向核心中端市場策略的中上市場投資組合的規模是多少？然後從收益率的角度來看，這兩種策略的無槓桿收益率是多少，這樣我們就可以了解營收成長的潛力是多少？

Yeah. Derek, it's Shai. Thanks for the question. A couple of comments there. I would characterize kind of the upper middle market, more liquid asset portion of the portfolio. It's circa $200 million relative to the $2 billion, so call it 10%.

是的。德瑞克，我是謝伊。謝謝你的提問。那裡有幾則評論。我將其描述為中上層市場，即投資組合中流動性較強的資產部分。相對於 20 億美元，這個數字大約是 2 億美元，所以稱之為 10%。

And that number obviously has come down a little bit since our IPO. As you recall, obviously, we called in all of our sort of uncalled capital that we raised in the private phase, pre-IPO and then the $100 million or so that we raised in the IPO that we deployed, and we've been busy sort of rotating into the middle market, the traditional middle market pipeline and you saw that with the roughly $50 million of sales that we executed on.

自從我們首次公開募股以來，這一數字顯然有所下降。您還記得，顯然，我們收回了在私募階段、首次公開募股前籌集的所有未動用資本，然後又收回了我們在首次公開募股中籌集的約 1 億美元，我們一直忙於向中端市場、傳統的中端市場渠道轉移，您從我們執行的約 5,000 萬美元的銷售額中就可以看出這一點。

I would caution, though, that, again, not all of those assets are going to be readily liquid or readily liquid necessarily at a price that we like. So we're going to be thoughtful about how we execute on that rotation strategy going forward.

不過，我要提醒的是，並非所有這些資產都一定能夠以我們喜歡的價格隨時變現。因此，我們將認真考慮今後如何執行該輪換策略。

But I would expect that we continue to execute on that successfully as we have done over the prior quarter. In terms of the differential in yields, and you kind of see it show up, you saw it last quarter, you see it this quarter in terms of the yield pickup, if you will.

但我預計，我們能夠繼續成功執行這一目標，就像上一季所做的那樣。就收益率差異而言，您可以看到它出現，您在上個季度看到了它，從收益率上升的角度來看，本季度也看到了它。

I would say that, that premium for traditional middle market relative to BSL certainly, obviously, upper middle market sort of somewhere in between is as wide as, call it, 200 basis points. So historically, that's ranged between 100 basis points to 200 basis points in terms of that spread between traditional middle market and BSL.

我想說的是，傳統中階市場相對於 BSL 的溢價顯然介於兩者之間的中高階市場，其溢價幅度高達 200 個基點。因此，從歷史上看，傳統中階市場和 BSL 之間的利差在 100 個基點到 200 個基點之間。

And I would say it's at the wider end today because that spread tightening has really impacted the BSL market as that has come back really strong with increased liquidity there. I would say, in our market, that spread tightening has been much more modest.

我想說，今天它的價差更大，因為價差收窄確實對 BSL 市場產生了影響，因為隨著流動性的增加，BSL 市場已經強勢回歸。我想說，在我們的市場中，利差收緊幅度要小得多。

So we're executing today, call it, in and around [500 as you saw in the materials. And in the BSL and upper middle market, you could be down in the 300s, low 300s] from a spread perspective. So hopefully, that gives you some context there.

因此，我們今天將執行，稱之為，在 [500 左右，正如您在材料中看到的那樣。而在 BSL 和中上層市場，從價差角度來看，價格可能會跌至 300 多美元，甚至超過 300 美元。希望這能給你一些背景資訊。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Great. Thank you.

偉大的。謝謝。

Paul Johnson, KBW.

保羅·約翰遜，KBW。

Yeah, thanks for taking my questions. Can you just talk a little bit about just the increase in the watch list investments this quarter. Obviously, nonaccruals were stable. How would you kind of describe some of the new companies going on watch list this quarter? Were the idiosyncratic and kind of what level of maintenance or does the company require at this point?

是的，感謝您回答我的問題。您能否簡單談談本季關註名單投資的成長？顯然，未提列項目是穩定的。您如何描述本季進入關註名單的一些新公司？這些維護有何特點以及公司目前需要什麼等級的維護？

Yeah. Thanks, Paul, for the question. So a couple of comments there, right? As you look across our portfolio and just the health overall, I would say, first, looking at nonaccruals, obviously, no new nonaccruals during the quarter. So we were very pleased with the ongoing performance in general.

是的。謝謝保羅提出這個問題。那麼這裡有幾則評論，對嗎？當您回顧我們的投資組合和整體健康狀況時，我想說，首先，看看不提項目，顯然本季度沒有新的不提項目。因此，我們對目前的整體表現非常滿意。

When you think about how we manage the portfolio, and I know we've got a pretty granular scale running from 1 to 10. I think the moves that you're seeing within the risk rating table that we publish is really emblematic of our proactive portfolio management approach, right?

當你思考我們如何管理投資組合時，我知道我們有一個從 1 到 10 的相當精細的等級。我認為您在我們發布的風險評級表中看到的變化實際上象徵著我們積極主動的投資組合管理方法，對嗎？

We're pretty quick to downgrade names slower to upgrade, and we're really doing that in response to the conditions that we see. And as you look at the watch list and the moves in the categorization, obviously, the further down the list that you move, the more maintenance that's required. But again, overall, very good shape. There really aren't any sort of trends or themes that we would call out on the names moving around.

我們很快就會對升級較慢的名稱進行降級，我們這樣做實際上是為了應對我們看到的情況。當您查看監視清單和分類中的變更時，顯然，清單位置越靠後，所需的維護就越多。但整體來說，狀態非常好。我們實際上並不會從這些名字看出任何趨勢或主題。

Obviously, we've used the term idiosyncratic before, but that modest increase in the watch list is going to be obviously, company specific. No major concerns to highlight. And as always, we're going to work those situations to maximize value for shareholders here. So again, key takeaway here is portfolio is in really good shape. Obviously, no new nonaccruals and the movement within the watch list is really just a function of our proactive management of the portfolio.

顯然，我們以前用過「特質」這個詞，但觀察名單的適度增加顯然與公司有關。沒有什麼需要強調的重大問題。和往常一樣，我們將努力實現股東價值的最大化。所以，這裡的關鍵點是投資組合狀況非常好。顯然，沒有新的不提項目，而觀察名單內的變動其實只是我們主動管理投資組合的功能。

Thank you. That's all for me.

謝謝。對我來說這就是全部了。

All right. Thanks a lot Paul.

好的。非常感謝保羅。

Brian McKenna, Citizens.

布萊恩·麥肯納，公民。

Okay, great. Thanks for the follow up. I might have missed this, but on the stock repurchase plan, it looks like you bought back $40 million of stock to date through October. So how much came through in the third quarter? How much in October?

好的，太好了。感謝您的跟進。我可能錯過了這一點，但就股票回購計劃而言，截至 10 月份，您似乎已經回購了價值 4000 萬美元的股票。那麼第三季實現了多少？十月多少錢？

And then just given where the stock is trading currently around 95% of NAV. Can you just re-highlight how the repurchase program is structured, and then ultimately, the magnitude of buybacks as the discount to NAV widens?

然後考慮到目前股票交易價格約為資產淨值的 95%。您能否再次強調回購計畫的結構，以及最終隨著淨值折扣擴大，回購的規模是多少？

Yeah. So we haven't exactly published the specifics, Brian, on kind of the percentages at each level, but I can broadly comment as I've done in the past, that we are increasing our percentage of average daily trading volume that we purchased under the program as the discount to NAV increases.

是的。因此，Brian，我們還沒有確切公佈每個級別的百分比的具體細節，但我可以像過去一樣廣泛地評論說，隨著資產淨值折扣的增加，我們正在增加根據該計劃購買的平均每日交易量的百分比。

So modest purchases when we're close to NAV and obviously increasing as a percentage of average daily trading volume as we move down in terms of price. So that's active, it's working. And again, we're buying at a discount to NAV.

因此，當我們接近資產淨值時，我們會進行適度購買，而隨著價格下跌，平均每日交易量的百分比顯然會增加。所以它是活躍的，它正在發揮作用。再次，我們以低於資產淨值的價格購買。

I would say the trends in terms of the purchases obviously increased in the last quarter with the increase in volume, that we saw as we've got more shares coming off of lockup. So the amount that's freely tradable is increasing our average volume, and I think has moved into kind of the 80,000 range from sort of 50,000 in the prior quarter.

我想說，上個季度的購買趨勢顯然隨著購買量的增加而增加，因為我們看到越來越多的股票解除禁售。因此，可自由交易的數量正在增加我們的平均交易量，我認為已經從上一季的 50,000 左右升至 80,000 左右。

So again, buying a little bit more shares, but just looking at the amount of the program that we've used, $14 million of $100 million and based on how we're trading and where we're trading. We've obviously got a lot of firepower left on that program, and we'll continue to utilize it as we're trading at a discount here.

因此，再次購買更多股票，但僅查看我們使用的計劃的金額，1 億美元中的 1,400 萬美元，以及基於我們的交易方式和交易地點。顯然，我們在該計劃上還剩下很大的火力，而且我們將繼續利用它，因為我們在這裡以折扣價進行交易。

Got it. Thank you.

知道了。謝謝。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Thank you. At this time, I would like to turn the floor back to Mr. Ken Kencel for closing remarks.

謝謝。現在，我想請肯·肯塞爾先生作最後發言。

Great. Well, thank you all again for joining us on the call today. Hopefully, you found information informative and helpful as you assess our fund and performance. We're obviously very, very bullish and excited as we move forward here into the fourth quarter.

偉大的。好吧，再次感謝大家今天參加我們的電話會議。希望您在評估我們的基金和績效時，發現這些資訊具有參考價值且有幫助。隨著我們進入第四季度，我們顯然非常非常樂觀和興奮。

I feel very good about the investment opportunities we're seeing and the opportunity to deploy capital. I want to thank you all again for joining us and hopefully everyone has a great holiday season, and we'll look forward to our next call in the New Year.

我對我們所看到的投資機會和資本配置機會感到非常滿意。我想再次感謝大家加入我們，希望大家度過一個愉快的假期，我們期待新年的下一次通話。

Thank you. This does -- today's teleconference. You may disconnect your lines at this time. Thank you for your participation and have a great day.

謝謝。這就是今天的電話會議。現在您可以斷開您的線路。感謝您的參與並祝您有愉快的一天。