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8-K - FORM 8-K - Arlington Asset Investment Corp.v376377_8k.htm

  

 

Contacts:

Media: 703.373.0200 or ir@arlingtonasset.com

Investors: Kurt Harrington at 703.373.0200 or ir@arlingtonasset.com

 

Arlington Asset Investment Corp. Reports First Quarter 2014 Financial Results

 

Non-GAAP core operating income of $1.18 per share (diluted) for the first quarter 2014(1)

Dividend of $0.875 per share for the first quarter 2014, payable on April 30, 2014

Annualized dividend yield of 14%(2), 18%(3) on a tax adjusted basis

Book value per share at March 31, 2014 was $31.50

 

ARLINGTON, VA, April 28, 2014 – Arlington Asset Investment Corp. (NYSE: AI) (the “Company”) today reported non-GAAP core operating income of $20.1 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2014, or $1.18 per share (diluted). A reconciliation of non-GAAP core operating income to GAAP net income appears at the end of this press release. On a GAAP basis, the Company reported net income of $7.0 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2014, or $0.41 per share (diluted), compared to net income of $40.0 million for the quarter ended December 31, 2013, or $2.36 per share (diluted), and net income of $3.2 million, or $0.23 per share (diluted), for the quarter ended March 31, 2013.

 

“Arlington continues to benefit from its hybrid portfolio structure, earning competitive returns on its hedged, agency-backed MBS portfolio and simultaneously experiencing capital appreciation in its private-label MBS portfolio. The Company’s capital raise during the quarter was accretive to investable book value and will positively impact future cash earnings while further reducing the Company’s expense to capital ratio, boosting return on equity, and efficiently utilizing tax benefits. These positive trends should continue as the Company completes the full deployment of capital from the offering and shifts capital from its maturing private-label MBS portfolio into its higher current cash returning hedged agency-backed MBS portfolio,” said J. Rock Tonkel, Jr., the Company's President and Chief Operating Officer. 

 

First Quarter Highlights

 

Net interest income for the first quarter was $21.6 million, including non-cash accretion on private-label mortgage-backed securities (“MBS”) of $2.4 million required under GAAP. The three-month constant prepayment rate (“CPR”) for the Company’s agency-backed MBS as of March 31, 2014 was 6.00%. The Company’s debt to equity ratio at March 31, 2014 was approximately 3 to 1.

 

As of March 31, 2014, the Company’s agency-backed MBS portfolio consisted of $1.9 billion in face value with a cost basis and a fair value of $2.0 billion. As of March 31, 2014, all of the Company’s agency-backed MBS were fixed-rate 30-year MBS specifically selected for their prepayment protections with a weighted average coupon of 4.06%, a weighted average cost of 106.82, a weighted average market price of 104.38, and had a weighted average cost of repo funding of 34 basis points. On a mark-to-market basis, the Company had an average of $1.1 billion in Eurodollar futures associated with the agency-backed MBS portfolio starting in March 2015 and ending in December 2018 with a rate of 2.27% and an equivalent funding cost through December 2018 of approximately 1.73%. The Company also had $625 million in notional 10-year interest rate swap futures with a marked rate of approximately 2.87%, resulting in a combined hedged notional amount of approximately $1.7 billion. During April 2014, the Company purchased or has pending purchases for approximately $500 million in face value of additional agency-backed MBS, which it expects to hedge similarly to its existing agency-backed MBS portfolio.

 

As of March 31, 2014, the Company’s private-label MBS portfolio consisted of $458.6 million in face value with an amortized cost basis of $270.1 million and a fair value of $329.8 million. The following table presents certain statistics of the Company’s private-label MBS portfolio as of or for the quarter ended March 31, 2014 (dollars in millions):

 

 
 

 

 

   Total Private-
Label MBS
 
     
Fair market value  $329.8 
Fair market value (as a % of face value)   71.9%
Quarterly cash yield (as a % of average fair market value, excluding GAAP non-cash accretion)   5.6%
      
Quarterly unlevered yield (GAAP, as a % of amortized cost)   10.2%
Quarterly unlevered cash yield (as a % of average amortized cost excluding GAAP non-cash accretion)   6.7%
Average cost (as a % of face value)   54.0%
Weighted average coupon   3.1%
      
Face value  $458.6 
Amortized cost  $270.1 
Purchase discount  $188.5 
      
60+ days delinquent   15.0%
Credit enhancement   0.3%
Severity (3-month)   32.6%
Constant prepayment rate (3-month)   9.7%

 

The Company has chosen to modify non-GAAP core operating income to better reflect the attributes of its business.  As a result, the Company excludes both the realized and unrealized fluctuations in the gains and losses in the assets and hedges on its hedged, agency-backed MBS portfolio when assessing the underlying non-GAAP core operating income of the Company.  This will result in presenting cash spread income for the Company’s agency-backed MBS portfolio in non-GAAP core operating income whereas realized and unrealized gains and losses on assets and hedges for the agency-backed MBS portfolio will continue to be included as components in the changes in book value and in the GAAP net income of the Company. See below for the discussion and detail of non-GAAP core operating income.

 

Dividend

 

The Company’s Board of Directors approved a $0.875 dividend for the first quarter of 2014. The dividend will be paid on April 30, 2014 to shareholders of record as of March 31, 2014. This represented a 14% annualized dividend yield based on the Class A common stock closing price on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) of $25.55 on April 28, 2014.

 

 
 

 

 

(1)Non-GAAP Financial Measures

 

In addition to the financial results reported in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles as consistently applied in the United States (GAAP), the Company calculated non-GAAP core operating income for the three months ended March 31, 2014. The Company’s non-GAAP core operating income for the three months ended March 31, 2014 was $20.1 million. In determining core operating income, the Company excluded certain legacy litigation expenses and the following non-cash expenses: (1) compensation costs associated with stock-based awards, (2) accretion of MBS purchase discounts adjusted for contractual interest and principal repayments in excess of proportionate invested capital, (3) other-than-temporary impairment charges recognized, (4) non-cash income tax provisions, and (5) benefit from the reversal of previously accrued federal and state tax liability and accrued interest related to uncertain tax positions. Additionally, starting in 2014, the Company has excluded both realized and unrealized gains and losses on the agency-backed MBS and all related hedge instruments, and has presented prior periods on a consistent basis. These adjustments are only for the purpose of calculating the Company’s non-GAAP core operating income; therefore, they do not change the Company’s GAAP book value as reported.

 

The Company’s portfolio strategy on the agency-backed MBS portfolio is to generate a net interest margin on the leveraged assets and hedge the market value of the assets, expecting that the fluctuations in the market value of the agency-backed MBS and related hedges should largely offset each other over time. As a result, the Company excludes both the realized and unrealized fluctuations in the gains and losses in the assets and hedges on its hedged, agency-backed MBS portfolio when assessing the underlying core operating income of the Company. However, the Company’s portfolio strategy on the private-label MBS is to generate a total cash return comprised of both interest income and the cash return realized when the private-label MBS are sold that equals the difference between the sale price and the discount to par paid at acquisition. Therefore, the Company excludes non-cash accretion of private-label MBS purchase discounts from non-GAAP core operating income, but includes realized cash gains or losses on its private-label MBS portfolio in core operating income to reflect the total cash return on those securities over their holding period.

 

This non-GAAP core operating income measurement is used by management to analyze and assess the Company’s operating results on its portfolio and assist with the determination of the appropriate level of dividends. The Company believes that this non-GAAP measurement assists investors in understanding the impact of these non-core items and non-cash expenses on our performance and provides additional clarity around our earnings capacity and trends. A limitation of utilizing this non-GAAP measure is that the GAAP accounting effects of these events do in fact reflect the underlying financial results of our business and these effects should not be ignored in evaluating and analyzing our financial results. Therefore, the Company believes net income on a GAAP basis and core operating income on a non-GAAP basis should be considered together.

 

The following is a reconciliation of GAAP net income to non-GAAP core operating income for the three months ended March 31, 2014 and 2013 (dollars in thousands):

 

   Three Months Ended March 31, 
   2014   2013
Revised
   2013
As Previously
Reported
 
GAAP net income  $7,033   $3,177   $3,177 
Adjustments               
Legacy litigation expenses (a)   11    504    504 
Stock compensation   677    495    495 
Non-cash interest income related to purchase discount accretion (b)   (2,443)   (712)   (712)
Net realized and unrealized loss on trading MBS and hedge instruments   10,633    14,784    14,738 
Benefit from the reversal of federal tax liability and accrued interest related to uncertain tax position       (3,744)   (3,744)
Other-than-temporary impairment charges       162    162 
Non-cash income tax provisions   4,203         
Non-GAAP core operating income  $20,114   $14,666   $14,620 

 

 
 

 

 

(a)Legacy litigation expenses relate to legal matters pertaining to events related to business activities the Company completed or exited in or prior to 2009 — primarily debt extinguishment, sub-prime mortgage origination and securitization and broker/dealer operations.
(b)Non-cash interest income related to purchase discount accretion represents interest income recognized in excess of cash receipts related to contractual interest income and principal repayments in excess of proportionate invested capital.

 

(2)Based on the annualized first quarter 2014 dividend and the Class A common stock closing price on the NYSE of $25.55 on April 28, 2014.
(3)The Company's dividends are eligible for the 23.8% federal income tax rate on qualified dividend income, whereas dividends paid by a REIT are generally subject to the higher 43.4% tax rate on ordinary income.  To provide the same return after payment of federal income tax as the Company, a REIT would be required to pay dividends providing an 18% yield.

 

About the Company

 

Arlington Asset Investment Corp. (NYSE: AI) is a principal investment firm that currently invests primarily in mortgage-related and other assets. The Company is headquartered in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. For more information, please visit www.arlingtonasset.com.

 

Statements concerning future performance, portfolio hedging, market conditions, cash returns and earnings, dividends, book value, changes in the Company’s expense to capital ratio, and any other guidance on present or future periods, constitute forward-looking statements that are subject to a number of factors, risks and uncertainties that might cause actual results to differ materially from stated expectations or current circumstances. These factors include, but are not limited to, changes in interest rates, increased costs of borrowing, decreased interest spreads, changes in political and monetary policies, changes in default rates, changes in the constant prepayment rate for the Company’s MBS, changes in the Company’s operating efficiency, changes in the Company’s returns, changes in the use of the Company’s tax benefits, maintenance of the Company’s low leverage posture, changes in the agency-backed MBS asset yield, changes in the Company’s monetization of net operating loss carry-forwards, changes in the Company’s ability to generate consistent cash earnings and dividends, preservation and utilization of our net operating loss and net capital loss carry-forwards, impacts of changes to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, actions taken by the U.S. Federal Reserve and the U.S. Treasury, availability of opportunities that meet or exceed our risk adjusted return expectations, ability and willingness to make future dividends, ability to generate sufficient cash through retained earnings to satisfy capital needs, changes in and the effects on the Company of mortgage prepayment speeds, ability to realize book value growth through reflation of private-label MBS, and general economic, political, regulatory and market conditions. These and other material risks are described in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2013 and any other documents filed by the Company with the SEC from time to time, which are available from the Company and from the SEC, and you should read and understand these risks when evaluating any forward-looking statement.

 

Financial data follow

 

 
 

 

ARLINGTON ASSET INVESTMENT CORP.

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS

(Dollars in thousands, except per share data)

(Unaudited)

 

   Three Months Ended 
   March 31, 
   2014   2013 
INTEREST INCOME  $23,867   $18,328 
           
INTEREST EXPENSE          
Interest on short-term debt   1,734    1,489 
Interest on long-term debt   551    115 
Total interest expense   2,285    1,604 
Net interest income   21,582    16,724 
           
OTHER LOSS, NET          
Investment loss, net   (5,911)   (13,529)
Other loss   (3)   (4)
Total other loss, net   (5,914)   (13,533)
Operating income before other expenses   15,668    3,191 
           
OTHER EXPENSES          
Compensation and benefits   2,961    2,349 
Professional services   516    1,121 
Business development   31    32 
Occupancy and equipment   99    121 
Communications   47    47 
Other operating expenses   501    106 
Total other expenses   4,155    3,776 
           
Income (loss) before income taxes   11,513    (585)
           
Income tax provision (benefit)   4,480    (3,762)
           
Net income  $7,033   $3,177 
           
Basic earnings per share  $0.42   $0.23 
           
Diluted earnings per share  $0.41   $0.23 
           
Weighted average shares outstanding - basic (in thousands)   16,808    13,927 
Weighted average shares outstanding - diluted (in thousands)   17,081    14,093 

 

 
 

 

ARLINGTON ASSET INVESTMENT CORP.

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

(Dollars in thousands, except per share amounts)

(Unaudited)

 

   March 31, 2014   December 31, 2013 
ASSETS          
           
Cash and cash equivalents  $112,292   $48,628 
Receivables          
Interest   5,874    5,173 
Sold securities receivable   7,107    - 
Other   15    212 
Mortgage-backed securities, at fair value          
Available-for-sale   329,892    341,346 
Trading   1,953,953    1,576,452 
Other investments   2,032    2,065 
Derivative assets, at fair value   1,746    8,424 
Deferred tax assets, net   162,483    165,851 
Deposits   64,269    45,504 
Prepaid expenses and other assets   1,616    1,311 
Total assets  $2,641,279   $2,194,966 
           
LIABILITIES AND EQUITY          
           
Liabilities:          
Repurchase agreements  $1,771,522   $1,547,630 
Interest payable   731    774 
Accrued compensation and benefits   1,229    5,584 
Dividend payable   17,312    14,630 
Derivative liabilities, at fair value   43,288    33,129 
Purchased securities payable   143,561    - 
Accounts payable, accrued expenses and other liabilities   1,889    1,391 
Long-term debt   40,000    40,000 
Total liabilities   2,019,532    1,643,138 
           
Equity:          
Common stock   197    166 
Additional paid-in capital   1,809,665    1,727,398 
Accumulated other comprehensive income, net of taxes   51,086    53,190 
Accumulated deficit   (1,239,201)   (1,228,926)
Total equity   621,747    551,828 
           
Total liabilities and equity  $2,641,279   $2,194,966 
           
Book Value per Share  $31.50   $33.10 
           
Shares Outstanding (in thousands)   19,737    16,671