New Mountain Finance Corp (NMFC) 2023 Q1 法說會逐字稿

Good day, and welcome to the New Mountain Finance Corporation First Quarter 2023 Earnings Call. (Operator Instructions) Please note, this event is being recorded. I would now like to turn the conference over to John Kline, President and CEO. Please go ahead.

美好的一天，歡迎來到新山金融公司 2023 年第一季度財報電話會議。 （操作員說明）請注意，正在記錄此事件。我現在想將會議轉交給總裁兼首席執行官 John Kline。請繼續。

Thank you, and good morning, everyone. Welcome to New Mountain Finance Corporation's first quarter 2023 Earnings Call. On the line here with me today are Steve Klinsky, Chairman of NMFC and CEO of New Mountain Capital; Robert Hanley, Vice Chairman of NMFC and Laura Holson, COO and Interim CFO of NMFC. Steve is going to make some introductory remarks, but before he does, I'd like to ask Laura to make some important statements regarding today's call.

謝謝大家，早上好。歡迎來到 New Mountain Finance Corporation 的 2023 年第一季度財報電話會議。今天和我一起在線的是 NMFC 主席兼新山資本首席執行官史蒂夫·克林斯基 (Steve Klinsky)； NMFC 副主席 Robert Hanley 和 NMFC 首席運營官兼臨時首席財務官 Laura Holson。 Steve 將做一些介紹性發言，但在此之前，我想請 Laura 就今天的電話會議發表一些重要聲明。

Thanks, John. Good morning, everyone. Before we get into the presentation, I would like to advise everyone that today's call and webcast are being recorded. Please note that they are the property of New Mountain Finance Corporation and that any unauthorized broadcast in any form is strictly prohibited. Information about the audio replay of this call is available in our May 8 earnings press release. I would also like to call your attention to the customary safe harbor disclosure in our press release and on Page 2 of the slide presentation regarding forward-looking statements.

謝謝，約翰。大家，早安。在我們開始介紹之前，我想通知大家今天的電話和網絡廣播正在錄製中。請注意，它們是 New Mountain Finance Corporation 的財產，嚴禁以任何形式進行未經授權的廣播。有關此次電話會議音頻重播的信息，請參閱我們 5 月 8 日的收益新聞稿。我還想提請您注意我們的新聞稿和幻燈片演示文稿第 2 頁中有關前瞻性陳述的慣例安全港披露。

Today's conference call and webcast may include forward-looking statements and projections, and we ask that you refer to our most recent filings with the SEC for important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those statements and projections. We do not undertake to update our forward-looking statements or projections unless required to by law. To obtain copies of our latest SEC filings and to access the slide presentation that we will be referencing throughout this call, please visit our website at www.newmountainfinance.com.

今天的電話會議和網絡廣播可能包括前瞻性陳述和預測，我們要求您參考我們最近向美國證券交易委員會提交的文件，了解可能導致實際結果與這些陳述和預測存在重大差異的重要因素。除非法律要求，否則我們不承諾更新我們的前瞻性陳述或預測。要獲取我們最新提交給美國證券交易委員會的文件的副本並訪問我們將在整個電話會議中引用的幻燈片演示，請訪問我們的網站 www.newmountainfinance.com。

At this time, I'd like to turn the call over to Steve Klinsky, NMFC's Chairman, who will give some highlights beginning on Page 4 of the slide presentation. Steve?

此時，我想將電話轉給 NMFC 主席史蒂夫克林斯基，他將從幻燈片演示的第 4 頁開始重點介紹。史蒂夫？

Thanks, Laura. It's great to be able to address you all today, both as NMFC's Chairman and as a major fellow shareholder. I believe we have some good news to report. Adjusted net investment income for the first quarter was $0.38 per share, more than covering our $0.32 dividend per share that was paid in cash on March 31. Our earnings improved by $0.08 compared to Q1 of last year and $0.03 sequentially over Q4 of 2022.

謝謝，勞拉。很高興今天能夠以 NMFC 的主席和主要股東的身份向大家發表講話。我相信我們有一些好消息要報告。第一季度調整後的淨投資收益為每股 0.38 美元，超過了我們在 3 月 31 日以現金支付的每股 0.32 美元的股息。我們的收益比去年第一季度增加了 0.08 美元，比 2022 年第四季度增加了 0.03 美元。

Our net asset value was $13.14 per share, a $0.12 or 0.9% increase compared to last quarter. The fair value increase is reflective of continued strong credit performance, combined with modestly tighter market spreads, which positively affected the valuation of our assets. We believe our loans are well positioned overall in defensive growth industries that we think are right in all times and particularly attractive in the challenging macro conditions of today. New Mountain's private equity funds have never had a bankruptcy or missed an interest payment and the firm now manages over $37 billion of assets. Similarly, as shown on Page 13 of the presentation, cumulatively NMFC has experienced no net realized default losses since inception. Our 8 basis points per year of net realized default loss have been more than offset by realized gains elsewhere.

我們的淨資產值為每股 13.14 美元，比上一季度增加 0.12 美元或 0.9%。公允價值的增長反映了持續強勁的信貸表現，以及適度收緊的市場利差，這對我們的資產估值產生了積極影響。我們認為，我們的貸款總體上處於防禦性增長行業的有利位置，我們認為這些行業在任何時候都是正確的，並且在當今充滿挑戰的宏觀條件下尤其具有吸引力。 New Mountain 的私募股權基金從未破產或拖欠利息，該公司目前管理著超過 370 億美元的資產。同樣，如演示文稿第 13 頁所示，NMFC 自成立以來累計沒有經歷過已實現的淨違約損失。我們每年 8 個基點的已實現淨違約損失已被其他地方的已實現收益所抵消。

The rising rate environment continues to be a substantial positive for our quarterly earnings since we chiefly lend on floating rates. As Page 12 of the presentation shows, we expect to continue to significantly outearn our $0.32 per share base dividend at current interest rates, if all other factors hold constant.

由於我們主要以浮動利率放貸，因此利率上升的環境繼續對我們的季度收益產生重大影響。正如演示文稿的第 12 頁所示，如果所有其他因素保持不變，我們預計將繼續大大超過以當前利率計算的每股 0.32 美元的基本股息。

Given our earnings of $0.38 per share this quarter, we will make our first variable supplemental dividend in the amount of $0.03 per share. This is equal to half of the Q1 quarterly earnings in excess of our base dividend of $0.32. This additional $0.03 dividend will raise the total dividend to $0.35 per share all in for this quarter, which is at the high end of the range. NMFC will pay these distributions on June 30 to holders of record as of June 16. The remainder of the excess earnings will remain on our balance sheet and may be paid out in the future.

鑑於本季度每股收益為 0.38 美元，我們將派發每股 0.03 美元的第一筆可變補充股息。這相當於超過我們 0.32 美元基本股息的第一季度季度收益的一半。這 0.03 美元的額外股息將使本季度的總股息達到每股 0.35 美元，處於區間的高端。 NMFC 將於 6 月 30 日向截至 6 月 16 日的記錄持有人支付這些分配。剩餘的超額收益將保留在我們的資產負債表上，並可能在未來支付。

Our annualized dividend yield at $0.35 represents approximately a 12% current dividend yield. Looking forward to Q2, in addition to our base $0.32 dividend, we expect to generate a variable supplemental dividend of $0.03 to $0.04 per share payable in Q3. This incremental payout is supported by expected strong credit performance and continued elevated base rates.

我們的年化股息收益率為 0.35 美元，代表當前股息收益率約為 12%。展望第二季度，除了我們的 0.32 美元基本股息外，我們預計將在第三季度產生每股 0.03 美元至 0.04 美元的可變補充股息。這種增量支出得到了預期的強勁信貸表現和持續升高的基準利率的支持。

We believe the strength of New Mountain and of NMFC is driven by the quality of our team. New Mountain overall now numbers 220 members, and the firm has developed specialties in attractive defensive growth that is a cyclical growth sectors such as life science supplies, healthcare information technology, software, infrastructure services and digital engineering.

我們相信 New Mountain 和 NMFC 的實力是由我們團隊的素質驅動的。 New Mountain 目前共有 220 名成員，該公司在具有吸引力的防禦性增長領域開發了專業知識，即生命科學用品、醫療保健信息技術、軟件、基礎設施服務和數字工程等周期性增長行業。

When pursuing our credit investing efforts, we utilize our extensive group of industry experts to provide knowledge and expertise that allows us to make very informed, high-conviction underwriting decisions. Over the last 6 months, we have continued to expand the quality of our overall team.

在開展我們的信貸投資工作時，我們利用我們廣泛的行業專家團隊提供知識和專業知識，使我們能夠做出非常明智、高度可信的承銷決策。在過去的 6 個月裡，我們不斷提高整體團隊的素質。

Regarding our credit team specifically, we would like to welcome back our COO and Interim CFO, Laura Holson from maternity leave. Additionally, we have hired multiple new credit team members in the areas of business development, operations and fund finance.

特別是關於我們的信貸團隊，我們歡迎休完產假的首席運營官兼臨時首席財務官勞拉·霍爾森 (Laura Holson) 回來。此外，我們還在業務發展、運營和基金融資領域聘請了多名新的信貸團隊成員。

Finally, we, as management, continue as major shareholders of NMFC, owning approximately 13% of NMFC's total shares personally. Rob, John, Laura and I have never sold a share of NMFC even as we have been buying.

最後，作為管理層，我們繼續作為 NMFC 的主要股東，個人擁有 NMFC 總股份的約 13%。羅伯、約翰、勞拉和我從未賣出過 NMFC 的股份，即使我們一直在買入。

With that, let me turn the call to John.

有了這個，讓我把電話轉給約翰。

Thank you, Steve. Good morning again, everyone, and thank you for joining us today. I would like to offer some more details on our overall investment strategy, portfolio construction and performance metrics. Starting on Page 7, we highlight our disciplined industry selection, which shows exposure to a diversified list of defensive noncyclical sectors. These sectors and industry niches are characterized by durable growth drivers, predictable revenue streams, margin stability, and great free cash flow conversion. We have successfully avoided cyclical, volatile and secularly challenged industries, which are certain to underperform in today's more difficult economic landscape. Our strategy has been consistent over our 12 years as a public company, and it allows us to operate with confidence in any economic environment.

謝謝你，史蒂夫。大家早上好，感謝您今天加入我們。我想就我們的整體投資策略、投資組合構建和績效指標提供更多細節。從第 7 頁開始，我們重點介紹了我們嚴格的行業選擇，顯示了我們對多元化的防禦性非週期性行業列表的敞口。這些部門和行業利基的特點是持久的增長動力、可預測的收入流、利潤穩定性和良好的自由現金流轉換。我們已經成功地避開了周期性、波動性和長期挑戰的行業，這些行業在當今更加困難的經濟形勢下肯定會表現不佳。作為上市公司 12 年來，我們的戰略始終如一，這使我們能夠在任何經濟環境中充滿信心地運營。

Page 8 provides a high-level snapshot of our business where we show a long-term track record of delivering consistent enhanced yield to our shareholders by avoiding losses and paying out 100% of excess income to our shareholders. Our current portfolio is exposed to companies in good industries that are performing well and where our last dollar of risk is approximately 40% of the purchase price paid for the business. We lend primarily to businesses owned by financial sponsors, who are sophisticated and supportive owners with significant capital that is junior to the loans that we make.

第 8 頁提供了我們業務的高級快照，其中顯示了我們通過避免損失和向股東支付 100% 的超額收入來為股東提供持續提高收益的長期記錄。我們目前的投資組合涉及表現良好的良好行業的公司，我們最後一美元的風險約為為該業務支付的購買價格的 40%。我們主要向金融贊助商擁有的企業提供貸款，這些贊助商是經驗豐富且支持的所有者，擁有比我們提供的貸款次級的大量資本。

Turning to Page 9. The internal risk rating of our portfolio improved last quarter. We now have over 93% of our portfolio within our green risk rating, up from over 91% last quarter. Meanwhile, exposure to yellow, orange and red names decreased as a percentage of the portfolio. Overall in the quarter, we had $59 million of ratings improvement and only $16 million of rating decline. Our most challenged names within the orange and red categories represent only 2% of NMFC's fair value, and we have derisked our book by marketing these names down to less than 50% of par. So even though the performance of these names continues to be challenged, they do not represent material risk to our book value.

翻到第 9 頁。上個季度我們投資組合的內部風險評級有所改善。我們現在有超過 93% 的投資組合屬於我們的綠色風險評級，高於上一季度的 91% 以上。與此同時，黃色、橙色和紅色名稱在投資組合中所佔的比例有所下降。總體而言，本季度我們的收視率提高了 5900 萬美元，收視率下降了 1600 萬美元。我們在橙色和紅色類別中最具挑戰性的名字僅佔 NMFC 公允價值的 2%，我們通過將這些名字推銷到面值的 50% 以下來降低我們的書的風險。因此，即使這些名稱的性能繼續受到挑戰，它們也不會對我們的賬面價值構成重大風險。

The updated heat map is shown in its entirety on Page 10. Given our portfolio's orientation towards defensive sectors like software, business services and healthcare, we believe our assets are well positioned to continue to perform no matter how the economic landscape develops. Our team continues to spend significant time and energy on our remaining red and orange names, with the goal of either exiting individual positions or finding ways to improve the performance of the underlying businesses as we have at UniTek and Permian. Both of these companies had headwinds as recently as 12 to 18 months ago, but are now in our green category due to significant operational improvements, which have led to increased earnings and much better future prospects. Both businesses grew at over 30% in 2022, and we believe that momentum will continue in 2023.

更新後的熱圖完整顯示在第 10 頁。鑑於我們的投資組合面向軟件、商業服務和醫療保健等防禦性行業，我們相信無論經濟形勢如何發展，我們的資產都處於有利地位以繼續表現。我們的團隊繼續在我們剩餘的紅色和橙色名稱上花費大量時間和精力，目標是要么退出個人職位，要么像我們在 UniTek 和 Permian 那樣尋找提高基礎業務績效的方法。就在 12 到 18 個月前，這兩家公司都遇到了不利因素，但由於顯著的運營改進，導致收益增加和未來前景好得多，現在屬於我們的綠色類別。這兩項業務在 2022 年的增長率都超過 30%，我們相信這種勢頭將在 2023 年繼續。

As shown in the upper right of the heat map, we did put one name, Great Expressions, on nonaccrual this quarter, representing just $3 million of fair value.

如熱圖右上角所示，本季度我們確實將一個名字 Great Expressions 放在了非應計項目上，僅代表 300 萬美元的公允價值。

Turning to Page 11. We provide an NAV bridge showing the $0.12 per share or 0.9% increase in book value. Starting on the left, credit-specific movements represent a $0.01 positive change in book value. Consistent with my earlier comments, UniTek's valuation drove a $0.12 per share increase in book value, offset by an aggregate $0.11 per share decline in Great Expressions and [Ansira], both red names. A slight improvement in credit spreads over the quarter and earnings in excess of the base dividend accounted for an additional $0.11 of book value per share. It's important to note that if we were to value all of our green rated loans at par and keep the balance of the portfolio at current fair value, our book value would be $13.82 compared to our actual NAV of $13.14 at 3/31.

翻到第 11 頁。我們提供了一個 NAV 橋，顯示每股 0.12 美元或賬面價值增加 0.9%。從左側開始，特定於信貸的變動表示賬面價值出現 0.01 美元的正變化。與我之前的評論一致，UniTek 的估值推動賬面價值每股增長 0.12 美元，被 Great Expressions 和 [Ansira] 每股 0.11 美元的總跌幅所抵消，這兩個都是紅色名稱。本季度信用利差略有改善，超出基本股息的收益使每股賬面價值增加 0.11 美元。重要的是要注意，如果我們按面值對所有綠色評級貸款進行估值，並將投資組合的餘額保持在當前公允價值，那麼我們的賬面價值將為 13.82 美元，而我們在 3/31 時的實際資產淨值為 13.14 美元。

Page 12 addresses NMFC's long-term credit performance since its inception. On the left side of the page, we show the current state of the portfolio where we have $3.3 billion of investments at fair value, with $56 million or 1.7% of the portfolio currently on nonaccrual. NMFC's cumulative credit performance shown on the right side of the page remains strong. Since our inception in 2008, we have made almost $10 billion of total investments, of which only $354 million have been placed on nonaccrual. Of the nonaccruals, only $104 million or about 1% of total investments have become realized losses over the course of our 14-year history.

第 12 頁介紹了 NMFC 自成立以來的長期信用表現。在頁面左側，我們顯示了投資組合的當前狀態，其中我們有 33 億美元的公允價值投資，其中 5600 萬美元或 1.7% 的投資目前為非應計投資。頁面右側顯示的 NMFC 的累積信用表現仍然強勁。自 2008 年成立以來，我們已經進行了近 100 億美元的總投資，其中只有 3.54 億美元用於非應計項目。在我們 14 年的歷史過程中，在非應計項目中，只有 1.04 億美元或總投資的 1% 變成了已實現的損失。

Total realized losses did increase this quarter as we proactively allocated $29 million of NHME, representing 75% of our original investment and $21 million of Ansira, representing 50% of our initial investment into our realized default loss category. We made this change so we could clearly disclose to our shareholders that we do not expect to -- that we do expect to suffer an impairment when we exit these loans.

本季度已實現的總損失確實有所增加，因為我們主動分配了 2900 萬美元的 NHME，占我們原始投資的 75% 和 2100 萬美元的 Ansira，占我們對已實現違約損失類別初始投資的 50%。我們進行了此更改，以便我們可以向股東明確披露我們不希望 - 我們確實希望在退出這些貸款時遭受減值。

Offsetting these movements were a recategorization of $25 million of Permian out of realized loss. Given the dramatic turnaround in Permian's business, we now have line of sight to a full recovery on that investment and possibly a material gain.

抵消這些變動是將 Permian 的 2500 萬美元從已實現損失中重新分類。鑑於 Permian 業務的巨大轉變，我們現在有望完全收回該投資，並可能獲得物質收益。

As we show on the next page, these default losses have been more than offset by realized gains elsewhere in the portfolio.

正如我們在下一頁顯示的那樣，這些違約損失已被投資組合中其他地方的已實現收益所抵消。

On Page 13, we present NMFC's overall economic performance since IPO. Since inception, we have paid $1.1 billion of total dividends to shareholders, while generating $14 million of cumulative net realized gains and only $74 million of net unrealized depreciation, netting to over $1 billion of cumulative value created for shareholders. The detailed performance analysis is included in the appendix of this deck.

在第 13 頁，我們介紹了 NMFC 自 IPO 以來的整體經濟表現。自成立以來，我們已向股東支付了 11 億美元的總股息，同時產生了 1400 萬美元的累計已實現淨收益和僅 7400 萬美元的淨未實現折舊，為股東創造了超過 10 億美元的累計價值。詳細的性能分析包含在本套牌的附錄中。

Page 14 shows a stock chart detailing NMFC's equity return since its IPO 12 years ago. Over this period, NMFC has generated a compound annual return of 9%, which represents a very strong cash flow-oriented return, well in excess of both the high-yield index and an index of BDC peers who have been public at least as long as we have.

第 14 頁顯示的股票圖表詳細說明了 NMFC 自 12 年前首次公開募股以來的股票回報。在此期間，NMFC 產生了 9% 的複合年回報率，這代表著非常強勁的現金流導向回報，遠遠超過高收益指數和上市時間至少相同的 BDC 同行的指數就像我們一樣。

I will now turn the call over to our Chief Operating Officer and Interim Chief Financial Officer, Laura Holson, to discuss our current portfolio construction and financial results.

我現在將電話轉給我們的首席運營官兼臨時首席財務官勞拉霍爾森，討論我們目前的投資組合構建和財務業績。

Thanks, John. The outlook for 2023 and the sponsor-focused direct lending market continues to look positive. While deal flow is down overall, the direct lending market remains the primary financing market available for sponsors, and there are pockets of activity where we have the opportunity to make loans at attractive yields while remaining very selective. We also continue to see good opportunities to make incremental loans to existing well-performing portfolio companies seeking to pursue accretive M&A. Yield structures remain more lender-friendly across the board, although there is increasing bifurcation in the market based on perceived credit quality.

謝謝，約翰。 2023 年的前景和以贊助商為中心的直接貸款市場繼續看好。雖然交易流量總體下降，但直接貸款市場仍然是讚助商可用的主要融資市場，並且在一些活動中，我們有機會以有吸引力的收益率提供貸款，同時保持非常有選擇性。我們還繼續看到向尋求增值併購的現有表現良好的投資組合公司提供增量貸款的好機會。收益率結構總體上對貸方更友好，儘管市場上基於感知信用質量的分歧越來越大。

Perhaps most importantly, sponsor equity contributions have remained high, consistently representing 60% to 80% of the enterprise value of the company.

也許最重要的是，發起人的股權貢獻一直很高，始終占公司企業價值的 60% 至 80%。

Page 16 presents an interest rate analysis that provides insight into the positive effect of increasing base rates on NMFC's earnings. As a reminder, the NMFC loan portfolio is 89% floating rate and 11% fixed rate, while our liabilities are 56% fixed rate and 44% floating rate. Given this capital structure mix, we are long LIBOR/SOFR, and thus have material positive exposure to increasing rates.

第 16 頁提供利率分析，深入了解提高基準利率對 NMFC 收益的積極影響。提醒一下，NMFC 的貸款組合是 89% 的浮動利率和 11% 的固定利率，而我們的負債是 56% 的固定利率和 44% 的浮動利率。鑑於這種資本結構組合，我們做多 LIBOR/SOFR，因此對利率上升有實質性的正面敞口。

We've previously discussed the lag in flow-through of base rates, particularly on the asset side. In Q1, we saw base rates closer to current levels, with an average base rate on our assets of 4.6% versus current SOFR of about 5% and about 10 basis points lower than the average rate on our liabilities. To the extent rates continue to rise, we expect to see further benefit to NII. If rates follow the projected LIBOR/SOFR curves and settle in the 3% to 3.5% area, we would still expect our net investment income to exceed our regular dividend as shown on the bottom chart, all else equal.

我們之前已經討論過基準利率流動的滯後，特別是在資產方面。在第一季度，我們看到基本利率接近當前水平，我們資產的平均基本利率為 4.6%，而當前 SOFR 約為 5%，比我們負債的平均利率低約 10 個基點。如果利率繼續上升，我們預計 NII 將進一步受益。如果利率遵循預計的 LIBOR/SOFR 曲線並穩定在 3% 至 3.5% 的區域，我們仍預計我們的淨投資收益將超過我們的定期股息，如下圖所示，其他條件相同。

Moving on to origination activity on Page 17, in Q1, we originated $77 million of new loans in our core defensive growth verticals, including software, healthcare services and consumer services. We primarily funded these originations with repayments, keeping us fully invested and at the high end of our target leverage range.

轉到第 17 頁的發放活動，在第一季度，我們在我們的核心防禦性增長垂直領域發放了 7700 萬美元的新貸款，包括軟件、醫療保健服務和消費者服務。我們主要通過還款為這些發起提供資金，使我們保持充分投資並處於目標槓桿範圍的高端。

Turning to Page 18. We show that our asset mix is consistent with prior quarters, where slightly more than 2/3 of our investments inclusive of first lien, SLPs and net lease or senior in nature. Approximately 8% of the portfolio is comprised of our equity positions, the largest of which are shown on the right side of the page. Assuming solid operating performance and the supportive valuation environment, we believe these equity positions could continue to increase in value and drive book value appreciation. We hope to monetize certain of these equity positions in the medium term and rotate those dollars into cash-yielding assets.

轉到第 18 頁。我們表明我們的資產組合與前幾個季度一致，其中略多於 2/3 的投資包括優先留置權、SLP 和淨租賃或優先級。大約 8% 的投資組合由我們的股票頭寸組成，其中最大的頭寸顯示在頁面右側。假設穩健的經營業績和有利的估值環境，我們認為這些股權頭寸的價值可能會繼續增加並推動賬面價值升值。我們希望在中期將這些股權中的某些頭寸貨幣化，並將這些美元轉換為現金收益資產。

As an example, we have realized a gain of just over $19 million in our restructured [haven] position through March 31, and we'll recognize an additional about $10 million from another distribution received just this past Friday. We expect the remainder to be fully realized over the next few quarters.

例如，截至 3 月 31 日，我們在重組後的 [haven] 頭寸中實現了超過 1,900 萬美元的收益，並且我們將從上週五收到的另一份分配中額外確認約 1,000 萬美元。我們預計剩餘部分將在未來幾個季度內全部實現。

Page 19 shows that the average yield of NMFC's portfolio has decreased slightly from 11.3% in Q4 to 10.9% for Q1, given the shift in the base rate curve as well as the repayment on a high-yielding asset. Generally speaking, spreads remain wider and the supply/demand imbalance in the market continues to favor lenders, which help support our net investment income target.

第 19 頁顯示，考慮到基本利率曲線的變化以及高收益資產的償還，NMFC 投資組合的平均收益率從第四季度的 11.3% 略微下降至第一季度的 10.9%。一般來說，利差仍然擴大，市場供需失衡繼續有利於貸方，這有助於支持我們的淨投資收益目標。

Page 20 highlights the scale and credit trends of our underlying borrowers. As you can see, the weighted average EBITDA of our borrowers has increased over the last several quarters to $141 million. While we first and foremost, concentrate on how an opportunity maps against our defensive growth criteria and internal New Mountain knowledge, we believe that larger borrowers tend to be marginally safer, all else equal. We also show the relevant leverage and interest coverage stats across the portfolio. Portfolio company leverage has been consistent over the last 3 quarters. Loan to values continue to be quite compelling, and the current portfolio has an average loan-to-value of just over 41%.

第 20 頁重點介紹了我們的基礎借款人的規模和信貸趨勢。如您所見，我們藉款人的加權平均 EBITDA 在過去幾個季度中增加到 1.41 億美元。雖然我們首先關注的是機會如何與我們的防禦性增長標準和內部 New Mountain 知識相對應，但我們認為，在其他條件相同的情況下，較大的借款人往往會稍微安全一些。我們還展示了整個投資組合的相關槓桿和利息覆蓋率統計數據。過去 3 個季度，投資組合公司的槓桿率一直保持穩定。貸款價值比仍然非常引人注目，當前投資組合的平均貸款價值比剛剛超過 41%。

From an interest coverage perspective, we've seen modest compression as base rates rise. The weighted average interest coverage on the portfolio declined slightly to 1.8x from 1.9x last quarter. We do expect interest coverage to move lower over the rest of 2023 as SOFR contracts reset at today's rates.

從利息覆蓋率的角度來看，隨著基本利率上升，我們看到適度壓縮。投資組合的加權平均利息覆蓋率從上一季度的 1.9 倍小幅下降至 1.8 倍。我們確實預計，隨著 SOFR 合約按今天的利率重新設定，利息覆蓋率將在 2023 年剩餘時間內走低。

Finally, as illustrated on Page 21, we have a diversified portfolio across 112 portfolio companies. The top 15 investments, inclusive of our SLP funds, account for 39% of total fair value and represents our highest conviction names.

最後，如第 21 頁所示，我們擁有涵蓋 112 家投資組合公司的多元化投資組合。前 15 大投資，包括我們的 SLP 基金，佔總公允價值的 39%，代表了我們最有信心的名字。

I will now cover our financial results. For more details, please refer to our quarterly report on the Form 10-Q that was filed last evening with the SEC.

我現在將介紹我們的財務結果。有關詳細信息，請參閱我們昨晚向美國證券交易委員會提交的關於 10-Q 表格的季度報告。

As shown on Slide 22, the portfolio had $3.3 billion in investments at fair value at March 31, and total assets of $3.4 billion, with total liabilities of $2.1 billion, of which total statutory debt outstanding was $1.7 billion, excluding $300 million of drawn SBA guaranteed debentures. Net asset value of $1.3 billion or $13.14 per share was up $0.12 or 0.9% from the prior quarter. At quarter end, our statutory debt-to-equity ratio was 1.29x:1. However, net of available cash on the balance sheet net leverage is 1.26x:1, at the high end of our target leverage range.

如幻燈片 22 所示，該投資組合在 3 月 31 日的公允價值投資為 33 億美元，總資產為 34 億美元，總負債為 21 億美元，其中未償法定債務總額為 17 億美元，不包括提取的 SBA 的 3 億美元擔保債券。淨資產值為 13 億美元或每股 13.14 美元，比上一季度增長 0.12 美元或 0.9%。季度末，我們的法定債務權益比率為 1.29x:1。然而，扣除資產負債表上可用現金後的淨槓桿率為 1.26x:1，處於我們目標槓桿範圍的高端。

On Slide 23, we show our quarterly income statement results. As a reminder, we believe that our adjusted NII is the most appropriate measure of our quarterly performance. This slide highlights that while realized and unrealized gains and losses can be volatile below the line, we continue to generate stable net investment income above the line. For the current quarter, we earned total investment income of $91.7 million, a $5 million increase from the prior quarter. The increase was primarily driven by higher interest income from base rate resets.

在幻燈片 23 上，我們展示了我們的季度損益表結果。提醒一下，我們認為調整後的 NII 是衡量我們季度業績的最合適指標。這張幻燈片強調，雖然已實現和未實現的收益和損失可能在該線以下波動，但我們繼續在該線以上產生穩定的淨投資收入。本季度，我們獲得了 9170 萬美元的總投資收益，比上一季度增加了 500 萬美元。這一增長主要是由基準利率重置帶來的更高利息收入推動的。

Total net expenses were approximately $53.6 million, a $2.4 million increase quarter-over-quarter due primarily to higher base rates on our floating rate debt. As a reminder, the investment adviser has committed to a management fee of 1.25% for the '23 calendar year. We have also pledged to reduce our incentive fee if and as needed during this period to fully support the $0.32 per share quarterly dividend.

淨支出總額約為 5360 萬美元，環比增加 240 萬美元，這主要是由於我們浮動利率債務的基準利率較高。提醒一下，投資顧問已承諾在 23 日曆年收取 1.25% 的管理費。我們還承諾在此期間根據需要減少激勵費用，以全力支持每股 0.32 美元的季度股息。

Based on our forward view of the earnings power of the business, we do not expect to use this pledge. It is important to note that the investment adviser cannot recoup fees previously waived.

基於我們對企業盈利能力的前瞻性看法，我們預計不會使用此承諾。重要的是要注意，投資顧問無法收回之前免除的費用。

Our adjusted NII for the quarter was $0.38 per weighted average share, which meaningfully exceeded our Q1 regular dividend of $0.32 per share.

我們本季度調整後的 NII 為每股加權平均股 0.38 美元，大大超過了我們第一季度每股 0.32 美元的定期股息。

As Slide 24 demonstrates, 98% of our total investment income is recurring this quarter. You will see historically that over 90% of our quarterly income is recurring in nature, and, on average, over 80% of our income regularly paid in cash. We believe this consistency shows the stability and predictability of our investment income. Importantly, over 93% of our quarterly PIK income is generated from our green rated names.

正如幻燈片 24 所示，本季度我們總投資收入的 98% 是經常性的。從歷史上看，我們超過 90% 的季度收入是經常性的，平均而言，我們超過 80% 的收入定期以現金支付。我們認為這種一致性表明了我們投資收益的穩定性和可預見性。重要的是，我們超過 93% 的季度 PIK 收入來自我們的綠色評級名稱。

Turning to Slide 25. The red line shows the coverage of our regular dividend. This quarter, adjusted NII exceeded our Q1 regular dividend by $0.06 per share. For Q2 2023, our Board of Directors has again declared a regular dividend of $0.32 per share as well as a supplemental dividend of $0.03 per share, which will be paid on June 30, 2023, to shareholders of record on June 16. As a reminder, our supplemental dividend program pays out at least 50% of any earnings in excess of the regular dividend.

轉到幻燈片 25。紅線顯示了我們定期股息的覆蓋範圍。本季度，調整後的 NII 超出我們第一季度的常規股息每股 0.06 美元。對於 2023 年第二季度，我們的董事會再次宣布每股 0.32 美元的定期股息以及每股 0.03 美元的補充股息，將於 2023 年 6 月 30 日支付給 6 月 16 日登記在冊的股東。作為提醒，我們的補充股息計劃支付超過常規股息的任何收益的至少 50%。

Since our Q1 earnings exceeded the regular dividend by $0.06 per share, we are paying a supplemental dividend of $0.03 per share alongside the Q2 regular dividend.

由於我們的第一季度收益超過每股定期股息 0.06 美元，因此我們將在第二季度定期股息的同時支付每股 0.03 美元的補充股息。

On Slide 26, we highlight our various financing sources. Taking into account SBA guaranteed debentures, we had almost $2.4 billion of total borrowing capacity at quarter end, with $369 million available on our revolving lines subject to borrowing base limitations. We have a valuable mix of fixed and floating rate debt and the 56% of fixed rate debt continues to be an earnings tailwind in this rising base rate environment. As a reminder, both our Wells Fargo and Deutsche Bank credit facility covenants are generally tied to the operating performance of the underlying businesses that we lend to rather than the marks of our investments at any given time.

在幻燈片 26 上，我們強調了我們的各種融資來源。考慮到 SBA 擔保債券，我們在季度末擁有近 24 億美元的總借貸能力，我們的循環貸款中有 3.69 億美元受借貸基礎限制。我們擁有固定利率和浮動利率債務的寶貴組合，在這種不斷上升的基準利率環境下，56% 的固定利率債務繼續成為收益的推動力。提醒一下，我們的 Wells Fargo 和 Deutsche Bank 信貸額度契約通常與我們藉貸的基礎企業的經營業績掛鉤，而不是我們在任何特定時間的投資標記。

Finally, on Slide 27, we show our leverage maturity schedule. As we've diversified our debt issuance, we've been successful at laddering our maturities to manage liquidity and over 85% of our debt matures in or after 2025. During the quarter, we upsized our 2022 convertible notes ahead of our 2023 maturities. Additionally, our multiple investment-grade credit ratings provide us access to various unsecured debt markets that we continue to explore to further ladder our maturities in the most cost-efficient manner. With that, I would like to turn the call back over to John.

最後，在幻燈片 27 上，我們展示了我們的槓桿到期時間表。隨著我們的債務發行多元化，我們成功地增加了到期期限以管理流動性，我們超過 85% 的債務在 2025 年或之後到期。在本季度，我們在 2023 年到期之前擴大了 2022 年可轉換票據的規模。此外，我們的多個投資級信用評級使我們能夠進入各種無擔保債務市場，我們將繼續探索這些市場，以最具成本效益的方式進一步提升我們的期限。有了這個，我想把電話轉回給約翰。

Thank you, Laura. As we look out over the course of 2023, we remain confident in the quality of our investment portfolio and believe we are on track to deliver great risk-adjusted returns for our shareholders. We once again thank you for your support and look forward to maintaining an open and transparent dialogue with all of our stakeholders.

謝謝你，勞拉。展望 2023 年，我們對投資組合的質量仍然充滿信心，並相信我們有望為股東帶來可觀的風險調整後回報。我們再次感謝您的支持，並期待與我們所有的利益相關者保持公開透明的對話。

I will now turn things back to the operator to begin Q&A. Operator?

我現在將把事情交還給接線員以開始問答。操作員？

(Operator Instructions) At this time, we are showing no questions. I would like to turn the conference back over to John Kline for any closing remarks.

（操作員說明）此時，我們沒有顯示任何問題。我想將會議轉回給 John Kline，聽取任何閉幕詞。

I think I see one question in the queue.

我想我看到隊列中有一個問題。

There is one question just popped up. I'm going to announce Ryan Lynch with KBW.

有一個問題剛剛彈出。我將宣布 KBW 的瑞恩·林奇 (Ryan Lynch)。

First one I had, I just want to make sure I heard this correctly. Did you say you received a $10 million distribution from one of your equity investments. Did I get that correctly? And then, if so, what investment was that from? And how should we expect that to be accounted for in the second quarter?

我的第一個，我只是想確保我沒聽錯。你說過你從你的一項股權投資中獲得了 1000 萬美元的分配嗎？我理解正確了嗎？然後，如果是這樣，那是什麼投資？我們應該如何預期第二季度會出現這種情況？

Yes. Yes, you did hear that correctly, Ryan. So this was from our [Haven] position, which was an equity distribution, in addition to the payments that we've already received through Q1, this was one that we received on this past Friday for an additional $10 million. And so that will show up as an equity distribution in Q2.

是的。是的，你沒聽錯，瑞安。所以這是我們 [Haven] 的頭寸，這是一種股權分配，除了我們已經通過第一季度收到的付款外，這是我們在上週五收到的另外 1000 萬美元的款項。因此，這將在第二季度顯示為股權分配。

Okay. Will that show up as a -- like how would that be accounted for? Will it be a realized gain? Will it come through the dividend income line?

好的。這會顯示為——如何解釋？這會是一個已實現的收益嗎？它會通過股息收入線來嗎？

It will be a realized gain.

這將是一個已實現的收益。

And Ryan, this is John. It's worth noting that in round terms, the valuation we had for Q1 is the correct valuation. So there won't be a change, but it's a realized event, which is great.

瑞安，這是約翰。值得注意的是，從全面來看，我們對第一季度的估值是正確的估值。所以不會有任何變化，但這是一個已實現的事件，這很棒。

Yes. Totally get it. And then I wanted to talk about Edmentum for a minute. That's a near the education kind of content space. There's been some headwinds from some of the publicly traded education software companies out there, most recognizable being Chegg, with some of the disruption that potentially artificial intelligence is causing to that business. I'd love if you could just provide a little bit of background maybe on the details of what Edmentum's role is in the education space? And how, if any, do you think the potential for artificial intelligence could impact that business?

是的。完全明白了。然後我想談談 Edmentum 一分鐘。那是一個接近教育的內容空間。一些公開交易的教育軟件公司遇到了一些不利因素，最著名的是 Chegg，其中一些潛在的人工智能正在對該業務造成破壞。我希望您能提供一些背景知識，也許是關於 Edmentum 在教育領域的角色的細節？如果有的話，您認為人工智能的潛力會如何影響該業務？

So Ryan, Rob Hamwee, who's with us today, sits on the board, so I'll turn that question to him.

今天和我們在一起的 Ryan、Rob Hamwee 是董事會成員，所以我會把這個問題轉交給他。

Thanks, John. Ryan, it's a good question. It's actually something I actually addressed yesterday at our weekly staff meeting because it is so topical and interesting. The headline is that Edmentum is actually very well positioned to benefit from the trends in artificial intelligence. Obviously, there's tremendous volatility around that statement because how quickly things are moving. But Edmentum is a digitally native provider of curriculum and assessment primarily for the K-12 market. And because they're digitally native, they've been -- they're software first, and they've been thinking about AI for a long time, and their most recent product incorporated non-generative AI in a material way. And in the recent months, the company has been really front footed on incorporating a generative AI into the product set.

謝謝，約翰。瑞安，這是個好問題。這實際上是我昨天在我們的每週員工會議上實際談到的事情，因為它是如此熱門和有趣。標題是 Edmentum 實際上非常適合從人工智能的趨勢中受益。顯然，該聲明存在巨大的波動性，因為事情發展得如此之快。但 Edmentum 是一家主要面向 K-12 市場的數字原生課程和評估提供商。因為他們是數字原生的，所以他們一直是——他們首先是軟件，他們長期以來一直在考慮人工智能，他們最近的產品以一種物質的方式結合了非生成人工智能。近幾個月來，該公司在將生成式 AI 融入產品系列方面真正走在了前列。

And the truth is, when you think about Chegg, right, like that's a consumer-facing product, our products are enterprise facing, right? We sell to districts. So the districts, they don't move as quickly as a 14-year-old kid in terms of embracing ChatGPT for assessment and curriculum. But they will get there. And so it's funny, right now, what they're requesting from Edmentum is to accept -- the requesting anything and most aren't, but they're requesting help on the plagiarism side, and where they would able to provide that. But as we look out 2 or 3 years, we do believe that the biggest driver is going to be the ability to evolve assessment beyond recitation effects and writing papers. And and we believe there are ways to use our software to allow districts to provide an effective answer to that, as well as using our software to provide personalized tutors to the children.

事實是，當你想到 Chegg 時，對吧，就像它是面向消費者的產品一樣，我們的產品是面向企業的，對吧？我們賣給地區。因此，就採用 ChatGPT 進行評估和課程而言，各地區的行動不如 14 歲的孩子那麼快。但他們會到達那裡。所以很有趣，現在，他們向 Edmentum 提出的要求是接受——要求任何東西，而且大多數都沒有，但他們在剽竊方面請求幫助，以及他們能夠提供幫助的地方。但是當我們展望 2 或 3 年時，我們確實相信最大的驅動力將是超越背誦效果和撰寫論文的評估能力。而且我們相信有一些方法可以使用我們的軟件讓學區對此提供有效的答案，以及使用我們的軟件為孩子們提供個性化的導師。

So long-winded answer, but we're pretty excited about the ability of generative AI to be a tailwind for Edmentum going forward.

如此冗長的答案，但我們對生成人工智能成為 Edmentum 前進的順風的能力感到非常興奮。

That's helpful. And just a follow-up question on that, though. I mean, it sounds like, right now, it's pretty well, I want to say, protected, but it's in a pretty good spot. There're maybe some different headwinds facing [chegg] because it's more directed to student. But do you think that, given how quickly things are changing with artificial intelligence in that space that, that could potentially -- even though the business is doing fine today, that could weigh on the multiple on that business just as potential sponsors are uncertain of what the world in this space looks like a year or 2 from now, so they're going to want to have a pretty low multiple on those businesses going forward. Is that a concern of yours?

這很有幫助。不過，這只是一個後續問題。我的意思是，聽起來，現在，它很好，我想說，受到保護，但它處於一個非常好的位置。 [chegg] 可能面臨一些不同的不利因素，因為它更針對學生。但是你是否認為，鑑於人工智能在該領域的變化速度有多快，這可能 - 即使今天的業務表現良好，這可能會影響該業務的倍數，因為潛在的讚助商不確定這個領域的世界在一兩年後會是什麼樣子，所以他們希望在未來的這些業務上有一個相當低的倍數。這是你的顧慮嗎？

I mean it's always a concern, Ryan. But I actually, I think, again, I think given our positioning and the ability to articulate a multiyear road map as to how integrating AI into our product suite will actually drive revenue as opposed to revenue being negatively impacted by it. At the end of the day, right, multiples are a function of growth. And I do think we can articulate when we do go to exit this position as well -- not just articulated, but have actual real-world evidence of how AI is a potential tailwind for Edmentum, no guarantees, right, Ryan. It's a brand-new development, but I do think we're very well positioned to be a beneficiary as opposed to a victim. And I think, ultimately, the ability to demonstrate that, both with actual evidence and a road map, is what will drive multiple up or down, depending on how successful we are.

我的意思是這總是一個問題，瑞安。但實際上，我認為，考慮到我們的定位和闡明多年路線圖的能力，我認為將 AI 集成到我們的產品套件中將如何真正推動收入，而不是收入受到負面影響。說到底，倍數是增長的函數。而且我確實認為我們也可以明確說明何時我們確實要退出這個職位——不僅僅是明確說明，而是有實際的現實世界證據證明人工智能如何成為 Edmentum 的潛在順風，沒有保證，對吧，Ryan。這是一個全新的發展，但我確實認為我們非常適合成為受益者而不是受害者。我認為，最終，通過實際證據和路線圖證明這一點的能力將推動倍數上升或下降，這取決於我們有多成功。

Okay. I appreciate that, and I fully understand that a very fluid situation that changes by the day, but I do appreciate the comments on that. One question I had is, as you guys had a nice tailwind in operating ROEs from higher rates, I just wanted to know, do you guys have this thought process at all when you manage the business regarding leverage that base rates have increased so much at this point and have been a big tailwind for operating ROEs, we're obviously heading into a more shakier credit period, more certain macroeconomic environment. I understand the deal environment is really good for the deals that are getting down. There's not a lot of deals getting done.

好的。我對此表示讚賞，並且我完全理解每天都在變化的非常不穩定的情況，但我非常感謝對此的評論。我有一個問題是，由於你們在較高利率的運營 ROE 方面有很好的順風，我只是想知道，你們在管理業務時是否有這種思考過程，因為槓桿率在這一點對運營 ROE 來說是一個巨大的順風，我們顯然正在進入一個更加不穩定的信貸期，更加確定的宏觀經濟環境。我知道交易環境對於正在下降的交易來說真的很好。沒有完成很多交易。

Would you ever consider lowering leverage levels from where you are today as we head into that environment? And given that base rates are still so high today that, that does a lot of the work for you for generating such a high operating ROE. And then if there is a further dislocation in the marketplace and the Fed has to cut rates, at that point, obviously, rates will be working against your favor, but you would have further leverage to deploy in probably a better environment. Do you think about the business at all like that, if that counterbalance versus leverage and base rates?

當我們進入那種環境時，您是否會考慮降低目前的槓桿水平？鑑於今天的基本利率仍然如此之高，這為您產生如此高的運營 ROE 做了很多工作。然後，如果市場進一步混亂，美聯儲不得不降息，那麼顯然，利率將對你不利，但你將有更多的槓桿作用來部署可能更好的環境。如果這種平衡與槓桿率和基本利率相抵消，你是否完全這樣考慮業務？

Yes. It's something we talk about a lot, Ryan, and I'm glad you brought it up. I think one thing that's happened over the course of the last couple of quarters is we just see no or very little or limited portfolio velocity. So to the extent we are entering into an environment where we start to get more repayments, and I think it's fair to say that we should get more repayments over the next 12 months than the last, that would be my bold prediction. But we could see using that money partially to deploy into new assets, but partially to delever. I think we would be very comfortable being inside of our range right now, as Laura mentioned, we're right at the high end of our range from a leverage perspective. So I think that could be a move that we could make.

是的。這是我們經常談論的話題，Ryan，我很高興你提出來。我認為在過去幾個季度中發生的一件事是我們只看到沒有或很少或有限的投資組合速度。因此，就我們正在進入一個我們開始獲得更多還款的環境而言，我認為可以公平地說，我們應該在未來 12 個月內獲得比過去更多的還款，這將是我的大膽預測。但我們可以看到，這筆錢部分用於部署新資產，但部分用於去槓桿化。我認為我們現在會很樂意進入我們的範圍，正如勞拉提到的那樣，從槓桿的角度來看，我們正處於我們範圍的高端。所以我認為這可能是我們可以採取的行動。

We probably won't go to the low end of the range. But if we could be in the middle of the range over the course of the next couple of quarters, that would be a very comfortable place for us to be.

我們可能不會去範圍的低端。但如果我們能在接下來的幾個季度中處於該範圍的中間，那對我們來說將是一個非常舒適的位置。

Okay. And then maybe I'll just ask one more because I don't know if anybody else was in the queue. Obviously, the topic (inaudible) right now is kind of the whole banking crisis, the mini banking crisis going on. I don't really believe that banks are probably a primary competitor in your space in the direct lending marketplace, although there's indirect impact, they obviously hold CLO paper and those sort of things, which help fund the broadly syndicated loan market, which can be a competitive all that. I would just love to hear if there is a sort of pullback in banks lending both large and regional banks, I'd love to just hear your opinion of what sort of impacts, if at all, it could have in your marketplace, both from the way you compete in as well as even from your borrower standpoint? Or are you guys being able to obtain credit on your liability stack?

好的。然後也許我會再問一個，因為我不知道隊列中是否還有其他人。顯然，現在的話題（聽不清）是整個銀行業危機，正在發生的小型銀行業危機。我真的不相信銀行可能是你在直接貸款市場領域的主要競爭對手，儘管有間接影響，他們顯然持有 CLO 票據和類似的東西，這有助於為廣泛的銀團貸款市場提供資金，這可以是一個有競爭力的一切。我很想听聽大型銀行和地區性銀行的銀行貸款是否出現某種回調，我很想听聽您對它可能對您的市場產生什麼樣的影響（如果有的話）的看法，無論是來自您參與競爭的方式，甚至是從借款人的角度來看？還是你們能夠在您的責任堆棧上獲得信用？

Sure. I mean, a big picture, I think everyone in this room feels there's a great place for regional banks. In the U.S. economy, they provide a lot of service to small and middle market businesses throughout the U.S., and that's really valuable for our economy. When I think about the leverage finance market, particularly the sponsor-oriented leverage finance market, regional banks and even the larger banks from a balance sheet perspective aren't big players and they haven't been for a while.

當然。我的意思是，從大局來看，我認為這個房間裡的每個人都覺得區域性銀行是個好地方。在美國經濟中，他們為全美的中小型市場企業提供大量服務，這對我們的經濟來說非常有價值。當我想到槓桿融資市場，特別是發起人導向的槓桿融資市場時，從資產負債表的角度來看，區域性銀行甚至大型銀行都不是大玩家，而且他們已經有一段時間了。

I think you might have touched on it, but clearly, a lot of the bigger banks are very supportive of -- over time, generally supportive of CLO structures and that can be really valuable for the syndicated market. But in general, I think, right now, we're in a period of time, and I know you know this, but we're in a period of time where there's just not a lot of competition for direct lenders. And generally speaking, we think that's a good thing. If there are fresh new buyouts to be done by our sponsor clients, most of the deals that we see are really going to direct lenders.

我想你可能已經觸及了它，但很明顯，很多大銀行都非常支持——隨著時間的推移，普遍支持 CLO 結構，這對銀團市場來說非常有價值。但總的來說，我認為，現在，我們正處於一段時期，我知道你知道這一點，但我們正處於一段直接貸款人競爭不激烈的時期。一般來說，我們認為這是一件好事。如果我們的讚助商客戶有新的收購要完成，我們看到的大多數交易實際上都是直接貸方。

And there is, I think, a lot of capital being raised by direct lenders, and we think it's going to be a great period of time. And as you know, in this vintage, upfront fees are better, leverage is lower and the documents are better. I would say, on the CLO market, as we sit here right now, that's the biggest, I think, source of competition that we may see. It's not a comeback from the regional banks or from the large banks. And right now, we're not seeing robust CLO formation. And so that just makes me even more confident that as deal flow comes in 2023, direct lenders will be a big part of that.

我認為，直接貸方籌集了大量資金，我們認為這將是一段美好的時光。如您所知，在這個年份，前期費用更高，槓桿率更低，文件也更好。我想說，在我們現在坐在這裡的 CLO 市場上，我認為這是我們可能看到的最大的競爭來源。這不是地區性銀行或大型銀行的捲土重來。而現在，我們沒有看到強大的 CLO 形成。因此，這讓我更有信心，隨著 2023 年交易流的到來，直接貸款人將在其中佔據很大一部分。

The next question comes from Erik Zwick with Hovde Group.

下一個問題來自 Hovde Group 的 Erik Zwick。

I wanted to first just ask about the pipeline. I'm curious if you could provide any commentary in terms of the current mix in terms of the industries that you're seeing to be maybe more prominent? And whether there's any that you're staying away from now just because it appears that maybe the short or midterm prospects are not of attractive today given the current uncertainty over the economic environment today?

我想先問一下管道。我很好奇您是否可以就您認為可能更為突出的行業的當前組合提供任何評論？鑑於當前經濟環境的不確定性，您現在是否有任何事情只是因為看起來短期或中期前景今天沒有吸引力而遠離？

We see deal -- our deal pipeline picking up slowly. As I mentioned in my earlier comments, it has been -- over the last 12 months, it's been a little bit depressed. But based on what we see across multiple businesses here at New Mountain, we do think it's getting better. It continues to be a good environment for add-on investments. A lot of our best companies are seeing this current environment as one where they can buy -- do M&A at better prices. And so we look to support the best businesses within our portfolio that want to do that.

我們看到交易——我們的交易管道正在緩慢回升。正如我在之前的評論中提到的那樣，在過去的 12 個月裡，情況有點低迷。但根據我們在 New Mountain 的多個業務中看到的情況，我們確實認為情況正在好轉。它仍然是附加投資的良好環境。我們許多最好的公司都將當前的環境視為他們可以購買的環境——以更優惠的價格進行併購。因此，我們希望支持我們投資組合中想要做到這一點的最佳企業。

I would say we are starting to see -- we have seen good activity in software. I do expect that to continue. And we've also seen some interesting deals recently in the healthcare space, particularly health care technology that's a little real-time insight into our portfolio. In terms of industries we stay away from, really, that hasn't really changed. When we think about our defensive growth philosophy, I think it's really tailor-made for environments like today where we're really focused on buying great businesses in the best sectors that are sponsor backed. And these businesses have revenue drivers, they have margin stability and they have growth even in this sort of environment.

我會說我們開始看到 - 我們已經看到軟件領域的良好活動。我確實希望這種情況繼續下去。我們最近在醫療保健領域也看到了一些有趣的交易，特別是醫療保健技術，它可以實時洞察我們的投資組合。就我們遠離的行業而言，真的，這並沒有真正改變。當我們考慮我們的防禦性增長理念時，我認為它確實是為像今天這樣的環境量身定制的，在這種環境中，我們真正專注於購買由贊助商支持的最佳行業的優秀企業。這些企業有收入驅動因素，它們有穩定的利潤率，即使在這種環境下它們也有增長。

And so we just want to do -- we want to focus as much as ever on the sectors that we've defined as being attractive. And -- but it also makes us feel very good about our existing portfolio. We don't have a lot of bad industries that are making us nervous in our existing portfolio.

因此，我們只想做——我們希望一如既往地關注我們定義為具有吸引力的行業。而且 - 但它也讓我們對我們現有的投資組合感覺非常好。我們現有的投資組合中沒有太多讓我們感到緊張的糟糕行業。

That's helpful. And then just a second one for me. In terms of the upcoming debt maturities, I think, [$50] million in June and $117 million in August. I think you previously mentioned that you -- if you had sufficient capacity in the revolver to pay that down. (inaudible) you also raised $60 million of notes and in March and then mentioned some repayments coming through. It looks like cash position was maybe actually down quarter-over-quarter. So just curious is it still kind of the intent to use the revolver to pay down or to kind of repay those maturities as they come due? Or has something changed since your last comments?

這很有幫助。然後給我第二個。就即將到期的債務而言，我認為，6 月份 [50] 億美元，8 月份 1.17 億美元。我想你之前提到過你——如果你的左輪手槍有足夠的容量來支付這筆錢。 （聽不清）你還籌集了 6000 萬美元的票據，並在 3 月份提到了一些還款。看起來現金頭寸實際上可能比上一季度有所下降。所以很好奇，它是否仍然有意使用左輪手槍來償還或償還到期的債券？或者自您上次評論以來有什麼變化嗎？

Yes. No, I think you summarized it well. So in 2022, we obviously raised the chunk of convertible notes. We upsized that this past quarter as you alluded to. So between kind of the capital from that as well as just availability on our revolving lines, we feel pretty comfortable we're in a good position to address the upcoming maturities.

是的。不，我認為你總結得很好。因此，在 2022 年，我們顯然籌集了可轉換票據。正如您提到的，我們在上個季度擴大了規模。因此，在這種資本以及我們循環線上的可用性之間，我們感到非常自在，我們處於解決即將到來的到期日的有利位置。

That's helpful. And then just maybe as a bit of a follow-on to that last question. It seems like the revolvers are typically funded by banks and [all indications] that their banks are getting a little bit tighter on their willingness to lend. And if we go into an environment where maybe investors are a little bit more skittish if we go into a more severe economic environment. Just curious about your thoughts kind of mid- to longer term if we were to go into a protracted recession, your thoughts about funding the business over that term.

這很有幫助。然後可能只是最後一個問題的後續問題。似乎左輪手槍通常由銀行提供資金，[所有跡象]表明他們的銀行對放貸的意願越來越嚴格。如果我們進入一個環境，​​如果我們進入一個更嚴峻的經濟環境，投資者可能會更加不安。如果我們要進入長期衰退，你對中長期的想法很好奇，你對在那個期限內為企業提供資金的想法。

Yes. I mean, I think, historically, we've had very strong relationships with a couple of the banks, Wells Fargo, Deutsche Bank, et cetera. And we feel pretty good that we're -- we've termed out financing. And you can see the maturities on the revolving lines. But between that and the access to the capital markets more broadly, we have -- obviously, we have our investment-grade credit ratings. We feel pretty good that we'll be in a reasonably good position to access the markets as need be. But it's definitely something that we're watching and keeping a close eye on and just making sure we're being very proactive about just keeping the dialogue ongoing with the banks and just keeping our strong relationships there.

是的。我的意思是，我認為，從歷史上看，我們與幾家銀行（富國銀行、德意志銀行等）有著非常牢固的關係。我們感覺很好，我們已經結束了融資。您可以在循環線上看到到期日。但在這與更廣泛地進入資本市場之間，我們有——顯然，我們有投資級信用評級。我們感覺很好，我們將處於一個相當好的位置，可以根據需要進入市場。但這絕對是我們正在關注和密切關注的事情，只是確保我們非常積極主動地與銀行保持對話，並保持我們在那裡的牢固關係。

Next question comes from Bryce Rowe with B. Riley.

下一個問題來自 Bryce Rowe 和 B. Riley。

I wanted to maybe touch on the topic of monetization of certain equity investments. Obviously, you've had some success here with Haven recently. But curious, of those that are listed on Page 18, how do you guys handicap which ones are better candidates versus not? And I kind of asked that question thinking about Unitek and Permian having improved as much as they have in the last 12 to 18 months. I'm just kind of curious what gets them to the point where they're ready for monetization, or you'd rather just continue to hold them as equity investments?

我想談談某些股權投資的貨幣化話題。顯然，你最近在避風港取得了一些成功。但奇怪的是，在第 18 頁列出的那些人中，你們如何區分哪些人是更好的候選人而不是更好的人選？我問了這個問題，考慮到 Unitek 和 Permian 在過去 12 到 18 個月裡取得了很大的進步。我只是有點好奇是什麼讓他們到了準備好貨幣化的地步，或者你寧願繼續持有他們作為股權投資？

Sure. Well, the first thing I would note is that we have significant control over the monetization of UniTek, Benevis, Permian. It meant it's worth noting we're a minority and we're in with others. And I would say that, while it's not a perfect M&A environment, I think sponsors do want to -- and other buyers, frankly, are getting eager to buy good, well-performing assets. I think we mentioned that UniTek and Permian were two on this list that are growing nicely and have some really compelling structurally advantageous tailwinds. And so we're -- we think that among this list, there could be another name on this list that over the medium term we could seek to exit.

當然。好吧，我要注意的第一件事是我們對 UniTek、Benevis、Permian 的貨幣化有很大的控制權。這意味著值得注意的是我們是少數，我們與其他人在一起。我要說的是，雖然這不是一個完美的併購環境，但我認為贊助商確實希望——坦率地說，其他買家也越來越渴望購買優質、表現良好的資產。我想我們提到過 UniTek 和 Permian 是這個名單上的兩個，它們增長良好，並且有一些非常引人注目的結構優勢順風。所以我們 - 我們認為在這個名單中，這個名單上可能還有另一個名字，我們可以在中期尋求退出。

That's great, John. I appreciate that. And then maybe a bit of a follow-up. You have the categorization green, yellow, orange, red. And I think, for the first time, perhaps in the deck, you've shown where each bucket is marked relative to par, and that's kind of an interesting thing to think about. Of the green bucket market, 94% of par, is that primarily just spread changes that we've seen over the last 12 to 18 months that have put it at that level of a mark?

太好了，約翰。我很感激。然後可能會進行一些跟進。您有綠色、黃色、橙色、紅色的分類。我認為，也許是在甲板上，你第一次展示了每個桶相對於標準桿的標記位置，這是一件值得思考的有趣事情。在 94% 的綠色桶市場中，我們在過去 12 到 18 個月中看到的主要只是價差變化使其處於該水平嗎？

Yes. That's right. So obviously, every quarter, we're comparing the marks or the spreads of the underlying assets, right, to comparable syndicated loans and doing kind of a fulsome valuation process. So as you alluded to, just as spreads have widened a little bit in the market over the last 12 or so months. Some of these assets, just even though they're well performing, and we think they're ultimately still recoverable at par, they do just get marked down from kind of a technical perspective. And I think John touched on the statistic that if you did mark all the green names at par, book value would be kind of in excess of where we're showing the portfolio today.

是的。這是正確的。所以很明顯，每個季度，我們都會將標的資產的標記或利差與可比較的銀團貸款進行比較，並進行某種形式的估值過程。因此，正如您提到的那樣，在過去 12 個月左右的時間裡，市場價差有所擴大。其中一些資產，即使它們表現良好，而且我們認為它們最終仍然可以按面值收回，但從某種技術角度來看，它們確實被標記了下來。而且我認為 John 談到了統計數據，如果你確實將所有綠色名稱標記為面值，賬面價值將超過我們今天展示的投資組合。

Got it.

知道了。

Sorry, the only other comment I want to make is, and I made this comment, but I want to reemphasize it, is that when names do go to yellow, orange and red, we reflect that underperformance in the mark, which I think is -- we want to make sure our shareholders are very aware of that. And I think it's healthy for our book, and we want to be transparent about how we handle that fair value exercise.

抱歉，我想發表的唯一其他評論是，我發表了這個評論，但我想再次強調，當名稱確實變成黃色、橙色和紅色時，我們會在標記中反映出表現不佳，我認為這是- 我們希望確保我們的股東非常清楚這一點。我認為這對我們的書來說是健康的，我們希望對我們如何處理公允價值練習保持透明。

This concludes our question-and-answer session. I would like to turn the conference back over to John Kline for any closing (inaudible).

我們的問答環節到此結束。我想將會議轉回給 John Kline 進行任何結束（聽不清）。

Thank you for joining us on our call today, and we look forward to speaking to you all again next quarter.

感謝您今天加入我們的電話會議，我們期待下個季度再次與大家交談。

The conference has now concluded. Thank you for attending today's presentation. You may now disconnect.

會議現已結束。感謝您參加今天的演講。您現在可以斷開連接。