Horizon Technology Finance Corp (HRZN) Q4 2024 Earnings Call Highlights: Strong Portfolio Yield ...

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Thu, Mar 6, 2025, 12:08 AM 4 min read

Net Investment Income (NII): $1.32 per share for 2024, covering regular monthly distributions.
Portfolio Yield: Nearly 16% on debt investments for the full year 2024.
Net Asset Value (NAV): $8.43 per share as of December 31, 2024.
Portfolio Size: $698 million at the end of 2024, up 2% from September 30, 2024.
Committed and Approved Backlog: $207 million at year-end 2024.
New Loan Commitments: $106 million in the fourth quarter of 2024.
Debt Portfolio Yield: 14.9% for the fourth quarter of 2024.
Available Liquidity: $131 million as of December 31, 2024.
Debt-to-Equity Ratio: 1.4:1 as of December 31, 2024.
Investment Income: $24 million for the fourth quarter of 2024.
Total Expenses: $12.8 million for the fourth quarter of 2024.
Net Investment Income (Q4 2024): $0.27 per share.
Undistributed Spillover Income: $1.06 per share as of December 31, 2024.
Monthly Distributions: $0.11 per share declared for April, May, and June 2025.

Warning! GuruFocus has detected 4 Warning Sign with HRZN.

Release Date: March 05, 2025

For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript.

Positive Points

Horizon Technology Finance Corp (NASDAQ:HRZN) achieved a portfolio yield of nearly 16% on debt investments for the full year, placing it among the top in the BDC industry.
The company ended 2024 with a committed and approved backlog of $207 million, indicating strong future growth potential.
Horizon strengthened its balance sheet by closing a new $100 million senior secured credit facility with Nuveen and raising additional capital through a $20 million convertible debt offering.
The company successfully raised over $66 million at a premium to NAV from the sale of equity through its at-the-market program.
Horizon declared regular monthly distributions of $0.11 per share payable through June 2025, supported by undistributed spillover income of $1.06 per share as of year-end.

Negative Points

The net asset value (NAV) decreased to $8.43 per share at the end of 2024, primarily due to fair value markdowns of investments.
The company experienced underperformance in stressed investments due to ongoing stress in the venture capital ecosystem and tightened capital availability.
Net investment income (NII) for the fourth quarter was $0.27 per share, down from $0.32 in the previous quarter and $0.45 in the fourth quarter of 2023.
The portfolio yield for the fourth quarter was 14.9%, a decline from 16.8% in the same period last year.
The company faced challenges in the fundraising and exit market for some portfolio companies, leading to sizable markdowns primarily on debt investments.

Q & A Highlights

Q: What are the key drivers to get net investment income (NII) back above the $0.33 dividend rate? A: Daniel Trolio, CFO, explained that the key drivers include harvesting prepayments and growing the balance sheet. The fourth quarter was light on prepayments, which impacted NII. They aim to continue growing the balance sheet through 2025 to cover the distribution on a quarterly basis.

Q: What primarily drove the portfolio marks this quarter, and how much was from the debt portfolio versus the equity? A: Daniel Devorsetz, COO, stated that the marks were due to the fair value process, with markdowns primarily on debt investments. Some companies are in challenging fundraising or acquisition processes, leading to markdowns.

Q: Can you provide an update on Evelo Biosciences and Swift Health Systems? A: Gerald Michaud, President, noted that Evelo is now a recovery asset, with potential future recoveries based on asset sales. Daniel Devorsetz mentioned that Swift Health Systems is still in an active fundraising process and has not been resolved.

Q: How are portfolio companies in life sciences affected by potential federal spending cuts or regulatory changes? A: Gerald Michaud explained that while there is uncertainty, there are positive signs such as reduced drug development costs and potential regulatory streamlining. The market is cautiously optimistic, with significant M&A activity expected due to expiring patents.

Q: How did the Fed's rate cuts in the fourth quarter affect yields? A: Daniel Trolio noted that the rate cuts had an impact, with the third quarter cut having a larger effect. The overall impact was about $0.02 per quarter, with the fourth quarter cut having a smaller impact due to its timing.

Q: How have core debt portfolio yields held up, and what is the expectation for spreads going forward? A: Daniel Devorsetz stated that yields are within the normalized range, despite some spread compression due to competition. The portfolio yield is expected to remain within the range achieved over past quarters.

Q: How have end-of-term fees held up historically? A: Daniel Devorsetz mentioned that end-of-term fees have not changed significantly over the last several years.

Q: How much did share repurchases add to fourth quarter NAV per share? A: Daniel Trolio stated that share repurchases added about $0.02 to the NAV per share.

For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript.

This article first appeared on GuruFocus.

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