NEW YORK, July 14, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Saratoga Investment Corp. (NYSE: SAR) ("Saratoga Investment" or "the Company"), a business development company, today announced financial results for its 2015 fiscal first quarter.

Summary Financial Information

• Net investment income on a weighted average per share basis of $0.38 for the quarter ended May 31, 2014. Adjusted for the incentive fee accrual related to net unrealized capital gains, the net investment income per share was $0.40.
• Net investment income of $2.1 million for the quarter ended May 31, 2014. Adjusted for the incentive fee accrual related to net unrealized capital gains, the net investment income was $2.2 million.
• Net investment income yield as percentage of average net asset value ("Net Investment Income Yield") was 7.1% for the quarter ended May 31, 2014. Adjusted for the incentive fee accrual related to net unrealized capital gains, the Net Investment Income Yield was 7.4%.
• Net asset value ("NAV") was $116.7 million as of May 31, 2014, a $1.8 million increase from an NAV of $114.9 million as of February 28, 2014.
• NAV per share was $21.69 as of May 31, 2014, compared to $21.36 as of February 28, 2014.
• Investment portfolio activity for the quarter ended May 31, 2014
  • Cost of investments made during the period: $21.9 million
  • Principal repayments during the period: $8.7 million

Operating Results

For the quarter ended May 31, 2014, Saratoga Investment reported net investment income of $2.1 million, or $0.38 on a weighted average per share basis, and a net loss on investments of $303,000, or $0.05 on a weighted average per share basis, resulting in a net increase in net assets from operations of $1.8 million, or $0.33 on a weighted average per share basis. The $303,000 net loss on investments was comprised largely of $384,697 in net unrealized depreciation on investments. This compared to the quarter ended May 31, 2013 with net investment income of $2.5 million, or $0.52 on a weighted average per share basis, and a net gain on investments of $1.3 million, or $0.28 on a weighted average per share basis, resulting in a net increase in net assets from operations of $3.8 million, or $0.80 on a weighted average per share basis. The $1.3 million net gain on investments was comprised of $0.8 million in net unrealized appreciation on investments and $0.5 million in net realized gain on investments. The reduction year-over-year is primarily due to the increased interest and debt financing expenses from the issuance of the $48.3 million notes at the end of the three months ended May 31, 2013, as well as an increased share count from the cash/stock dividend declared in FY 2014.

Net Investment Income Yield was 7.1% for the quarter ended May 31, 2014. Adjusted for the incentive fee accrual related to net unrealized capital gains, the Net Investment Income Yield was 7.4% for the quarter ended May 31, 2014. Return on equity was 6.1% for the quarter ended May 31, 2014.

NAV was $116.7 million as of May 31, 2014, a $1.8 million increase from a NAV of $114.9 million as of February 28, 2014. NAV per share was $21.69 as of May 31, 2014, compared to $21.36 as of February 28, 2014.

"We continue to pursue a long-term strategy of expanding the size and quality of our assets under management, attracting new investors and adding talented senior management and professionals to our team," said Christian L. Oberbeck, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Saratoga Investment. "Market conditions, competition and asset pricing remain challenging, but the outlook for future financing demand in our markets remains positive."

Michael J. Grisius, President and Chief Investment Officer, added, "We continue to expand the human resource infrastructure and capabilities necessary to support an overall larger asset base, while focusing on best-in-class deal execution. During the first quarter of 2015, we continued to invest in new, high quality credits. Including our CLO investment, more than 85% of our portfolio bears our highest quality rating that we award."

Portfolio and Investment Activity

As of May 31, 2014, the fair value of Saratoga Investment's portfolio was $218.7 million (excluding $12.7 million in cash and cash equivalents), principally invested in 40 portfolio companies and one collateralized loan obligation fund ("CLO"). The overall portfolio composition consisted of 14.7% of middle market loans, 40.1% of first lien term loans, 15.0% of second lien term loans, 13.4% of senior secured notes, 2.5% of unsecured notes, 9.2% of subordinated notes in a CLO and 5.1% of common equity.

During the quarter ended May 31, 2014, Saratoga Investment invested $21.6 million in new or existing portfolio companies and had $8.7 million in aggregate amount of exits and repayments, resulting in net investments of $12.9 million for the year.  The weighted average current yield on Saratoga Investment's portfolio for the three months ended May 31, 2014 was 12.3%, which was comprised of a weighted average current yield of 11.8% on first lien term loans, 11.1% on second lien term loans, 14.2% on senior secured notes, 16.0% on unsecured notes, 22.0% on CLO subordinated notes, and 6.3% on middle market loans.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

As of May 31, 2014, Saratoga Investment had $4.7 million in outstanding borrowings under its $45 million senior secured revolving credit facility with Madison Capital Funding LLC. At the same time, Saratoga Investment had $64.0 million outstanding of SBA debentures, $48.3 million outstanding of Baby Bonds (fair value of $49.0 million) and an aggregate of $12.7 million in cash and cash equivalents.

With $40.3 million undrawn under the Madison Capital Funding credit facility and the $86 million additional borrowing capacity at the SBIC subsidiary, Saratoga Investment has a total of $126.3 million of undrawn borrowing capacity available as of May 31, 2014.

Dividend

Given the size of the Company's asset base and its pipeline of high-quality investments, the Company's board of directors believes that retaining its capital resources currently to build and diversify its portfolio further serves stockholders' interests best by enabling the Company to generate current income and capital appreciation on an increasing scale in future periods. This better positions the Company to start paying quarterly cash dividends. This is consistent with market commentators' classification of the Company being a growth/total return equity story.

About Saratoga Investment Corp.

Saratoga Investment Corp. is a specialty finance company that provides customized financing solutions to U.S. middle-market businesses.  The Company invests primarily in mezzanine debt, senior and unitranche leveraged loans and, to a lesser extent, equity to provide financing for change of ownership transactions, strategic acquisitions, recapitalizations and growth initiatives in partnership with business owners, management teams and financial sponsors.  Saratoga Investment Corp.'s objective is to create attractive risk-adjusted returns by generating current income and long-term capital appreciation from its debt and equity investments.  Saratoga Investment Corp. has elected to be regulated as a business development company ("BDC") under the Investment Company Act of 1940 and is externally-managed by Saratoga Investment Advisors, LLC, an SEC-registered investment advisor focusing on credit-driven strategies.  Saratoga Investment Corp. owns an SBIC-licensed subsidiary and manages a $300 million Collateralized Loan Obligation (CLO) fund.  It also owns 100% of the subordinated notes of the CLO.  These diverse funding sources, combined with a permanent capital base, enable Saratoga Investment Corp. to provide a broad range of financing solutions.

Forward Looking Statements

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties and other factors enumerated in this press release and the filings Saratoga Investment Corp. makes with the SEC.  Saratoga Investment Corp. undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Financials

Supplemental Information Regarding Adjusted Net Investment Income, Adjusted Net Investment Income Yield and Adjusted Net Investment Income per Share

On a supplemental basis, we provide information relating to adjusted net investment income, adjusted net investment income yield and Adjusted Net Investment Income per Share, which are non-GAAP measures. These measures are provided in addition to, but not as a substitute for, net investment income, net investment income yield and adjusted net investment income per share. Adjusted net investment income represents net investment income excluding any capital gains incentive fee expense or reversal attributable to unrealized gains. The management agreement with our advisor provides that a capital gains incentive fee is determined and paid annually with respect to cumulative realized capital gains (but not unrealized capital gains) to the extent such realized capital gains exceed realized and unrealized losses for such year. In addition, we accrue, but do not pay, a capital gains incentive fee in connection with any unrealized capital appreciation, as appropriate. As such, we believe that adjusted net investment income, adjusted net investment income yield and adjusted net investment income per share is a useful indicator of operations exclusive of any capital gains incentive fee expense or reversal attributable to unrealized gains. The presentation of this additional information is not meant to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for financial results prepared in accordance with GAAP. The following table provides a reconciliation of net investment income to adjusted net investment income, net investment income yield to adjusted net investment income yield and net investment income per share to adjusted net investment income per share for the three months ended May 31, 2013 and 2014.

SOURCE Saratoga Investment Corp.