FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR
DISTRIBUTION, IN WHOLE OR IN PART, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, IN OR
INTO OR FROM THE UNITED STATES, ANY MEMBER STATE OF THE EUROPEAN
ECONOMIC AREA (OTHER THAN THE REPUBLIC OF IRELAND), AUSTRALIA,
CANADA, SOUTH AFRICA OR ANY OTHER JURISDICTION WHERE IT IS UNLAWFUL
TO DO SO.
17 September 2024
EJF Investments
Ltd
("EJFI" or the
"Company")
Announcement of Interim
Results to 30 June 2024
EJFI, which provides investors
exposure to primarily a diversified portfolio of debt issued by
smaller U.S. banks and insurance companies, and participation in
certain management fee income streams of EJF Capital LLC, today
announces the release of its Interim Report and Unaudited Condensed
Interim Financial Statements ("the
Interim Report") for the period ended 30 June
2024.
Highlights
·
Total Return for the period¹ ended 30 June 2024,
inclusive of dividends, of 5.57%;
·
Total Return since inception¹ to 30 June 2024,
inclusive of dividends, of 89.3%;
·
NAV as at 30 June 2024 of £100.1 million, 164
pence NAV per Ordinary Share ¹;
·
Share Price Discount to NAV per Ordinary Share¹ as
at 30 June 2024 of 41.5%; and
·
Annualised Dividend Yield¹ for the period ended 30
June 2024 of 11.1%.
After a tumultuous 2023 in the
public equities market for US banks, the Company's debt portfolio
continued to display its resilience in the first half of 2024. The
Total Return of the Company for the period was 5.57%. The
underlying portfolio component of this was 7.32% which was
primarily driven by net gains from Securitisation and Related
Investments of 6.69%. The Company's Total Return is in line with
the expectation of a calmer 2024 as the Manager indicated in the
2023 Annual Report and reflects the robustness of interest accruals
which contributed to most of this return. Also included within this
return is an initial gain of 0.36% on Mezzanine debt securities of
securitisations sponsored by EJF Capital LLC, purchased in March
2024. Elsewhere, the Speciality Finance Investments as well as US
bank debt exposure recorded modest gains for the period.
Given that most of the Subsidiary's
investments are currently denominated in USD, the Manager, under an
approved authority from the Board, hedges a portion of this
exposure to reduce the impact of overall FX movements which, as a
result of Sterling weakening against the USD during the period,
produced a gain of 0.22% for the period. As at 30 June 2024, 54.5%
of the underlying USD exposure was hedged.
The Manager and its parent affiliate, EJF Capital,
have executed two of only three CRT transactions of banks with less
than $100 billion in assets. In the Manager's opinion, CRT
transactions offer the opportunity for the Company to achieve low
to high double digit cash flowing returns on loan assets with
strong credit profiles.
The Board and the Manager are also exploring possible
long-term structural mechanisms that would seek to introduce
potential liquidity for shareholders, whilst maintaining the
Company's ability to continue investing in accordance with its
investment policy, including taking advantage of the attractive
opportunity to invest in CRTs.
Post Interim Financial Statements Update
·
Dividend of 2.675 pence per ordinary share was
paid in August 2024 in respect of the quarter ended 30 June
2024;
·
EJF Capital Limited, an affiliate of the Manager,
purchased 47,866 Ordinary Shares of the Company. This was in line
with the Manager's decision to re-invest approximately 20% of its
management fee into the Company's Ordinary Shares and;
·
On 6 September 2024, John Kingston III was
appointed as a non-executive director of the Company.
The Company's Interim Report for the period ended 30
June 2024 will be available on the Company's website (https://www.ejfi.com/investors/?category=investor-presentations&year=#filter)
and the National Storage Mechanism (National
Storage Mechanism | FCA) shortly.
As announced on 21 August 2024 a
Results Presentation for analysts and institutional investors will
take place at 1.00pm (BST) on Wednesday, 18 September 2024 via a
live webcast. To access the live webcast, please register by
contacting your usual representative at Liberum or Barclays. The
Results Presentation slides will be made available via the Company
website at (https://www.ejfi.com/investors/?category=investor-presentations&year=#filter
) shortly.
¹These are APMs as defined on pages
48 and 49 of the Interim Report.
ENQUIRIES
For the Investment
Manager
EJF Investments Manager
LLC
Adeeb Ahmed / Jay Ghatalia
aahmed@ejfcap.com /
jghatalia@ejfcap.com
+44 203 752 6774 / +44 203 752
6776
For
the Company Secretary and Administrator
Apex Financial Services (Alternative
Funds) Limited
ejficosec@apexgroup.com
+44 204 549 0721
For
the Broker
Panmure Liberum
Darren Vickers
ejfinvestments@panmureliberum.com
+44 203 100 2222
Barclays Bank PLC
Dion Di Miceli/Stuart Muress/James
Atkinson
BarclaysInvestmentCompanies@barclays.com
+44 207 623 2323
About EJF Investments Ltd
EJFI's objective is to provide
shareholders with attractive risk adjusted returns through regular
dividends and capital growth over the long term. EJFI generates
exposure primarily to a diversified portfolio of loans issued by
financial institutions and related or similar assets in the U.S.,
U.K. and Europe.
EJFI currently invests primarily in
CDO Equity Tranches structured by an affiliate of EJF Capital LLC,
providing levered exposure to a highly diversified portfolio of
securities issued by U.S. financial institutions (banks and
insurance companies), these being Risk Retention
Investments.
EJFI is a registered closed-ended
limited liability company incorporated in Jersey under the
Companies (Jersey) Law 1991, as amended, on 20 October 2016 with
registered number 122353. The Company is regulated by the Jersey
Financial Services Commission (the "JFSC"). The JFSC is protected by both
the Collective Investment Funds (Jersey) Law 1988 and the Financial
Services (Jersey) Law 1998, as amended, against liability arising
from the discharge of its functions under such laws.
The JFSC has not reviewed or
approved this announcement.
LEI: 549300XZYEQCLA1ZAT25
Investor information &
warnings
The latest available information on
the Company can be accessed via its website at www.ejfi.com.
This communication has been issued
by, and is the sole responsibility of, the Company and is for
information purposes only. It is not, and is not intended to be an
invitation, inducement, offer or solicitation to deal in the shares
of the Company. The price and value of shares in the Company and
the income from them may go down as well as up and investors may
not get back the full amount invested on disposal of shares in the
Company. An investment in the Company should be considered only as
part of a balanced portfolio of which it should not form a
disproportionate part. Prospective investors are advised to seek
expert legal, financial, tax and other professional advice before
making any investment decision.
