Omega Healthcare Investors Inc (OHI) 2024 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Thank you for standing by. My name is Kate, and I will be your conference operator today. At this time, I would like to welcome everyone to the Omega Healthcare Investors fourth-quarter earnings conference call. (Operator Instructions)

感謝您的支持。我叫凱特，今天我將擔任您的會議主持人。現在，我歡迎大家參加 Omega Healthcare Investors 第四季財報電話會議。（操作員指令）

I would now like to turn the call over to Michele Reber. Please go ahead.

現在我想將電話轉給 Michele Reber。請繼續。

Thank you, and good morning. With me today is Omega's CEO, Taylor Pickett; President, Matthew Gorman; CFO, Bob Stephenson; CIO, Vikas Gupta; and Megan Krull, Senior Vice President of Operations. Comments made during this conference call that are not historical facts may be forward-looking statements such as statements regarding our financial projections, potential transactions, operator prospects, and outlook generally.

謝謝，早安。今天和我一起的是歐米茄的執行長泰勒皮克特 (Taylor Pickett)；總裁馬修‧高曼 (Matthew Gorman)；財務長，鮑伯‧史蒂芬森（Bob Stephenson）；資訊長 Vikas Gupta；以及營運資深副總裁 Megan Krull。本次電話會議中發表的非歷史事實的評論可能是前瞻性的陳述，例如有關我們的財務預測、潛在交易、營運商前景和一般展望的陳述。

Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements are detailed in the company's filings with the SEC. During the call today, we will refer to some GAAP financial measures, such as NAREIT FFO, adjusted FFO, FAD, and EBITDA. Reconciliations of these non-GAAP measures to the most comparable measure under generally accepted accounting principles are available in the quarterly supplement.

可能導致實際結果與前瞻性陳述有重大差異的因素已在公司提交給美國證券交易委員會的文件中詳細說明。在今天的電話會議中，我們將參考一些 GAAP 財務指標，例如 NAREIT FFO、調整後的 FFO、FAD 和 EBITDA。這些非公認會計準則指標與公認會計原則下最具可比性的指標的對帳表可在季度補充報告中查閱。

In addition, certain operator coverage and financial information that we discuss is based on data provided by our operators that has not been independently verified by Omega.

此外，我們討論的某些營運商覆蓋範圍和財務資訊是基於我們的營運商提供的數據，這些數據尚未經過 Omega 的獨立驗證。

I will now turn the call over to Taylor.

現在我將電話轉給泰勒。

Thanks, Michele. Good morning, and thank you for joining our fourth-quarter 2024 earnings conference call. Today, I will discuss our fourth-quarter financial results, management changes, and certain key operating trends. Fourth-quarter FAD, funds available for distribution, of $0.70 per share reflects continued revenue and EBITDA growth, which has allowed us to reduce leverage to below 4.0 times debt-to-EBITDA while continuing to deliver FAD growth in 2024. Our 2025 AFFO guidance is $2.90 per share to $2.98 per share which reflects the first-quarter 2025 dilutive impact of our significant fourth-quarter share issuances, offset by escalators and other opportunities throughout 2025.

謝謝，米歇爾。早安，感謝您參加我們的 2024 年第四季財報電話會議。今天，我將討論我們的第四季財務表現、管理層變動以及一些關鍵的營運趨勢。第四季 FAD（可供分配資金）為每股 0.70 美元，反映了持續的收入和 EBITDA 成長，這使我們能夠將槓桿率降低至債務與 EBITDA 之比的 4.0 倍以下，同時在 2024 年繼續實現 FAD 成長。我們對 2025 年 AFFO 的預期為每股 2.90 美元至每股 2.98 美元，這反映了我們第四季度大量發行股票對 2025 年第一季的稀釋影響，但被 2025 年全年的自動增發機制和其他機會所抵消。

We recently announced management changes with Matthew Gourmand named President; and Vikas Gupta, named Chief Investment Officer. I am extremely confident in their ability to lead our exceptional team in the upcoming years. I would also like to thank Dan Booth. I had the opportunity to work with Dan for over 30 years, 23 years here at Omega. Dan's many contributions to Omega are an important driver of Omega's outperformance of not only other health care REITs, but all REITs over the last 23 years.

我們最近宣布了管理層變動，Matthew Gourmand 被任命為總裁；以及被任命為首席投資長的維卡斯古普塔 (Vikas Gupta)。我對他們在未來幾年領導我們傑出團隊的能力非常有信心。我還要感謝 Dan Booth。我有幸與丹共事超過 30 年，其中 23 年是在歐米茄工作。丹對歐米茄的許多貢獻是推動歐米茄在過去 23 年中不僅超越其他醫療保健房地產投資信託基金，而且超越所有房地產投資信託基金的重要因素。

Lastly in 2024, the team did a great job staying disciplined whilst forcing and closing 36 transactions, deploying approximately $1.1 billion in capital. The 2025 acquisition pipeline remains active.

最後在 2024 年，該團隊在保持紀律性的同時，強制並完成了 36 筆交易，部署了約 11 億美元的資金。2025 年的收購計劃仍然活躍。

I will now turn the call over to Bob.

我現在將電話轉給鮑伯。

Thanks, Taylor, and good morning. Turning to our financials for the fourth quarter. Revenue for the fourth quarter was $279 million compared to $239 million for the fourth quarter of 2023. The year-over-year increase is primarily the result of the timing and impact of revenue from new investments completed throughout 2024, operator restructurings and transitions, partially offset by asset sales completed during that same time period. Our NAREIT FFO for the fourth quarter was $196 million or $0.68 per share as compared to $129 million or $0.50 per share for the fourth quarter of 2023.

謝謝，泰勒，早安。談談我們第四季的財務狀況。第四季營收為 2.79 億美元，而 2023 年第四季營收為 2.39 億美元。同比成長主要歸因於 2024 年全年完成的新投資、營運商重組和轉型帶來的收入的時間和影響，部分被同一時期完成的資產出售所抵消。我們第四季的 NAREIT FFO 為 1.96 億美元或每股 0.68 美元，而 2023 年第四季為 1.29 億美元或每股 0.50 美元。

Our adjusted FFO was $214 million or $0.74 per share for the quarter and our FAD was $202 million or $0.70 per share and both exclude several items outlined in our NAREIT FFO, adjusted FFO, and FAD reconciliations to net income found in our earnings release, as well as our fourth-quarter financial supplemental posted to our website. Our Q4 FAD was just under $0.005 greater than our Q3 FAD, which is impressive. If you remember, in Q3, we issued 14 million shares for $530 million in gross proceeds at an average price of $37.32 per share. These 14 million shares issued at the end of the third quarter were not fully included within the weighted average third quarter share count.

本季度，我們的調整後 FFO 為 2.14 億美元，即每股 0.74 美元，FAD 為 2.02 億美元，即每股 0.70 美元，且均不包括我們的 NAREIT FFO、調整後 FFO 和 FAD 與收益報告中的淨收入對帳以及我們網站上發布的第四季度財務補充報告中列出的第幾項項目。我們的第四季 FAD 比第三季 FAD 高出不到 0.005 美元，這令人印象深刻。如果你還記得的話，在第三季度，我們以每股 37.32 美元的平均價格發行了 1,400 萬股，總收益為 5.3 億美元。第三季末發行的這 1,400 萬股股票並未完全計入第三季加權平均股數。

As outlined in our earnings press release, during the fourth quarter, we completed $340 million of new investments and funded the investments through the issuance of an additional 11 million shares of equity for gross proceeds totaling $438 million at an average price of $40.19 per share. Our balance sheet remained strong at year-end as we ended the year with over $500 million in cash that was used to repay a $400 million bond on January 15, 2025. We ended the month of January with over $240 million in cash, the full borrowing capacity of our $1.45 billion credit facility, and approximately $820 million available under our ATM program all ready to deploy as needed in new investments.

正如我們的收益新聞稿中所述，在第四季度，我們完成了 3.4 億美元的新投資，並透過發行額外 1,100 萬股股票為這些投資提供資金，總收益達 4.38 億美元，平均價格為每股 40.19 美元。我們的資產負債表在年底保持強勁，因為我們在年底擁有超過 5 億美元的現金，這些現金用於在 2025 年 1 月 15 日償還 4 億美元的債券。截至一月底，我們擁有超過 2.4 億美元的現金、14.5 億美元信貸額度的全部借貸能力，以及約 8.2 億美元的 ATM 計劃可用資金，均可根據需要部署用於新的投資。

As long as our equity currency remains favorable, we will continue to prefund investments by issuing equity. At December 31, 95% of our $4.9 billion in debt was at fixed rates. And our fixed charge coverage ratio was 4.7 times and our net funded debt to annualized adjusted normalized EBITDA was 3.96 times, which is the lowest our leverage has been in 10 years.

只要我們的股權貨幣仍然有利，我們就會繼續透過發行股權來預先資助投資。截至 12 月 31 日，我們的 49 億美元債務中有 95% 是固定利率。我們的固定費用覆蓋率為 4.7 倍，淨融資債務與年度調整後標準化 EBITDA 比率為 3.96 倍，這是我們 10 年來的最低槓桿率。

We still have a target leverage range between 4 times to 5 times, with the sweet spot being between 4.5 times to 4.75 times. As we continue to fund acquisitions accretively with equity, we position ourselves for upsized AFFO growth once we decided to reenter the bond market. As Taylor mentioned, we provided our full-year adjusted AFFO guidance of a range between $2.90 to $2.98 per share.

我們的目標槓桿範圍仍為4倍至5倍之間，最佳範圍為4.5倍至4.75倍之間。隨著我們繼續透過股權為收購提供增值資金，一旦我們決定重新進入債券市場，我們將為擴大 AFFO 成長做好準備。正如泰勒所提到的，我們給出了全年調整後的 AFFO 指引，範圍在每股 2.90 美元至 2.98 美元之間。

A few of the key 2025 guidance assumptions are: we're assuming no change in our revenue related to operators on an accrual basis of revenue recognition. As a note, over 75% of our operators are currently on a straight-line basis of accounting, which means any growth in revenue through annual escalators will not yield further growth in adjusted FFO but growth in cash flow. We're assuming Maplewood's ability to take intentional rent continues to improve. Of the $260 million in mortgages and other real estate-backed investments contractually maturing in 2025, $124 million will convert from loans to fee simple real estate and $28 million will be repaid throughout 2025. We are assuming the balance of the loans will be extended beyond 2025.

2025 年的一些關鍵指導假設是：我們假設在權責發生製收入確認基礎上與營運商相關的收入沒有變化。值得注意的是，我們超過 75% 的業者目前採用直線會計，這意味著透過年度遞增方式實現的任何收入成長都不會導致調整後 FFO 的進一步成長，但會導致現金流的成長。我們預計 Maplewood 收取意向租金的能力將會持續提高。在 2025 年到期的 2.6 億美元抵押貸款和其他房地產支援投資中，1.24 億美元將從貸款轉換為完全產權房地產，2,800 萬美元將在 2025 年償還。我們假設貸款餘額將延長至2025年後。

We're assuming $56 million in asset sales related to assets classified as held for sale, which we recorded $1.9 million of revenue in the fourth quarter. We've included the impact of new investments completed as of February 5. We project our quarterly G&A expense to run between $12 million to $14 million in 2025 with the first quarter typically being the highest quarter. We assume we will repay our $230 million of secured debt in November 2025. We assume no material changes in market interest rates as they relate to either interest earned on balance sheet cash or interest expense charge on credit facility borrowings.

我們預計持有待售資產的銷售額為 5,600 萬美元，第四季我們記錄了 190 萬美元的收入。我們已將截至 2 月 5 日完成的新投資的影響納入考量。我們預計，2025 年季度的 G&A 費用將在 1,200 萬至 1,400 萬美元之間，其中第一季通常是最高的。我們預計我們將在 2025 年 11 月償還 2.3 億美元的擔保債務。我們假設市場利率不會發生重大變化，因為它們與資產負債表現金所賺取的利息或信貸借款的利息支出有關。

Finally, consistent with how we ended 2024, we assume we will position ourselves with enough cash on the balance sheet by the end of 2025 to repay our January 2026 $600 million bond maturity. As a reminder, to the extent our equity currency remains favorable, and we continue to prefund investments, or prepare for debt maturities for every 4 million shares issued, assuming shares are issued at prices consistent with 2024 [our] quarterly adjusted FFO is negatively impacted by slightly less than $0.01 per share, while our leverage improves or was reduced by approximately 0.15 times until the cash is put back to work in new investments. Our 2025 adjusted FFO guidance does not include any additional investments or asset sales as well as any additional capital transactions other than what I just mentioned or what was included in the earnings release.

最後，與 2024 年結束時的情況一致，我們假設到 2025 年底，我們將在資產負債表上擁有足夠的現金來償還 2026 年 1 月到期的 6 億美元債券。提醒一下，如果我們的股權貨幣保持有利，並且我們繼續預先資助投資，或為每發行 400 萬股股票的債務到期做準備，假設股票以與 2024 年一致的價格發行，[我們的]季度調整後 FFO 將受到每股略低於 0.01 美元的負面影響，而我們的槓桿率將提高或減少約 0.15 倍，直到新投資槓桿。我們 2025 年調整後的 FFO 指引不包括任何額外投資或資產出售，以及除我剛才提到的或收益報告中包含的內容之外的任何額外資本交易。

I will now turn the call over to Vikas.

現在我將電話轉給維卡斯。

Thank you, Bob, and good morning, everyone. Today, we'll be discussing the most recent performance trends for Omega's operating portfolio and Omega's investment activity in 2024 and share insight into Omega's pipeline for 2025. Turning to portfolio performance. Trailing 12-month operator EBITDAR coverage for our core portfolio as of September 30, 2024, increased to 1.5 times versus 1.49 times for the trailing 12-month period ended June 30, 2024.

謝謝你，鮑勃，大家早安。今天，我們將討論 Omega 營運組合和 Omega 2024 年投資活動的最新業績趨勢，並分享對 Omega 2025 年規劃的見解。轉向投資組合表現。截至 2024 年 9 月 30 日，我們核心投資組合的過去 12 個月營運商 EBITDAR 覆蓋率從截至 2024 年 6 月 30 日的過去 12 個月的 1.49 倍增加至 1.5 倍。

We want to highlight that the most recent quarter's performance is a continuation of a trailing 12-month coverage improvement across our portfolio over the past year. These ongoing improvements were reflective of the strength and expertise of Omega's operating partners, the resolution of nearly all of Omega's portfolio restructurings over recent years, and the disciplined allocation of new investment capital over the past year.

我們要強調的是，最近一個季度的表現是我們過去一年投資組合覆蓋率持續改善的延續。這些持續的改善反映了 Omega 營運合作夥伴的實力和專業知識、近年來 Omega 幾乎所有投資組合重組的解決方案、以及過去一年對新投資資本的嚴格分配。

Despite continued pressures from suboptimal labor and reimbursement levels in select markets, the industry landscape continues to improve as a result of the growing aging population and our operators' ability to serve an increasingly complex resident population. However, with occupancy now approaching pre-COVID levels, we would expect any future coverage increases to be more modest. As of today, the only major operator Omega is engaged in restructuring activity with is Levi. Levi continues to work towards exiting bankruptcy in the second quarter of 2025 but the effective date of such exit is conditioned upon the rulings on pending motions before the bankruptcy court. In the interim, Omega expects to continue to receive full contractual rent of $3.1 million per month or $37.5 million per annum.

儘管特定市場持續面臨勞動力和報銷水平不佳的壓力，但由於人口老化加劇以及我們的營運商為日益複雜的居民群體提供服務的能力，行業格局持續改善。然而，隨著入住率目前接近新冠疫情之前的水平，我們預計未來覆蓋範圍的增加將會更加溫和。截至今日，Omega 唯一與之進行重組活動的主要營運商是 Levi。Levi 繼續努力在 2025 年第二季擺脫破產，但退出的生效日期取決於破產法院對未決動議的裁決。在此期間，Omega 預計將繼續獲得每月 310 萬美元或每年 3750 萬美元的全額合約租金。

Turning to new investments. As Taylor previously mentioned, Omega's transaction pipeline in 2024 was very strong with over $1.1 billion in new investments. These transactions varied in size and nature and demonstrate Omega's ability to adapt to the evolving investment landscape in the long-term care industry. In 2024, we continue to support the growth of our existing and new operators by focusing on strong credit-backed real estate investments in real estate loans with exceptional returns that often provide Omega with the ultimate opportunity for real estate ownership.

轉向新的投資。正如泰勒之前提到的，歐米茄在 2024 年的交易管道非常強勁，新投資超過 11 億美元。這些交易的規模和性質各異，展現了 Omega 適應長期照護產業不斷變化的投資格局的能力。2024 年，我們將繼續支持現有和新營運商的成長，專注於具有卓越回報的房地產貸款的強大信貸支持房地產投資，這些投資通常為 Omega 提供房地產所有權的終極機會。

Specifically, of the approximately $359 million or 31% of Omega's new investments in 2024 that were real estate loans, over $124 million or one-third of those loans provide Omega with the opportunity to acquire the underlying real estate upon maturity with long-term triple net lease structures already negotiated.

具體而言，在 Omega 2024 年的新投資中，約有 3.59 億美元（佔 31%）是房地產貸款，其中超過 1.24 億美元（佔三分之一）的貸款為 Omega 提供了在到期時收購基礎房地產的機會，並且已經協商好了長期三重淨租賃結構。

The balance of new real estate loans made in 2024 supported existing operator relationships or facilitated our borrowers acquisitions of distressed assets at prices well below replacement costs. Also, the UK was a large driver of our 2024 new investments, totaling over $782 million or 68% of our total new investments. We have been investing in the UK for over a decade now and have accumulated a strong bench of operators and other relationships there, which lead us to highly accretive investment opportunities.

2024 年新增房地產貸款餘額支持了現有的營運商關係，或促進了我們的借款人以遠低於重置成本的價格收購不良資產。此外，英國是我們 2024 年新投資的主要推動力，總額超過 7.82 億美元，占我們新投資總額的 68%。我們在英國投資已有十多年，累積了強大的營運商資源和其他關係，這為我們帶來了極具增值潛力的投資機會。

Looking at the fourth quarter of 2024, Omega completed a total of $363 million in new investments, inclusive of $23 million in CapEx. The new investments include $179 million in real estate acquisitions across four transactions which have an average initial annual cash yield of 9.9% and $162 million real estate loans which have a weighted average interest rate of 10.9%.

展望 2024 年第四季度，Omega 共完成 3.63 億美元的新投資，其中包括 2,300 萬美元的資本支出。新的投資包括四筆交易中價值 1.79 億美元的房地產收購，平均初始年現金收益率為 9.9%，以及 1.62 億美元的房地產貸款，加權平均利率為 10.9%。

A large portion of these new real estate loans, $101 million or 62%, provide Omega with the opportunity to acquire the underlying real estate upon maturity. Subsequent to the fourth quarter of 2024, Omega closed on $26 million in new investments, excluding CapEx. These investments include a $10.6 million acquisition of two facilities with an initial cash yield of 9.9% via a new lease with a new operator and a $15.4 million mortgage to an existing operator for two facilities with an 11% interest rate.

這些新房地產貸款中的很大一部分（1.01億美元或62%）為Omega提供了到期時收購基礎房地產的機會。2024 年第四季之後，Omega 完成了 2,600 萬美元的新投資（不包括資本支出）。這些投資包括以 1,060 萬美元收購兩處設施，透過與新業者簽訂的新租約，初始現金收益率為 9.9%，以及向現有業者提供 1,540 萬美元的抵押貸款，用於建設兩處設施，利率為 11%。

Turning to the pipeline. Omega's pipeline and transaction outlook for 2025 continues to be quite healthy. We continue to see marketed opportunities both in the US and the UK, while also benefiting from off-market opportunities that our existing operating partners and other relationships bring us. Based on the current lending environment, it is our expectation that we will continue to receive inquiries for real estate loans while we continue to evaluate and engage in select loan opportunities, primarily for existing operator relationships, our priority will always be to allocate capital towards accretive owned real estate deals to grow our balance sheet.

轉向管道。歐米茄 2025 年的管道和交易前景繼續保持良好。我們繼續看到美國和英國的市場機會，同時也受益於現有營運合作夥伴和其他關係為我們帶來的場外市場機會。根據目前的貸款環境，我們預計將繼續收到有關房地產貸款的諮詢，同時我們將繼續評估和參與精選的貸款機會，主要針對現有的運營商關係，我們的首要任務始終是將資本分配給增值的自有房地產交易，以增加我們的資產負債表。

So I'll now turn the call over to Megan.

現在我將把電話轉給梅根。

Thanks, Vikas, and good morning, everyone. As with the start of any new administration, there are a lot of unknowns before us. And while it is too soon to tell what lies ahead, there are many reasons to feel secure about where we currently stand. As Vikas mentioned, coverages are the strongest they've been in years, which is reflective of the continuing recovery from the pandemic. The industry still grapples with the overhang of many issues, most notably staffing shortages, but for now, things appear relatively stable.

謝謝，維卡斯，大家早安。正如任何新政府的開始一樣，我們面臨許多未知數。儘管現在預測未來還為時過早，但我們有許多理由對目前的狀況感到安心。正如維卡斯所提到的，目前的覆蓋範圍是多年來最強的，這反映了經濟從疫情中持續復甦。該行業仍在努力解決許多問題，最明顯的是人員短缺，但目前情況似乎相對穩定。

While the Trump agenda specifically calls entitlement reform into the forefront of potential policy changes, we also know that President Trump supported this industry with government aid when it was the most critical during COVID. We hope that understanding of the importance of this industry hasn't been lost. We continue to monitor the various efforts against the staffing mandate. As I noted last quarter, a motion for summary judgment was filed in the federal court case in the state of Texas brought by certain industry associations amongst others, which we still hear could be decided as early as the end of this quarter or early next quarter.

雖然川普議程特別將福利改革置於潛在政策變化的最前沿，但我們也知道，川普總統在新冠疫情期間最關鍵的時候透過政府援助支持了這個行業。我們希望人們沒有忽視這個行業的重要性。我們將繼續監督各項工作是否符合人員配備要求。正如我在上個季度所指出的，一些行業協會等在德克薩斯州的聯邦法院提起了一份簡易判決動議，我們聽說該動議可能會最早在本季度末或下個季度初做出裁決。

While the 20 attorneys general who filed suit against the mandate in Federal Court in Iowa lost their plea for preliminary injunction, their case continues moving forward as well. Irrespective of the court cases, a legislative repeal is still very much a possibility given that the reversal of the rule would stand to save the federal government $22 billion over 10 years according to the Congressional Budget Office. We are still very hopeful that the rule will ultimately be overturned, and we hope that any future rule-making surrounding reimbursement or regulation is done so with an even hand and an understanding of what is truly at stake.

雖然在愛荷華州聯邦法院對該強制令提起訴訟的 20 名總檢察長最終敗訴，但他們的案件仍在繼續進行中。無論法庭案件如何，通過立法廢除該規定仍然很有可能，因為根據國會預算辦公室的數據，廢除該規定將在 10 年內為聯邦政府節省 220 億美元。我們仍然非常希望這項規則最終會被推翻，我們希望未來有關報銷或監管的任何規則制定都能公平進行，並理解真正的利害關係。

I will now open the call up for questions.

我現在開始回答大家的提問。

(Operator Instructions) Jonathan Hughes, Raymond James.

（操作員指示）喬納森·休斯，雷蒙德·詹姆斯。

Hi, good morning. Thanks for the prepared remarks and commentary and congrats to Matthew and Vikas on their new roles and Dan on a great career. Vikas, I was hoping you could share some more details of what the investment pipeline looks like today in terms of dollar size yields and then fee simple acquisitions versus loans.

嗨，早安。感謝您準備好的發言和評論，並祝賀馬修和維卡斯擔任新的職位以及丹取得的偉大事業。維卡斯，我希望你能分享更多細節，說明目前的投資管道情況，包括美元規模收益，以及絕對所有權收購與貸款。

Yes. Thanks, Jonathan. So the pipeline, as I said in my prepared remarks, looks strong. It's a little bit more heavily weighted right now in the UK, but that can change as things progress. And we're mostly looking at small, midsized deals at this time. A bit more real estate focused, which we're just going to continue to pursue more than loans at this time. But again, all of that can change as things play out.

是的。謝謝，喬納森。因此，正如我在準備好的發言中所說，這條管道看起來很強勁。目前，在英國，這種觀點的分量更重一些，但隨著事態的發展，這種情況可能會改變。目前我們主要關注小型、中型交易。更加關注房地產，目前我們將繼續追求比貸款更多的目標。但隨著事態的發展，所有這些都可能改變。

Okay. And I think I heard in maybe Bob's prepared remarks, there are some loans that are converting to fee simple ownership this year. Was that always the plan for those? Or were those operators hopeful to refi, and due to the challenging lending environment, this is kind of the option that they're locked with?

好的。我想我可能在鮑伯的準備好的發言中聽過，今年有一些貸款將轉換為完全所有權。這一直是他們的計劃嗎？或者這些業者對再融資抱持希望，而由於貸款環境嚴峻，他們只能選擇這種方式？

Yes, Jonathan, this is Vikas again. So we did a few loans last year knowing that they would convert to leases. And that was done primarily due to regulatory timing in the UK. It takes a long time to get those approvals in the UK. So we structure loans, so our operators, borrowers could get the deals done. And then the terms are short, they're all within this year, they'll convert the real estate leases.

是的，喬納森，我又是維卡斯。因此，我們去年發放了幾筆貸款，但我們知道這些貸款會轉為租賃。這主要是由於英國的監管時機。在英國獲得這些批准需要很長時間。因此，我們對貸款進行結構化設計，以便我們的營運商和借款人能夠完成交易。而且期限很短，都在今年之內，他們會轉換房地產租賃。

Michael Griffin, Citi.

花旗銀行的麥可‧格里芬 (Michael Griffin)。

Great, thanks. Appreciate the color kind of on the regulatory front and the potential implications of the new administration. Just wondering if you could give any insight into kind of the labor environment and demand there that your operators are seeing? And is there any worry that potential immigration reform could impact the labor pool and maybe further pressure wages?

非常好，謝謝。欣賞監管方面的色彩以及新政府的潛在影響。只是想知道您是否可以對您的運營商所看到的勞動力環境和需求提供一些見解？是否有人擔心潛在的移民改革可能會影響勞動力資源並進一步給薪資帶來壓力？

Yes. I mean, look, the labor environment is still tough, especially in the more rural areas, and that is probably going to be -- continue to be tough for a long time unless something changes. And so the immigration policy is definitely going to play into that to the extent that we can legally bring in immigrants to supplement the nursing force that helps and we'll just have to wait to see how that all progresses, but we haven't seen any impact from the immigration policies as this time.

是的。我的意思是，勞動環境仍然很艱難，特別是在農村地區，除非情況有所改變，否則這種艱難狀況可能會持續很長一段時間。因此，移民政策肯定會在一定程度上發揮作用，我們可以合法地引進移民來補充護理隊伍，我們只需要等待，看看這一切如何進展，但到目前為止，我們還沒有看到移民政策產生任何影響。

That's helpful. And then maybe a question for Vikas just getting back to the acquisition pipeline and the opportunity set. There's been some news over the past couple of months just around SNF operators and maybe financial and tenant health is coming more into the focus. I'm curious if you've seen more scrutiny on underwriting prospective deals, whether it's from a rent coverage perspective, just given maybe there could be some potential issues or worries around operator health. Again, it seems like it's more idiosyncratic to certain tenants, to certain operators. But have you seen it change in kind of underwriting from that perspective?

這很有幫助。然後也許 Vikas 有一個問題，關於收購管道和機會集。過去幾個月有關 SNF 運營商的一些新聞可能越來越受到關注。我很好奇，您是否看到過對承保潛在交易的更多審查，無論是從租金覆蓋的角度還是從其他角度來看，只是考慮到可能存在一些潛在問題或對運營商健康的擔憂。再者，對於某些租戶、某些業者來說，這似乎更具特殊性。但是從這個角度來看，您是否看到過承保類型發生變化？

No, we really haven't. We continue to underwrite where we have historically credit-based deals with strong operators. And I think I agree with your point. It is more, idiosyncratic.

沒有，確實沒有。我們將繼續為與實力雄厚的營運商簽訂的基於信用的交易提供承保。我想我同意你的觀點。它更具獨特性。

John Kilichowski, Wells Fargo.

富國銀行的約翰‧基利喬斯基 (John Kilichowski)。

Thank you. Maybe I'll just follow up very quickly on one more on the pipeline. Maybe could you talk more about the competitive landscape today and your expectation around going in yields?

謝謝。也許我會很快跟進管道上的另一個問題。也許您能否多談談當今的競爭格局以及您對收益的預期？

Yes. I mean, we aren't seeing a big change in competitive environment. I mean, there are family offices, private investors, both in the US and the UK. We're seeing less competition in the UK right now due to lack of capital there. But otherwise, we're not seeing a big change in competition. As for yields, we're staying where we've always stayed, close to 10%, and we're able to deploy capital there.

是的。我的意思是，我們沒有看到競爭環境有重大變化。我的意思是，美國和英國都有家族辦公室和私人投資者。由於缺乏資金，我們目前發現英國的競爭較少。但除此之外，我們並沒有看到競爭有重大變化。至於收益率，我們一直保持在接近 10% 的水平，並且我們能夠在那裡部署資本。

Understood. And then maybe one for Bob here. Just on balance sheet fortification. Your leverage is at 4 times, long-term target of 4 times to 5 times. So not a pressing need to deleverage here. But according to the guide, there's going to be some material equity issuance here to delever in the back half or '26 maturity.

明白了。這裡也許還有一個是給鮑伯的。只是進行資產負債表強化。你的槓桿是4倍，長期目標是4倍到5倍。因此，目前沒有迫切需要去槓桿。但根據指南，下半年或26年到期時，將會有一些實質的股權發行，以去槓桿。

One, could you kind of give us the guide for what that number is, obviously, ex any acquisition activity? And then maybe more your thoughts about the decision to firm up the balance sheet at the expense of maybe some incremental dilution here? And what are you looking at? Is that the relative spread of your AFFO yield to the current cost of 10-year paper versus what it's been historically?

首先，您能否為我們提供這個數字的指導，顯然不包括任何收購活動？那麼，您可能對以犧牲一些增量稀釋為代價來鞏固資產負債表的決定有更多的看法？你在看什麼？這是您的 AFFO 收益率與當前 10 年期債券成本相對於歷史水準的相對利差嗎？

That's a correct statement, what you just said. So they hit a couple -- there were a couple of questions in there. So we're going to treat the guidance similar to what we did in '24, be prepared to handle that debt maturity coming due in '26, similar to what we did for the one we just paid off.

您剛才說的是正確的。所以他們提出了幾個——其中有幾個問題。因此，我們將採取與 24 年類似的指導方針，準備好處理 26 年到期的債務，就像我們剛剛償還的債務一樣。

Given our cost of equity right now, we're taking advantage that we'll be opportunistic. The guidance does not have future acquisitions in. But in order to get the $600 million, you need to issue the equity there. But we will be opportunistic. If the bond market turns around and we can issue bonds, we'll do that. I mean, we've always been in a position to readily hit the equity or bond market.

考慮到我們目前的股權成本，我們正在利用這個機會。該指引並未提及未來的收購。但為了獲得 6 億美元，你需要在那裡發行股票。但我們會抓住機會。如果債券市場好轉並且我們可以發行債券，我們就會這樣做。我的意思是，我們一直能夠輕鬆進入股票或債券市場。

Juan Sanabria, BMO Capital Markets.

Juan Sanabria，BMO資本市場。

Hi, good morning. Just following up there on that same line of questioning. What share count, I guess, is assumed or how much equity is assumed to raise as part of guidance to pay maturing loans booked this year and then to prep for the '26 Jan maturity you referenced?

嗨，早安。我只是繼續追問同樣的問題。我猜，假設的股份數量是多少，或者假設籌集多少股權作為指導意見的一部分來支付今年到期的貸款，然後為您提到的 1 月 26 日到期做準備？

We're not giving out the exact share count on, but it's really going to be -- to get to the $600 million, the share count is going to be driven by the price and the timing that I issue that equity to get to $600 million. So the price is high, less equity needed. That's outside the guidance, and if the price goes down from where we are today, or historically what we had in the third and fourth quarter and it's still accretive to do it that way, we fund it, and we'll be at the lower end of the guidance.

我們不會透露確切的股份數量，但實際上——為了達到 6 億美元，股份數量將取決於價格和我發行該股票的時間來達到 6 億美元。因此價格高，所需股本少。這超出了指導範圍，如果價格從現在的水平下降，或者從歷史上看，第三季度和第四季度的價格下降，而且這樣做仍然具有增值性，我們就會為其提供資金，並且價格將處於指導範圍的低端。

Okay. You're assuming other remaining '25 debt maturities are also repaid with cash/equity. Is that correct, just to make sure?

好的。您假設其他剩餘的 25 年債務到期也以現金/股權償還。為了確保正確，這樣做對嗎？

That's correct. Yes.

沒錯。是的。

Nick Yulico, Scotiabank.

加拿大豐業銀行的 Nick Yulico。

Couple of questions just on Maplewood and then the Guardian transition assets. If you could just give us a feel for kind of where you're at in terms of getting back to sort of a maximum rent on those operators. And I guess, specifically on Maplewood, as we think about the Second Avenue asset, maybe an update on how that occupancy is trending and how important that is to get back to the full Maplewood rent.

我有幾個問題關於 Maplewood 以及 Guardian 過渡資產。如果您能讓我們大概了解一下您在恢復這些業者的最高租金方面的進展嗎？我想，特別是在 Maplewood 方面，當我們考慮第二大道資產時，也許會更新一下入住率的趨勢，以及恢復到 Maplewood 全額租金的重要性。

Yes. Nick, this is Vikas here. So on Maplewood, our total portfolio's occupancy is now at 91%. That includes Second Avenue. And Second Avenue itself is at 85%. So things are looking good there for our core portfolio with Maplewood. They paid strong rent in January, and we feel like that rent is sustainable, if not, will go up as occupancy increases in the second half. So overall, we feel very good about Maplewood at the moment.

是的。尼克，我是維卡斯。因此，在 Maplewood，我們投資組合中的總入住率現在為 91%。其中包括第二大道。第二大道本身的比例也達到 85%。因此，對於我們與 Maplewood 的核心投資組合而言，情況看起來不錯。他們在一月支付了高額租金，我們覺得租金是可持續的，如果不是，那麼隨著下半年入住率的增加，租金將會上漲。所以總的來說，我們目前對 Maplewood 感覺非常良好。

For Guardian, that transition happened last year to a new operator. They hit their high threshold of rent, and we will just see what happens in the future. But right now, everything is going as planned.

對 Guardian 來說，這一轉變發生在去年，由一家新營運商經營。他們的租金已經達到了很高的門檻，我們只能拭目以待未來會發生什麼事。但目前，一切都按計劃進行。

Okay. And then just to be clear, the guidance for the year assumes that it's just both those operators pay existing rent that they're paying, they're not paying a higher level?

好的。然後需要明確的是，今年的指導意見假設這兩家業者都支付現有的租金，而不是支付更高的租金？

That is correct. If Maplewood's at the higher level, that's one component that takes us to our higher end of our guidance.

正確。如果 Maplewood 處於更高水平，那麼這就是讓我們達到更高指導水平的一個因素。

Farrell Granath, Bank of America.

美國銀行的法雷爾‧格拉納斯 (Farrell Granath)。

I wanted to touch on the EBITDAR coverage. I know that you made the comment that the increases may be a little bit more modest going forward. But can you go through a little bit of the moving pieces and maybe how that's looking if it wasn't a trailing four quarters, specifically one tying in? I also see the less than 1 times coverage had a larger ding on a small rent percentage.

我想談談 EBITDAR 覆蓋範圍。我知道您說過今後漲幅可能會更小一些。但是，您能否稍微介紹一下其中的變化情況，以及如果不是過去四個季度，特別是一個季度的並列情況，情況會是怎樣的？我還發現，少於 1 倍的保險金額對於較小的租金百分比來說，影響較大。

Yes. I mean in terms of that one operator under 1 times, that's a one facility deal that we acquired as part of a larger transaction. It's not a typical asset cost for us. It's not a SNF. It's not an ALF. It's a specialty hospital, and they have very volatile earnings, so they bounce all around. So that I don't think is indicative of anything that you would expect to see in the rest of the portfolio. We continue to see a good performance from the rest of our portfolio and continuing to see everything moderate and be strong.

是的。我的意思是，就 1 次以下的一家運營商而言，這是我們作為一項更大交易的一部分而獲得的一項設施交易。對我們來說，這不是典型的資產成本。這不是 SNF。這不是 ALF。這是一家專科醫院，其收入非常不穩定，所以收入不穩定。因此，我認為這並不代表你期望在投資組合的其餘部分中看到任何情況。我們繼續看到我們投資組合中的其他產品表現良好，並且繼續看到一切保持溫和而強勁。

Great. And also on that mix, I also saw the -- there's a slight uptick in the private insurers kind of a larger one than I've seen in the last couple of quarters. I was curious, what was driving that? Are you seeing the payer mix shifting more towards private?

偉大的。此外，我還看到，私人保險公司的銷售額略有上升，而且比過去幾季的增幅更大。我很好奇，是什麼原因導致的呢？您是否發現付款人結構正向私人轉變？

It's just highly dependent on the deals that we do. So as we do more UK deals, that private pay is going to come up a bit.

這很大程度上取決於我們所做的交易。因此，隨著我們與英國達成更多的交易，私人支付將會增加。

Michael Carroll, RBC Capital Markets.

加拿大皇家銀行資本市場 (RBC Capital Markets) 的 Michael Carroll。

I wanted to circle back to Maplewood. How is Maplewood positioned today? I mean, are they better positioned to really ramp up their EBITDAR now versus the beginning of 2024? I mean, if you look at the 2024 rent, I think the quarterly rent increased by roughly $1 million between 1Q and 4Q '24. Should we expect a similar ramp in 2025? Or given that the development in New York's occupancy is improving that it could be higher than that?

我想繞回楓林鎮。楓林目前的定位如何？我的意思是，與 2024 年初相比，他們現在是否更有能力真正提升 EBITDAR？我的意思是，如果你看看 2024 年的租金，我認為 2024 年第一季至第四季之間的季度租金增加了約 100 萬美元。我們是否應該預期 2025 年也會出現類似的成長？或者考慮到紐約的入住率正在不斷提高，這個數字可能會更高？

Yes. This is Vikas. We see things getting better this year. Occupancy at Second Avenue now is at 85%. The team feels in Maplewood that we'll get to above 90% later this year. So things are in the right direction. We just have to see how this plays out over the next few months. But it will still take one to two years to stabilize the entire relationship.

是的。這是維卡斯。我們看到今年的情況正在好轉。目前第二大道的入住率為 85%。梅普伍德的團隊認為，今年稍後我們的完成率將達到 90% 以上。事情正在朝著正確的方向發展。我們只需觀察未來幾個月的情況如何。但整個關係要穩定下來仍需一到兩年的時間。

Okay. And then circle back, I think you've probably touched on this a little bit related to the investment pipeline. But are any buyers or sellers acting differently today, specifically for the US properties, just given the volatility we've seen in interest rates and the political environment discussing potential, I guess, Medicaid restructuring? Have people slowed down their investment activity, as sellers been more aggressive trying to get out? Have you seen anything like that occurring?

好的。然後回過頭來，我想你可能已經稍微談到了與投資管道相關的問題。但是，考慮到我們所看到的利率波動和正在討論的潛在醫療補助重組的政治環境，今天買家或賣家的行為是否會有所不同，特別是對於美國房地產而言？由於賣家更積極地試圖退出，人們是否已經放慢了投資活動？您曾經看過類似的事情發生嗎？

No, we've not seen any dramatic changes today. As Megan said, I think we're all just waiting to see what plays out, if anything, but at the current time, we're underwriting, we think our peers are underwriting the same way they always have. So no material changes at this time.

不，今天我們沒有看到任何劇烈的變化。正如梅根所說，我認為我們都在等待看會發生什麼，但目前，我們正在承保，我們認為我們的同行也在以同樣的方式承保。因此目前沒有重大變化。

Alec Feygin, Baird.

亞歷克費金，貝爾德。

So going to the UK exposure, I think it's about a little over 14%. What are you comfortable getting that up to?

因此，就英國而言，我認為曝光率大約略高於 14%。您覺得怎樣做比較好？

Alex, it's Matthew here. I don't think we have a target in mind. I think we look at each deal on its own merits. We think that the UK is a highly compelling investment opportunity at this point in time. We have very similar dynamics as you have in the US SNF market in terms of very limited new supply, burgeoning growth opportunity in terms of an aging baby boomer demographic.

亞歷克斯，我是馬修。我認為我們心中還沒有確定目標。我認為我們會根據每筆交易本身的優點來看待它。我們認為，英國目前是一個極具吸引力的投資機會。我們與美國 SNF 市場的情況非常相似，新供應非常有限，但隨著嬰兒潮世代人口老化，成長機會蓬勃發展。

And we've developed a really good platform of operators there that are keen to grow and have the financial and operational capability to do so. So I think we will continue to grow that portfolio, obviously, as it grows. We evaluate it in the mix of everything. But I don't think we have a threshold over which we would want to go. I think it's just going to be based on what opportunities we see in the US and UK markets.

我們在那裡開發了一個非常好的營運商平台，他們渴望發展，並且擁有實現成長的財務和營運能力。因此我認為，隨著投資組合的成長，我們顯然會繼續擴大其規模。我們根據各種因素的綜合作用來評估。但我不認為我們設定了一個願意跨越的門檻。我認為這只是基於我們在美國和英國市場看到的機會。

All right. Thank you. And does Omega have a plan to maybe hedge the UK cash flows as it grows?

好的。謝謝。歐米茄是否有計劃在其發展過程中對沖英國的現金流？

It's definitely something we're talking about internally, yes. Given where the dollar has gone against the pound right now, you feel like you might be bottom ticking the market a little bit. So I think it's something that we will continue to look at. But as of today, we haven't got any definitive decisions around that.

是的，這絕對是我們內部正在討論的事情。考慮到目前美元兌英鎊的走勢，你感覺市場可能已經有點觸底了。所以我認為我們會繼續關注這個問題。但截至今天，我們還沒有就此做出任何明確的決定。

Emily Meckler, Green Street.

艾米麗·梅克勒 (Emily Meckler)，綠街。

Have the increased employment taxes and increased minimum wage in the UK had a noticeable impact on coverage level for your UK portfolio? And does this kind of change your underwriting criteria moving forward there?

英國增加就業稅和提高最低工資是否對您英國投資組合的覆蓋水準產生了明顯的影響？這是否會改變您未來的承保標準？

This is Vikas. No, we've seen no dramatic changes due to those changes in the UK at this time.

這是維卡斯。不，目前我們還沒有看到英國因這些變化而出現任何顯著變化。

Okay. Great. And then maybe one for Megan. Could you give us a sense for what percentage of workers in skilled nursing facilities are for inborn?

好的。偉大的。然後也許還有一個給梅根。您能否告訴我們，專業護理機構中為先天性疾病提供護理的工作人員比例是多少？

I do not have that information. I'm not sure. I do know that, obviously, some of the legal immigration that's been happening over the last few years, some of our operators have brought folks in, but we don't know the percentages.

我沒有那方面資訊。我不知道。我確實知道，顯然，過去幾年發生的一些合法移民中，我們的一些運營商已經引進了一些人，但我們不知道具體比例。

Jonathan Hughes, Raymond James.

喬納森·休斯、雷蒙·詹姆斯。

Thanks for the follow-up. Bob, I was hoping you could give us some details on FAD or cash earnings expectations. Should that gap between AFFO and FAD, similar to last year, it's narrowed by about half over the past, call it, pre-COVID versus today. And I know that's because some operators should move from cash to accrual, but just any color there would be great.

感謝您的跟進。鮑勃，我希望你能向我們提供有關 FAD 或現金盈利預期的一些詳細信息。如果 AFFO 和 FAD 之間的差距與去年相似，那麼與現在相比，這一差距比過去（即 COVID 之前）縮小了約一半。我知道這是因為有些業者應該從現金轉向應計，但無論什麼顏色都很好。

Yes, you're right. We don't give that guidance. But big picture, that relationship will be pretty similar to Q4. I think there's two points to remember in FAD. I already stated that 76% of our revenue's on a straight-line basis. So less escalators hit, they don't impact AFFO, but they do impact FAD. So that's 23% of that we'll have some closing of the gap there. And then just remember with the Maplewood DC asset, that capped interest goes away as revenue -- we'll be recording revenue on those assets.

是的，你說得對。我們不提供這樣的指導。但從整體來看，這種關係將與 Q4 非常相似。我認為在 FAD 中有兩點需要記住。我已經說過，我們的 76% 的收入是按直線基礎計算的。因此，較少的自動扶梯撞擊不會影響 AFFO，但會影響 FAD。因此，我們將縮小其中的 23% 的差距。然後只要記住，對於 Maplewood DC 資產，上限利息將作為收入消失 - 我們將記錄這些資產的收入。

Vikram Malhotra, Mizuho.

瑞穗的維克拉姆·馬洛特拉 (Vikram Malhotra)。

I guess just first, back on the UK, could you just talk about how much of the push in the UK kind of in '25, '26, maybe perhaps a little bit of a hedge against changes and potential changes in Medicaid or other changes here? And then in the UK itself, what about raising debt in the UK also versus the US?

首先，回到英國，您能否談談 25 年和 26 年英國的推動力度有多大，也許可以稍微規避醫療補助或其他變化的變化和潛在變化？那麼在英國國內，與美國相比，英國的債務增加如何？

Sure. Thanks, Vikram. It's Matthew again. So on the first question, I don't think it's really a hedge effort on our part. I think it really is just that we're seeing a lot of opportunities in the UK right now to transact with quality operators. And so we're taking advantage of that market and side. I feel like our US Medicaid -- how we feel about the US Medicaid market hasn't fundamentally changed over the last 12 months.

當然。謝謝，維克拉姆。又是馬修。因此，對於第一個問題，我不認為這是我們採取的對沖措施。我認為我們目前在英國看到了很多與優質運營商進行交易的機會。因此，我們正在利用這個市場和優勢。我覺得我們的美國醫療補助——我們對美國醫療補助市場的看法在過去 12 個月中並沒有根本性的改變。

And certainly, even with the new administration, I think that Medicaid will continue to be a necessary part of the funding environment. If you look at a lot of the transactions we were doing early in the year in 2024, where we really didn't know what the administration would look like. So it's really just a reflection of the fact that we're seeing good opportunities over there.

當然，即使有了新政府，我認為醫療補助仍將是融資環境中不可或缺的一部分。如果你看看我們在 2024 年初進行的許多交易，你會發現我們真的不知道管理會是什麼樣子。所以這實際上只是反映了我們在那裡看到了良好的機會。

In terms of the debt side of things, we continue to look at the best way to fund both from a hedging standpoint and from an interest rate standpoint. Candidly, the numbers that were often quoted initially in terms of the debt interest rates we could get are not what we're actually seeing when we look to potentially execute on stuff over there. So as a result, we've continued to fund any debt in the US. Again, we'll keep looking at that. Should the opportunity exist to have a favorable interest rate in the UK, we will obviously look to execute.

就債務方面而言，我們繼續從對沖和利率的角度尋找最佳融資方式。坦白說，我們最初獲得的債務利率所引用的數字並不是我們在尋求在那裡執行任務時實際看到的數字。因此，我們繼續為美國的所有債務提供資金。再次強調，我們會繼續關注此事。如果有機會獲得英國的優惠利率，我們顯然會尋求機會。

Got it. And then just perhaps going back to potential regulation, I mean, do you have thoughts -- or just based on, I guess, if you've had conversations with folks in DC, kind of what route could be minimum staffing take legislatively versus legal?

知道了。然後也許回到潛在的監管問題，我的意思是，您有什麼想法 - 或者只是基於，我想，如果您與華盛頓特區的人們進行過交談，最低人員配備在立法上和法律上可以採取什麼途徑？

And then any thought on what's been proposed by Republican party in terms of whether it's SNAP changes or adjustments to like including quality measures or even block grants. Just maybe give us a bigger picture. I know there's a lot being thrown out there. We don't know what's going to happen, but just specifically on those, kind of what's your view on those changes?

然後，您對共和黨提出的建議有何看法，無論是 SNAP 變更還是調整，包括品質措施甚至是整筆撥款。也許可以提供我們更廣闊的視野。我知道那裡有很多東西被扔出去了。我們不知道會發生什麼，但具體來說，您對這些變化有何看法？

I mean, look, on the staffing mandate, we think the Chevron Doctrine being gone away is going to help us with the legal case. And certainly, at the legal case, depending on how that [society], we think legislatively, this is probably going to go away given the price tag on it and the effort by the Republican party to cut costs. So we're very hopeful on the stopping mandate side as is ACA.

我的意思是，就人員配備要求而言，我們認為雪佛龍主義的廢除將有助於我們處理法律案件。當然，在法律案件中，這取決於該社會如何立法，考慮到其價格以及共和黨為削減成本所做的努力，這種現象可能會消失。因此，我們對於停止強制令和 ACA 方面充滿希望。

In terms of what else could happen, it's really too soon to tell what exactly would go on and what would be passed congressionally. But if you think about block grants, I mean there's been conversations about block grants for a long, long time.

至於還會發生什麼，現在判斷究竟會發生什麼事以及國會會通過什麼法案還為時過早。但是如果你考慮整筆撥款，我的意思是關於整筆撥款的討論已經持續了很長很長時間。

ACA would very much so push for some sort of per capita cap, so that if enrollment increases, the funding increases as well. And they would look for some sort of inflationary increases on the long-term care side plus some factor above that. So ACA's very involved in all of that in the lobbying efforts. So we feel very good about what they would be able to accomplish.

ACA 非常希望推動某種形式的人均上限，這樣如果入學人數增加，資金也會增加。他們會尋找長期照護方面的某種通貨膨脹成長以及其他一些高於此的因素。因此，ACA 積極參與所有遊說活動。因此，我們對他們所取得的成就感到非常滿意。

But again, too soon to tell. But again, as I mentioned, we feel pretty good about where our coverages are. We feel good about the fact that we have a President who was very supportive of this industry during COVID. He really stepped up big time for us and really recognize that this industry is too important to fail. So we hope that that will continue and that understanding will continue and nothing draconian will happen.

但現在還言之過早。但正如我剛才提到的，我們對我們的覆蓋範圍感到非常滿意。我們很高興看到我們的總統在疫情期間非常支持這個行業。他確實為我們做出了巨大貢獻，並且真正認識到這個行業太重要了，不能失敗。因此我們希望這種情況能夠持續下去，這種理解能夠持續下去，並且不會發生任何嚴厲的措施。

And then when we talk about where the federal spending is, if you think about total Medicaid spending, over 25% of the Medicaid, the federal portion of Medicaid spending, is spent on Medicaid expansion, which is what came about via the Affordable Care Act. And so that covers non-elderly adults that do not have children. So that's over 25% of that spend.

然後，當我們談論聯邦支出的情況時，如果您考慮醫療補助的總支出，超過 25％的醫療補助，即醫療補助支出的聯邦部分，用於醫療補助擴展，這是透過《平價醫療法案》實現的。這涵蓋了沒有孩子的非老年人。這佔了支出的 25% 以上。

And that constitutes 90% of the federal government money that's going towards Medicaid expansion as opposed to 60% going towards the rest of Medicaid. So we really view that Medicaid expansion as being the low-hanging fruit. That's probably the first path. It doesn't mean that the rest of Medicaid is in semi at risk, but we feel pretty good about the position that we're in.

這筆資金佔聯邦政府用於擴大醫療補助計劃資金的 90%，而用於醫療補助計劃其餘部分的資金為 60%。因此，我們確實認為醫療補助擴展是唾手可得的成果。這可能是第一條路。這並不意味著其餘的醫療補助計劃處於半危險之中，但我們對目前的狀況感到相當滿意。

Juan Sanabria, BMO Capital Markets.

Juan Sanabria，BMO資本市場。

Thanks for the time for the follow-up. Just going back to the deals that you've done both last year and historically, I guess what should we assume is baked and likely to convert in '25? And how should we think about the delta between the rate that you're getting as a lender versus what you get as you convert it to traditional fee simple?

感謝您抽空跟進。回顧您去年和歷史上所做的交易，我想我們應該假設哪些交易在 25 年已經完成並且可能轉換？我們應該如何看待您作為貸款人獲得的利率與您將其轉換為傳統絕對利率時獲得的利率之間的差額？

Yes. Well, this is Vikas here. As I said in my prepared comments, we have $124 million that we plan to convert this year, and it is basically the same rate. So I don't think there's any pickup there to the model. But we plan for about $124 million all to convert this year.

是的。嗯，這是維卡斯。正如我在準備好的評論中所說的那樣，我們計劃今年轉換 1.24 億美元，而且匯率基本上相同。所以我不認為該模型有任何進展。但我們計劃今年共投入約 1.24 億美元進行轉換。

Okay. And then just last question. Anything on the loans or rents that are maturing that we should be factoring in the model whether rent increase, stable rent or cuts or anybody that you're looking to retant as part of maturities?

好的。接下來是最後一個問題。關於到期的貸款或租金，我們是否應該將其納入模型考慮，無論是租金上漲、穩定租金或削減，還是您希望作為到期部分償還的任何事項？

Well, the $28 million is being repaid. That cash will just sit on the balance sheet earnings from interest. And then the other ones as they get pushed, there's no change in the guidance there. It's at the same rate.

嗯，這 2800 萬美元正在償還。這些現金將只是留在資產負債表上的利息收入中。然後，隨著其他事項的推進，指導方針不會改變。速率是一樣的。

Nick Yulico, Scotiabank.

加拿大豐業銀行的 Nick Yulico。

Just a follow-up, Bob, on the guidance and investments not being in versus the cash on the balance at the end of the year assumed. Is there just a rough feel you can give us in terms of if you do a certain level of acquisitions, say, $500 million, how we should think about the incremental debt equity that would be raised for that? Because it does feel like there's something like pre-funding of capital that's already in your guidance this year, but the investments aren't?

鮑勃，我只是跟進一下，關於指導和投資與假設的年末餘額現金不一致的情況。您能否給我們一個大概的印象，如果您進行一定規模的收購，例如 5 億美元，我們應該如何考慮為此籌集的增量債務股權？因為感覺今年你的指導方針已經包含了預先籌資之類的內容，但投資卻沒有？

You are correct. So the prefunding is the $230 million of secured debt that we're going to pay off in November and getting to $600 million. Remember, we do cash flow from operations. So you get to factor that in, and we had a little bit of loan repayment we just talked about. Again, in my stated remarks, that we are going to prefund acquisitions as the pipeline gets closer. It's just not in the guidance because the acquisition is not in the guidance. So you have to take both of those into consideration there. I know that doesn't answer (multiple speakers)

你是對的。因此，預先籌資的 2.3 億美元擔保債務將於 11 月償還，達到 6 億美元。請記住，我們的現金流來自於經營活動。所以你要考慮到這一點，我們剛才談到了一點貸款償還問題。我再次重申，隨著通路越來越近，我們將預先資助收購。這不在指導範圍內，因為收購不在指導範圍內。所以你必須把這兩點都考慮進去。我知道這沒有答案（多位發言者）

Yes. That's helpful. I guess just one follow-up there is on -- is there a way to give us a feel for like how your average cash balance might look through the year because there is some interest income benefit, I'm guessing here, in the guidance?

是的。這很有幫助。我想只有一個後續問題——有沒有辦法讓我們了解全年的平均現金餘額可能是怎樣的，因為我猜在指導中有一些利息收入收益？

Yes, it's hard -- again, that's what gets me to the high and the low end of my range. But as I stated on the call, we had $200 million of cash -- over $200 million in cash at the end of January but we do have a big dividend payment coming up. And so I would think first quarter will be the lower quarters. And this really gets back to what is our price; how quickly we, based on that price, do we issue equity to build up to that $600 million. And in reality, as you're building up, you're going to use it for acquisitions. So it's really hard, Nick. I apologize, but it's hard.

是的，這很難——再說一遍，這就是我達到範圍的高端和低端的原因。但正如我在電話會議上所說，我們有 2 億美元現金—— 1 月底的現金超過 2 億美元，但我們即將支付大筆股息。因此我認為第一季的業績將會較低。這實際上又回到了我們的價格是多少的問題；基於這個價格，我們多快發行股票以達到 6 億美元。實際上，當你在累積經驗後，你會用它來進行收購。所以真的很難，尼克。我很抱歉，但這很難。

I will turn the call back over to Taylor Pickett for closing remarks.

我將把電話轉回給泰勒皮克特 (Taylor Pickett)，請他作最後發言。

Thanks, everyone, for joining the call today. As usual, the team will be prepared for any follow-up questions you may have. Have a great day.

感謝大家今天的電話會議。像往常一樣，團隊將做好準備回答您可能遇到的任何後續問題。祝你有美好的一天。

Ladies and gentlemen, that concludes today's call. Thank you all for joining. You may now disconnect.

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