Annaly Capital Management, Inc. Reports 3rd Quarter 2017 Results

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Annaly Capital Management, Inc. (NYSE: NLY) (the “Company” or “Annaly”) today announced its financial results for the quarter ended September 30, 2017.

Quarterly Financial Highlights

• GAAP net income was $367.3 million, $0.31 per average common share
• Core earnings (excluding PAA) were $353.5 million, $0.30 per average common share
• GAAP return on average equity was 10.98% and core return on average equity (excluding PAA) was 10.57%
• Book value per common share of $11.42, up from $11.19 at June 30, 2017
• Economic leverage increased to 6.9x, as compared to 6.4x at June 30, 2017
• Declared common stock dividend of $0.30 per share for the 16^th consecutive fiscal quarter
• Annualized year-to-date economic return of 13.9%

Recent Business Highlights

• Raised $2.4 billion of equity capital in three separate offerings in July and October
• Equity issuances largely deployed towards Agency assets and select credit assets. Credit businesses comprise 23% of allocated capital at quarter end
• Redeemed 7.875% Series A Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Stock, resulting in 30 basis point reduction of economic cost of preferred capital
• Completed sale of Pingora Holdings L.P. while maintaining ownership interests in mortgage servicing rights
• Board of Directors appointed Chief Executive Officer and President Kevin Keyes as Chairman, effective January 1, 2018
• Expanding Board of Directors with addition of two new independent directors, Katie Beirne Fallon and Vicki Brinson Williams, effective January 1, 2018
• Established an investment partnership with Capital Impact Partners, a prominent community development financial institution

“Our third quarter financial performance again highlights the benefits of our large, diversified platform as we achieved growth in book value and generated stable earnings,” commented Kevin Keyes, Chief Executive Officer and President. “Our conservative and balanced investment strategies were further endorsed by the market as we successfully raised over $2.4 billion of new equity capital since the beginning of the quarter. Annaly remains uniquely positioned in an equity market where conservatively-valued, yield manufacturing businesses are increasingly difficult to find.”

Financial Performance

The following table summarizes certain key performance indicators as of and for the quarters ended September 30, 2017, June 30, 2017, and September 30, 2016:

Other Information

This news release and our public documents to which we refer contain or incorporate by reference certain forward-looking statements which are based on various assumptions (some of which are beyond our control) and may be identified by reference to a future period or periods or by the use of forward-looking terminology, such as “may,” “will,” “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “continue,” or similar terms or variations on those terms or the negative of those terms. Actual results could differ materially from those set forth in forward-looking statements due to a variety of factors, including, but not limited to, changes in interest rates; changes in the yield curve; changes in prepayment rates; the availability of mortgage-backed securities and other securities for purchase; the availability of financing and, if available, the terms of any financing; changes in the market value of our assets; changes in business conditions and the general economy; our ability to grow our commercial real estate business; our ability to grow our residential mortgage credit business; our ability to grow our middle market lending business; credit risks related to our investments in credit risk transfer securities, residential mortgage-backed securities and related residential mortgage credit assets, commercial real estate assets and corporate debt; risks related to investments in mortgage servicing rights; our ability to consummate any contemplated investment opportunities; changes in government regulations and policy affecting our business; our ability to maintain our qualification as a REIT for U.S. federal income tax purposes; and our ability to maintain our exemption from registration under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended. For a discussion of the risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements, see “Risk Factors” in our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and any subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q. We do not undertake, and specifically disclaim any obligation, to publicly release the result of any revisions which may be made to any forward-looking statements to reflect the occurrence of anticipated or unanticipated events or circumstances after the date of such statements, except as required by law.

Annaly is a leading diversified capital manager that invests in and finances residential and commercial assets. Annaly’s principal business objective is to generate net income for distribution to its stockholders through capital preservation, prudent selection of investments, and continuous management of its portfolio. Annaly has elected to be taxed as a real estate investment trust, or REIT, for federal income tax purposes. Annaly is externally managed by Annaly Management Company LLC. Additional information on the Company can be found at www.annaly.com.

The Company prepares a supplemental investor presentation and a financial summary for the benefit of its shareholders. Both the Third Quarter 2017 Investor Presentation and the Third Quarter 2017 Financial Summary can be found at the Company’s website (www.annaly.com) in the Investors section under Investor Presentations.

Conference Call

The Company will hold the third quarter 2017 earnings conference call on November 2, 2017 at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time. The number to call is 888-317-6003 for domestic calls and 412-317-6061 for international calls. The conference passcode is 8343484. There will also be an audio webcast of the call on www.annaly.com. The replay of the call will be available for one week following the conference call. The replay number is 877-344-7529 for domestic calls and 412-317-0088 for international calls and the conference passcode is 10113329. If you would like to be added to the e-mail distribution list, please visit www.annaly.com, click on Investors, then select Email Alerts and complete the email notification form.

Financial Statements

Key Metrics

The following table presents key metrics of the Company’s portfolio, liabilities and hedging positions, and performance as of and for the quarters ended September 30, 2017, June 30, 2017, and September 30, 2016:

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

To supplement its consolidated financial statements, which are prepared and presented in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”), the Company provides the following non-GAAP measures:

• core earnings and core earnings (excluding PAA);
• core earnings and core earnings (excluding PAA) per average common share;
• annualized core return on average equity (excluding PAA);
• interest income (excluding PAA);
• economic interest expense;
• economic net interest income (excluding PAA);
• average yield on interest earning assets (excluding PAA);
• net interest margin (excluding PAA); and
• net interest spread (excluding PAA).

These measures should not be considered a substitute for, or superior to, financial measures computed in accordance with GAAP. While intended to offer a fuller understanding of the Company’s results and operations, non-GAAP financial measures also have limitations. For example, the Company may calculate its non-GAAP metrics, such as core earnings or the PAA, differently than its peers making comparative analysis difficult. Additionally, in the case of non-GAAP measures that exclude the PAA, the amount of amortization expense excluding the PAA is not necessarily representative of the amount of future periodic amortization nor is it indicative of the term over which the Company will amortize the remaining unamortized premium. Changes to actual and estimated prepayments will impact the timing and amount of premium amortization and, as such, both GAAP and non-GAAP results.

These non-GAAP measures provide additional detail to enhance investor understanding of the Company’s period-over-period operating performance and business trends, as well as for assessing the Company’s performance versus that of industry peers. Additional information pertaining to the Company’s use of these non-GAAP financial measures, including discussion of how each such measure is useful to investors, and reconciliations to their most directly comparable GAAP results are provided below.

Amortization

In accordance with GAAP, the Company amortizes or accretes premiums or discounts into interest income for its Agency mortgage-backed securities, excluding interest-only securities, taking into account estimates of future principal prepayments in the calculation of the effective yield. The Company recalculates the effective yield as differences between anticipated and actual prepayments occur. Using third-party model and market information to project future cash flows and expected remaining lives of securities, the effective interest rate determined for each security is applied as if it had been in place from the date of the security’s acquisition. The amortized cost of the security is then adjusted to the amount that would have existed had the new effective yield been applied since the acquisition date. The adjustment to amortized cost is offset with a charge or credit to interest income. Changes in interest rates and other market factors will impact prepayment speed projections and the amount of premium amortization recognized in any given period.

The Company’s GAAP metrics include the unadjusted impact of amortization and accretion associated with this method. Certain of the Company’s non-GAAP metrics exclude the effect of the PAA, which quantifies the component of premium amortization representing the cumulative impact on prior periods, but not the current period, of quarter-over-quarter changes in estimated long-term CPR.

The following table illustrates the impact of the PAA on premium amortization expense for the Company’s Residential Investment Securities portfolio for the quarters ended September 30, 2017, June 30, 2017, and September 30, 2016:

Core earnings and core earnings (excluding PAA), core earnings and core earnings (excluding PAA) per average common share and annualized core return on average equity (excluding PAA)

One of the Company’s principal business objectives is to generate net income by earning a net interest spread on its investment portfolio, which is a function of the Company’s interest income from its investment portfolio less financing, hedging and operating costs. Core earnings, which is comprised of interest income plus TBA dollar roll incomeⁱ, less financing and hedging costsⁱⁱ and general and administrative expenses, and core earnings (excluding PAA), are used by management and, we believe, used by our analysts and investors, to measure its progress in achieving this objective.

The Company defines “core earnings”, a non-GAAP measure, as net income (loss) excluding gains or losses on disposals of investments and termination of interest rate swaps, unrealized gains or losses on interest rate swaps and investments measured at fair value through earnings, net gains and losses on trading assets, impairment losses, net income (loss) attributable to noncontrolling interest, corporate acquisition related expenses and certain other non-recurring gains or losses, and inclusive of TBA dollar roll income (a component of Net gains (losses) on trading assets) and realized amortization of MSRs (a component of net unrealized gains (losses) on investments measured at fair value through earnings). Core earnings (excluding PAA) excludes the premium amortization adjustment representing the cumulative impact on prior periods, but not the current period, of quarter-over-quarter changes in estimated long-term prepayment speeds related to the Company’s Agency mortgage-backed securities.

The Company believes these non-GAAP measures provide management and investors with additional details regarding the Company’s underlying operating results and investment portfolio trends by (i) making adjustments to account for the disparate reporting of changes in fair value where certain instruments are reflected in GAAP net income (loss) while others are reflected in other comprehensive income (loss), and (ii) by excluding certain unrealized, non-cash or episodic components of GAAP net income (loss) in order to provide additional transparency into the operating performance of the Company’s portfolio. Annualized core return on average equity (excluding PAA), which is calculated by dividing core earnings (excluding PAA) over average stockholders’ equity, provides investors with additional detail on the core earnings generated by the Company’s invested equity capital.

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ⁱ TBA dollar roll transactions are accounted for as derivatives, with gains and losses reflected as a component of Net gains (losses) on trading assets in the Company’s Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income (Loss). TBA dollar roll income represents the economic equivalent of interest income on the underlying security less the implied cost of financing.

ⁱⁱ The interest component of hedging costs is reported as realized gains (losses) on interest rate swaps in the Company’s Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income (Loss).

The following table presents a reconciliation of GAAP financial results to non-GAAP core earnings for the periods presented.

From time to time, the Company enters into TBA forward contracts as an alternate means of investing in and financing Agency mortgage-backed securities. A TBA contract is an agreement to purchase or sell, for future delivery, an Agency mortgage-backed security with a specified issuer, term and coupon. A TBA dollar roll represents a transaction where TBA contracts with the same terms but different settlement dates are simultaneously bought and sold. The TBA contract settling in the later month typically prices at a discount to the earlier month contract with the difference in price commonly referred to as the “drop”. The drop is a reflection of the expected net interest income from an investment in similar Agency mortgage-backed securities, net of an implied financing cost, that would be foregone as a result of settling the contract in the later month rather than in the earlier month. The drop between the current settlement month price and the forward settlement month price occurs because in the TBA dollar roll market, the party providing the financing is the party that would retain all principal and interest payments accrued during the financing period. Accordingly, TBA dollar roll income generally represents the economic equivalent of the net interest income earned on the underlying Agency mortgage-backed security less an implied financing cost.

TBA dollar roll transactions are accounted for under GAAP as a series of derivatives transactions. The fair value of TBA derivatives is based on methods similar to those used to value Agency mortgage-backed securities. The Company records TBA derivatives at fair value on its Consolidated Statements of Financial Condition and recognizes periodic changes in fair value as Net gains (losses) on trading assets in the Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income (Loss), which includes both unrealized and realized gains and losses on derivatives (excluding interest rate swaps).

TBA dollar roll income is calculated as the difference in price between two TBA contracts with the same terms but different settlement dates multiplied by the notional amount of the TBA contract. Although accounted for as derivatives, TBA dollar rolls capture the economic equivalent of net interest income, or carry, on the underlying Agency mortgage-backed security (interest income less an implied cost of financing). TBA dollar roll income is reported as a component of Net gains (losses) on trading assets in the Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income (Loss).

Interest income (excluding PAA), economic interest expense and economic net interest income (excluding PAA)

Interest income (excluding PAA) represents interest income excluding the effect of the PAA, and serves as the basis for deriving average yield on interest earning assets (excluding PAA), net interest spread (excluding PAA) and net interest margin (excluding PAA), which are discussed below. The Company believes this measure provides management and investors with additional detail to enhance their understanding of the Company’s operating results and trends by excluding the component of premium amortization expense representing the cumulative impact on prior periods, but not the current period, of quarter-over-quarter changes in estimated long-term prepayment speeds related to the Company’s Agency mortgage-backed securities (other than interest-only securities), which can obscure underlying trends in the performance of the portfolio.

Economic interest expense is comprised of interest expense, as computed in accordance with GAAP, plus interest expense on interest rate swaps used to hedge cost of funds, which is a component of Realized gains (losses) on interest rate swaps in the Company’s Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income (Loss). The Company uses interest rate swaps to manage its exposure to changing interest rates on its repurchase agreements by economically hedging cash flows associated with these borrowings. Accordingly, adding the contractual interest payments on interest rate swaps to interest expense, as computed in accordance with GAAP, reflects the total contractual interest expense and thus, provides investors with additional information about the cost of our financing strategy.

Similarly, economic net interest income (excluding PAA), as computed below, provides investors with additional information to enhance their understanding of the net economics of our primary business operations.

Average yield on interest earning assets (excluding PAA), net interest spread (excluding PAA) and net interest margin (excluding PAA)

Net interest spread (excluding PAA), which is the difference between the average yield on interest earning assets (excluding PAA) and the average cost of interest bearing liabilities, and net interest margin (excluding PAA), which is calculated by dividing the economic net interest income (excluding PAA) by the sum of average interest earning assets and average TBA balances, provide management with additional measures of the Company’s profitability that management relies upon in monitoring the performance of the business.

Disclosure of these measures, which are presented below, provides investors with additional detail regarding how management evaluates the Company’s performance.

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Annaly Capital Management, Inc.
Investor Relations
1-888-8Annaly
www.annaly.com

Source: Annaly Capital Management, Inc.