Saratoga Investment Corp (SAR) 2026 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for standing by. Welcome to Saratoga Investment Corp.'s fiscal year-end and fourth quarter 2026 financial results conference call. Please note that today's call is being recorded. (Operator Instructions)

各位女士、先生，早安。感謝您耐心等候。歡迎參加 Saratoga Investment Corp. 2026 會計年度年終暨 2026 年第四季財務業績電話會議。請注意，今日會議將進行錄音。（接線員指示）

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

此刻，我想將電話交給 Saratoga Investment Corp. 首席財務長兼首席法遵長 Henri Steenkamp 先生。請開始。

Thank you. I would like to welcome everyone to Saratoga Investment Corp's fiscal year-end and fourth quarter 2026 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。我謹歡迎各位參加 Saratoga Investment Corp. 2026 會計年度年終暨第四季財報電話會議。今日電話會議包含前瞻性陳述與預測。我們請您參閱我們最近向美國證券交易委員會（SEC）提交的文件，其中載有可能導致實際結果與這些前瞻性陳述與預測出現重大差異的重要因素。除非法律要求，否則我們不承擔更新前瞻性陳述之義務。

Today, we will be referencing a presentation during our call. You can find our fiscal year-end and fourth quarter 2026 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.

今天，我們將在會議中引用一份簡報。您可在我們投資人關係網站的「活動與簡報」專區找到 2026 會計年度年終暨第四季股東簡報。昨晚發布的財報新聞稿中已提供我們投資人關係（IR）頁面的連結。

For everyone new to our story, please note that our fiscal year-end is February 28. So any reference to Q4 results reflects our February 28 quarter and year-end period. A replay of this conference call will also be available. Please refer to our earnings press release for details.

對於首次接觸我們的朋友，請注意我們的會計年度年終為 2 月 28 日。因此，任何提及第四季（Q4）結果，均反映截至 2 月 28 日的季度與年度期末。此次電話會議亦將提供重播。詳情請參閱我們的財報新聞稿。

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.

接下來，我想把電話交給我們的董事長兼執行長 Christian Oberbeck，他將先做幾點開場說明。

Thank you, Henri, and welcome, everyone. Saratoga Investment Corp., highlights this quarter include net positive originations generated from our strong pipeline, including five new portfolio companies originated in the quarter, sustained long-term AUM growth, a strong 9.1% latest 12-month return on equity, beating our prior year and more than double the industry and importantly, continued solid performance from the core BDC portfolio in a challenging and volatile macro environment.

謝謝你，Henri，也歡迎各位。Saratoga Investment Corp. 本季重點包括：在強勁案源管道帶動下，實現淨正向新增投資（net positive originations），本季新增投資於五家新的投資組合公司；資產管理規模（AUM）長期持續成長；最新 12 個月股東權益報酬率（ROE）達 9.1%，不僅優於前一年度，亦為產業水準的兩倍以上；更重要的是，在充滿挑戰且波動的總體環境下，核心 BDC 投資組合仍持續展現穩健表現。

Continuing our historical strong dividend distribution history, we announced a monthly base dividend of $0.25 per share or $0.75 a share in aggregate for the first quarter of fiscal 2027, which when annualized, represents a 12.6% yield based on the stock price of $23.89 as of May 4, 2026, offering strong current income from an investment value standpoint.

延續我們一貫穩健的股利發放紀錄，我們宣布 2027 會計年度第一季的每月基本股利為每股 0.25 美元，合計每股 0.75 美元；以 2026 年 5 月 4 日股價 23.89 美元計算，年化殖利率為 12.6%，從投資價值角度提供具吸引力的當期收益。

Originations and AUM growth were strong during the quarter, contributing to adjusted NII of $0.53 per share, including the impact of a $1.7 million excise tax expense. Adjusted for this excise tax, NII was $0.61 per share, consistent with the prior quarter. Overall, our adjusted NII continues to reflect the impact of declining short-term interest rates and tightening spreads on our largely floating rate asset base.

本季新增投資與 AUM 成長強勁，帶動調整後淨投資收益（NII）為每股 0.53 美元，其中包含 170 萬美元的消費稅（excise tax）費用影響。若排除該消費稅影響，NII 為每股 0.61 美元，與前一季一致。整體而言，我們的調整後 NII 仍反映短期利率下滑以及利差收斂，對我們以浮動利率資產為主的資產基礎所造成的影響。

During the quarter, we saw a meaningful increase in deal activity, reflecting our own business development activities despite persistent sector headwinds and the cautious sentiment that has taken hold across the broader private credit sector. Market dynamics continue to be very competitive. While our portfolio saw multiple debt repayments in Q4, our strong origination activity more than offset those exits, resulting in net originations of $101.1 million for the quarter from $135.1 million in new originations across five new investments and 15 follow-ons.

本季我們看到交易活動明顯增加，反映出即使在產業逆風持續、且更廣泛的私募信貸市場瀰漫審慎情緒之下，我們仍積極推動自身的業務開發。市場競爭態勢依然激烈。雖然我們的投資組合在第四季出現多筆債務償還，但強勁的新增投資活動已遠超過這些退出，使本季淨新增投資達 1.011 億美元；其中新承作（new originations）合計 1.351 億美元，來自五筆新投資與 15 筆追加投資（follow-ons）。

Our strong reputation, differentiated market positioning and the ongoing development of sponsor relationships continue to create attractive investment opportunities from high-quality sponsors. Investment activity continues post quarter end with one new portfolio company investment and multiple follow-ons already closed. We remain prudent in discerning in our underwriting approach, particularly in light of the current volatile and uncertain environment.

我們良好的市場聲譽、差異化的市場定位，以及持續深化的贊助商（sponsor）關係，持續為我們帶來來自高品質贊助商的具吸引力投資機會。季後投資活動仍在延續，目前已完成一筆新的投資組合公司投資以及多筆追加投資。我們在承作審核（underwriting）上仍維持審慎且嚴謹，尤其是在當前波動且不確定的環境下。

We believe Saratoga continues to be favorably situated for potential future economic opportunities as well as challenges. Our total $1.109 billion portfolio was marked down 1% or $9.6 million during the quarter, including net depreciation of $3.1 million in the non-CLO core portfolio and unrealized depreciation of $5.5 million in the CLO and JV.

我們認為 Saratoga 仍處於有利位置，可因應未來潛在的經濟機會與挑戰。本季我們總額 11.09 億美元的投資組合估值下調 1%，或 960 萬美元，其中包括非 CLO 核心投資組合淨減值 310 萬美元，以及 CLO 與合資（JV）未實現減值 550 萬美元。

Our investment in Zollege that previously had been restructured and written off continues to perform strongly with $3.3 million of unrealized appreciation recognized in this quarter. As of quarter end, our core non-CLO portfolio remains 1.6% above cost with our total portfolio valuation 2.4% below cost. These results reflect the quality of our direct lending underwriting, the strength of our portfolio companies and their sponsors and our focus on well-selected industry segments with favorable risk-adjusted returns.

我們對 Zollege 的投資先前已完成重整並予以沖銷，但目前持續強勁表現，本季認列 330 萬美元未實現增值。截至季末，我們的核心非 CLO 投資組合估值仍較成本高 1.6%，而整體投資組合估值較成本低 2.4%。這些結果反映我們直接放款承作審核的品質、投資組合公司及其贊助商的實力，以及我們聚焦於精選產業區隔、以取得具吸引力的風險調整後報酬。

During the fourth quarter, our core BDC net interest margin decreased by 4% from $13.5 million last quarter to $13 million. This was driven primarily by the average SOFR rate used in the portfolio decreasing by 12 basis points from last quarter, accelerated OID of $0.9 million on the sale of the JV CLOs e-note from last quarter, not repeating. Spreads on originations this quarter being almost 200 basis points lower than on the repayments they replaced and the timing of originations and repayments in Q4 partially offset by the 5.6% increase in average core assets.

第四季期間，我們核心 BDC 的淨利差（net interest margin）較上季下降 4%，由 1,350 萬美元降至 1,300 萬美元。主要原因包括：投資組合採用的平均 SOFR 利率較上季下降 12 個基點；上季出售 JV CLO 的 e-note 所產生的 90 萬美元加速攤銷 OID（原始發行折價）本季未再發生；本季新增投資利差較其所替代的償還部位低近 200 個基點；以及第四季新增投資與償還的時點因素。上述影響部分被核心資產平均規模增加 5.6% 所抵銷。

Our overall credit quality for this quarter decreased slightly to 96.8% of credits rated in our highest category. We have just two investments on nonaccrual status. Pepper Palace, which has been restructured and our CLO's F note that has been put on nonaccrual for the first time this quarter, representing 0.2% of fair value and 1.2% of cost, well below the industry average of 3.3%.

本季整體信用品質略為下降，評等落在我們最高等級的信用資產占比為 96.8%。目前僅有兩筆投資處於停計息（nonaccrual）狀態：其一為已完成重整的 Pepper Palace；其二為我們 CLO 的 F note，本季首次列入停計息。兩者合計占公允價值 0.2%、占成本 1.2%，明顯低於產業平均的 3.3%。

With 82.1% of our investments at quarter end and first lien debt and generally supported by strong enterprise values and balance sheets in industries that have historically performed well in stress situations, we believe our portfolio composition and leverage profile are well structured for future economic conditions and uncertainty. As always, and particularly in the current uncertain environment, balance sheet strength, liquidity and NAV preservation remain paramount for us.

截至季末，我們 82.1% 的投資為第一順位擔保債（first lien debt），且通常由強勁的企業價值與資產負債表所支撐，並分布於歷來在壓力情境下表現良好的產業。我們相信，我們的投資組合結構與槓桿輪廓已妥善配置，可因應未來經濟情勢與不確定性。一如既往，尤其在目前不確定的環境下，資產負債表強度、流動性與每股淨值（NAV）保全仍是我們的首要任務。

At quarter end, we maintained a substantial $211 million investment capacity to support our portfolio companies with $99 million available through our existing SBIC III license, $90 million from our two revolving credit facilities and $21.8 million in cash.

截至季末，我們維持可觀的 2.11 億美元投資能力，以支援投資組合公司，其中包括：透過現有 SBIC III 執照可用 9,900 萬美元、兩項循環信貸額度可用 9,000 萬美元，以及 2,180 萬美元現金。

Our quarter end cash position decreased meaningfully from $169.6 million last quarter, due in large part to strong origination activity and the refinancing of the $175 million institutional note. The refinancing of this debt included the issuance of $150 million of new bonds, and our regulatory leverage remained unchanged at 168.4% quarter-over-quarter.

本季季末現金部位較上季的 1.696 億美元大幅下降，主要原因為新增投資活動強勁，以及 1.75 億美元機構票據（institutional note）的再融資。該債務再融資包含發行 1.5 億美元新債券，而我們的監管槓桿比率（regulatory leverage）季對季維持不變，為 168.4%。

As we kick off our fiscal year 2027, the macro environment remains complex, shaped by geopolitical tensions, evolving US tariff policies and concerns about AI and software. All of these aspects, combined with an uncertain interest rate environment, combined to create elevated volatility and continued uncertainty on credit spreads across the private credit sector.

隨著我們展開 2027 會計年度，總體環境仍然複雜，受到地緣政治緊張局勢、美國關稅政策演變，以及對 AI 與軟體的疑慮所影響。上述因素再加上不確定的利率環境，共同造成波動性升高，並使私募信貸產業的信用利差持續面臨不確定性。

While negative press and sentiment weighs on the public BDC market, at this time, it appears that these very negative perceptions are not commensurate with the current market performance in the broader private credit market.

儘管負面新聞與市場情緒壓抑公開市場 BDC 的表現，但就目前而言，這些極度負面的觀感似乎與更廣泛私募信貸市場的實際表現並不相稱。

As we continue to focus on underwriting strong credit and long-term growth, we continue to grow our team having added three new associates and two new Managing Director hires this year, including most recently, David DeSantis, who joined Saratoga as Chief Operating Officer and Senior Managing Director.

在我們持續聚焦於承作優質信用與長期成長之際，我們也持續擴編團隊；今年已新增三位副理（associate）與兩位新任董事總經理（Managing Director），其中最近加入的是 David DeSantis，他以營運長（Chief Operating Officer）兼資深董事總經理身分加入 Saratoga。

David brings a wealth of private credit experience and organizational leadership, significantly expanding our C-suite resources to further enhance Saratoga's performance and growth opportunities. David will be making his debut presentation today, addressing the market and Saratoga's portfolio.

David 擁有豐富的私募信貸經驗與組織領導能力，顯著擴充我們的高階管理團隊（C-suite）資源，以進一步提升 Saratoga 的績效與成長機會。David 今天也將首次登台簡報，針對市場與 Saratoga 的投資組合進行說明。

Moving on to Saratoga Investments' fiscal 2026 fourth quarter key performance indicators as compared to the quarters ended February 28, 2025, and November 30, 2025, our quarter end NAV was $396.2 million, up 0.9% from $392.7 million last year and down 4.1% from $413.2 million last quarter. Our NAV per share was $24.42, down from $25.86 last year and $25.59 last quarter. Year-over-year NAV per share is down $1.44 with total NII of $2.32 versus total dividend distributions of $3.74.

接下來談到 Saratoga Investments 2026 會計年度第四季的關鍵績效指標，並與截至 2025 年 2 月 28 日及 2025 年 11 月 30 日止的季度相比，我們季末淨資產價值（NAV）為 3.962 億美元，較去年 3.927 億美元增加 0.9%，較上季 4.132 億美元下降 4.1%。每股 NAV 為 24.42 美元，低於去年的 25.86 美元及上季的 25.59 美元。按年計算，每股 NAV 下降 1.44 美元，期間總淨投資收益（NII）為 2.32 美元，而總股利分配為 3.74 美元。

The $1.42 of distributions in excess of NII approximates the entire $1.44 of 12-month reduction in NAV per share. This excess distribution represents previously undistributed NII profits from prior years. Our adjusted NII was $8.5 million this quarter, up 6.2% from last year and down 12.8% from last quarter. Our adjusted NII per share was $0.53 this quarter, down 5.4% from last year and 13.1% from last quarter.

超出 NII 的 1.42 美元分配，幾乎等同於 12 個月期間每股 NAV 減少的 1.44 美元。此超額分配代表前幾年累積、先前未分配的 NII 利潤。本季調整後 NII 為 850 萬美元，較去年增加 6.2%，較上季下降 12.8%。本季每股調整後 NII 為 0.53 美元，較去年下降 5.4%，較上季下降 13.1%。

Excluding the excise tax, adjusted NII for Q4 was $0.61, unchanged from last quarter. Adjusted NII yield was 8.4% this quarter, unchanged from 8.4% last year and down from 9.5% last quarter and latest 12 months return on equity was 9.1% up from 7.5% last year, down from 9.7% last quarter and above the industry average of 4.3%.

若排除消費稅（excise tax），第四季調整後 NII 為 0.61 美元，與上季持平。本季調整後 NII 殖利率為 8.4%，與去年 8.4% 持平，低於上季的 9.5%；最近 12 個月股東權益報酬率為 9.1%，高於去年的 7.5%，低於上季的 9.7%，且高於產業平均的 4.3%。

This past year, we saw a $5 million overall net realized and unrealized gain for the year, and slide 3 illustrates how these combined portfolio and financial results have delivered a return on equity of 9.1% for the last 12 months, above the industry average of 4.3%.

在過去一年中，我們全年合計實現與未實現損益為淨收益 500 萬美元；投影片 3 說明這些合併的投資組合與財務成果如何在最近 12 個月帶來 9.1% 的股東權益報酬率，高於產業平均的 4.3%。

Additionally, our long-term average return on equity over the past 12 years of 10.1% is well above the BDC industry average of 6.7%. Our long-term return on equity has remained strong over the past decade plus, beating the industry 9 of the past 12 years and consistently positive every year.

此外，我們過去 12 年的長期平均股東權益報酬率為 10.1%，遠高於 BDC 產業平均的 6.7%。我們的長期股東權益報酬率在過去十多年維持強勁，在過去 12 年中有 9 年優於產業，且每一年皆維持正報酬。

As you can see on slide 4, our assets under management have steadily and consistently risen since we took over the BDC 15 years ago, despite a slight pullback in fiscal 2025, reflecting significant repayments. This quarter saw significant originations again outpacing repayments, resulting in a meaningful increase in AUM as compared to the previous quarter. The quality of our credits remains solid with just two investments on nonaccrual, Pepper Palace, which has been restructured and our CLO's F note that has been put on nonaccrual for the first time this quarter.

如投影片 4 所示，自我們於 15 年前接手該 BDC 以來，管理資產（AUM）一直穩定且持續上升，儘管 2025 會計年度因大量償還而略有回落。本季新增投資（originations）再次顯著超過償還，因而相較前一季 AUM 有明顯增加。我們的信用品質仍然穩健，僅有兩項投資處於停計利息（nonaccrual）狀態：已完成重整的 Pepper Palace，以及本季首次被列為停計利息的我們 CLO 的 F 票據。

Our management team is working diligently to continue this positive long-term trend as we deploy our significant levels of available capital into our pipeline while at the same time being appropriately cautious in this evolving and volatile credit and economic environment.

我們的管理團隊正努力不懈地延續這項正向的長期趨勢，將可用資本的可觀水位投入我們的案源管線（pipeline），同時在這個不斷演變且波動的信貸與經濟環境中保持適度審慎。

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

接下來，我想把電話會議交給 Henri，請他回顧我們的財務結果，以及投資組合的構成與表現。

Thank you, Chris. Slide 5 highlights our key performance metrics for Q4, and slide 6 highlights our key performance metrics for the year, most of which Chris already highlighted. Of note, the weighted average common shares outstanding in Q4 was 16.2 million, increasing from 16.1 million and 14.5 million shares for last quarter and last year's fourth quarter, respectively. Adjusted NII was $8.5 million this quarter, up 6.2% from last year and down 12.8% from last quarter. For the year, adjusted NII was $57.5 million, down 29.2% from full year 2025.

謝謝你，Chris。投影片 5 重點呈現我們第四季的關鍵績效指標，投影片 6 則呈現全年的關鍵績效指標，其中多數 Chris 已經提到。值得注意的是，第四季加權平均流通普通股數為 1,620 萬股，較上季的 1,610 萬股及去年第四季的 1,450 萬股增加。本季調整後 NII 為 850 萬美元，較去年增加 6.2%，較上季下降 12.8%。全年調整後 NII 為 5,750 萬美元，較 2025 全年下降 29.2%。

This quarter's decrease in adjusted NII as compared to the prior quarter was largely due to the impact of the $1.7 million excise tax paid during this quarter while the increase from last year primarily relates to higher other income, such as structuring and advisory fees, reflecting the increased origination activity this year.

本季調整後 NII 較前一季下降，主要是因本季支付了 170 萬美元的消費稅所致；而較去年增加則主要與其他收入較高有關，例如結構安排與顧問費，反映今年承作（origination）活動增加。

The weighted average interest rate on the core BDC portfolio of 10.4% this quarter compares to 11.5% as of last year and 10.6% as of last quarter. The yield reduction from last year primarily reflects the SOFR base rate decreases over the past year, but is also indicative of recent tighter spreads experienced on new originations versus historically higher spreads on repaid assets.

本季核心 BDC 投資組合的加權平均利率為 10.4%，相較去年為 11.5%，上季為 10.6%。相較去年殖利率下降主要反映過去一年 SOFR 基準利率下調，但也顯示新承作案的利差較緊，低於已償還資產在歷史上較高的利差水準。

Total expenses for the year, excluding interest and debt financing expenses, base management fees and incentive fees and income and excise taxes, increased by $1.7 million to $11.0 million as compared to $9.3 million in fiscal year '25. These same expenses for Q4 increased by $1.0 million to $2.4 million as compared to $1.4 million last year and decreased by $0.9 million from $3.3 million last quarter.

全年總費用（不含利息與債務融資費用、基本管理費與績效獎勵費，以及所得稅與消費稅）較 2025 會計年度的 930 萬美元增加 170 萬美元至 1,100 萬美元。第四季同類費用較去年增加 100 萬美元至 240 萬美元（去年為 140 萬美元），並較上季的 330 萬美元減少 90 萬美元。

These all represented 0.8% of average total assets on an annualized basis, unchanged from both last quarter and last year. Also, for investors interested in digging deeper into the income statement and balance sheet metrics for the past two years, we have again added the KPI slides 28 through 31 in the appendix at the end of the presentation. And slide 32 compares our nonaccruals to the BDC industry. You will see that our nonaccrual rate of 1.2% of cost updated for the CLO F note that is now on nonaccrual is still almost three times lower than the industry average of 3.3%. This highlights the current strength in credit quality of our core BDC portfolio.

上述費用按年化計算皆占平均總資產的 0.8%，與上季及去年均持平。此外，對於希望更深入研究過去兩年損益表與資產負債表指標的投資人，我們再次在簡報末尾的附錄中加入 KPI 投影片 28 至 31。投影片 32 則將我們的停計利息資產與 BDC 產業進行比較。您將看到，我們以成本計的停計利息比率為 1.2%（已更新納入目前停計利息的 CLO F 票據），仍幾乎比產業平均 3.3% 低三倍。這凸顯我們核心 BDC 投資組合目前信用品質的強勁。

Moving on to slide 7. NAV was $396.2 million as of fiscal quarter end, an increase of $3.5 million from last year and a decrease of $17.0 million from last quarter. During this year, $19.3 million of new equity was raised at or above net asset value through our ATM program. This chart also includes our historical NAV per share, which highlights how this important metric has increased 23 of the past 34 quarters.

接著看投影片 7。截至會計季度末，NAV 為 3.962 億美元，較去年增加 350 萬美元，較上季減少 1,700 萬美元。今年透過我們的 ATM 計畫，以不低於淨資產價值的價格募集了 1,930 萬美元的新股權資金。此圖表亦包含我們歷史每股 NAV，顯示這項重要指標在過去 34 個季度中有 23 個季度上升。

Over the long term, this metric has increased since 2011 and grown by $2.45 per share or 11.1% over the past nine years, where not many BDCs have grown NAV per share long term. We'll cover the changes since last quarter on the next slide.

從長期來看，自 2011 年以來該指標持續上升，過去九年每股增加 2.45 美元，成長 11.1%；在 BDC 中，能長期提升每股 NAV 的並不多。我們將在下一張投影片說明自上季以來的變動。

On slide 8, you will see a simple reconciliation of the major changes in adjusted NII and NAV per share on a sequential quarterly basis. Starting at the top, adjusted NII per share was down $0.08 in Q4, primarily due to the impact of annual excise tax expense of $0.09. Excluding this, adjusted NII per share would be $0.61 per share, consistent with last quarter.

在投影片 8，您將看到按季度序列（sequential quarterly basis）對調整後 NII 與每股 NAV 主要變動的簡要調節。從上半部開始，第四季每股調整後 NII 下降 0.08 美元，主要是年度消費稅費用 0.09 美元的影響。若排除此項，每股調整後 NII 將為 0.61 美元，與上季一致。

On the lower half of the slide, NAV per share decreased by $1.17, primarily due to the $0.75 monthly and $0.25 special dividend exceeding the $0.48 GAAP NII plus the $0.60 unrealized depreciation recognized in Q4 with almost two-thirds of that being from the JV equity position.

在投影片下半部，每股 NAV 下降 1.17 美元，主要因每月 0.75 美元股利與 0.25 美元特別股利合計分配，超過 0.48 美元的 GAAP NII，加上第四季認列 0.60 美元的未實現減值，其中近三分之二來自合資企業（JV）的股權部位。

Now slide 9 shows the same reconciliations for the year. And starting at the top again, adjusted NII per share was down $1.44 per share for the year, largely due to a decrease of $1.15 in non-CLO net interest income, reflecting lower base rates and tighter spreads and $0.46 per share due to dilution from the DRIP and ATM programs additional shares.

現在投影片 9 顯示全年相同的調節。再次從上半部開始，全年每股調整後 NII 下降 1.44 美元，主要因非 CLO 的淨利息收入減少 1.15 美元，反映基準利率較低與利差收窄；另有每股 0.46 美元係因 DRIP 與 ATM 計畫增發股份所造成的稀釋。

On the lower half of the slide, NAV per share is down $1.44 per share with total NII of $2.32 and a total dividend distribution of $3.74. The $1.42 of distributions in excess of NII approximates the entire 12-month reduction in NAV per share. This excess distribution represents previously undistributed NII profits from prior years.

在投影片的下半部，每股淨資產價值（NAV）下降每股 1.44 美元，總淨投資收益（NII）為 2.32 美元，總股利分配為 3.74 美元。超出 NII 的 1.42 美元分配，約等同於過去 12 個月每股 NAV 的全部降幅。此超額分配代表前幾年先前未分配的 NII 利潤。

Slide 10 outlines the dry powder available to us as of quarter end, which totaled $210.8 million. This was spread between our available cash, undrawn SBA debentures and undrawn secured credit facilities. This quarter end level of available liquidity allows us to grow our assets by an additional 19% without the need for external financing, with $21.8 million of quarter end cash available and thus fully accretive to NII when deployed, and $99 million of available SBA debentures with its low-cost pricing, also very accretive.

投影片 10 概述截至季末我們可用的「乾火藥」（dry powder），合計 2.108 億美元。其來源分布於可用現金、未動用的 SBA 債券（debentures）以及未動用的擔保信貸額度。本季末的可用流動性水準，使我們在無需外部融資的情況下，仍可將資產再增加 19%；其中季末可用現金為 2,180 萬美元，部署後可完全增厚 NII；另有 9,900 萬美元可用的 SBA 債券，因其低成本定價亦具高度增厚效果。

In addition, $269 million of our baby bonds, with two-thirds being 8% plus, are callable now, providing us the option to refinance them, and creating a natural protection against potential continuing future decreasing interest rates, which should allow us to protect our net interest margin, if needed. These calls are also available to be used prospectively to reduce current debt.

此外，我們有 2.69 億美元的 baby bonds（其中三分之二的票息在 8% 以上）目前已可被提前贖回（callable），使我們可選擇對其進行再融資，並對未來利率可能持續下降形成天然保護；如有需要，這將有助於我們維持淨利差（net interest margin）。這些可贖回選項亦可在未來用於降低目前負債。

You will also see that this quarter, we did repay our $175 million 4.375% 2026 notes that matured at the end of February and issued $150 million of new notes at around 7.5% with maturities between four and five years. Additionally, subsequent to quarter end, we also issued a $25 million 7.25% private note.

你也會看到，本季我們已償還於 2 月底到期的 1.75 億美元、票息 4.375% 的 2026 年期票據，並發行 1.5 億美元的新票據，利率約 7.5%，到期年限介於 4 至 5 年。此外，在季末之後，我們亦發行了 2,500 萬美元、票息 7.25% 的私募票據。

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 and that most of our debt is long term in nature. Also, our debt is structured in such a way that we have no BDC covenants that can be stressed during volatile times, especially important in the current economic environment.

我們對可用流動性與槓桿水位仍感到滿意，包括我們可取得多元的公開與私募流動性來源，尤其考量到我們資產負債表整體偏保守，且多數負債屬長期性質。同時，我們的負債結構設計使我們不受可能在市場波動期間承壓的 BDC 契約條款（covenants）限制，這在目前的經濟環境中特別重要。

Now we'd like to move on to slides 11 through 14 and review the composition and yield of our investment portfolio. Slide 11 highlights that we have $1.109 billion of AUM at fair value and that is invested in 49 portfolio companies, 1 CLO fund, 1 joint venture and numerous new BB and BBB CLO debt investments. Our first lien percentage is 82.1% of our total investments, of which 53.1% of that is in first lien last out positions.

接下來我們想看投影片 11 到 14，檢視投資組合的構成與收益率。投影片 11 強調，我們以公允價值計的資產管理規模（AUM）為 11.09 億美元，投資於 49 家投資組合公司、1 檔 CLO 基金、1 個合資企業（JV），以及多筆新的 BB 與 BBB 級 CLO 債務投資。我們第一順位擔保（first lien）占總投資的 82.1%，其中 53.1% 為第一順位的 last out 部位。

On slide 12, you can see how the yield on our core BDC assets, excluding our CLO investments, has changed over time, including this past year, reflecting the recent decreases to base interest rates and tightening spreads.

在投影片 12，你可以看到我們核心 BDC 資產（不含 CLO 投資）的收益率如何隨時間變化，包括過去一年，反映近期基準利率下調與利差收斂。

This quarter, our core BDC yield decreased to 10.4% from last quarter's 10.6%, with most of the decrease reflecting further core base rate reductions and the rest due to recent tight spreads experienced on new originations versus historically higher spreads on repaid assets. The CLO yield increased to 11.6% from 10.0% last quarter due to a lower fair value.

本季，我們核心 BDC 收益率由上季的 10.6% 降至 10.4%，降幅主要反映核心基準利率進一步下調，其餘則來自新承作案的利差較緊，與已償還資產歷史上較高利差相比所致。CLO 收益率則因公允價值較低，由上季的 10.0% 升至 11.6%。

Slide 13 shows how our investments are diversified through primarily the US. And on slide 14, you can see the industry breadth and diversity that our portfolio represents. Spread over 43 distinct industries in addition to our investments in the CLO, JV and BB and BBB CLO debt securities, which are all included as structured finance securities. We do have Software-as-a-Service assets that Dave will touch on shortly.

投影片 13 顯示我們的投資主要分散於美國各地。而在投影片 14，你可以看到我們投資組合所代表的產業廣度與多元性：涵蓋 43 個不同產業，另加上我們在 CLO、JV 以及 BB 與 BBB 級 CLO 債務證券的投資，這些皆歸類為結構性金融證券。我們也持有 SaaS（Software-as-a-Service，軟體即服務）資產，Dave 稍後會提到。

Moving on to slide 15. 7.6% of our investment portfolio consists of equity interest, which remain an important part of our overall investment strategy. This slide shows that for the past 14 fiscal years, we had a combined $45.4 million of net realized gains from the sale of equity interest or sale or early redemption of other investments.

接著看投影片 15。我們投資組合中有 7.6% 為股權權益，仍是我們整體投資策略的重要部分。本投影片顯示，在過去 14 個會計年度中，我們透過出售股權權益，或出售／提前贖回其他投資，合計實現淨收益 4,540 萬美元。

This year alone, we have generated $5.7 million in net realized gains. This long-term realized gain performance highlights our portfolio credit quality, has helped grow our NAV and is reflected in our healthy long-term ROE.

僅今年以來，我們已產生 570 萬美元的已實現淨收益。這項長期已實現收益表現凸顯我們投資組合的信用品質，並有助於提升我們的 NAV，亦反映在我們健康的長期股東權益報酬率（ROE）上。

That concludes my financial and portfolio review. Our Chief Operating Officer and Senior Managing Director, David DeSantis, will now provide an overview of the investment market.

以上為我的財務與投資組合回顧。我們的營運長兼資深董事總經理 David DeSantis 接下來將就投資市場提供概覽。

Thank you, Henri, and good to meet all of you for the first time. So today, I will give an update on the market since Saratoga's last call in January, and then comment on our current portfolio performance and investment strategy. Generally, we are not seeing a pickup in M&A activity in the specific market we participate in, but our deal flow has increased due to the success we're having with our own business development efforts, as seen by the fact that 6 of the 10 new platform companies, we have closed this past year with new relationships.

謝謝你，Henri，也很高興第一次與各位見面。今天我將更新自 Saratoga 1 月上次電話會議以來的市場狀況，並評論我們目前的投資組合表現與投資策略。整體而言，在我們所參與的特定市場中，尚未看到併購（M&A）活動回升；但由於我們自身業務開發（business development）工作的成功，我們的案源（deal flow）有所增加，從過去一年我們完成的 10 家新平台公司中，有 6 家是透過新建立的關係而來即可看出。

The combination of historically low M&A volume in the lower middle market for an extended period of time and an abundant supply of capital has kept spreads tight and leverage full that lenders compete to win new deals, especially on high-quality transactions. Market dynamics remain at their most competitive level since the pandemic, although we are seeing some signs of spread widening. We've also experienced repayment activity for some of our lower loan-to-value loans being refinanced on more favorable terms.

下中型市場（lower middle market）長時間處於歷史低位的 M&A 量，加上資金供給充裕，使得利差維持緊縮、槓桿水準偏高，放款人為了贏得新案而競爭，尤其是在高品質交易上。市場動態仍處於疫情以來最具競爭的水準，儘管我們也看到一些利差擴大的跡象。我們也經歷了部分較低貸款價值比（loan-to-value）的貸款被以更有利條件再融資而提前償還的情況。

The Saratoga management team has successfully navigated through numerous credit cycles and capital markets dislocations. Through it all, we have learned to stay laser focused on the things that we can control. In summary, these are, number one, stay disciplined on asset selection; two, invest in and greatly expand our business development efforts, especially given that we feel the market is still largely underpenetrated by us; and thirdly, continue to support our existing healthy portfolio companies as they pursue growth.

Saratoga 管理團隊已成功走過多次信用循環與資本市場失衡。在此過程中，我們學到要高度聚焦在我們能掌控的事項。總結而言：第一，對資產選擇保持紀律；第二，投入並大幅擴展我們的業務開發工作，尤其因為我們認為市場仍有很大部分尚未被我們充分滲透；第三，持續支持現有且健康的投資組合公司追求成長。

The relationships and overall presence we've built in the marketplace, combined with our ramped up business development initiatives, gives us confidence in our ability to achieve healthy and disciplined portfolio growth in a manner that we expect to be accretive to our shareholders.

我們在市場上建立的關係與整體能見度，加上已加速推進的業務開發計畫，使我們對以健康且具紀律的方式達成投資組合成長充滿信心，並預期此成長將對股東具增厚效果。

Now I'd like to switch to a discussion of Software as a Service or SaaS companies, which have been getting a lot of press lately. Specific to SaaS companies in our SaaS portfolio, Saratoga does not view software generally as being a single industry. The companies in Saratoga's portfolio that deliver their solutions through software platforms are highly diversified across a wide variety of industries and end markets and thus do not follow a common pattern of industry or sector concentration.

現在我想轉到對軟體即服務（Software as a Service，SaaS）公司的討論，這類公司最近獲得大量媒體關注。就我們 SaaS 投資組合中的 SaaS 公司而言，Saratoga 並不將軟體一般視為單一產業。Saratoga 投資組合中透過軟體平台提供解決方案的公司，橫跨多種產業與終端市場，分散度很高，因此並不呈現共同的產業或部門集中模式。

Based on Saratoga's more than 13 years of investing in software-related businesses, Saratoga has found that the performance of each of these businesses is more affected by its position in the industry in specific end market within which it operates. Key considerations for any business rather than by the fact that it's a service offering and is delivered through our software solution.

基於 Saratoga 逾 13 年對軟體相關企業的投資經驗，我們發現，這些企業各自的表現更受其在所處產業與特定終端市場中的定位影響，而非僅因其為服務型供給，並透過我們的軟體解決方案交付。這些才是評估任何企業時的關鍵考量。

While the SaaS market has been in the headlines this past quarter, it is important to avoid generalizations and to look through to individual investments and their specific attributes. Much of the market turmoil and not just related to software companies has been driven by the accelerating emergence of AI as a potential disruptive force.

儘管本季 SaaS 市場成為新聞焦點，但重要的是避免一概而論，而應深入檢視個別投資及其特定屬性。市場動盪的很大一部分（不僅與軟體公司相關）是由 AI 加速崛起、成為潛在顛覆力量所驅動。

To add some perspective on the software underwriting approach we've taken over the years, as with all deals in all industries, we've always taken into account potential disruptive forces, whether they be stronger plays within a market, entrants from an adjacent market or a material change in product or future expectations.

為了補充我們多年來採取的軟體承作（underwriting）方法的一些觀點，如同我們在各產業的所有交易一樣，我們始終將潛在的顛覆力量納入考量，無論是市場內更強勢的競爭者、來自相鄰市場的新進者，或產品與未來預期的重大變化。

Because our underwriting bar is so high, especially for software, we've turned down far more software deals than we've done over the years. The advent of AI has increased the chances for disruption, a fact we're accustomed to underwriting. And therefore, our underwriting bar has become higher still.

由於我們的承銷門檻非常高，尤其是在軟體領域，多年來我們拒絕的軟體交易遠多於我們實際完成的交易。AI 的出現提高了被顛覆的可能性，這也是我們在承銷時一向會納入考量的因素。因此，我們的承銷門檻變得更高。

In recent times, we always evaluate not only how we believe AI could impact our existing and prospective portfolio companies, but more importantly, how these companies are actually integrating AI into their products and their offerings.

近來，我們不僅評估 AI 可能如何影響我們現有及潛在的投資組合公司，更重要的是，評估這些公司實際上如何將 AI 整合進其產品與服務內容。

The software businesses at Saratoga chooses to provide capital to must have several of the following positive attributes: enterprise software company is deeply ingrained in mission-critical aspects of company workflows and therefore exceedingly valuable and difficult to replace; vertical software with a highly specialized and complex solution set that incorporates deep knowledge of a specific industry end market; systems of record that help administer highly proprietary, confidential or compliance-driven data that should not be exposed to broad AI applications where its confidentiality could be at risk; predominantly recurring revenue with strong gross and net dollar retention as a marker of stability; healthy historical revenue growth in expanding and durable end markets; high gross margins, up in 70% plus, that bolster profit potential and signify high value add; leading competitive position in an industry vertical and an ability to be run for cash versus growth.

Saratoga 選擇提供資本的軟體企業，必須具備以下若干項正面特質：企業軟體公司深度嵌入公司工作流程中攸關任務的關鍵環節，因此極具價值且難以替換；垂直軟體具備高度專業且複雜的解決方案組合，並融入對特定產業終端市場的深厚知識；作為系統紀錄（systems of record），協助管理高度專有、機密或受法規遵循驅動的資料，這些資料不應暴露於廣泛的 AI 應用之下，以免其機密性面臨風險；以經常性收入為主，且具備強勁的毛額與淨額美元留存率，作為穩定性的指標；在擴張且具持久性的終端市場中，歷史營收成長健康；高毛利率（70% 以上），提升獲利潛力並顯示高附加價值；在產業垂直領域具領先競爭地位，並具備以現金流經營（而非追求成長）之能力。

Regular and frequent human user activity and our decision-making is required in the workflows. Because we're not tourists in the space and have been disciplined in the application of these underwriting guidelines, we've achieved such successful realizations on 35 software-related businesses, producing a gross unlevered IRR of 14.4% with zero economic losses over the last 13 years. This past fiscal year produced consistent outcomes with seven software company realizations producing a gross unlevered IRR of 14.2%.

工作流程中需要規律且頻繁的人類使用者活動與我們的決策參與。由於我們並非此領域的「觀光客」，且在運用這些承銷準則上始終保持紀律，我們在過去 13 年於 35 家與軟體相關的企業上取得了非常成功的退出成果，創造毛額、未加槓桿 IRR 14.4%，且零經濟損失。上一財年也產生一致的成果，七家軟體公司退出帶來毛額、未加槓桿 IRR 14.2%。

Our existing SaaS portfolio has strong credit metrics with loan-to-value or LTV of 31%, 93% of the software portfolio was first lien with an additional 6% in equity positions, which provides meaningful upside to our shareholders. Overall portfolio fair value exceeds cost by 2.5% within our software portfolio.

我們現有的 SaaS 投資組合具備強勁的信用指標，貸款價值比（LTV）為 31%；軟體投資組合中 93% 為第一順位擔保（first lien），另有 6% 為股權部位，為股東提供具意義的上行空間。整體而言，我們軟體投資組合的公允價值較成本高出 2.5%。

As to future investments, we do believe that there will remain select opportunities for Saratoga to invest in exceptional software businesses where we have confidence that our capital is well protected by the sustainable enterprise values and unique value propositions of the underlying businesses. However, I would like to emphasize that Saratoga is seeing significantly fewer software-related investments that meet our strict underwriting requirements than previous years.

就未來投資而言，我們確實相信 Saratoga 仍將有選擇性的機會投資於卓越的軟體企業；在這些企業可持續的企業價值與獨特價值主張的支撐下，我們有信心資本能獲得良好保護。然而，我想強調的是，相較於以往年度，Saratoga 目前看到符合我們嚴格承銷要求的軟體相關投資顯著減少。

As such, we do expect to see a substantial shift away from software in our deal flow and ultimately within our portfolio. By way of example, we've closed one new platform since the quarter end and have two more in closing, none of which are software-related businesses.

因此，我們預期在交易來源（deal flow）上，並最終在投資組合中，將出現明顯從軟體領域轉移的趨勢。舉例來說，我們在季末後完成了一個新的平台投資，另有兩個正在交割中，且都不是軟體相關企業。

Now I'd like to shift to highlight the elements of the lower middle market where we operate. We continue to believe that the lower middle market is the best place to be in terms of capital deployment. As compared to the larger end of the middle market, the due diligence we were able to perform when evaluated investment is much more robust, the capital structures are generally more conservative with less leverage and more equity. The legal protections and covenant features in our documents are considerably stronger and our ability to actively manage our portfolio through ongoing interaction with management and ownership is greater.

接下來我想轉而強調我們所運作的低中型市場（lower middle market）的要素。我們仍然相信，就資本部署而言，低中型市場是最佳所在。相較於中型市場較大型的一端，我們在評估投資時能進行更為扎實的盡職調查；資本結構通常也更為保守，槓桿較低、股權較多。我們文件中的法律保護與契約條款（covenant）特性顯著更強，而我們透過與管理層及所有權方的持續互動來主動管理投資組合的能力也更高。

As a result, we continue to believe that the lower middle market offers the best risk-adjusted returns in our track record of realized returns reflect just that. Our underwriting bar remains high as usual, in a very tough market, yet we continue to find opportunities to deploy capital thoughtfully. As seen on slide 16, although providing additional capital to existing portfolio companies continues to be an asset deployment means for us with 13 follow-ons in the first calendar quarter of 2026 alone, we have also invested in five new platforms over the same period, reversing the decline we experienced in the prior calendar year.

因此，我們持續相信低中型市場提供最佳的風險調整後報酬，而我們已實現的報酬紀錄也正反映了這一點。在非常艱難的市場中，我們的承銷門檻一如既往地高，但我們仍持續找到機會以審慎方式部署資本。如第 16 頁投影片所示，雖然向既有投資組合公司提供追加資本仍是我們的一種資產部署方式（僅 2026 年第一曆季就有 13 筆追加投資），但我們在同一期間也投資了 5 個新平台，扭轉了前一曆年所經歷的下滑。

Overall, our deal flow is increasing as our business development efforts continue to ramp up. Our consistent ability to generate new investments over the long term, despite ever-changing and increasingly competitive market dynamics, is a strength of ours. Portfolio management is critically important, and we remain actively engaged with our portfolio companies and in close contact with our management teams.

整體而言，隨著我們的業務開發工作持續加速，我們的交易來源正在增加。儘管市場動態不斷變化且競爭日益激烈，我們長期持續產生新投資的能力是我們的優勢。投資組合管理至關重要，我們仍與投資組合公司保持積極互動，並與管理團隊密切聯繫。

We ended the quarter with just one core BDC investment on nonaccrual status, Pepper Palace, as Chris mentioned previously, and added our CLO's F Note, which has been put on nonaccrual for the first time. Together, these two investments only represents 0.2% of the portfolio at fair value and 1.2% at cost. In general, our portfolio of companies are healthy and the fair value of our core BDC portfolio is 1.6% above its cost.

本季末，我們僅有一項核心 BDC 投資處於停止計息（nonaccrual）狀態，即 Chris 先前提到的 Pepper Palace；此外，我們新增了首次被列為停止計息的 CLO F Note。合計而言，這兩項投資按公允價值僅占投資組合的 0.2%，按成本占 1.2%。整體來看，我們的投資組合公司狀況健康，核心 BDC 投資組合的公允價值較成本高出 1.6%。

Two core BDC investments that had notable write-downs this quarter are Exigo and Madison Logic. We recognized unrealized depreciation of $2.8 million on our debt and equity investments of Exigo as it is experiencing headwinds due to a challenging end market. The company's customers are direct selling businesses relying on consumer purchasing, which is softening due to competitive and economic pressures. The lending group is actually working with management of the sponsor to explore options to stabilize and improve performance.

本季有兩項核心 BDC 投資出現較顯著的減記，分別為 Exigo 與 Madison Logic。由於終端市場具挑戰性，Exigo 正面臨逆風，我們就其債務與股權投資認列了 280 萬美元的未實現減值。該公司的客戶為直銷企業，仰賴消費者購買；在競爭與經濟壓力下，消費需求正在轉弱。放款團隊正與贊助方管理層合作，探索穩定並改善營運表現的選項。

Our Madison Logic debt investment was written down by $1.2 million, reflecting continued performance decline in different and difficult macroeconomic conditions. We are working with the lending group and sponsor to allow the company to execute on growth initiatives while increasing visibility into day-to-day performance. Both of these investments remain [on accrual] with healthy cash balances to service debt.

我們對 Madison Logic 的債務投資減記了 120 萬美元，反映其在不同且艱困的總體經濟環境下，業績持續下滑。我們正與放款團隊及贊助方合作，在提升對日常營運表現可視性的同時，讓公司得以推動成長計畫。這兩項投資目前仍維持[計息中]，且具備健康的現金餘額以償付債務。

Offsetting these markdowns, our Zollege investment continues to perform exceptionally well post restructuring, and we marked this up another $3.3 million this quarter. Finally, the remaining markdowns in Q4 were primarily the $5.4 million write-down of our JV investments, reflecting both the individual CLO asset performance as well as general market conditions.

為抵銷這些減記，我們對 Zollege 的投資在重組後持續表現極為出色，本季我們再度上調其估值 330 萬美元。最後，第四季其餘的減記主要來自我們合資（JV）投資的 540 萬美元減記，反映個別 CLO 資產表現以及整體市場狀況。

As a reminder, 82.1% of our portfolio is in first lien debt and generally supported by strong enterprise values in industries that have historically performed well in stress situations. We have no direct energy or commodities exposure. Additionally, the majority of our portfolio is comprised of businesses that produce a high degree of recurring revenue and have historically demonstrated strong revenue retention. Looking at leverage on the same slide, you can see that industry debt multiples were around 5.4 times and total leverage for our overall portfolio was at 5.3 times, excluding Pepper Palace.

提醒一下，我們投資組合的 82.1% 為第一順位擔保債務，且通常由在壓力情境下歷史表現良好的產業之強勁企業價值所支撐。我們沒有直接的能源或大宗商品曝險。此外，我們投資組合的大多數由具高度經常性收入的企業構成，且歷史上展現強勁的營收留存。再看同一頁投影片的槓桿水準，您可看到產業債務倍數約為 5.4 倍，而我們整體投資組合的總槓桿為 5.3 倍（不含 Pepper Palace）。

Moving on to slide 17. This provides more data on our deal flow. As you could see, the top of our deal pipeline is significantly up from the end of the calendar year 2024 and in line with last year. This recent increase of deal sourced as a result of our recent business development initiatives with 22 of the 108 term sheets issued over the last 12 months paying for deals that came from new relationships formed this year.

接著看第 17 頁投影片，這裡提供更多關於我們交易來源的數據。如您所見，我們交易管線（pipeline）上游的數量相較於 2024 年曆年年底顯著增加，並與去年水準一致。近期交易來源的增加，來自我們近期的業務開發計畫；在過去 12 個月發出的 108 份條款書中，有 22 份對應的交易來自今年建立的新關係。

Overall, the significant progress we've made in building broader and deeper relationships in the marketplace is noteworthy because it strengthens the dependability of our deal flow and reinforces our ability to remain highly selective as we rigorously screen opportunities to execute upon the best investments available to us. Our originations this fiscal quarter totaled $135.1 million, consisting of five new investments totaling $78.4 million, with 15 follow-ons totaling $55.2 million and BBB and BBB CLO debt investments of $1.5 million.

整體而言，我們在市場上建立更廣、更深關係所取得的顯著進展值得關注，因為這提升了我們交易來源的可靠性，並強化我們在嚴格篩選機會、以執行我們可取得的最佳投資時，仍能保持高度選擇性的能力。本財季我們的新增投資（originations）合計 1.351 億美元，包括 5 筆新投資合計 7,840 萬美元、15 筆追加投資合計 5,520 萬美元，以及 150 萬美元的 BBB 與 BBB CLO 債務投資。

For the fiscal year, originations totaled $309.5 million, consisting of nine new investments totaling $137.3 million; 32 follow-ons totaling $125.5 million; and BB and BBB CLO debt investments of $46.7 million. As you can see on slide 18, our overall portfolio credit quality and returns remain solid.

就本財年而言，新增投資合計 3.095 億美元，包括 9 筆新投資合計 1.373 億美元；32 筆追加投資合計 1.255 億美元；以及 BB 與 BBB CLO 債務投資合計 4,670 萬美元。如您在第 18 頁投影片所見，我們整體投資組合的信用品質與報酬仍然穩健。

As demonstrated by the actions taken and outcomes achieved on the nonaccrual and watch those credits we had over the past year, our team remains focused on deploying capital in strong business models, where we are confident that under all reasonable scenarios, the enterprise value of the business will sustainably exceed the last dollar of our investment. Our approach in underwriting strategy has always been focused on being thorough and cautious.

正如我們在過去一年對非計息（nonaccrual）及觀察名單（watch）信貸所採取的行動與取得的成果所示，我們的團隊仍專注於將資本部署於具備強勁商業模式的標的；在所有合理情境下，我們都有信心該企業的企業價值將可持續地高於我們投資的最後一美元。我們在承作（underwriting）策略上的方法一向以周全與審慎為核心。

Since our management team began working together almost 16 years ago, we've invested $2.53 billion in 130 portfolio companies and have had just three realized economic losses on these investments. But with that same time frame, we've successfully exited 87 of those investments, achieving gross unlevered realized returns of 14.9% on $1.37 billion of realizations. The weighted average return on our exit this quarter was 15.8%, higher than our overall track record. Even taking into account last year's write-downs of a few discrete credits, our combined unlevered realized and unrealized returns on all capital invested equaled 13.4%.

自我們的管理團隊在近 16 年前開始合作以來，我們已在 130 家投資組合公司投入 25.3 億美元，且在這些投資上僅發生三筆已實現的經濟損失。但在同一期間內，我們已成功退出其中 87 項投資，於 13.7 億美元的已實現金額上取得 14.9% 的毛額、未槓桿（gross unlevered）已實現報酬。本季我們退出投資的加權平均報酬率為 15.8%，高於我們整體的歷史紀錄。即使將去年少數個別信貸的減記納入考量，我們在所有已投入資本上的合計未槓桿已實現與未實現報酬仍達 13.4%。

Total realized gains for fiscal year 2026 are $5.8 million. We think this performance profile is particularly attractive for a portfolio predominantly constructed with first lien senior debt. Our overall investment approach has yielded exceptional realized returns and recovery of our invested capital and our long-term performance remains strong as seen by our track record on this slide.

2026 會計年度的已實現收益總額為 580 萬美元。我們認為，對於以第一順位擔保高級債（first lien senior debt）為主所建構的投資組合而言，這樣的績效輪廓特別具吸引力。我們整體投資方法帶來了卓越的已實現報酬與已投入資本的回收，而我們的長期表現依然強勁，正如本頁投影片所示的歷史紀錄。

Moving on to slide 19. You can see our second SBIC license is fully deployed and funded. We are currently ramping up our new SBIC III license with $99 million of lower cost undrawn debentures available, allowing us to continue to support US small businesses, both new and existing.

接著看第 19 頁投影片。您可以看到，我們的第二張 SBIC 執照已完全完成資金部署並已到位。我們目前正加速推進新的 SBIC III 執照，尚有 9,900 萬美元的較低成本未動用債券（debentures）可用，使我們能持續支持美國小型企業，無論是新客戶或既有客戶。

This concludes my review of the market, and I'd like to turn the call back over to our CEO. Chris?

以上是我對市場的回顧，接下來我想把電話會議交回給我們的執行長。Chris？

Thank you, Dave. As outlined on slide 20, our latest dividend of $0.75 per share in aggregate for the quarter ended February 28, 2026, was paid in three monthly increments of $0.25. Recently, we declared that same level of $0.75 for the quarter ended May 31, 2026, marking the fifth quarter of our new dividend payment structure.

謝謝你，Dave。如第 20 頁投影片所述，我們最新的股利為截至 2026 年 2 月 28 日止季度每股合計 0.75 美元，並以每月 0.25 美元分三次支付。近期我們也宣告截至 2026 年 5 月 31 日止季度同樣水準的每股 0.75 美元，這是我們新股利支付結構的第五個季度。

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 current interest rate and macro environment's impact on our earnings.

董事會將至少按季持續評估股利水準，並同時考量公司因素與整體經濟因素，包括目前利率以及總體環境對我們獲利的影響。

Moving to slide 21. Our total return for the last 12 months, which includes both capital appreciation and dividends, has generated total returns of 14%, vastly beating out the BDC indexes negative 1%. This places us in the top seven of all BDCs for latest 12 months April 2026.

接著看第 21 頁投影片。我們過去 12 個月的總報酬（包含資本增值與股利）為 14%，大幅優於 BDC 指數的 -1%。這使我們在 2026 年 4 月最新 12 個月的表現中，位居所有 BDC 的前七名。

Our longer-term performance is outlined on the next slide, slide 22, which shows that our one-year, three-year and five-year total returns all place us well above the BDC Index. Additionally, since Saratoga took over management of the BDC in 2010, our total return of 838% has been more than three times the industry's 247%. On slide 23, you can further see our last 12 months performance placed in the context of the broader industry and specific to certain key performance metrics.

我們較長期的表現列於下一頁第 22 頁投影片，顯示我們的一年、三年與五年總報酬皆明顯高於 BDC 指數。此外，自 Saratoga 於 2010 年接手管理該 BDC 以來，我們的總報酬達 838%，超過產業 247% 的三倍以上。在第 23 頁投影片，您還可以進一步看到我們過去 12 個月的表現，放在更廣泛的產業背景下，並針對若干關鍵績效指標進行比較。

We continue to focus on our long-term metrics such as return on equity, NAV per share, NII yield and dividend growth and coverage, all of which reflect the value our shareholders are receiving. As mentioned earlier, the reduction in our NAV per share this year is almost completely accounted for by the payment of previously undistributed profits. The NII yield and dividend coverage metrics reflect the long-term impact of reduced rates and undeployed levels of cash.

我們持續聚焦於長期指標，例如股東權益報酬率（return on equity）、每股淨資產價值（NAV per share）、淨投資收益（NII）殖利率，以及股利成長與覆蓋率，這些都反映股東所獲得的價值。如先前所提，今年每股 NAV 的下降幾乎完全可由支付先前未分配的利潤所解釋。NII 殖利率與股利覆蓋率指標則反映利率下降與現金未部署水位對長期的影響。

In this volatile macro environment, we will continue to deploy our available capital into strong credit opportunities that meet our high underwriting standards. Our focus remains long term. We also continue to be one of the few BDCs to have grown NAV accretively over the long term and have a consistent healthy return on equity, significantly beating the industry with our long-term return on equity at roughly 1.5 times the industry average and latest 12 months return on equity more than double the average.

在這個波動的總體環境中，我們將持續把可用資本部署於符合我們高承作標準的優質信貸機會。我們的重點仍是長期。我們也仍是少數能在長期以增厚（accretive）的方式成長 NAV、並維持穩健且健康股東權益報酬率的 BDC 之一；我們的長期股東權益報酬率約為產業平均的 1.5 倍，而最新 12 個月的股東權益報酬率更是產業平均的兩倍以上，顯著優於同業。

Moving on to slide 24. 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.

接著看第 24 頁投影片。我們在本次電話會議中討論的所有倡議，都是為了讓 Saratoga Investment 成為資本市場社群所青睞的領先 BDC。我們相信，本頁投影片所列的差異化績效特徵，將有助於提升投資人基礎的規模與品質，包括吸引更多機構投資人。

These differentiating characteristics, many previously discussed, include maintaining one of the highest levels of management ownership in the industry at 11%, ensuring we are strongly aligned with our shareholders.

這些差異化特徵（其中許多先前已討論）包括：維持業界最高水準之一的管理層持股比例 11%，以確保我們與股東高度一致。

Looking ahead on slide 25, while the geopolitical tensions and macroeconomic uncertainty remain ongoing factors, we began seeing renewed momentum in M&A activity across the market, which resulted in a meaningful increase in deal activity, and we continue to focus on expanding deal sourcing relationships.

展望第 25 頁投影片，儘管地緣政治緊張與總體經濟不確定性仍是持續因素，我們開始看到市場整體的併購（M&A）活動重新增溫，帶動交易活動顯著增加；同時我們也持續專注於擴大交易來源（deal sourcing）關係。

At the same time, our portfolio continues to perform, and we remain encouraged by the resilience and strength of our pipeline. While broader sentiment towards the private credit market has become increasingly cautious due to headwinds in the software sector and increasing caution across the market, we believe these issues are not indicative of broader credit market fundamentals.

同時，我們的投資組合持續表現良好，我們也對管線的韌性與強度感到鼓舞。儘管由於軟體產業逆風以及市場整體風險偏好轉趨保守，市場對私募信貸（private credit）領域的整體情緒愈發謹慎，但我們認為這些問題並不代表更廣泛信貸市場基本面出現惡化。

Supported by our experienced management team, disciplined underwriting and strong balance sheet, we believe we are well positioned to responsibly grow the size and quality of our portfolio, generate consistent investment performance and deliver compelling risk-adjusted returns for our shareholders over the long term.

在經驗豐富的管理團隊、嚴謹的承作紀律與強健的資產負債表支持下，我們相信自己具備良好條件，能以負責任的方式提升投資組合的規模與品質、創造一致的投資績效，並在長期為股東提供具吸引力的風險調整後報酬。

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

最後，我要再次感謝所有股東長期以來的支持。接下來我想開放提問。

(Operator Instructions) Erik Zwick, Lucid Capital Markets.

（接線員指示）Erik Zwick，Lucid Capital Markets。

I wanted to start with a question maybe for Henri, just as I think about the outlook for the portfolio yield and NII going forward. If I look at the Fed Funds future curve, it seems like there's no rate cuts priced into the market anymore. So hopefully, SOFR-based rates stay level so that that pressure has gone.

我想先從一個問題開始，可能是問 Henri，主要是我在思考未來投資組合殖利率與 NII 的展望。如果我看聯邦基金利率期貨曲線，市場似乎已不再反映任何降息預期。因此，希望以 SOFR 為基礎的利率能維持在目前水準，讓那方面的壓力消失。

But just looking at what was added for new investments in the quarter coming on 200 basis points lower than, I guess, kind of the repayments, it seems like there's still potentially some pressure there. So I guess, is that right as we look at the next quarter or so, likely still some pressure on yields. And then is it kind of going to -- if I look at your number one objective, expanding that at the asset base in a prudent manner or is that a way to potentially offset some of that pressure as I think about NII going forward?

但如果只看本季新增投資的利率，比起我猜是到期償還（repayments）的部分低了約 200 個基點，似乎仍可能存在一些壓力。所以我想確認一下：以未來一季左右來看，殖利率可能仍會承壓，這樣理解對嗎？另外，如果我看你們的第一優先目標——以審慎方式擴大資產基礎——這是否能在我思考未來 NII 時，作為抵消部分壓力的一種方式？

Yes. Erik, yes, absolutely. I think firstly, it's obviously nice to see from an earnings perspective that the SOFR rate has definitely stabilized. And that if anything, we might see a drop of spread widening taking place. But sort of as we look ahead and look at our Q1 projections, Q2 definitely seeing a stabilization of base rates. And then the other variable, as you mentioned, is recycling of assets, and it's obviously always hard to predict repayments.

是的。Erik，是的，完全正確。我想首先，從獲利角度來看，很高興看到 SOFR 利率確實已經穩定下來。而且如果有什麼變化，我們可能會看到利差擴大帶來的下行（drop of spread widening）正在發生。但就我們往前看、看我們對 Q1 的預測，以及 Q2 的情況，確實看到基準利率趨於穩定。然後如你所提到的，另一個變數是資產的汰換／再投資（recycling of assets），而提前償還的發生時間一向很難預測。

I would say that the assets that we repaid this past quarter that resulted in the 200 basis points was some of our higher-yielding assets. So I don't think one would expect that large a difference between the assets being repaid and new assets coming on. But I think there definitely is still potential when you have repayments to have a little bit of squeeze happening there.

我會說，本季償還的資產之所以造成那 200 個基點的差異，是因為其中一些是我們收益率較高的資產。因此，我不認為未來償還資產與新承作資產之間會一直出現那麼大的差距。但我認為，當發生償還時，確實仍有可能出現一些利差被擠壓（squeeze）的情況。

To offset that, though, as the prepared remarks said, we're seeing some of the highest level of business development, pipeline type activities happening, reflecting everything that's been done over the last year or so. And so that's helping us grow our asset base, which obviously does help offset some of that squeeze that we're seeing as assets repay.

不過，為了抵消這點，如同事先準備的講稿所說，我們正看到業務開發與管線活動處於相當高的水準，這反映了過去一年左右所做的一切努力。因此，這正協助我們擴大資產基礎，而這顯然有助於在資產償還時，抵消我們所看到的部分擠壓。

Great. Great. That's helpful. And maybe just a bit of a follow-up there with kind of the success of the business development efforts. Has that changed? Is that kind of gradually changing the mix of the pipeline in terms of new versus follow-on activity?

很好。很好。這很有幫助。那也許再追問一下，關於業務開發工作的成效。這有改變嗎？是否正在逐步改變管線的組合，例如新案子與既有客戶追加（follow-on）活動的比例？

Generally, that's not something we can control as you guys know. We obviously cover our portfolio companies and our portfolio has been a good source of repayments. But yes, we have a very active and very productive calling effort. And I think as Dave mentioned earlier, we're looking at a relatively fewer software and relatively more other types of secular growing businesses, education, health care, those type of things.

一般來說，正如各位所知，這不是我們能控制的事情。我們當然會覆蓋我們的投資組合公司，而我們的投資組合一直是良好的回收來源。不過是的，我們的外呼／拜訪開發非常積極且非常有成效。我想如同 Dave 先前提到的，我們目前看到的是軟體相對較少，而其他類型的長期結構性成長（secular growing）企業相對較多，例如教育、醫療保健等這類。

Got it. And last one, apologies if I missed it in the prepared comments. What transpired during the quarter that led to the CLO F note being placed on nonaccural?

了解。最後一個問題，如果我在事先準備的講稿裡漏聽了先說聲抱歉。本季發生了什麼，導致 CLO 的 F 票據被列為停止計息（nonaccrual）？

Yes. So as you know, we have different tranches in our CLO, Erik, and so we obviously have the equity that leads to distributions of the equity. And then following the equity distribution, the F note is sort of the next tranche up and out of the cash that comes from distribution, the F note has to be paid. The interest has to be paid. And there was just insufficient cash at the last CLO distribution to pay the F note interest for half of the quarter.

好的。如你所知，Erik，我們的 CLO 有不同的分層（tranches）。我們當然有股權層，會產生股權分配。接在股權分配之後，F 票據算是往上一層的下一個分層，而從分配所產生的現金中，必須支付 F 票據，也就是必須支付利息。但在上一次 CLO 分配時，現金不足以支付 F 票據半個季度的利息。

Now this is a test that gets done every quarter, right? So it'll obviously be reassessed at next quarter. But based on what we know now and seeing as half of the interest couldn't be paid, we put that on nonaccural. Obviously, if next quarter, distributions are sufficient to cover that, we might reassess that. But as of this past quarter, half of it was unpaid and therefore put on nonaccrual.

而這是一項每季都會進行的測試，對吧？所以下一季當然會再重新評估。但基於我們目前所知，既然有一半的利息無法支付，我們就把它列為停止計息（nonaccrual）。顯然，如果下一季分配足以覆蓋該利息，我們可能會重新評估。但就本季而言，有一半未支付，因此列為停止計息。

Okay. And maybe one quick follow-up there. Are there any grouping of assets that were paying -- high distributions as they've been previously? Or what led to that shortfall?

好的。那再快速追問一下。是否有任何一組資產不像之前那樣支付——維持高分配？或是什麼原因導致這個缺口？

It's really a function of sort of the remaining assets in the CLO that there is a group of assets that's been underperforming. And they just continued to underperform. And as you have seen over the last couple of quarters, the F note had continuously been written down over the past couple of quarters.

這主要是 CLO 內剩餘資產的狀況所致，其中有一組資產表現不佳，而且持續表現不佳。並且如你在過去幾季所看到的，F 票據在過去幾季一直持續被減記（written down）。

And it was a big write-down in Q3. There were still about $120 million on the books, and then we fully wrote it down now in Q4. So it's just a function of sort of those underperforming assets not generating sufficient cash flows anymore to cover the interest.

而在第三季（Q3）有一次較大的減記。當時帳上仍約有 1.2 億美元，然後我們在第四季（Q4）把它完全減記。所以這就是那些表現不佳的資產不再產生足夠現金流來覆蓋利息所造成的結果。

Robert Dodd, Raymond James.

Robert Dodd，Raymond James。

I've got several, but why don't I start with the F notes since that was -- on that point, it has been written down, and it's now carried at zero. I mean, if we looked at a normal portfolio company for you guys, if something was on nonaccrual, been marked down, you'd be talking about the lender group getting together and the sponsor, et cetera, which obviously is not the situation here because you control the F note effectively.

我有好幾個問題，但我先從 F 票據開始，因為剛剛提到——在這點上，它已被減記，現在帳面價值為零。我的意思是，如果我們看你們一般的投資組合公司，若某項資產停止計息、又被下調估值，你們通常會談到貸款人團（lender group）與贊助商（sponsor）等一起協商，但這裡顯然不是那種情況，因為你們實際上等於控制了 F 票據。

Is there a path to recovery in value of the F note? I mean, obviously, there's -- is it cost recovery or anything? I mean, it's been written down to zero. But I mean, is there a perspective where that can appreciate again? Because I mean, it's not like it's been a one-off this quarter to write it down, right? It has gradually attrited. Is that just the consequence of the structure? Or is there a way you could get value back out of that note to accrete to NAV?

F 票據有回收價值的路徑嗎？我的意思是，顯然——是否有成本回收（cost recovery）之類的可能？它已被減記到零。但我的意思是，有沒有一種觀點是它之後還能再升值？因為這並不是本季一次性的減記，對吧？它是逐步耗損（attrited）。這只是結構的結果嗎？還是有辦法從那張票據把價值拿回來，進而增厚每股淨值（NAV）？

Yes. That's a great question, Robert. And obviously, it's a much larger assessment because it's a tranche of debt within a structured finance product, right? So if you look at our existing CLO, it's an asset that the BDC has had for 15 -- I guess, 18 years since the start, has done exceptionally well, and it's generated -- I think it's around $120 million of distributions plus all the management fees that it receives to the BDCs, the manager of the CLO as well. So it's nothing that's done really, really well. But it's no longer in its reinvestment period at the moment.

是的。這是個很好的問題，Robert。顯然，這需要更宏觀的評估，因為它是結構性金融產品中的一個債務分層，對吧？如果你看我們現有的 CLO，這是 BDC 自成立以來持有了 15——我想是 18 年的資產，表現非常好，並且已產生——我想大約 1.2 億美元的分配，另外還有它作為 CLO 管理人收取並支付給 BDC 的所有管理費。所以這是一項表現真的非常、非常好的資產。但目前它已不在再投資期（reinvestment period）。

So the question to answer on the F note is the way you would get that value back is if you take a step back and you potentially refinance the CLO, which is something we're continuously assessing. The assets of the CLO, which was $650 million, has been obviously repaying because the way it works as CLO is when you're out of the reinvestment period, you use all the proceeds from repayments to start repaying the debt. So it's down to about $350 million of assets and so to a much smaller size, which also makes it easier to refinance.

所以要回答 F 票據的問題，取回價值的方式是退一步看，可能去為 CLO 進行再融資（refinance），這也是我們持續在評估的事情。CLO 的資產原本是 6.5 億美元，因為 CLO 的運作方式是在退出再投資期後，會把所有回收款用來開始償還負債，所以資產規模已降到約 3.5 億美元，規模更小，也更容易再融資。

So we're continuously sort of looking at the performance of the assets that remain in the CLO and also where market conditions are, where refinancing rates are, et cetera, to determine whether we want to refinance the CLO.

因此，我們會持續觀察 CLO 內剩餘資產的表現，以及市場狀況、再融資利率等，以判斷我們是否要為 CLO 進行再融資。

And then if you refinance the CLO, that will be sort of the first step to then recovering the value of the F note because you then start to reinvesting cash into new assets that will be generating new cash flows that will help the value of the F note. So it's a little bit of a larger process and a little bit of a larger consideration than, as you said, individual portfolio companies. But it's tied to the refinancing of CLO that we're sort of assessing on a continuous basis.

然後如果你為 CLO 再融資，那將是回收 F 票據價值的第一步，因為你接著就能把現金再投資到新的資產，產生新的現金流，進而支撐 F 票據的價值。所以這是一個比你所說的單一投資組合公司更大一些的流程與考量。但它與我們持續評估的 CLO 再融資密切相關。

Got it. Different topic there. On the outreach to your point, I mean, you've kind of outperformed -- certainly over the last couple of quarters, you've been onboarding new portfolio companies, doing follow-ons, et cetera, despite broadly a pretty muted environment for a lot of competitors. So your outreaching, establishing new relationships on the sponsor side has been paying off. How much further can you push that?

了解。換個話題。就你提到的外拓（outreach）而言，我的意思是，你們其實表現得相當突出——至少在過去幾季，你們在整體環境對許多同業相當低迷的情況下，仍持續新增投資組合公司、做追加投資（follow-ons）等等。所以你們的外拓、在贊助商端建立新關係確實有成效。你們還能把這件事推進到什麼程度？

How much further can we push our originations?

你是說我們的案源開發（originations）還能推進到什麼程度？

Yes, yes, origination, the pipeline, adding more sponsors, et cetera, like how much -- I know you're underpenetrated, relatively speaking, where you'd like to be. But I mean, by how much? I mean, how much could your pipeline -- capital being a different issue, right, whether you could take advantage of it. But how much could the pipeline be?

對，對，案源、管線、增加更多贊助商等等——大概能到什麼程度？我知道相對而言，你們在你們希望達到的滲透率上仍偏低。但我的意思是，能差多少？我的意思是，你們的管線能做到多大——資本是另一個議題，對吧，是否能把握住。但管線本身能有多大？

Well, I think that's a very interesting question. I think the nature of what we do and then the smaller middle market, if there's a pyramid structure, right, and then the biggest deals, the multibillion dollar deals are at the top of the pyramid, and then the much smaller deals are at the bottom. It's a much wider base. We didn't even talk about what our market share is because it's really infinitesimal compared to the opportunity set out there. And a lot of the transactions, as you recall, a lot of the things we do, sometimes there's the first institutional capital in a deal. And sometimes it's a founder either selling or looking at partnership to do something.

嗯，我覺得這是個非常有意思的問題。我認為我們所做事情的性質，以及較小型的中型市場（smaller middle market），如果用金字塔結構來比喻，對吧，數十億美元的大型交易在金字塔頂端，而更小的交易在底部，底部的基礎面更寬。我們甚至沒有談我們的市占率，因為相對於外部的機會集合（opportunity set），那真的微乎其微。而且如你所記得，我們做的很多交易，有時候我們是某筆交易的第一筆機構資本（institutional capital）。有時候則是創辦人要出售，或尋求合作夥伴來做一些事情。

So it's not really driven by the exact same factors that drive the larger -- the middle market or the larger market that are really determined on M&A volumes and things like that. There's a much broader mix of sourcing -- non-sponsor sourcing for the transactions. And obviously, there's a lot of sponsors going into those transactions. So really, there's no ceiling on how much more business we could generate.

所以它並不是由驅動較大型——中型市場或更大型市場的完全相同因素所驅動；那些市場更多是由併購（M&A）量等因素所決定。這裡的案源組合更為多元——有更多非贊助商（non-sponsor）的交易來源。當然，也有很多贊助商會進入這些交易。所以實際上，我們能產生多少更多業務，並沒有天花板。

Obviously, it's time and relationship building, right? So that's really our constraint. We don't think the opportunity set is the constraint, but how many people we have applied to it, how efficient we are in addressing these, how fortunate we are for -- if people win the auctions, we are noticing, there are a fair amount of competition. And sometimes we may be backing several in a given process and some of those are harder to win.

顯然，關鍵在於時間與關係建立，對吧？所以那確實是我們的限制。我們不認為機會集合是限制，而是我們投入了多少人力去執行、我們處理這些事項的效率如何、以及我們有多幸運——如果有人在拍賣中勝出，我們注意到競爭相當激烈。而且有時候在同一個流程中，我們可能同時支持好幾個案子，其中有些就更難贏得。

So the final sourcing and the closing of the deal is sort of not necessarily something we control so much, but generating new relationships there's really no -- there's no limit. It's really the limit, it's really ourselves, like how much time and effort can we apply.

因此，最終的案源取得與交易完成，某種程度上並不完全是我們能掌控的；但要建立新的關係，基本上沒有——沒有上限。真正的上限其實是我們自己，也就是我們能投入多少時間與精力。

And Robert, in addition to our quarterly presentation that's on the website, we also have an investor presentation, which is a separate presentation. And I'll point you that there's a slide 27 and slide 31 and that section of the presentation gives a bit more color on our business development process and relationships and how we find deals, et cetera.

另外，Robert，除了網站上的季度簡報之外，我們也有一份投資人簡報，是另一份獨立的簡報。我會請你參考其中的第27頁與第31頁；該段落會更具體說明我們的業務開發流程、關係經營，以及我們如何尋找交易等。

And we talk there about how -- there's probably about 450 companies or firms or sponsors that we have on what's called a focus list of ours. And then we tier them and there's probably a couple of hundred that we would view as sort of our more top-tier relationships that we are more actively pursuing. But then when you think of the deals we do, it's probably a handful of sponsor relationships that we have most of our deals in.

我們在那裡也談到——我們大概有約450家企業、機構或贊助方，列在我們所謂的「重點名單」上。接著我們會分層，其中大概有兩百家左右，我們會視為較高層級、我們更積極追蹤的關係。但當你看我們實際做的交易，可能主要集中在少數幾個贊助方關係上。

And so the population of sponsors and relationships out there is extremely broad. Obviously, you get finding more quality deals from a small handful of sponsors. But really, the opportunity is really, really large, as you spend more time on business development, which we really have been doing the team over the last six months and a year or so.

因此，外部的贊助方與關係的總體範圍非常廣。顯然，較高品質的交易往往來自少數幾個贊助方。但只要你在業務開發上投入更多時間，機會其實非常、非常大；而這正是我們團隊在過去六個月到一年左右一直在做的事。

I'd also add that we spent a lot of time cultivating these different relationships over time, right? This is a multi -- oftentimes multiyear effort, right, and the sponsor universe is quite broad, depending on any metric, I don't know it's -- I read a lot of different sources, but it's somewhere between 1,500 and 4,000 sponsors.

我也想補充，我們長期投入大量時間去培養這些不同的關係，對吧？這通常是多年期的努力；而贊助方的宇宙相當廣，依不同衡量方式而異——我看過很多不同來源，但大概介於1,500到4,000家贊助方之間。

So as we cultivate relationships with these guys and engender ourselves to them through the work that we do on deals, particularly those that don't close, this is a multiyear effort that we're trying to become more successful and more ingrained, more credible and trusted by these sponsors, and we're starting to reap the fruits of that labor to date.

因此，當我們與這些人培養關係，並透過我們在交易上的工作——尤其是那些最後沒有成交的案子——讓他們對我們產生好感時，這是一個多年期的努力；我們希望變得更成功、更深入、更具可信度，並獲得這些贊助方的信任，而截至目前我們也開始收穫這些努力的成果。

(Operator Instructions) Christopher Nolan, Ladenburg Thalman.

（接線員指示）Christopher Nolan，Ladenburg Thalman。

Were there any particular industries that drove nonaccrual?

是否有任何特定產業導致停止計息（nonaccrual）？

I don't know exactly off the top of my head, but it's really like a handful of assets. So I don't think it's there in one industry, but it's probably about five assets or so that drove most of the decline.

我一時之間不太確定具體是哪一些，但其實就是少數幾項資產。所以我不認為集中在單一產業；大概是約五項資產左右，造成了大部分的下滑。

I think it's fair to say that it's less about a given asset group and kind of more about the structure because in the structure we're in now, a lot of the cash flows are going to pay down the more senior debt. So the cost structure of the liabilities is moving. That's why we're very focused on finding a refinancing point for it that, in essence, we're paying down a lot more of the senior debt. Some of it is also the cost structure of our liabilities, which, again, in a refinancing, as Henri mentioned earlier, that's the opportunity to reset.

我認為可以說，與其說是某一組資產的問題，不如說更偏向結構面的因素；因為在我們目前的結構下，許多現金流都用來償還更高順位的債務，所以負債的成本結構正在變動。這也是為什麼我們非常專注於尋找一個再融資的時點；本質上，我們正在償還更多的高順位債務。其中一部分也與我們負債的成本結構有關；同樣地，在再融資時，正如Henri先前提到的，那就是重新設定的機會。

And so we've got dialogues going at all times here and, hopefully, we'll find an opportunity to reset it. And then at that point in time, we can reprice our liabilities, which are not perfectly priced to what we could get in the market if we refinance right now.

因此，我們一直都在進行對話，希望能找到一個機會把它重新設定。到那個時點，我們就能重新定價我們的負債；而目前的定價並未完全反映如果我們現在就再融資、在市場上可能取得的條件。

Yes. And Chris, we also have significant disclosure on the CLO in our 10-K that we just filed. So you'll be able to see -- in the MD&A, you'll be able to see the split by industries and then also the weighting by the credit risk categories as well.

是的。Chris，我們在剛提交的10-K中也對CLO做了相當充分的揭露。因此你將能看到——在MD&A中，你可以看到按產業的拆分，以及按信用風險類別的權重分布。

Is it fair to say that we should expect CLOs to run off as a percentage of your investment assets?

是否可以說，我們應該預期CLO在你們投資資產中的占比會逐步下降？

I'm sorry. Can you repeat that, Chris? Sorry, you just broke up.

不好意思。Chris，你可以再重複一次嗎？抱歉，你剛剛訊號斷斷續續。

Yes. Should we expect CLOs to decrease as a percentage of the investment portfolio?

是的。我們是否應該預期CLO在投資組合中的占比會下降？

Well, I think they have decreased a fair amount at this point in time. I think the whole CLO business -- as Henri mentioned earlier, we had tremendous success with CLOs for a long time. I think the last four to five years, the CLO industry has had a lot of negative developments, if you will. There have been some weakening of the covenants.

嗯，我認為截至目前它們確實已經下降了不少。我想整個CLO業務——如Henri先前提到的，我們在很長一段時間內在CLO上取得了巨大的成功。但我認為過去四到五年，CLO產業出現了不少負面發展。契約條款（covenants）有所弱化。

These LMEs, the liability management programs, you've had a change in interest rate structure and all that. So there's a big sort of digestion cycle for a lot of -- I don't know if I'd call them excesses, but a lot of the way the market operated several years ago is causing all the problems today. As we move forward, there's fewer LMEs. I think the documentation is getting a little better. I think the companies are getting financed more appropriately for the current -- the interest rate environment is more stable than it was over the last several years. And so I think the underlying dynamic is stabilizing.

還有這些LME（負債管理方案），以及利率結構的變化等等。因此，市場正在經歷一個很大的消化循環——我不確定是否該稱之為過度，但幾年前市場運作方式中的許多做法，正在造成今天的問題。展望未來，LME會變少；我認為文件條款正在變得更好一些；企業的融資也更符合當前情況——利率環境比過去幾年更穩定。因此我認為底層動態正在趨於穩定。

I think the whole industry does suffer from the slowdown in M&A. So a lot of what's going on in private equity and private credit is a lot of refinancings of existing companies and those generally come at much tighter spreads, they're much more shopped, that type of thing where as the M&A environment comes back, those type of deals are generally have wider spreads to them, for a whole host of reasons.

我認為整個產業也確實受到併購（M&A）放緩的影響。因此，私募股權與私募信貸目前很多活動是對既有公司進行再融資，而這類交易通常利差更緊、被更充分比價（shopped），諸如此類；相較之下，當M&A環境回溫時，那類交易通常利差更寬，原因有很多。

And so we think sort of a cyclical, maybe slightly secular degradation in the quality of the market in CLOs, but we think there's a number of initiatives going on that's at a minimum stabilizing that, and then we think it's possible to even improve from here.

因此，我們認為CLO市場的品質出現了某種週期性、也許略帶結構性的下滑，但我們也看到有多項措施正在推動，至少能使其趨於穩定；而且我們認為從這裡甚至有可能進一步改善。

I'm showing no further questions at this time. So I would now like to turn it back to Christian Oberbeck for closing remarks.

目前顯示沒有其他問題。因此，我現在想把電話交回給Christian Oberbeck作結語。

Well, again, we thank all of our shareholders and analysts for following us and participating on this call, and we look forward to speaking with you next quarter. Thank you.

那麼，再次感謝所有股東與分析師持續關注我們並參與本次電話會議，我們期待在下個季度再與各位交流。謝謝。

Thank you for your participation in today's conference. This does conclude the program. You may now disconnect.

感謝各位參與今天的會議。本次議程到此結束。您現在可以掛線。