Saratoga Investment Corp (SAR) 2023 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for standing by. Welcome to Saratoga Investment Corp.'s 2023 Fiscal Year-End and Fourth Quarter Financial Results Conference Call. Please note that today's call is being recorded.

早上好，女士們，先生們。謝謝你的支持。歡迎參加 Saratoga Investment Corp. 的 2023 財年末和第四季度財務業績電話會議。請注意，今天的通話正在錄音中。

(Operator Instructions)

（操作員說明）

At this time, I'd like to turn the call over to Saratoga Investment Corp.'s Chief Financial and Compliance Officer, Mr. Henri Steenkamp. Sir, please go ahead.

此時，我想將電話轉給 Saratoga Investment Corp. 的首席財務和合規官 Henri Steenkamp 先生。先生，請繼續。

Thank you. I would like to welcome everyone to Saratoga Investment Corp.'s 2023 Fiscal Year-End and Fourth Quarter Earnings Conference Call. Today's conference call includes forward-looking statements and projections. We ask you to refer to our most recent filings with the SEC for important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from these forward-looking statements and projections. We do not undertake to update our forward-looking statements unless required to do so by law.

謝謝。歡迎大家參加 Saratoga Investment Corp. 的 2023 財年末和第四季度收益電話會議。今天的電話會議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前瞻性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。

Today, we will be referencing a presentation during our call. You can find our fiscal year-end and fourth quarter 2023 shareholder presentation in the Events and Presentations section of our Investor Relations website. A link to our IR page is in the earnings press release distributed last night. A replay of this conference call will also be available. Please refer to our earnings press release for details. I would now like to turn the call over to our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Christian Oberbeck, who will be making a few introductory remarks.

今天，我們將在通話期間參考演示文稿。您可以在我們的投資者關係網站的“活動和演示”部分找到我們的 2023 財年末和第四季度股東演示文稿。昨晚發布的收益新聞稿中有指向我們 IR 頁面的鏈接。此電話會議的重播也將可用。詳情請參閱我們的收益新聞稿。現在，我想將電話轉交給我們的董事長兼首席執行官克里斯蒂安·奧伯貝克 (Christian Oberbeck)，他將做一些介紹性發言。

Thank you, Henri, and welcome, everyone.

謝謝你，Henri，歡迎大家。

Saratoga's 27% and 85% increase in adjusted net investment income per share as compared to last year and last year's fourth quarter, respectively, outpaced our recent and significant dividend increases and reflects the positive effects of rising rates on the 99% of our credit assets that are floating rate, which are 89% of total assets under management, the balance being equity.

與去年和去年第四季度相比，Saratoga 的調整後每股淨投資收益分別增長 27% 和 85%，超過了我們近期的顯著股息增長，反映了利率上升對我們 99% 的信貸資產的積極影響均為浮動利率，佔管理總資產的89%，其餘為權益。

In contrast to the largely fixed interest rates paid on financing liabilities, higher and rising interest rates and a general contraction of available credit are producing higher margins on our portfolio, and importantly, an abundant flow of attractive investment opportunities from high-quality sponsors and increasingly improving pricing, terms and absolute rates. Saratoga's credit structure with largely interest-only, covenant-free, long-duration debt incorporating maturities 2 to 10 years out, positions us particularly well for rising and potentially higher for longer interest rate environment.

與為融資負債支付的基本固定利率相比，更高且不斷上升的利率以及可用信貸的普遍收縮正在為我們的投資組合帶來更高的利潤率，重要的是，來自高質量發起人的大量有吸引力的投資機會和越來越多的改善定價、條款和絕對費率。 Saratoga 的信貸結構主要是只付息、無契約、長期債務，包括 2 至 10 年到期的債務，這使我們特別有利於上升，並可能在更長的利率環境下走高。

Most importantly, at the foundation of our performance is the high-quality nature and resilience of our portfolio, reflected in an NAV per share decline in this challenging environment of just 0.5% since last year, demonstrating the strength of our underwriting and solid growing portfolio companies and sponsors and in well-selected industry segments.

最重要的是，我們業績的基礎是我們投資組合的高質量和彈性，反映在這一充滿挑戰的環境中的每股資產淨值自去年以來僅下降 0.5%，證明了我們的承銷實力和穩健增長的投資組合公司和讚助商以及精心挑選的行業領域。

This portfolio resilience is evidenced by NAV per share increasing 3.3% from Q3 to $29.18. These positive effects are further manifested in our many record key performance indicators this past year and continuing since year-end, including: first, sequential quarterly adjusted NII per share increases of 33% in Q3, up from $0.58 to $0.77 per share and 27% in Q4, up from $0.77 to $0.98 per share.

每股資產淨值從第三季度增長 3.3% 至 29.18 美元，證明了這種投資組合的彈性。這些積極影響進一步體現在我們過去一年的許多創紀錄的關鍵績效指標中，並且自年底以來一直如此，包括：首先，第三季度季度調整後的每股 NII 連續增長 33%，從每股 0.58 美元增至 0.77 美元，增幅為 27%在第四季度，每股收益從 0.77 美元上漲至 0.98 美元。

Second, current assets under management growing to over $1 billion; third, dividend increases to $0.69 per share, up 30% from 53% in Q4 last year and over earned by 42% as compared to this quarter's $0.98 per share adjusted NII. Fourth, $301 million in long-term fixed rate callable capital recently raised in 6 offerings in volatile markets to support record growth, while maintaining our BBB+ investment-grade rating; and fifth, receipt of our third SBIC license, providing $175 million of available debt capacity to further support our small business portfolio consistent with the SBA's mission.

第二，管理的流動資產增長到超過10億美元；第三，股息增加至每股 0.69 美元，比去年第四季度的 53% 增長 30%，與本季度調整後的每股 0.98 美元的 NII 相比，多賺 42%。第四，最近在動蕩的市場中通過 6 次發行籌集了 3.01 億美元的長期固定利率可贖回資本，以支持創紀錄的增長，同時維持我們的 BBB+ 投資級評級；第五，獲得我們的第三個 SBIC 許可證，提供 1.75 億美元的可用債務能力，以進一步支持我們符合 SBA 使命的小型企業組合。

Our existing portfolio companies are generally performing well, with our overall fair value 1% above cost. We continue to be highly discerning in terms of new commitments in the current environment, something we focused on extensively throughout the quarter.

我們現有的投資組合公司總體表現良好，我們的整體公允價值比成本高出 1%。我們在當前環境下的新承諾方面繼續保持高度敏銳，這是我們在整個季度廣泛關注的事情。

Our pipeline remains robust with many actionable opportunities. And while our AUM decreased slightly this quarter to $973 million since quarter end, we have closed numerous investments totaling approximately $119 million, including 5 new portfolio companies and 17 follow-on ones in existing portfolio companies with strong business models and balance sheets, we know well and with 82% of our investments at quarter end in first lien and generally supported by strong enterprise values and balance sheets in industries that have historically performed well in stressed situations.

我們的管道仍然很強大，有許多可行的機會。雖然本季度我們的資產管理規模自季度末以來略有下降至 9.73 億美元，但我們已經完成了大量投資，總計約 1.19 億美元，其中包括 5 家新的投資組合公司和 17 家現有投資組合公司的後續公司，這些公司具有強大的商業模式和資產負債表，我們知道好吧，我們 82% 的投資在季度末以優先留置權形式進行，並且通常得到強大的企業價值和資產負債表的支持，這些行業歷來在壓力情況下表現良好。

We believe our portfolio is well structured for the future economic conditions and uncertainty. Saratoga's annualized fourth quarter dividend of $0.69 per share and adjusted net investment income of $0.98 per share imply an 11.3% dividend yield and 16.1% earnings yield based on its recent stock price of $24.38 per share on May 1, 2023. The over-earning of the dividend by $0.29 this quarter or $1.16 annualized per share increases NAV, supports the increased dividend level and also provides a cushion against adverse events.

我們相信我們的投資組合結構合理，可以應對未來的經濟狀況和不確定性。 Saratoga 的第四季度年化股息為每股 0.69 美元，調整後的淨投資收益為每股 0.98 美元，這意味著基於 2023 年 5 月 1 日每股 24.38 美元的近期股價，股息收益率為 11.3%，收益收益率為 16.1%。本季度 0.29 美元的股息或每股 1.16 美元的年化股息增加了資產淨值，支持增加的股息水平，並為不利事件提供緩衝。

To briefly recap the past quarter on Slide 2. First, we continued to strengthen our financial foundation in Q4 by maintaining a high level of investment credit quality with 96% of our loan investments retaining our highest credit rating at quarter end and with only one investment on nonaccrual, generating a return on equity of 7.2% on a trailing 12-month basis versus the industry average of 0.6%, recognizing $10.5 million in net unrealized appreciation, with the core BDC portfolio appreciating by $3.1 million and the remaining $7.4 million, primarily reflecting broadly syndicated loan market volatility in the CLO and JV and registering a gross unlevered IRR of 11.6% on our total unrealized portfolio and a gross unlevered IRR of 15.7% on total realizations of $908 million.

在幻燈片 2 上簡要回顧上一季度。首先，我們在第四季度繼續加強我們的財務基礎，保持高水平的投資信貸質量，我們 96% 的貸款投資在季度末保持我們的最高信用評級，並且只有一項投資在非應計項目中，過去 12 個月的股本回報率為 7.2%，而行業平均水平為 0.6%，確認了 1050 萬美元的淨未實現增值，核心 BDC 投資組合增值了 310 萬美元，其餘 740 萬美元，主要是反映了 CLO 和 JV 中廣泛的銀團貸款市場波動，我們未實現投資組合的總無槓桿內部收益率為 11.6%，實現總額為 9.08 億美元的無槓桿內部收益率為 15.7%。

Second, our assets under management increased to $973 million this quarter, a 19% increase from $818 million last year and a 1% decrease from $982 million as of last quarter. Subsequent to year-end, we've added net originations of $109 million, bringing total AUM to close to $1.1 billion.

其次，本季度我們管理的資產增加到 9.73 億美元，比去年的 8.18 億美元增長 19%，比上一季度的 9.82 億美元下降 1%。年底之後，我們增加了 1.09 億美元的淨發起，使 AUM 總額接近 11 億美元。

Third, involved economic conditions such as we are currently experiencing, balance sheet strength, liquidity and NAV preservation remain paramount for us. Our capital structure at year-end was strong, $347 million of mark-to-market equity supporting $494 million of long-term covenant-free non-SBIC debt, $202 million of long-term covenant-free SBIC debentures and $32.5 million of long-term revolving borrowings. Our total committed undrawn lending and discretionary funding facilities outstanding to existing portfolio companies are $109 million, with $49 million committed and $60 million discretionary.

第三，我們目前所經歷的相關經濟狀況、資產負債表實力、流動性和資產淨值保全對我們來說仍然是最重要的。我們年底的資本結構強勁，3.47 億美元按市值計價的股權支持 4.94 億美元的長期無契約非 SBIC 債務、2.02 億美元的長期無契約 SBIC 債券和 3250 萬美元的長期債券- 定期循環借款。我們向現有投資組合公司未償還的承諾未提取貸款和全權委託融資額度總額為 1.09 億美元，其中已承諾 4,900 萬美元，可自由支配 6,000 萬美元。

Our debt maturity schedule ranges from 2 to 10 years out, providing a solid credit structure at a fixed cost and with favorable terms, positioning us well for both a rising rate environment or should overall economic challenges arise.

我們的債務到期期限從 2 年到 10 年不等，以固定成本和優惠條款提供穩固的信貸結構，使我們在利率上升環境或整體經濟挑戰出現時處於有利地位。

At February 28, 2023, we had $277 million of investment capacity available to support our portfolio companies with $148 million available to our newly approved SBIC III fund, $32.5 million in our expanded revolving credit facility and $96 million in cash and further expanding our liquidity base.

截至 2023 年 2 月 28 日，我們有 2.77 億美元的投資能力可用於支持我們的投資組合公司，其中 1.48 億美元可用於我們新批准的 SBIC III 基金、3250 萬美元的擴大循環信貸額度和 9600 萬美元的現金，並進一步擴大我們的流動性基礎.

Subsequent to quarter end, we issued $20 million of new private baby bonds and a new $57.5 million public baby bond trading under the ticker SAZ. Finally, based on our overall performance and liquidity, the Board of Directors declared a quarterly dividend of $0.69 per share for the quarter ended February 28, 2023, an increase of $0.01 or 1.5% from last quarter in our largest quarterly dividend ever, which was paid on March 30, 2023.

季度末後，我們發行了 2000 萬美元的新私人嬰兒債券和新的 5750 萬美元公共嬰兒債券，交易代碼為 SAZ。最後，根據我們的整體業績和流動性，董事會宣布截至 2023 年 2 月 28 日止季度的季度股息為每股 0.69 美元，比我們有史以來最大的季度股息增加 0.01 美元或 1.5%，這是2023 年 3 月 30 日支付。

Saratoga Investment's fourth quarter demonstrated strong performance within our key performance indicators as compared to the quarters ended February 28, 2022 and November 30, 2022.

與截至 2022 年 2 月 28 日和 2022 年 11 月 30 日結束的季度相比，Saratoga Investment 第四季度在我們的關鍵績效指標方面表現強勁。

Our adjusted NII is $11.6 million this quarter, up 82% from last year and up 27% from last quarter. Our adjusted NII per share is $0.98 this quarter, up 85% from $0.53 last year and up 27% from $0.77 last quarter. Latest 12 months return on equity is 7.2%, down from 13.9% last year and up from 4% last quarter. And our NAV per share is $29.18 down 0.5% from $29.33 last year and up 3.3% from $28.25 last quarter. Comparing fiscal 2023 and 2022, adjusted NII is up 33% from $25.7 million to $34.1 million and adjusted NII per share is up 27% from $2.24 to $2.85. Henri will provide more in detail later.

本季度我們調整後的 NII 為 1160 萬美元，比去年增長 82%，比上一季度增長 27%。本季度我們調整後的每股 NII 為 0.98 美元，比去年的 0.53 美元增長 85%，比上一季度的 0.77 美元增長 27%。最近 12 個月的股本回報率為 7.2%，低於去年的 13.9%，高於上一季度的 4%。我們的每股資產淨值為 29.18 美元，比去年的 29.33 美元下降 0.5%，比上一季度的 28.25 美元上漲 3.3%。比較 2023 財年和 2022 財年，調整後的 NII 增長 33%，從 2570 萬美元增至 3410 萬美元，調整後的每股 NII 增長 27%，從 2.24 美元增至 2.85 美元。 Henri 稍後會提供更多詳細信息。

As you can see on Slide 3, our assets under management have steadily and consistently risen since we took over the BDC almost 13 years ago, and the quality of our credits remains high, with only 1 credit on nonaccrual, the same as last quarter. Our management team is working diligently to continue this positive trend as we deploy our available capital into our growing pipeline while at the same time being appropriately cautious in this volatile and evolving credit environment.

正如您在幻燈片 3 中看到的那樣，自從我們在將近 13 年前接管 BDC 以來，我們管理的資產穩步持續增長，我們的信貸質量仍然很高，只有 1 個非應計信貸，與上一季度相同。我們的管理團隊正在努力工作以延續這一積極趨勢，因為我們將可用資本投入到不斷增長的渠道中，同時在這種動盪和不斷變化的信貸環境中保持適當的謹慎。

With that, I would like to now turn the call back over to Henri to review our financial results as well as the composition and performance of our portfolio.

有了這個，我現在想把電話轉回 Henri 來審查我們的財務業績以及我們投資組合的構成和表現。

Thank you, Chris. Slide 4 highlights our key performance metrics for the fiscal fourth quarter ended February 28, 2023. When adjusting the incentive fee accrual related to net capital gains, adjusted NII of $11.6 million was up 27.0% from last quarter and up 82.4% from last year's Q4. Adjusted NII per share was $0.98, up $0.21 from $0.77 per share last quarter and up $0.45 from $0.53 per share last year. Across the 3 quarters shown on the slide, weighted average common shares outstanding were relatively unchanged. There was 0 accretion or dilution due to share repurchases and DRIP issuances this quarter.

謝謝你，克里斯。幻燈片 4 突出顯示了我們截至 2023 年 2 月 28 日的第四財季的關鍵績效指標。在調整與淨資本收益相關的激勵費用應計時，調整後的 NII 為 1,160 萬美元，比上一季度增長 27.0%，比去年第四季度增長 82.4% .調整後的每股 NII 為 0.98 美元，較上一季度的每股 0.77 美元上漲 0.21 美元，較去年的每股 0.53 美元上漲 0.45 美元。在幻燈片所示的三個季度中，已發行普通股加權平均數相對沒有變化。由於本季度股票回購和 DRIP 發行，增加或稀釋為 0。

Adjusted NII increased significantly as compared with last year, with the 70.3% increase in investment income, resulting primarily from a 19.0% increase in AUM. The increase in the current coupon on non-CLO BDC investments from 9.5% to 12.1%, including both base rate and some spread increases and an increase in other income that included $3.0 million dividend and redemption fee income generated from the Artemis Wax equity sale this quarter.

調整後的 NII 較上年大幅增長，投資收益增長 70.3%，主要是 AUM 增長 19.0%。非 CLO BDC 投資的當前息票從 9.5% 增加到 12.1%，包括基本利率和一些利差的增加以及其他收入的增加，包括 300 萬美元的股息和 Artemis Wax 股權出售產生的贖回費收入四分之一。

This all was partially offset by increased base management fees and interest expense resulting from the various new notes and SBA debentures issued during the past year and quarter. The full benefit of higher rates on AUM is still not yet fully reflected in interest income. Sequential quarter changes reflect the same factors as year-over-year with the increase in current coupon from 11.7% to 12.1%.

這一切都被過去一年和一個季度發行的各種新票據和 SBA 債券導致的基本管理費和利息支出增加部分抵消。較高利率對 AUM 的全部好處仍未完全反映在利息收入中。連續的季度變化反映了與去年同期相同的因素，當前息票從 11.7% 增加到 12.1%。

Adjusted NII yield was 13.6%. This yield is up from 10.8% last quarter and 7.3% last year. For this fourth quarter, we experienced a net gain on investments of $9.9 million or $0.84 per weighted average share, resulting in a total increase in net assets from operations of $19.2 million or $1.62 per share. The $9.9 million net gain on investments was primarily comprised of $10.5 million in net unrealized depreciation on investments offset by a $0.4 million loss on extinguishment of borrowings resulting from the repayment of $40.7 million of our SBIC I debentures as we continue to wind down our first SBIC fund.

調整後的 NII 收益率為 13.6%。這一收益率高於上一季度的 10.8% 和去年的 7.3%。在第四季度，我們的投資淨收益為 990 萬美元或每股加權平均收益 0.84 美元，導致運營淨資產總計增加 1920 萬美元或每股 1.62 美元。 990 萬美元的投資淨收益主要包括 1050 萬美元的未實現投資淨折舊，被因償還 4070 萬美元的 SBIC I 債券而導致的 40 萬美元的借款清償損失所抵消，因為我們繼續結束我們的第一個 SBIC基金。

The $10.5 million in net realized appreciation, primarily reflects, first, the $7.4 million unrealized depreciation on the company's CLO and JV equity investments, reflecting the volatility in the broadly syndicated loan market as of quarter end; two, the $0.9 million unrealized depreciation on each of the company's procurement partners and vector controls investments and the $0.6 million and $0.5 million unrealized depreciation on the company's Altvia Midco and Axero Holdings investments, respectively, all primarily reflecting company performance; and three, approximately $0.2 million net unrealized appreciation across the remainder of the portfolio.

1,050 萬美元的淨實現增值主要反映了，首先，公司 CLO 和 JV 股權投資的 740 萬美元未實現折舊，反映了截至本季度末廣泛銀團貸款市場的波動；第二，公司各採購合作夥伴和矢量控制投資的 90 萬美元未實現折舊，以及公司對 Altvia Midco 和 Axero Holdings 投資的 60 萬美元和 50 萬美元未實現折舊，均主要反映了公司業績；第三，投資組合其餘部分的未實現淨增值約 20 萬美元。

Return on equity remains a very important indicator for us -- performance indicator for us, which includes both realized and unrealized gains.

股本回報率對我們來說仍然是一個非常重要的指標——我們的業績指標，包括已實現和未實現的收益。

Our return on equity was 7.2% for the last 12 months, beating the industry average of 0.6%. Total expenses excluding interest and debt financing expenses, base management fees and incentive fees and income and excise taxes was $2.3 million as compared to $1.8 million for Q4 last year and $2.1 million for last quarter. This represented 0.9% of average total assets on an annualized basis, unchanged from 0.9% last year and slightly up from 0.8% last quarter. Also, we have again added the KPI slides 29 through 52 in the appendix at the end of the presentation that shows our income statement and balance sheet metrics for the past 9 quarters and the upward trends we have maintained.

過去 12 個月，我們的股本回報率為 7.2%，高於 0.6% 的行業平均水平。扣除利息和債務融資費用、基本管理費和獎勵費以及所得稅和消費稅後的總費用為 230 萬美元，而去年第四季度為 180 萬美元，上一季度為 210 萬美元。按年率計算，這占平均總資產的 0.9%，與去年的 0.9% 持平，略高於上一季度的 0.8%。此外，我們在演示文稿末尾的附錄中再次添加了 KPI 幻燈片 29 至 52，其中顯示了我們過去 9 個季度的損益表和資產負債表指標以及我們保持的上升趨勢。

A particular note is Slide 32, highlighting how our net interest margin run rate has continued to increase and has more than quadrupled in Saratoga took over management of the BDC and also increased by 55% in the last 12 months while still not yet receiving the full period benefit of putting to work the significant amount of Q4 cash nor the full impact of the current rising rate environment.

特別值得注意的是幻燈片 32，強調了我們的淨息差運行率如何繼續增加，並且在薩拉託加接管 BDC 的管理時增加了四倍多，並且在過去 12 個月內增加了 55%，但仍未收到全部投入大量第四季度現金的期間收益，也不是當前利率上升環境的全面影響。

Slide 5 highlights the same key or metrics for the full 2023 fiscal year.

幻燈片 5 突出顯示了整個 2023 財年的相同關鍵或指標。

And moving on to Slide 6. NAV was $347.0 million as of quarter end, an $11.2 million increase from last quarter and an $8.8 million decrease from the same quarter last year. This quarter, the main drivers were $10.5 million of net realized gains and unrealized appreciation and $9.6 million of net investment income, partially offset by $8.1 million of dividends declared.

繼續看幻燈片 6。截至本季度末，資產淨值為 3.47 億美元，比上一季度增加 1120 萬美元，比去年同期減少 880 萬美元。本季度，主要驅動因素是 1050 萬美元的已實現淨收益和未實現增值以及 960 萬美元的淨投資收益，部分被宣布的 810 萬美元股息所抵消。

In addition, during Q4, $1.3 million of stock dividend distributions were made through the company's DRIP plan, offset by $1.2 million of shares repurchased at an average price of $25.19. NAV per share was $29.18 as of quarter end, down from $29.53 12 months ago and up from $28.25 last quarter. This chart also includes our historical NAV per share, which highlights this has increased 16 of the past 20 quarters. Over the long term, our net asset value has steadily increased since 2011, and this growth has been accretive, as demonstrated by the consistent increase in NAV per share. We continue to benefit from our history of consistent realized and unrealized gains.

此外，在第四季度，通過公司的 DRIP 計劃分配了 130 萬美元的股票股息，被以 25.19 美元的平均價格回購的 120 萬美元股票所抵消。截至本季度末，每股資產淨值為 29.18 美元，低於 12 個月前的 29.53 美元和上季度的 28.25 美元。該圖表還包括我們的歷史每股資產淨值，突出顯示過去 20 個季度中有 16 個增加。從長遠來看，我們的資產淨值自 2011 年以來一直在穩步增長，而且這種增長是增值的，每股資產淨值的持續增長就證明了這一點。我們繼續受益於我們一貫的已實現和未實現收益的歷史。

On Slide 7, you will see a simple reconciliation of the major changes in NII and NAV per share on a sequential quarterly basis. Starting at the top, adjusted NII per share increased from $0.77 to $0.98 per share. Main drivers were a $0.05 increase in non-CLO net interest income from the partial impact of higher AUM and interest rates and a $0.25 increase in other income, primarily from the Artemis Wax dividend and redemption fees received. The main offset was a $0.07 decrease due to excise taxes incurred for the 2022 calendar year.

在幻燈片 7 上，您將看到 NII 和每股資產淨值按季度連續變化的簡單對賬。從頂部開始，調整後的每股 NII 從 0.77 美元增加到每股 0.98 美元。主要驅動因素是非 CLO 淨利息收入增加 0.05 美元，這是由於更高的 AUM 和利率的部分影響，以及其他收入增加 0.25 美元，主要來自 Artemis Wax 股息和收到的贖回費。由於 2022 日曆年產生的消費稅，主要抵消項減少了 0.07 美元。

Moving on to the lower half of the slide. This reconciles the $0.93 NAV per share increase for the quarter. $0.81 of GAAP NII and $0.90 of net realized gains and unrealized depreciation was primarily offset by the $0.68 dividend paid in Q4.

轉到幻燈片的下半部分。這與本季度每股資產淨值增加 0.93 美元相一致。 0.81 美元的 GAAP NII 和 0.90 美元的已實現淨收益和未實現折舊主要被第四季度支付的 0.68 美元股息所抵消。

On Slide 8, you will see the same reconciliation, but now on a sequential annual basis. Starting at the top, adjusted NII per share increased from $2.24 per share last year to $2.85 per share this year. The primary drivers were $1.17 increase in non-CLO net interest income, reflecting higher AUM and interest rates, offset mainly by a $0.23 decrease in CLO net interest income and a $0.31 decrease from higher base management fees.

在幻燈片 8 上，您將看到相同的對賬，但現在是按年順序進行的。從頂部開始，調整後的每股 NII 從去年的每股 2.24 美元增加到今年的每股 2.85 美元。主要驅動因素是非 CLO 淨利息收入增加 1.17 美元，反映出較高的 AUM 和利率，主要被 CLO 淨利息收入減少 0.23 美元和基本管理費增加 0.31 美元所抵消。

On the lower half of the slide, this reconciles the $0.15 NAV per share decrease for the year. $2.94 of GAAP NII was primarily offset by $0.65 of net realized gains and unrealized depreciation on investments and the $2.28 dividend paid during the year. There was a $0.06 net accretion from the share repurchases and drip plan issuances in fiscal 2023.

在幻燈片的下半部分，這與當年每股資產淨值下降 0.15 美元相協調。 2.94 美元的 GAAP NII 主要被 0.65 美元的淨已實現收益和未實現的投資折舊以及年內支付的 2.28 美元股息所抵消。 2023 財年的股票回購和滴灌計劃發行帶來了 0.06 美元的淨增長。

Slide 9 outlines the dry powder available to us as of quarter end, which totaled $276.6 million. This was spread between our available cash, undrawn SBA debentures and undrawn secured credit facility. This quarter end level of available liquidity allows us to grow our assets by an additional 28% without the need for external financing, with $96.1 million of quarter end cash available and that's fully accretive to NII when deployed and $148 million of available SBA debentures with its low-cost pricing also very accretive. In January, we also entered into the first amendment to the credit agreement with Encina Capital in order to achieve a number of important improvements to this agreement: First, we increased borrowings available from $50 million to $65 million; second, we changed the underlying benchmark used to compute interest from LIBOR to Term SOFR for a 1-month tenor plus a 10 bps credit spread adjustment and increased the applicable effective margin rate on borrowings from 4% to 4.25%. And importantly, we extended the revolving period to January 2026.

幻燈片 9 概述了截至本季度末我們可用的干粉，總計 2.766 億美元。這是在我們的可用現金、未提取的 SBA 債券和未提取的擔保信貸額度之間分配的。這個季度末的可用流動性水平使我們能夠在不需要外部融資的情況下將我們的資產增加 28%，有 9610 萬美元的季度末可用現金，這在部署時完全增加到 NII，以及 1.48 億美元的可用 SBA 債券及其低成本定價也非常具有增值性。 1 月份，我們還與 Encina Capital 簽訂了信貸協議的第一次修訂，以實現對該協議的多項重要改進：首先，我們將可用借款從 5000 萬美元增加到 6500 萬美元；其次，我們將用於計算利息的基礎基準從 LIBOR 更改為 Term SOFR，期限為 1 個月，加上 10 個基點的信用利差調整，並將適用的借款有效保證金率從 4% 提高到 4.25%。重要的是，我們將循環期延長至 2026 年 1 月。

As we've mentioned before, we've made a number of important additions to our available liquidity since year-end. We have issued baby bonds totaling $77.5 million for net proceeds of $75.0 million, including a new $57.5 million, 8.5% 2028 public baby bond trading under the ticker, SAZ. The net proceeds of these offerings are being used to repay a portion of outstanding indebtedness under the credit facility, make investments in middle market companies in accordance with our investment objectives and strategies, including investments made through SBIC III and for general corporate purposes.

正如我們之前提到的，自年底以來，我們對可用流動性進行了一些重要的補充。我們已發行總額為 7750 萬美元的嬰兒債券，淨收益為 7500 萬美元，其中包括新發行的 5750 萬美元、8.5% 2028 年公共嬰兒債券交易，代碼為 SAZ。這些發行的淨收益用於償還信貸安排下的部分未償債務，根據我們的投資目標和戰略對中間市場公司進行投資，包括通過 SBIC III 進行的投資以及用於一般公司目的。

We remain pleased with our available liquidity and leverage position, including our access to diverse sources of both public and private liquidity and especially taking into account the overall conservative nature of our balance sheet. The fact that almost all our debt is long term in nature with almost no non-SBIC debt maturing within the next 2.5 years, and importantly, that almost all our debt is fixed rate in this rising rate environment.

我們仍然對我們可用的流動性和槓桿頭寸感到滿意，包括我們獲得公共和私人流動性的多種來源，特別是考慮到我們資產負債表的整體保守性。事實上，我們幾乎所有的債務都是長期的，幾乎沒有非 SBIC 債務在未來 2.5 年內到期，而且重要的是，在這種利率上升的環境下，我們幾乎所有的債務都是固定利率的。

Also, our debt is structured in such a way that we have no BDC covenants that can be stressed and with available call options in the next 2 years on the debt with higher coupons, important during such volatile times.

此外，我們的債務結構使得我們沒有可以強調的 BDC 契約，並且在未來 2 年內有可用的高票息債務看漲期權，這在這種動盪時期很重要。

Now I'd like to move on to Slides 10 through 14 and review the composition and yield of our investment portfolio. Slide 10 highlights that we now have $973 million of AUM at fair value, $966 million at cost invested in 49 portfolio companies, 1 CLO fund and 1 joint venture. Our first lien percentage is 82% of our total investments, of which 26% is in first lien last out positions.

現在我想轉到幻燈片 10 到 14，回顧一下我們投資組合的構成和收益。幻燈片 10 突出顯示，我們現在擁有 9.73 億美元的公允價值資產管理規模，9.66 億美元的成本投資於 49 家投資組合公司、1 家 CLO 基金和 1 家合資企業。我們的優先留置權百分比占我們總投資的 82%，其中 26% 處於優先留置權最後出局的位置。

On Slide 11, you can see how the yield on our core BDC assets, excluding our CLO, has changed over time, especially this past year. Often extended period of low rates and tightening spreads, we are seeing both those trends reverse. We have already seen much benefit in Q3 and Q4 with our core BDC portfolio yield increasing to 12.1% from 9.5% last year and from 11.7% last quarter.

在幻燈片 11 上，您可以看到我們的核心 BDC 資產（不包括我們的 CLO）的收益率如何隨著時間的推移而變化，尤其是在過去的一年。通常會延長低利率和收緊利差的時間，我們看到這兩種趨勢都在逆轉。我們已經在第三季度和第四季度看到了很多好處，我們的核心 BDC 投資組合收益率從去年的 9.5% 和上一季度的 11.7% 增加到 12.1%。

Total yield has increased to 10.7% from 7.7% last year and 10.4% last quarter, but the full impact of the rising rate environment through today is still not yet reflected fully in our earnings. In addition, we are seeing spreads widening. With 99% of our interest-earning portfolio being variable rate all of our investments being above their floors and rates continuing to rise since year-end, we expect to benefit going forward from the earnings impact of rising rates to our NII, as you can see on the next slide.

總收益率已從去年的 7.7% 和上一季度的 10.4% 增至 10.7%，但截至目前，利率上升環境的全部影響仍未完全反映在我們的收益中。此外，我們看到價差擴大。由於我們 99% 的生息投資組合是浮動利率，我們所有的投資都高於其底線，並且利率自年底以來持續上升，我們預計未來將從利率上升對我們的 NII 的收益影響中受益，您可以請參閱下一張幻燈片。

The CLO yield stayed unchanged at 7.4% versus last quarter, reflecting current market performance. The CLO is performing and current.

CLO 收益率與上一季度相比保持在 7.4% 不變，反映了當前的市場表現。 CLO 正在執行並且是最新的。

Slide 12 shows how at the end of Q4, the average 3-month LIBOR used in our portfolio was 466 basis points versus at quarter end with 3-month LIBOR closed at 497 basis points and versus today at approximately 525. With 99% of our interest-earning assets using variable rates, earnings will benefit from this additional increase in Q1 and Q2, while all by $52.5 million of our quarter-end borrowings is fixed rate and will not be impacted by these increases in base rates.

幻燈片 12 顯示了在第四季度末，我們投資組合中使用的平均 3 個月 LIBOR 為 466 個基點，而季度末 3 個月 LIBOR 收於 497 個基點，而今天約為 525 個基點。我們 99% 的使用可變利率的生息資產，收益將受益於第一季度和第二季度的額外增長，而我們的季末借款中有 5250 萬美元都是固定利率，不會受到這些基本利率增長的影響。

The increase in SOFR base rates are similar. There is uncertainty about the future of rates, but we stand to continue to gain as rates rise. That said, there will be a lag in the effect of this dynamic has on our earnings due to timing of rate resets and invoicing terms.

SOFR 基本利率的增加是相似的。利率的未來存在不確定性，但隨著利率上升，我們將繼續獲益。也就是說，由於利率重置和發票條款的時間安排，這種動態對我們收益的影響將會有所滯後。

Slide 13 shows how our investments are diversified throughout the U.S.

幻燈片 13 展示了我們在美國的投資是如何多元化的

And on Slide 14, you can see the industry breadth and diversity that our portfolio represents. Our investments are spread over 38 distinct industries with a large focus on health care and education software, HVAC services and sales and IT, real estate, education, consumer and health care services, in addition to our investments in the CLO and JV, which are included as structured finance securities. Of our total investment portfolio, 10.0% now consists of equity interest, which remain an important part of our overall investment strategy.

在幻燈片 14 上，您可以看到我們的產品組合所代表的行業廣度和多樣性。我們的投資分佈在 38 個不同的行業，主要集中在醫療保健和教育軟件、HVAC 服務和銷售以及 IT、房地產、教育、消費者和醫療保健服務，此外還有我們對 CLO 和 JV 的投資，它們是列為結構性融資證券。在我們的總投資組合中，10.0% 現在由股權組成，這仍然是我們整體投資戰略的重要組成部分。

For the past 11 fiscal years, we had a combined $81.5 million of net realized gains from the sale of equity interest or sale or early redemption of other investments. And 2/3 of these historical total gains were fully accretive to NAV due to the unused capital loss carryforwards that were carried over from when Saratoga took over management of the BDC. We continue to have a $1.6 million capital loss as of year-end for tax purposes. This consistent realized gain performance highlights our portfolio credit quality, has helped grow our NAV and is reflected in our healthy long-term ROE.

在過去的 11 個財政年度，我們通過出售股權或出售或提前贖回其他投資獲得了 8150 萬美元的淨實現收益。由於薩拉託加接管 BDC 時結轉的未使用資本損失結轉，這些歷史總收益的 2/3 完全增加了資產淨值。截至年底，出於稅收目的，我們繼續有 160 萬美元的資本損失。這種持續的已實現收益表現凸顯了我們的投資組合信用質量，幫助增加了我們的資產淨值，並反映在我們健康的長期股本回報率中。

That concludes my financial and portfolio review. I will now turn the call over to Michael Grisius, our Chief Investment Officer, for an overview of the investment market.

我的財務和投資組合審查到此結束。我現在將電話轉給我們的首席投資官 Michael Grisius，以了解投資市場的概況。

Thanks, Henri. I'll take a few minutes to describe our perspective on the current state of the market and then comment on our current portfolio performance and investment strategy. Since our last update in January, lenders have become marginally less aggressive though competition for premium quality credits persists.

謝謝，亨利。我將花幾分鐘時間描述我們對當前市場狀況的看法，然後評論我們當前的投資組合表現和投資策略。自我們在 1 月份進行的上次更新以來，儘管對優質信貸的競爭仍然存在，但貸方的積極性略有下降。

The recent high-profile crisis surrounding Silicon Valley and Signature Banks has led to a macro decline in deal volume that has only served to exacerbate markets already bearish due to prevailing market factors. Liquidity remains abundant after the large-scale fundraisings of last year, but lenders and especially banks are being more risk-sensitive backing off historically volatile sectors and taking a harder stance on the use of capital.

最近圍繞矽谷和 Signature Banks 的高調危機導致交易量的宏觀下降，這只會加劇市場已經因普遍存在的市場因素而看跌的市場。在去年大規模融資之後，流動性仍然充裕，但貸款人，尤其是銀行，對風險更加敏感，退出了歷史上波動較大的行業，並對資本的使用採取了更強硬的立場。

Lenders are requiring greater equity capitalizations regardless of the enterprise value and in some cases, have reduced their pace of deployment as well as their hold positions. All of these factors are positive for us as we have been seeing more attractive opportunities come our way and have a very actionable deal pipeline. Leverage levels appear to have come down at the margin, but where we are seeing greater movement is on the rate side, as Henri mentioned a couple of slides ago. Absolute yields are growing significantly as LIBOR and SOFR have increased another 100 basis points since last quarter.

無論企業價值如何，貸款人都需要更多的股權資本化，並且在某些情況下，他們已經降低了部署速度和持有頭寸。所有這些因素對我們來說都是積極的，因為我們一直看到更多有吸引力的機會出現，並且有一個非常可行的交易渠道。槓桿水平似乎已略有下降，但我們看到更大的變動是在利率方面，正如 Henri 在幾張幻燈片前提到的那樣。隨著 LIBOR 和 SOFR 自上一季度以來又增加了 100 個基點，絕對收益率正在顯著增長。

In addition, spreads are continuing to widen in the lower middle market, where we, up to recently -- where up to recently, it had mainly been happening in the broader syndicated markets and capital markets. In a mature and competitive financing market, investors continue to differentiate themselves in other ways such as accelerated timing to close and looser covenant restrictions. That said, lenders in our market remain wary of thinly capitalized deals and for the most part, are staying disciplined in terms of minimum aggregate base levels of equity and requiring reasonable covenants, particularly given the concerns around the potential economic recession.

此外，中低端市場的價差繼續擴大，直到最近 - 直到最近，它主要發生在更廣泛的銀團市場和資本市場。在成熟且競爭激烈的融資市場中，投資者繼續通過其他方式脫穎而出，例如加快交割時間和放寬契約限制。也就是說，我們市場上的貸方仍然對資本不足的交易持謹慎態度，並且在大多數情況下，在最低總股本基礎水平和要求合理契約方面保持紀律，特別是考慮到對潛在經濟衰退的擔憂。

The Saratoga management team has successfully managed through a number of credit cycles and that experience has made us particularly aware of the importance of, first, being disciplined when making investment decisions; and second, being proactive in managing our portfolio. We're keeping a very watchful eye on how continued inflationary pressures and labor costs, supply chain issues, rising rates, and slowing growth could affect both prospective and existing portfolio companies.

Saratoga 管理團隊成功管理了多個信貸週期，這些經驗使我們特別意識到在做出投資決策時遵守紀律的重要性；其次，積極主動地管理我們的投資組合。我們一直密切關注持續的通脹壓力和勞動力成本、供應鏈問題、利率上升和增長放緩如何影響潛在和現有的投資組合公司。

A natural focus currently is on supporting our existing portfolio companies through follow-ons as was seen this quarter were comprised nearly all of our capital deployment. We have confidence in our strong position entering a changing credit and rate environment. Our underwriting bar remains high as usual yet we continue to find opportunities to deploy capital as we will discuss shortly.

目前的一個自然重點是通過後續行動支持我們現有的投資組合公司，正如本季度所見，這幾乎包括了我們所有的資本部署。我們對進入不斷變化的信貸和利率環境中的強勢地位充滿信心。我們的承銷門檻一如既往地高，但我們將繼續尋找機會部署資本，我們將在稍後討論。

Calendar year 2022 was a very strong deployment environment for us with a strong pace of originations and we see that trend and pace continue into 2023. Follow-on investments in existing borrowers with strong business models and balance sheets continue to be an important avenue of capital deployment as demonstrated with 53 follow-ons last year and 23 follow-ons in the first quarter of calendar 2023, including delayed draws.

2022 日曆年對我們來說是一個非常強大的部署環境，發起速度很快，我們認為這種趨勢和速度將持續到 2023 年。對具有強大商業模式和資產負債表的現有借款人的後續投資仍然是重要的資本渠道部署如去年 53 次後續行動和 2023 日曆年第一季度的 23 次後續行動所示，包括延遲抽籤。

In addition, we have invested in 9 new platform investments this past calendar year and in another 4 new platforms in Q1. Portfolio management continues to be critically important. And we remain actively engaged with our portfolio companies and in close contact with our management teams, especially in this volatile market environment.

此外，我們在過去一年投資了 9 個新平台，並在第一季度投資了另外 4 個新平台。投資組合管理仍然至關重要。我們仍然積極與我們的投資組合公司接洽，並與我們的管理團隊保持密切聯繫，尤其是在這個動蕩的市場環境中。

All of our loans in our portfolio are paying according to their payment terms, except for our Nolan investment that remains on nonaccrual as we have moved to pick interest for a period of time. Nolan is our only nonaccrual investment across our portfolio. After recognizing the unrealized appreciation from -- primarily from performance on our overall portfolio this quarter, Saratoga's overall assets are now 1% above cost basis. We believe this strong performance reflects certain attributes of our portfolio that bolster its overall durability.

我們投資組合中的所有貸款都根據他們的付款條件支付，除了我們的 Nolan 投資仍然是非應計的，因為我們已經開始選擇利息一段時間了。諾蘭是我們投資組合中唯一的非應計投資。在認識到未實現的升值後——主要是本季度我們整體投資組合的表現，Saratoga 的整體資產現在比成本基礎高出 1%。我們認為，這種強勁的表現反映了我們投資組合的某些屬性，這些屬性增強了其整體耐用性。

82% of our portfolio is in first lien debt and generally supported by strong enterprise values in industries that have historically performed well in stressed situations. We have no direct energy or commodities exposure. In addition, the majority of our portfolio is comprised of businesses that produce a high degree of recurring revenue and have historically demonstrated strong revenue retention.

我們的投資組合中有 82% 是優先留置權債務，並且通常受到歷來在壓力情況下表現良好的行業的強大企業價值觀的支持。我們沒有直接的能源或商品敞口。此外，我們的大部分投資組合由產生大量經常性收入且歷來表現出強勁收入保留的業務組成。

Our approach has always been to stay focused on the quality of our underwriting. And as you can see on Slide 16, this approach has resulted in our portfolio performance being at the top of the BDC space with respect to net realized gains as a percentage of portfolio at cost. We are 1 of only 14 BDCs that have had a positive number over the past 3 years. And this strong underwriting culture remains paramount at Saratoga. We approach each investment working directly with management and ownership to thoroughly assess the long-term strength of the company and its business model.

我們的方法始終是專注於我們承保的質量。正如您在幻燈片 16 中看到的那樣，這種方法使我們的投資組合表現在 BDC 空間中處於領先地位，即淨實現收益佔投資組合成本的百分比。在過去 3 年中，我們是僅有的 14 個 BDC 中的一個。這種強大的承銷文化在薩拉託加仍然至關重要。我們直接與管理層和所有者合作處理每項投資，以全面評估公司的長期實力及其商業模式。

We endeavor to appear as deeply as possible into a business in order to understand accurately its underlying strengths and characteristics. We always saw durable businesses invested capital with the objective of producing the best risk-adjusted and accretive returns for our shareholders over the long term. Our internal credit quality rating reflects the impact of current market volatility and shows 96% of our portfolio at our highest credit rating as of quarter end.

我們努力盡可能深入地了解企業，以便準確了解其潛在的優勢和特徵。我們總是看到耐用企業投資資本的目標是為我們的股東長期創造最佳的風險調整回報和增值回報。我們的內部信用質量評級反映了當前市場波動的影響，並顯示截至本季度末，我們 96% 的投資組合處於我們的最高信用評級。

Part of our investment strategy is to selectively co-invest in the equity of our portfolio companies when we're given that opportunity and when we believe in the equity upside potential. This equity co-investment strategy has not only served as yield protection for our portfolio, but also meaningfully augmented our overall portfolio returns as demonstrated on the slide and the previous one and we intend to continue this strategy.

我們的部分投資策略是，當我們有機會並且相信股票有上漲潛力時，有選擇地共同投資我們投資組合公司的股權。這種股權共同投資策略不僅為我們的投資組合提供了收益保護，而且有意義地增加了我們的整體投資組合回報，如幻燈片和上一張所示，我們打算繼續這一策略。

Looking at leverage on Slide 17, you can see that industry debt multiples have come down slightly at year-end from their historically high levels. Total leverage for our overall portfolio was 4.63x, excluding Nolan and Pepper Palace, while the industry now is around 5x leverage. Through past volatility, we've been able to maintain a relatively modest risk profile throughout.

查看幻燈片 17 的槓桿率，您可以看到行業債務倍數在年底從歷史高位略有下降。我們整個投資組合的總槓桿率為 4.63 倍，不包括 Nolan 和 Pepper Palace，而該行業現在的槓桿率約為 5 倍。通過過去的波動，我們一直能夠始終保持相對適度的風險狀況。

Although we never consider leverage in isolation, rather focusing on investing in credits with attractive risk return profiles and exceptionally strong business models, where we are confident the enterprise value of the businesses will sustainably exceed the last dollar of our investment. In addition, this slide illustrates the strength of our deal flow and our consistent ability to generate new investments over the long term despite ever-changing and increasingly competitive market dynamics.

儘管我們從不孤立地考慮槓桿，而是專注於投資具有吸引力的風險回報和異常強大的商業模式的信貸，我們相信企業的企業價值將持續超過我們投資的最後一美元。此外，這張幻燈片說明了我們交易流程的實力以及我們在不斷變化和競爭日益激烈的市場動態下長期產生新投資的一貫能力。

During the first calendar quarter, we added 4 new portfolio companies and made 23 follow-on investments and are already well ahead of last year's pace. Despite the success we're having investing in highly attractive businesses and growing our portfolio and the increased deal flow we are seeing is important to emphasize that, as always, we're not aiming to grow simply for growth's sake.

在第一季度，我們新增了 4 家投資組合公司並進行了 23 項後續投資，已經遠遠超過去年的步伐。儘管我們在投資於極具吸引力的業務並擴大我們的投資組合方面取得了成功，但我們看到的交易流量增加仍然很重要，需要強調的是，一如既往，我們的目標不僅僅是為了增長而增長。

In the face of this uncertain macroeconomic environment, we're keenly focused on investing in durable businesses with limited exposure to inflationary and cyclical pressures. Our capital deployment bar is always high and is conditioned upon healthy confidence that each incremental investment will be accretive to our shareholders.

面對這種不確定的宏觀經濟環境，我們非常專注於投資於受通脹和周期性壓力影響有限的耐用企業。我們的資本部署標準始終很高，並且取決於對每筆增量投資都會為我們的股東帶來增值的健康信心。

Moving on to Slide 18. Our team's skill set, experience and relationships continue to mature, and our significant focus on business development has led to multiple strategic relationships that have become sources of new deals. What is especially pleasing to us is 6 of the 11 new portfolio companies over the past 12 months are from newly formed relationships, reflecting notable progress as we expand our business development efforts. Our top line number of deals sourced remains robust, but has dropped in the past 2 years, initially due to COVID, but more recently, reflecting our efforts to focus on attracting a higher percentage of quality opportunities.

轉到幻燈片 18。我們團隊的技能組合、經驗和關係不斷成熟，我們對業務發展的高度重視導致了多種戰略關係，這些關係已成為新交易的來源。讓我們特別高興的是，在過去 12 個月的 11 家新投資組合公司中，有 6 家來自新建立的關係，反映出我們在擴大業務發展努力方面取得了顯著進展。我們的頂級交易數量仍然強勁，但在過去 2 年中有所下降，最初是由於 COVID，但最近反映了我們努力專注於吸引更高比例的優質機會。

Most notably, the number of deals executed during the recent months is markedly up from last year's pace, demonstrating that this more focused strategy is yielding results. In addition to our growth this past year, since fiscal quarter end, we have executed approximately $119 million of new originations in 5 new portfolio companies and 17 follow-ons, including delayed draws, and had $10 million in 1 repayment for a net increase in investments of $109 million.

最值得注意的是，最近幾個月執行的交易數量明顯高於去年的步伐，表明這種更加集中的戰略正在取得成果。除了我們去年的增長，自財政季度結束以來，我們已經在 5 家新投資組合公司和 17 家後續公司執行了大約 1.19 億美元的新發起，包括延遲提款，並且在 1 次還款中有 1000 萬美元用於淨增加投資 1.09 億美元。

As you can see on Slide 19, our overall portfolio credit quality remains solid. The gross unleveraged IRR unrealized investments made by the Saratoga Investment management team is 15.7% on $908 million of realizations.

正如您在幻燈片 19 中看到的那樣，我們的整體投資組合信用質量保持穩定。 Saratoga Investment 管理團隊進行的未實現投資總額為 9.08 億美元的 15.7%。

On the chart on the right, you can see the total gross unlevered IRR on our $947 million of combined weighted SBIC and BDC unrealized investments is 11.6%. As of this quarter, we continue to have 2 yellow rated investments still only being our Norland and Pepper Palace investments. Nolan has been yellow for a while now since COVID being more dependent on in-person business interaction and was also added to nonaccrual status earlier this year. There was no significant change to the mark at Q4. The current unrealized depreciation reflects the current performance of the company but does not change our view of the fundamental long-term prospects for the business. The other yellow investment is Pepper Palace, and this quarter, there was no significant change to the mark, leaving the total depreciation at approximately $9.8 million since investment on our first lien term loan and equity investment.

在右側的圖表中，您可以看到我們 9.47 億美元的加權 SBIC 和 BDC 未實現投資的總無槓桿 IRR 為 11.6%。截至本季度，我們繼續擁有 2 項黃色評級投資，它們仍然只是我們的 Norland 和 Pepper Palace 投資。由於 COVID 更依賴於面對面的業務互動，並且今年早些時候也被添加到非應計狀態，諾蘭已經黃了一段時間。第四季度的標記沒有顯著變化。目前未實現的折舊反映了公司目前的業績，但不會改變我們對業務基本長期前景的看法。另一項黃色投資是 Pepper Palace，本季度，標記沒有重大變化，自我們第一次留置權定期貸款和股權投資以來，總折舊約為 980 萬美元。

This markdown reflects the current performance of the company, but they continue to pay interest. We are working closely with the company and the sponsor as they work to improve performance. Our overall investment approach has yielded exceptional realized returns and recovery of our invested capital.

這種減價反映了公司目前的業績，但他們繼續支付利息。我們正在與公司和讚助商密切合作，因為他們致力於提高績效。我們的整體投資方法產生了非凡的已實現回報和我們投資資本的回收。

Moving on to Slide 20. You can see our first and second SBIC licenses are fully funded and deployed with $4.8 million of cash and $22.3 million of cash available for distribution to the BDC and SBIC I and SBIC II, respectively. We are also pleased to have received approval for our third SBIC license this year, which means we practically have access to another $148 million of low-cost SBA debentures currently, allowing us to continue to support U.S. small businesses.

轉到幻燈片 20。您可以看到我們的第一個和第二個 SBIC 許可證已獲得充分資助，並部署了 480 萬美元現金和 2230 萬美元現金，可分別分配給 BDC 以及 SBIC I 和 SBIC II。我們也很高興今年獲得了第三個 SBIC 許可證的批准，這意味著我們目前實際上可以獲得另外 1.48 億美元的低成本 SBA 債券，使我們能夠繼續支持美國的小企業。

To summarize the quarter, the way the portfolio has proven itself to be both durable and resilient against the impact of COVID-19 and the subsequent calendar 2022 and early 2023 market adjustments and volatility really underscores the strength of our team, platform and portfolio and our overall underwriting and due diligence procedures.

總結本季度，我們的投資組合證明了自己對 COVID-19 以及隨後的 2022 年和 2023 年初市場調整和波動的影響既持久又具有彈性，這確實凸顯了我們團隊、平台和投資組合的實力，以及我們的實力整體承保和盡職調查程序。

Credit quality remains our primary focus and new investment opportunities have a higher bar, especially at times with such increased activity levels for premium credits as we are seeing now. And while the world is in continuous blocks, we remain intensely focused on preserving asset value and remain confident in our team and the future for Saratoga. This concludes my review of the market.

信貸質量仍然是我們的首要關注點，新的投資機會有更高的標準，尤其是在我們現在看到的優質信貸活動水平如此高的時候。儘管世界處於連續停滯狀態，但我們仍然專注於保持資產價值，並對我們的團隊和 Saratoga 的未來充滿信心。我對市場的評論到此結束。

I'd like to turn the call back over to our CEO. Chris?

我想把電話轉回給我們的首席執行官。克里斯？

Thank you, Mike. As outlined on Slide 21, our latest dividend of $0.69 per share quarter ended February 28, 2023, was paid on March 30, 2023. This is the largest quarterly dividend in our history. The Board of Directors will continue to evaluate the dividend level on at least a quarterly basis, considering both company and general economic factors, including the near-term impact of rising base rates and increased spreads on our earnings.

謝謝你，邁克。如幻燈片 21 所述，我們截至 2023 年 2 月 28 日的最新季度股息為每股 0.69 美元，已於 2023 年 3 月 30 日支付。這是我們歷史上最大的季度股息。董事會將繼續至少每季度評估一次股息水平，同時考慮公司和總體經濟因素，包括基準利率上升和利差增加對我們收益的近期影響。

Recognizing the divergence of opinions on the future direction of interest rate levels, and overall economic performance, Saratoga's Q4 over-earning of its dividend by 42% or $0.98 versus $0.69 this quarter provides substantial cushion should economic conditions deteriorate or base rates decline.

認識到對未來利率水平和整體經濟表現的意見分歧，薩拉託加第四季度的股息超額賺取了 42% 或 0.98 美元，而本季度為 0.69 美元，這在經濟狀況惡化或基準利率下降時提供了巨大的緩衝。

Moving to Slide 22. Our total return for the last 12 months which includes both capital appreciation and dividends, has generated total returns of negative 6%, slightly outperforming the BDC index of negative 8% for the same period. This performance reflects the current market volatility impacting both us and the industry.

轉到幻燈片 22。我們過去 12 個月的總回報率（包括資本增值和股息）的總回報率為負 6%，略高於同期 BDC 指數的負 8%。這一業績反映了當前影響我們和行業的市場波動。

Our longer-term performance is outlined on our next slide. Our 3- and 5-year returns place us in the top quartile of all BDCs for both time horizons. Over the past 3 years, our 127% return exceeded the average index return of 84%. While over the past 5 years, our 75% return more than double the index's average of 31%. Since Saratoga took over the management of the BDC in 2010, our total return has been 571% versus the industry's 179%.

下一張幻燈片概述了我們的長期業績。我們的 3 年和 5 年回報率使我們在兩個時間範圍內都位居所有 BDC 的前四分之一。在過去 3 年中，我們 127% 的回報率超過了 84% 的平均指數回報率。而在過去 5 年中，我們 75% 的回報率是指數平均水平 31% 的兩倍多。自 Saratoga 於 2010 年接管 BDC 以來，我們的總回報率為 571%，而行業為 179%。

On Slide 24, you can further see our performance placed in the context of the broader industry and specific to certain key performance metrics. We continue to focus on our long-term metrics such as return on equity, NAV per share, NII yield and dividend growth, which reflects the growing value our shareholders are receiving, NAV per share increased 3.3% this quarter, and we continue to be one of the few BDCs to have grown NAV over the long term.

在幻燈片 24 上，您可以進一步了解我們在更廣泛行業背景下的表現，以及特定於某些關鍵績效指標的表現。我們繼續關注我們的長期指標，如股本回報率、每股資產淨值、NII 收益率和股息增長，這反映了我們股東獲得的價值不斷增長，本季度每股資產淨值增長 3.3%，我們繼續為數不多的 NAV 長期增長的 BDC 之一。

And we have done it accretively by also growing NAV per share 16 of the last 20 quarters. Year-over-year, our NAV per share is only down 0.5% versus the industry that is down 8.7%. And our latest 12 months equity of 7.2%, significantly beat the industry's 0.6% average.

我們通過在過去 20 個季度中增加每股資產淨值 16 來實現增長。與去年同期相比，我們的每股資產淨值僅下降 0.5%，而行業下降 8.7%。我們最近 12 個月的股本率為 7.2%，大大高於行業平均水平 0.6%。

Moving on to Slide 25. All of our initiatives discussed on this call are designed to make Saratoga Investment a leading BDC that is attractive to the capital markets community. We believe that our differentiated performance characteristics outlined on this slide will help drive the size and quality of our investor base, including adding more institutions.

轉到幻燈片 25。我們在本次電話會議上討論的所有舉措都旨在使 Saratoga Investment 成為對資本市場社區具有吸引力的領先 BDC。我們相信，我們在這張幻燈片中概述的差異化績效特徵將有助於推動我們投資者基礎的規模和質量，包括增加更多機構。

Our differentiating characteristics include maintaining one of the highest levels of management ownership in the industry at 14%, access to cost-effective and long-term liquidity with which to support our portfolio and make accretive investments recently demonstrated with our SBIC III license approval and new baby bond raises last year, and subsequent to year-end, a BBB+ investment-grade rating and active public and private bond issuances, solid historic earnings per share and NII yield benefiting from the rising rate environment with 99% of our credit AUM floating rate, while 95% of our debt is fixed rate.

我們的差異化特徵包括保持業內最高水平的管理所有權之一，達到 14%，獲得具有成本效益的長期流動性，以支持我們的投資組合併進行最近通過我們的 SBIC III 許可證批准和新的證明的增值投資去年和年底之後的嬰兒債券融資，BBB+ 投資級評級和活躍的公共和私人債券發行，穩健的歷史每股收益和 NII 收益率受益於利率上升的環境，我們的信貸 AUM 浮動利率為 99% ，而我們 95% 的債務是固定利率的。

Strong and industry-leading long-term return on equity accompanied by growing NAV and NAV per share putting us at the top of the industry over the long term, high quality expansion of AUM and an attractive risk reward profile. In addition, our historically high credit quality portfolio contains minimal exposure to conventionally cyclical industries, including the oil and gas industry.

強勁且行業領先的長期股本回報率以及不斷增長的資產淨值和每股資產淨值使我們在長期內處於行業領先地位，資產管理規模的高質量擴張和具有吸引力的風險回報狀況。此外，我們歷來較高的信用質量組合對傳統週期性行業（包括石油和天然氣行業）的風險敞口極小。

We remain confident that our reputation, experienced management team, historically strong underwriting standards and time and market tested investment strategy will serve us well in navigating through the challenges and uncovering opportunities in the current and future environment. And that our balance sheet, capital structure and liquidity will benefit Saratoga shareholders in the near and long term.

我們仍然相信，我們的聲譽、經驗豐富的管理團隊、歷來強大的承保標準以及經過時間和市場考驗的投資策略將幫助我們很好地應對當前和未來環境中的挑戰並發現機遇。我們的資產負債表、資本結構和流動性將使 Saratoga 股東在近期和長期受益。

In closing, I would again like to thank all of our shareholders for their ongoing support. I would now like to open the call for questions.

最後，我要再次感謝所有股東一直以來的支持。我現在想開始提問。

(Operator Instructions)

（操作員說明）

And our first question is from Bryce Rowe with B. Riley.

我們的第一個問題來自 Bryce Rowe 和 B. Riley。

Let's see, I wanted to maybe start, and this question gets asked on most of the conference calls, but I wanted to start with balance sheet leverage and how you feel operating at these levels? And maybe how to think about where -- if there is a target from a balance sheet leverage perspective, especially given the fact that you have as much SBA capacity as you do?

讓我們看看，我想開始，這個問題在大多數電話會議上都會被問到，但我想從資產負債表槓桿率以及您在這些水平上的運營感覺如何開始？也許如何考慮在哪裡——如果從資產負債表槓桿的角度來看有一個目標，特別是考慮到你擁有與你一樣多的 SBA 能力這一事實？

I'll start with that. This is Chris. Thank you, Bryce. I think we've talked over -- really over the last many, many, many years, our approach to leverage. And I think as sort of long-term participants in both the lending and borrowing industry, we've developed a perspective on how we want to structure our liabilities relative to our assets really in everything we do, including what the loans and investments that we make.

我會從那開始。這是克里斯。謝謝你，布萊斯。我想我們已經討論過——真的在過去很多很多年裡，我們的槓桿方法。而且我認為作為藉貸行業的長期參與者，我們已經形成了一種觀點，即我們希望如何在我們所做的每一件事中真正構建我們的負債相對於我們的資產，包括我們的貸款和投資製作。

And in looking at the BDC, one of the things conventionally you want to do is you want to sort of have your durations of your liabilities consistent with the duration of your assets. And I think in our case, we've accomplished that. Our maturity schedule is 2 to 10 years. And depending on how loans go, generally, we initiate it like 6 year type of term. And usually, they don't go to term, they get refinanced or they get sold or something like that.

在查看 BDC 時，通常您想做的一件事是您希望負債的久期與資產的久期一致。我認為就我們而言，我們已經做到了。我們的到期期限為 2 至 10 年。根據貸款的情況，一般來說，我們啟動它的期限為 6 年。通常，他們不會到期，他們會得到再融資或被出售或類似的事情。

So the duration is somewhat shorter than that. But our liabilities are not coming due before our assets mature. And so that's an important balancing element. The other thing which we've paid off a higher price for, if you will, is we've had long-term interest-only credit structure. And that's manifested both in the baby bonds, which are, generally speaking, 5 years interest-only bullet maturity. So there's no principal payments and no covenants.

所以持續時間比那短一些。但是我們的負債不會在我們的資產到期之前到期。所以這是一個重要的平衡因素。如果你願意的話，我們付出更高代價的另一件事是我們擁有長期只付利息的信貸結構。這在嬰兒債券中都有體現，一般來說，嬰兒債券的期限為 5 年只付利息。所以沒有本金支付，也沒有契約。

So even in very adverse circumstances, there's not going to be sort of a demand to repay any of that debt. We also have the SBIC debt, which is -- or generally when we draw our debentures, those are 10 years interest-only bullet maturities and generally speaking, those debentures are paid off when -- down the road when investments are realized. And so -- and then we have our Encina facility, which is a revolving credit facility, which we've used generally as kind of a swing line to sort of balance our cash flow needs.

因此，即使在非常不利的情況下，也不會出現償還任何債務的要求。我們還有 SBIC 債務，一般來說，當我們提取債券時，這些債券只有 10 年的利息，一般來說，這些債券是在投資實現的時候還清的。所以 - 然後我們有我們的 Encina 設施，這是一個循環信貸設施，我們通常將其用作一種周轉線來平衡我們的現金流需求。

And that generally has remained outstanding, but in relatively small amounts, relative to our overall borrowings. And that ebbs and flows depending on what our cash position is relative to our investments. So putting all this together, we have a debt structure that -- all we have to do is pay interest on the debt structure, and our interest rate is super low compared to our income, our asset side and our asset side are highly diversified assets.

相對於我們的整體借款，這通常仍未償還，但數額相對較小。這取決於我們的現金頭寸相對於我們的投資的多少。所以把所有這些放在一起，我們有一個債務結構——我們所要做的就是為債務結構支付利息，而且我們的利率與我們的收入相比是超低的，我們的資產方和我們的資產方都是高度多元化的資產.

So we feel extraordinarily comfortable with our debt structure. And in contrast, other companies, other BDCs have an asset-based kind of more bank -- traditional bank lending structures that often have 1- or 2-year or 3-year investment periods and maybe 2- or 3-, 4-year maturity structure, which are basically inside the duration of the assets, especially if you were in a difficult environment. And they also have advance rates and diversification requirements for what your loans need to look like.

因此，我們對我們的債務結構感到非常滿意。相比之下，其他公司、其他 BDC 擁有更多基於資產的銀行——傳統的銀行貸款結構，通常有 1 年或 2 年或 3 年的投資期，也可能有 2 年或 3 年、4 年的投資期期限結構，基本上在資產的期限內，尤其是當你處於困難的環境中時。而且他們還對您的貸款需要的樣子有預付利率和多樣化要求。

And so if you get some markdowns in certain elements of the loan, you could wind up in default. And they can also change the advance rates. And we've seen some adverse circumstances right after COVID. It's a very prominent industry players that had to come up with a tremendous amount of equity to reset the asset-based loans that were outstanding at the time. So we essentially don't really have that type of exposure at all. And if we have it slightly in our Encina facility, but we think that's very well overcollateralized. So we don't anticipate that as being a problem.

因此，如果您對貸款的某些部分進行了一些降價，您可能會違約。他們還可以更改預付利率。我們在 COVID 之後就看到了一些不利情況。這是一個非常傑出的行業參與者，他們不得不拿出大量股權來重置當時未償還的基於資產的貸款。所以我們基本上根本沒有那種類型的曝光。如果我們在我們的 Encina 設施中有一點點，但我們認為這是很好的超額抵押。所以我們預計這不會成為問題。

So again, overall, our debt structure is very solid and long-dated maturities, we say 2 to 10 years, but the bulk of it is 4 to 6 years. And then you contrast that with our earnings right now. I mean our earnings levels are very substantial relative to history, relative to our portfolio, very high yield and all that. So I think if you put all that package together, I think we're in a very good position. And I think that's been supported by our continuing investment-grade rating that we're getting because I think it's recognized that the combination of everything makes this a very solid situation. So that's our perspective on leverage.

因此，總的來說，我們的債務結構非常穩固，期限很長，我們說是 2 到 10 年，但大部分是 4 到 6 年。然後你將其與我們現在的收入進行對比。我的意思是，相對於歷史、相對於我們的投資組合、非常高的收益率等等，我們的收益水平非常可觀。所以我認為，如果你把所有這些包裹放在一起，我認為我們處於非常有利的位置。我認為這得到了我們持續獲得的投資級評級的支持，因為我認為人們認識到所有因素的結合使這種情況非常穩固。這就是我們對槓桿的看法。

Obviously, there's a lot of -- inside that we can talk about different elements of it. And then the other piece of leverage, of course, is the assets, right? What are we investing in, and how diversified are we and how solid are our investments. And I think as you can see, our credit quality has been very high. We feel like we're investing in a segment of the economy that we are able to, and we don't invest in cyclical elements, we're in secular growing -- generally secular growing aspect, areas of the economy where we have first lien positions, and we're often the sole lender or the sole senior lender and we've got covenants and we've got all sorts of things that we can get to the table on -- before problems get too out of hand and exercise some level of influence on the direction of these companies and how they might modify their business plans in the face of any problems that might arise.

顯然，裡面有很多——我們可以討論它的不同元素。然後另一個槓桿，當然是資產，對吧？我們在投資什麼，我們的多元化程度如何以及我們的投資有多可靠。我認為正如你所看到的，我們的信用質量一直非常高。我們覺得我們正在投資我們能夠投資的經濟領域，我們不投資週期性因素，我們在長期增長——通常是長期增長方面，我們首先擁有的經濟領域留置權，我們通常是唯一的貸款人或唯一的高級貸款人，我們有契約，我們有各種各樣的事情可以討論——在問題變得無法控制和行使之前對這些公司的方向以及他們在面對可能出現的任何問題時如何修改業務計劃產生一定程度的影響。

So I think the combination of all of this, we feel very comfortable with how we are structured and we also feel very gratified that our structure is proving out to be very well suited for a very troubled environment like we're in today, and here we are recognizing record earnings in the face of that.

所以我認為所有這一切的結合，我們對我們的結構感到非常滿意，我們也感到非常滿意我們的結構被證明非常適合我們今天所處的非常麻煩的環境，在這裡面對這種情況，我們承認創紀錄的收益。

That's helpful perspective, Chris. Maybe one follow-up for me, highlighting that record performance, especially relative to the dividend. How should we think about you all kind of balancing that higher level of earnings versus the dividend and some of the maybe macro challenges or some of the unknowns that are out there from either an asset quality perspective or from a interest rate perspective?

這是很有幫助的觀點，克里斯。也許對我來說是一個後續行動，強調了創紀錄的表現，尤其是相對於股息而言。我們應該如何考慮你如何平衡更高水平的收益與股息以及一些可能的宏觀挑戰或一些從資產質量角度或利率角度出現的未知因素？

Well, clearly, Bryce, that's a very good question. That's something that we wrestle with and talk about every day. I mean I think if you look at the dot plot of what the market thinks the forward interest rate curve is, they're expecting cuts later this year, right? And I would also point out that the dot plot has been pretty consistently wrong for a while. I think the Fed has sort of said what they're going to do and then the dot plot sort of telling they're going to break and cut rates. They've been saying that for quite a while.

嗯，很明顯，布萊斯，這是一個很好的問題。這是我們每天都在爭論和談論的事情。我的意思是，如果你看一下市場認為遠期利率曲線的點圖，他們預計今年晚些時候會降息，對吧？而且我還要指出，點圖在一段時間內一直都是錯誤的。我認為美聯儲有點說了他們將要做什麼，然後點陣圖有點告訴他們將打破並降息。他們這麼說已經有一段時間了。

And then I think if you had a stop action, a montage of all the predictions and the realities, I think those people might have some job security issues, I don't know, in terms of what exactly they've been saying is going to be predicting. However, they might be right this time. I mean, at some point, they may be right. Who knows? We don't know. And so what we've done is we've raised our dividend to a level substantially higher than it was, 30% higher than it was a year ago.

然後我想如果你有一個停止行動，所有預測和現實的蒙太奇，我認為那些人可能會有一些工作保障問題，我不知道，就他們所說的到底是什麼而言進行預測。然而，這次他們可能是對的。我的意思是，在某些時候，他們可能是對的。誰知道？我們不知道。因此，我們所做的是將股息提高到比去年高出 30% 的水平。

However, it is consistent with this negative dot plot outlook. If that proves to be the case, we believe this is a dividend, that's sustainable if rates kind of go back to that level. Not that we're economists and not that we try to forecast anything, we just think the reality is probably closer to where the Fed is and where the market is, but we just don't know that. And so we've structured our dividend to be in a position where we don't have to predict who's right or wrong, we think we're going to be in reasonable shape should that prove out.

然而，這與這種負面的點陣圖前景是一致的。如果事實證明是這樣，我們認為這是一种红利，如果利率回到該水平，那將是可持續的。並不是說我們是經濟學家，也不是說我們試圖預測任何事情，我們只是認為現實可能更接近美聯儲和市場的位置，但我們只是不知道。因此，我們將股息結構化，使我們不必預測誰是對或錯，我們認為如果證明這一點，我們將處於合理的狀態。

The other side of it, of course, is economy, recession. I mean I think we have the most predicted recession of all time. People keep constantly saying it's coming, but they keep pushing out when it's coming. I mean that's not for us to determine. There's tons of people with PhDs and all that kind of stuff out there that can forecast that. But the question is, are we structured for that should it occur? And I think, we are. We are structured both on the asset side and in terms of the quality of our credits and we're structured on the liability side, either way. If rates go up a lot more and inflation continues, we're very well structured. If things go badly and the world turns into a very bad place, our fixed charge coverage is enormous.

當然，它的另一面是經濟，衰退。我的意思是我認為我們有有史以來預測最嚴重的衰退。人們一直在說它要來了，但當它來了時他們卻一直在推開它。我的意思是這不是我們可以決定的。有很多擁有博士學位的人以及所有可以預測這一點的人。但問題是，如果它發生，我們是否有結構？我想，我們是。無論哪種方式，我們都在資產方面和信貸質量方面進行了結構化，並且在負債方面進行了結構化。如果利率上升很多並且通貨膨脹繼續，我們的結構非常好。如果情況不妙，世界變得非常糟糕，我們的固定費用覆蓋範圍是巨大的。

So we can get through that. So again, overall, we feel like we're -- the dividend is well structured. In terms of technically, there's spillover, right? And we're in a very good position relative to spillover. So we can over-earn our dividend and not have to make a special tax payment or a special dividend payment if we don't have -- if we don't want to for at least 18 months and depending how things shake out maybe longer.

所以我們可以度過難關。所以，總的來說，我們覺得我們 - 股息結構良好。從技術上講，有溢出效應，對吧？相對於溢出，我們處於非常有利的位置。因此，我們可以超額賺取股息，而不必支付特別稅款或特別股息，如果我們沒有——如果我們至少在 18 個月內不想這樣做，這取決於事情的發展可能會更長.

So we do have the ability to over-earn our dividend for a while, while we have a chance to look and watch and try and understand what the direction of interest rates are, the direction of economy is and also react and adjust to the tremendous high-quality deal flow that we're experiencing. So again, we feel cautious about being too optimistic, okay? But we are enjoying some of the best performance we've ever had right now and we don't see that changing in the very near term and hopefully not in the long term.

因此，我們確實有能力在一段時間內超額賺取紅利，同時我們有機會觀察並嘗試了解利率的方向，經濟的方向，並對巨大的變化做出反應和調整我們正在經歷的高質量交易流。所以，我們再次對過於樂觀感到謹慎，好嗎？但我們正在享受我們現在擁有的一些最佳表現，我們認為這種情況在短期內不會發生變化，希望在長期內不會發生變化。

And our next question is from Mickey Schleien with Ladenburg.

我們的下一個問題來自 Mickey Schleien 和 Ladenburg。

Your prepared remarks were very thorough, so I only have a couple of questions. There's obviously been a lot of discussion of commercial banks retrenching following the recent failures that we've seen, but those have been more amongst the regional banks. And we've seen a long-term disintermediation of large banks focusing on larger lenders, but now we have this new trend. And I'm curious whether you're seeing at the margin increased inquiries as those regional banks retrench?

你準備好的發言非常詳盡，所以我只有幾個問題。在我們最近看到的失敗之後，顯然有很多關於商業銀行裁員的討論，但這些討論更多的是在區域性銀行中。我們已經看到大型銀行長期脫媒，專注於大型貸方，但現在我們有了這種新趨勢。我很好奇，隨著這些地區性銀行的緊縮，您是否看到邊際諮詢量增加？

I'll start and is it -- yes, we have. I think for example, I mean we've had a lot of banks that have won deals from us in the last 12, 18 months by going much deeper into a credit than they have historically, and that's reversed. And we're even getting calls from banks that the company is growing, they need some more capital and the banks are growing like a much harder line than they used to in terms of advancing more capital.

我會開始，是嗎 - 是的，我們有。我想，例如，我的意思是，在過去的 12、18 個月裡，我們有很多銀行通過比歷史上更深入的信貸方式贏得了我們的交易，而這種情況發生了逆轉。我們甚至接到銀行的電話，說公司正在發展，他們需要更多的資本，而銀行在推進更多資本方面的增長比過去更加艱難。

And this is for a high-quality growing companies. So we are seeing a tremendous opportunity arising from the banks sort of moving back against tightening up their credit criteria in very good companies. We have picked up business from Silicon Valley Bank, where they have -- they actually have won deals away from us. And in one instance, we got it back. And so yes, this is providing opportunity for us. Mike, would you like to maybe comment on some more on that?

而這對於一家高質量的成長型公司來說。因此，我們看到銀行在某種程度上反對收緊非常優秀的公司的信貸標準，這帶來了巨大的機會。我們從矽谷銀行接手了業務，他們實際上已經從我們這裡贏得了交易。在一個例子中，我們把它拿回來了。所以是的，這為我們提供了機會。邁克，你想就此發表更多評論嗎？

Yes. Let me expound on it a little bit, Mickey. So if you think about the market in general, as we talked about in the prepared remarks, the market is -- I think the way you'd characterize the market is with, it's cautious. And that's for all the reasons that everybody is looking at in terms of concern about where the macro economy is going to go. So you used to see where you would see competitors being awfully aggressive.

是的。讓我稍微解釋一下，米奇。因此，如果你從總體上考慮市場，正如我們在準備好的評論中所談到的那樣，市場是——我認為你描述市場的方式是謹慎的。這就是每個人都在關注宏觀經濟走向的所有原因。所以你過去常常看到你會看到競爭對手非常激進的地方。

And we particularly saw this coming out of COVID, you saw people kind of giving money away, if you will, really pricing deals super competitively, not doing a whole lot of diligence and just putting money out, hand over fist. What we've seen in this market is much more caution. People are raising the bar in their underwriting, their hold positions and they're expanding their pricing pretty considerably. So we kind of had to -- been having that experience, let's say, for the last 6 months or so, and that certainly has been positive to your question are receiving more inquiries, yes, people that are seeking capital are going out to more folks to make sure that they can secure the capital that they're looking for.

我們特別看到了 COVID 的這種情況，你看到人們有點捐錢，如果你願意的話，真正地為交易定價極具競爭力，而不是做大量的盡職調查，只是把錢拿出來，交出拳頭。我們在這個市場上看到的是更加謹慎。人們正在提高他們的承銷、持有頭寸的門檻，並且他們正在相當大地擴大他們的定價。所以我們有點不得不 - 比方說，在過去 6 個月左右的時間裡，這對你的問題肯定是積極的，正在接受更多的詢問，是的，尋求資金的人正在尋求更多人們要確保他們能夠獲得他們正在尋找的資金。

And then the second thing would be what Chris just referenced, which would be that, that general trend has been further accelerated by the retreat of the banks in deals. So I mentioned, for instance, that we've closed since quarter end, 5 new portfolio companies and 2 of those, I would say, were directly related to not M&A activity, but really solid businesses that are growing at a healthy clip but the ownership groups weren't really feeling comfortable that their existing banks were going to be supportive enough of their balance sheet.

然後第二件事就是克里斯剛才提到的，即銀行退出交易進一步加速了總體趨勢。所以我提到，例如，自季度末以來，我們已經關閉了 5 家新的投資組合公司，其中 2 家，我想說，與併購活動沒有直接關係，但真正穩固的業務正以健康的速度增長，但所有權集團對他們現有的銀行將足以支持他們的資產負債表感到不安。

So we entered into both of those deals. So it's a confluence of factors, but yes, we are receiving more inquiries in this market for sure.

所以我們達成了這兩項交易。所以這是多種因素的結合，但是，是的，我們肯定會在這個市場上收到更多的詢問。

I appreciate that, Mike. And just one follow-on to that. Given what you just said, but also considering how much private equity and debt capital has been raised over the last few years. I'm sort of scratching my head as to the trajectory of spreads. They've expanded recently. But as you've mentioned on this call, yields -- all-in yields are extremely attractive. So if you look at those 2 dynamics, what's your gut telling you about the market's willingness to maintain these wider spreads and also the lower multiples that we've been seeing on deals?

我很感激，邁克。這只是一個後續行動。考慮到你剛才所說的，還要考慮過去幾年籌集了多少私募股權和債務資本。對於點差的軌跡，我有點摸不著頭腦。他們最近擴大了。但正如你在這次電話會議上提到的那樣，收益率——全押收益率極具吸引力。因此，如果您查看這兩種動態，您的直覺告訴您市場願意維持這些更廣泛的價差以及我們在交易中看到的較低倍數的意願是什麼？

I can't make a prediction. I wish I could, but I can't make a prediction in terms of where spreads are going to go. And I certainly think your question is a good one, recognizing that there certainly is capital out there. But what I can tell you is that what we're seeing right now is a lot of discipline. We saw spreads widen pretty considerably over the last couple of quarters.

我無法做出預測。我希望我可以，但我無法預測價差將走向何方。而且我當然認為你的問題是一個很好的問題，認識到那里肯定有資本。但我可以告訴你的是，我們現在看到的是很多紀律。在過去的幾個季度中，我們看到價差大幅擴大。

There's probably even a little bit more widening with the Silicon Valley Bank experience and that hasn't really changed. We've seen those wider spreads persist. I think the way we look at pricing our deals, we're always looking at them to make sure that we're getting the right risk-adjusted returns. And I don't think we've changed anything in our underwriting what's happened that's allowed us to accelerate our deployment in this last couple of months or so is that the markets kind of come our way. We are being as cautious as ever, but other people are finally starting to be that way as well.

矽谷銀行的經驗可能會更廣泛一點，而且並沒有真正改變。我們已經看到那些更廣泛的利差持續存在。我認為我們看待交易定價的方式，我們一直在關注它們以確保我們獲得正確的風險調整後回報。而且我認為我們在承銷方面沒有改變任何事情，這讓我們在過去幾個月左右加快了我們的部署，市場有點像我們一樣。我們一如既往地謹慎，但其他人終於也開始這樣做了。

Our next question is from Casey Alexander with Compass Point Research & Trading.

我們的下一個問題來自 Compass Point Research & Trading 的 Casey Alexander。

Couple of pretty simple questions here. One is on Artemis Wax, sort of a dividend on the sale of the company's kind of just curious, is that like a success fee or an edit term payment? Or how would you characterize that? Because it's just a little different than what we normally see.

這裡有幾個非常簡單的問題。一個是關於 Artemis Wax，有點像公司出售的股息，有點好奇，是成功費還是編輯期限付款？或者你會如何描述它？因為它與我們通常看到的略有不同。

No, it's a good question. And I think it can be a little confusing because I think we called it a sale of equity, which indeed it was. So that was not a change of control transaction. So actually a wonderful story for us kind of indicative of what we do, I think, very well, is we backed a group of owners of that business a couple of years ago who are real bright individuals, had capital kind of independent sponsor type transaction.

不，這是個好問題。而且我認為這可能有點令人困惑，因為我認為我們稱其為股權出售，確實如此。因此，這不是控制權交易的變更。所以實際上，對我們來說，一個很好的故事表明了我們所做的事情，我認為，很好，我們在幾年前支持了該企業的一群所有者，他們是真正聰明的人，擁有獨立發起人類型交易的資本.

The business has done exceedingly well and we lend them more capital over time to grow their enterprise value rather than selling the business entirely and experience a change of control, they brought in a minority equity investor who is a sponsor group that's very experienced in that space or similar spaces and put money in at a really healthy enterprise value.

業務做得非常好，隨著時間的推移，我們藉給他們更多的資金來增加他們的企業價值，而不是完全出售業務並經歷控制權的變化，他們引入了少數股權投資者，這是一個在該領域非常有經驗的讚助商集團或類似的空間，並以真正健康的企業價值投入資金。

And as part of that, we received a dividend on our initial common equity. We also received a payoff of our preferred equity. And those 2 resulted in a nice return in that quarter. We also, thankfully, co-invested in the equity alongside the new sponsor as well. So our shareholders will get the benefit of continuing to own the original common equity at that valuation, participating in the, hopefully future growth of the enterprise value with the new minority sponsorship. And then we're continuing to be a lender to that business and are excited to continue to support their growth.

作為其中的一部分，我們收到了初始普通股的股息。我們還收到了優先股的回報。那兩個在那個季度帶來了不錯的回報。值得慶幸的是，我們也與新發起人一起共同投資了股權。因此，我們的股東將獲得繼續以該估值擁有原始普通股的利益，參與新少數股東發起的企業價值的未來增長。然後我們將繼續成為該業務的貸方，並很高興繼續支持他們的發展。

What is that listed in the schedule of investments? I mean is it -- I'm not picking it up.

投資計劃表中列出的是什麼？我的意思是——我不明白。

There should be a senior loan. We could help you maybe off the call. There should be a senior loan that's on our scheduled investments. And then there should be 2 -- well, there's a preferred piece that was paid off. And then there should be 2 equity investments that we have as well. They may have a preferred label on them, I believe, but one of them we view as common and the other one has kind of some more preferred features.

應該有高級貸款。我們可以幫助您，也許可以掛斷電話。我們預定的投資中應該有一筆優先貸款。然後應該有 2 個——好吧，有一個首選的作品已經得到回報。然後我們也應該有 2 項股權投資。我相信，它們上面可能有一個偏愛的標籤，但其中一個我們認為很常見，而另一個則有一些更偏愛的特徵。

These 2 types of preferred on the scheduled investments.

這2種類型是預定投資的首選。

I got it.

我得到了它。

One is a common.

一種是普通的。

I got it. Look, we've had so many companies report at the same time. I was looking forward on somebody else's schedule of investment. That's what just happened. I wanted to start by saying good evening because the presentation goes on a long time.

我得到了它。看，我們有這麼多公司同時報告。我期待別人的投資時間表。那就是剛剛發生的事情。我想先說晚安，因為演講會持續很長時間。

Yes. One other question here, and this is just out of curiosity. In the press release, it says that -- you issued $10 million and $10 million of 8.75%, 2024 notes on March 31, 2023, and May 31, 2023. May 31 hasn't happened yet. So is that a future sale that becomes active on May 31?

是的。這裡還有一個問題，這只是出於好奇。在新聞稿中，它說——你在 2023 年 3 月 31 日和 2023 年 5 月 31 日發行了 1000 萬美元和 1000 萬美元的 8.75%、2024 票據。5 月 31 日還沒有發生。那是 5 月 31 日開始的未來銷售嗎？

No. It's supposed to be March 31 and May 1, which was yesterday. It was yesterday. It was a 2-tranche private baby bond, yes.

不，應該是 3 月 31 日和 5 月 1 日，也就是昨天。那是昨天了。是的，這是一個兩部分的私人嬰兒債券。

No, we have seen some BDCs do a forward sale of debt, so I thought that might be it.

不，我們已經看到一些 BDC 進行債務遠期銷售，所以我認為可能就是這樣。

Our next question comes from Robert Dodd with Raymond James.

我們的下一個問題來自 Robert Dodd 和 Raymond James。

Congratulations on the quarter. At the risk of rehashing prices questions and your answers to that, I'm going to anyway. So on the leverage question, to your point, the structure of leverage, I mean, the maturity ladder, the amount of unsecured, the structure itself is excellent.

祝賀這個季度。冒著重複價格問題和你的答案的風險，我還是要去做。所以關於槓桿問題，就你的觀點而言，槓桿結構，我的意思是，成熟度階梯，無擔保金額，結構本身非常好。

The question is that just the absolute amount of it too much relative to your equity base, on a regulatory leverage basis and all your unsecured over a (inaudible) leverage covenant in. On a regulatory leverage basis, you've got to be after the deployment post quarter end and the baby bonds and the private merch, could it be close to 1 7 leverage, right now?

問題是它的絕對數量相對於你的股權基礎來說太多了，在監管槓桿的基礎上以及你所有無擔保的（聽不清）槓桿契約中。在監管槓桿的基礎上，你必須在部署後季度末和嬰兒債券和私人商品，它現在可以接近 1 7 槓桿嗎？

You don't have maturities until 2025. There's a minimum borrowing on the Encina. So there's not nearly a lot of room to pay down anything. Is 1 7 on a regulatory basis with the covenants in the business. Is that a comfortable level for you for the next 2 years because your first debt maturity is not until 2025.

直到 2025 年你才到期。Encina 有最低借款。所以幾乎沒有太多的空間來支付任何東西。是 1 7 在監管基礎上與業務中的契約。這對您來說是未來 2 年的舒適水平嗎，因為您的第一筆債務要到 2025 年才到期。

I think the way we phrased it before is what we continue to believe that 1 7 is a number. But I think 1 7 in the context of structure is something different than absolute. I mean if we had a 1 7 and it was all asset-based loans with 2-year maturities, that would be one thing. But 1 7 with the type of maturity schedule we have and the nature of the debt we have in the context of the earnings that's coming off of our portfolio and the NAV growth and the NAV stability that we have, we feel comfortable. And so I think our 1 7 isn't someone else's 1 7.

我認為我們之前的表述方式是我們繼續相信 1 7 是一個數字。但我認為 1 7 在結構的背景下與絕對不同。我的意思是，如果我們有 1 7 並且都是 2 年期的基於資產的貸款，那將是一回事。但是 1 7 鑑於我們擁有的到期時間表類型以及在我們投資組合的收益以及資產淨值增長和資產淨值穩定性的背景下我們擁有的債務的性質，我們感到很舒服。所以我認為我們的 1 7 不是別人的 1 7。

I understand your point. I'm just -- obviously, there can be periods of market volatility, not that I'm forecasting another COVID, but if that were to happen, starting off of 1 7 seems quite high. But anyway, moving on to the other part, you addressed it as well, the earnings part...

我明白你的意思。我只是 - 顯然，可能會有市場波動的時期，並不是說我在預測另一個 COVID，但如果發生這種情況，從 1 7 開始似乎相當高。但無論如何，轉到另一部分，你也解決了它，收入部分......

Robert, I would -- just from a technical point, this is Henri. I would just add that there are a couple of private bonds that are actually callable already. So none of the public, but there are a couple of the private, just from a technical point to your initial comment.

羅伯特，從技術角度來看，我是 Henri。我只想補充一點，有一些私人債券實際上已經可以贖回了。所以沒有公開的，但有一些私人的，只是從技術角度到您的初步評論。

And just to emphasize one thing that, Chris, I think elaborated on very well in an earlier caller's questions. But just to emphasize it again, I mean, we've been doing this for an awfully long time. It's interesting when we construct the balance sheet -- well, let me put it a different way. If we had a balance sheet that consisted of a fair amount of junior capital or we were lending to businesses in cyclical industries or businesses that really weren't as strong business models in the industries that we're investing in.

我想強調一件事，Chris，我認為在之前來電者的問題中已經詳細闡述了這一點。但再次強調一下，我的意思是，我們已經這樣做了很長時間了。當我們構建資產負債表時，這很有趣——好吧，讓我換一種說法。如果我們的資產負債表包含大量初級資本，或者我們向周期性行業的企業或在我們投資的行業中真正沒有強大商業模式的企業提供貸款。

And then we combine that with a leverage structure where they have hooks in us, if you will, is covenant defaults, mark-to-market, various things that can really go awry, that would not be a good thing, right? We really think about that. And I would tell you that even a really low leverage balance sheet that's constructed that way wouldn't make a lot of sense.

然後我們將其與槓桿結構相結合，如果你願意的話，他們會鉤住我們，是契約違約，按市值計價，各種可能真正出錯的事情，這不是一件好事，對吧？我們真的考慮到了這一點。而且我會告訴你，即使以這種方式構建的槓桿率非常低的資產負債表也沒有多大意義。

And so we think about our leverage in the context of an asset portfolio or investment portfolio that has, we think, some really durable assets, 82% first lien in industry end markets that are generally less cyclical, very recession-resistant, businesses that have a lot of recurring revenue and free cash flow and then we combine that with a debt structure that is very borrower-friendly, really with no covenants whatsoever other than the Encina facility, which is quite small and functions as a swing line.

因此，我們在資產組合或投資組合的背景下考慮我們的槓桿作用，我們認為，這些資產具有一些真正耐用的資產，82% 的優先留置權在行業終端市場中，這些市場通常週期性較弱，非常抗衰退，企業有大量的經常性收入和自由現金流，然後我們將其與對借款人非常友好的債務結構結合起來，除了 Encina 設施之外，實際上沒有任何契約，該設施非常小，可以作為周轉線。

It doesn't mean that we're not paying very careful attention. I don't want to be dismissive of the leverage. It's a good question, but it's something that we attend to. But when we look at it, we look at it in that context.

這並不意味著我們沒有給予非常仔細的關注。我不想對槓桿不屑一顧。這是一個很好的問題，但這是我們關注的問題。但是當我們看它的時候，我們是在那個背景下看它的。

Understood. Thank you for that. The next one kind of also goes back to -- partly to Chris. I mean, if I might, I read the 10-K, and you have just under $20 million in spillover in terms of $65. You could easily over earn your current dividend of $0.69 a quarter by a $1 this year. That's not my estimate yet, but call it that kind of ballpark.

明白了。謝謝你。下一種也可以追溯到——部分是克里斯。我的意思是，如果可以的話，我讀了 10-K，以 65 美元計算，你的溢出效應略低於 2000 萬美元。今年，您可以很容易地多賺 1 美元，超出當前每季度 0.69 美元的股息。這還不是我的估計，但可以稱之為大概。

That would put you a year from now, you could be in a situation where you have $2.50 or somewhere in the mid-2s and which kind of then maybe forces your hand a year later. Is there -- to your point, you don't have to pay a supplemental for like the next 18 months, but the earnings power is really strong, benefitting from a high leverage. Is it -- are you planning on waiting at the time you run the miss that you still overbuilt to such a level that your hand is forced, so to speak.

那會讓你從現在開始一年後，你可能會處於這樣一種情況，你有 2.50 美元或在 2s 中間的某個地方，而這種情況可能會在一年後迫使你的手。有沒有——就你的觀點而言，你不必像接下來的 18 個月那樣支付附加費，但盈利能力真的很強，受益於高槓桿。是嗎 - 你是否打算在運行失誤時等待，你仍然過度建造到你的手被迫的水平，可以這麼說。

Well, I think that's a very good -- that's something that we are very, very focused on. I think as we said, you look at the dot plot of the forward interest rate expectations coming down as soon as July, some people forecasting cuts in July, right? And then you have what the Fed says what the rates are going to be and then you have this ongoing earnings that we're experiencing. And so there's a very, very huge, very, very large spread of predicted outcomes. I think as we've said over and over again, we're not really in the prediction business. We're in the business of investing in solid companies and structuring ourselves accordingly in all kinds of environments.

好吧，我認為這非常好——這是我們非常非常關注的事情。我想正如我們所說，你看一下遠期利率預期最早在 7 月下降的點圖，有些人預測 7 月會降息，對嗎？然後你會得到美聯儲所說的利率，然後你就會得到我們正在經歷的持續收益。因此，預測結果的分佈範圍非常非常大。我認為正如我們一遍又一遍地說的那樣，我們並沒有真正從事預測業務。我們從事的業務是投資穩固的公司，並在各種環境中相應地構建自己的結構。

I think the short answer is we're not prepared to make a hard decision right now. That's why we raised our dividend by $0.01, not by substantially more, and we're wildly over earning it right now. Obviously, as we settle into this next phase, we're going to be considering this maybe not every day, but I mean we are considering this actively at all times to manage all that.

我認為簡短的回答是我們現在不准備做出艱難的決定。這就是為什麼我們將股息提高了 0.01 美元，而不是大幅提高，而且我們現在已經超額賺取了。顯然，隨著我們進入下一階段，我們可能不會每天都考慮這個問題，但我的意思是我們一直在積極考慮這個問題以管理所有這些問題。

I think the actual hard spillover reconciliation date is November of 2024. And if you just take what's happened in the last 18 months versus the next 18 months, there's a lot of things that's going to happen one way or another, and we're going to adjust to, and we believe they're going to be positive for us. And so we'll have to adjust it as we go. But as of this minute, we are where we are, right? We're not increasing our dividend to our earnings levels and we're going to bank that over earning into our NAV and into our liquidity structure and continue to do a very high-quality business that we're doing and sort of watch and very carefully and be ready to react one way or the other.

我認為實際的溢出效應協調日期是 2024 年 11 月。如果你只比較過去 18 個月和接下來 18 個月發生的事情，就會有很多事情會以這種或那種方式發生，我們將適應，我們相信他們會對我們產生積極影響。因此，我們必須邊走邊調整它。但截至目前，我們就在原地，對吧？我們不會將股息增加到我們的收益水平，我們將把超額收益存入我們的資產淨值和我們的流動性結構中，並繼續開展我們正在開展的非常高質量的業務，並進行觀察和非常小心並準備好以一種或另一種方式做出反應。

And I think what Chris just said, Robert, is the really important thing, which is November next year is the -- as you said, the fourth to date, right? But we're considering and making those decisions every single day through that period. It's not a case of just -- you've got to make a decision now or you're going to make it in 18 months, right?

我認為克里斯剛剛說的，羅伯特，是真正重要的事情，也就是明年 11 月——正如你所說，是迄今為止的第四次，對吧？但在那段時間裡，我們每天都在考慮並做出這些決定。這不僅僅是——你必須現在就做出決定，或者你將在 18 個月內做出決定，對吧？

And one point I would also make about that, and then you cover quite a bit of the industry very, very well and know it better. We don't necessarily know our fellow industry players as well as you might. But I would make this remark and you can correct me if I'm not correct in it. I think we've been particularly careful at managing our spillover and in the circumstances we're in with our $20 million handle number, you just mentioned about spillover, that's actually a fairly small spillover amount relative to our understanding of most of the BDC industry.

有一點我也會提出來，然後你非常非常了解這個行業的相當一部分，並且更加了解它。我們不一定像您一樣了解我們的同行。但我會說這句話，如果我說的不對，你可以糾正我。我認為我們在管理溢出方面特別小心，在我們處理 2000 萬美元的情況下，你剛才提到溢出，相對於我們對大多數 BDC 行業的理解，這實際上是一個相當小的溢出量.

And most of the BDC industry is much further out the curve and have a lot less time flexibility relative to the spillover because they've been more aggressive in utilizing spillover, and we've treated the spillover sort of...

而且大多數 BDC 行業都遠遠超出了曲線，並且相對於溢出的時間靈活性要小得多，因為他們在利用溢出方面更加積極，我們已經將溢出處理為......

Yes. The only reason that it's -- I mean, your earnings power is just as strong is the point, your rate sensitivity is so pronounced and your earnings power is so strong that yours is building very quickly. I would just -- your earnings this quarter were 45% higher than your dividend. That is not a normal situation for the rest of the space to be. It's a great situation for you to have, for the investors and you to have, but it doesn't mean you builds quickly relative to everybody else.

是的。唯一的原因是——我的意思是，你的盈利能力同樣強大，你的利率敏感性如此明顯，你的盈利能力如此強大，以至於你的盈利能力正在迅速建立。我只是 - 你本季度的收入比你的股息高 45%。對於其餘空間而言，這不是正常情況。這對你、對投資者和你來說都是一個很好的情況，但這並不意味著你比其他人建設得更快。

Yes. And we're happy to be wrestling with this problem as you rightly point out.

是的。正如您正確指出的那樣，我們很高興能解決這個問題。

And our last question comes from Erik Zwick with Hovde Group.

我們的最後一個問題來自 Hovde Group 的 Erik Zwick。

Just two questions for me. The first one, just looking at the fair market value of the -- your equity portfolio, it was up about 13% quarter over quarter while the cost was down. So I'm just curious what factors or drivers led to the valuation marks in the quarter?

只問我兩個問題。第一個，只看你的股票投資組合的公平市場價值，它比上一季度增長了約 13%，而成本卻下降了。所以我很好奇是什麼因素或驅動因素導致了本季度的估值標記？

Primarily just performance of the underlying portfolio companies. One of the things that we're delighted to see, as I mentioned in our prepared remarks, we're really looking at carefully our portfolio. We always do, but we're especially looking at the performance of our portfolio. The vast majority of our portfolio is up year-over-year in terms of its financial performance. And so the majority of the write-ups in valuation this quarter were just based on fundamental performance of the underlying portfolio.

主要只是基礎投資組合公司的表現。正如我在準備好的評論中提到的，我們很高興看到的一件事是，我們真的在仔細研究我們的投資組合。我們總是這樣做，但我們特別關注我們投資組合的表現。就其財務業績而言，我們投資組合中的絕大多數都同比增長。因此，本季度的大部分估值增記只是基於基礎投資組合的基本面表現。

And then the last one for me. You addressed the pipeline several times during the call and that remain robust -- many actual opportunities. I guess I'm maybe a little bit curious about the other kind of big factor and potential portfolio growth that repayments and sales were higher in the most recent quarter than in the prior quarters. And I guess, that stands out to me a little bit just in terms of a slower M&A market. So one, I know it's tough to have visibility especially on sales, but maybe in terms of maturities, maybe you've got a little bit more visibility there.

然後是我的最後一個。您在通話期間多次解決了管道問題，並且仍然很穩健——很多實際機會。我想我可能對另一個重要因素和潛在的投資組合增長有點好奇，即最近一個季度的還款和銷售額高於前幾個季度。我想，就併購市場放緩而言，這對我來說有點突出。所以，我知道很難有知名度，尤其是在銷售方面，但也許就到期日而言，也許你在那裡有更多的知名度。

So just curious from your perspective, what you're expecting in terms of repayments and sales potentially either offset or how that kind of dovetails with the opportunity for new originations?

因此，從您的角度來看，您只是好奇，您對還款和銷售的期望可能會抵消，或者這種情況如何與新起源的機會相吻合？

Yes. That's a good question. And of course, we can't predict repayments. Rule of thumb that we often apply just as we think about our portfolio is that on average, it should in a normal market, about 1/3 of our portfolio should pay off over time at a faster clip than the maturity on our portfolio. Now we're not necessarily in a normal time. And so there's 2 things that usually drive repayments. One is that a company is doing really well and the capital markets get real hot and we're priced wider than somebody else might offer.

是的。這是個好問題。當然，我們無法預測還款額。我們在考慮我們的投資組合時經常應用的經驗法則是，平均而言，在正常市場中，我們投資組合的大約 1/3 應該以比我們投資組合的到期更快的速度隨著時間的推移得到回報。現在我們不一定處於正常時間。因此，通常有兩件事會推動還款。一是一家公司做得很好，資本市場變得非常火爆，我們的定價比其他人可能提供的要高。

And so you get recapitalized out of the balance sheet. We're not seeing much of that in this environment. The other thing that typically drives repayments is M&A activity. So the company has done real well. The ownership group decides to sell themselves and while our portfolio is performing very well, I think most of the ownership groups are looking at right now as not being the best time to sell because valuations are down just in general. And so the combination of those 2 factors would -- if I had to predict, I would say, you're probably not going to see as fast a payoff pace as you might see in a normal environment, if you will. But very hard to predict in that respect.

因此，您從資產負債表中獲得了資本重組。在這種環境中，我們看不到太多這樣的事情。通常推動還款的另一件事是併購活動。所以公司做得很好。所有權集團決定出售自己，雖然我們的投資組合表現非常好，但我認為大多數所有權集團現在都認為現在不是出售的最佳時機，因為估值普遍下降。因此，這兩個因素的結合——如果我不得不預測，我會說，如果你願意的話，你可能不會看到像在正常環境中看到的那樣快的回報速度。但在這方面很難預測。

Now in terms of opportunities to invest, we've spent a lot of time investing in relationships, building relationships over the years. And so those are always a healthy source of deals for us. In addition to that, we've invested in our business development team as well. And the combination of those things plus a market environment where lenders are being a lot more cautious has put us in a position where we're seeing a lot of deal flow. And we're going to remain as selective as we ever have been, but I would expect that we'll continue to see plenty of good opportunities to invest capital.

現在就投資機會而言，我們花了很多時間投資於關係，多年來建立關係。所以這些對我們來說總是一個健康的交易來源。除此之外，我們還投資了我們的業務開發團隊。這些因素加上貸款人更加謹慎的市場環境使我們處於一個我們看到大量交易流的位置。我們將一如既往地保持選擇性，但我希望我們將繼續看到大量投資資本的好機會。

And I'm showing no further questions at this time. I would now like to turn the call back over to the CEO, Chris Oberbeck, for closing remarks.

我現在沒有進一步提問。我現在想將電話轉回給首席執行官克里斯奧伯貝克，以作結束語。

Well, again, we really appreciate all on this call and all of our shareholders for their ongoing support for Saratoga. And we look forward to speaking with you again next quarter. Thank you.

嗯，再次，我們非常感謝所有參加這次電話會議的人，以及我們所有股東對薩拉託加的持續支持。我們期待下個季度再次與您交談。謝謝。

And this concludes today's conference call. Thank you for participating. You may now disconnect.

今天的電話會議到此結束。感謝您的參與。您現在可以斷開連接。