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.
28 March
2024
EJF Investments
Ltd
Announcement of Final Results
to 31 December 2023
EJF Investments Ltd ("EJFI" or the "Company"), which provides investors
exposure to primarily a diversified portfolio of debt issued by
smaller U.S. banks and insurance companies, announces the release
of the Annual Report and Audited Financial Statements for the year
ended 31 December 2023.
Joanna Dentskevich, Chair of the
Board of Directors of the Company said: "2023 was dominated by a
challenging macroeconomic and geopolitical backdrop. Certain
subsectors of the US banking sector were very much in the spotlight
as a result of several highly significant events, including the
failure of SVB and Signature Bank, the US Government engineered and
back-stopped sale of FRB to JP Morgan and the voluntary liquidation
of Silvergate. Of the four banks, the Company's only exposure was
to Silvergate and equivalent to less than 2.5% of the NAV at that
time on a look-through basis and prior to any recoveries. In the
last quarter of the year, the US banking sector staged a comeback
as the Fed signalled that it may not only be near the end of its
rate hiking campaign, but also potentially ready to cut rates
several times in 2024.
Due to the impact of these events on
broader market sentiment, the CDO Equity Tranches held by the
Company recorded material unrealised mark-to-market losses in the
year. These mark-to-market losses were also further influenced by
the FDIC auction of small bank debt assets seized from Signature
Bank which together resulted in the Company generating a Total
Return of (7.27)% for the year.
Despite these challenges, I am
pleased to confirm that the Company continued to pay dividends in
line with its Target Dividend as the underlying cashflows remained
robust notwithstanding lower valuations."
Post year end, banking sector
performance remained uneven as New York Community Bank's ("NYCB")
struggles continued to dominate headlines. NYCB announced cutting
its dividend, reducing earnings guidance, a material weakness in
internal controls as well as a change of CEO. In March 2024 NYCB
received over $1bn equity capital investment from firms led by
former treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin which the Manager
considers as stable capital. The Manager sees this as positive news
in light of all of NYCB's recent announcements and believe this
should ease concerns about NYCB's capital levels. EJFI's current
combined exposure to NYCB is equivalent to less than 2.5% of the
Company's NAV on a look through basis.
Highlights
· Total
Return per ordinary share, inclusive of dividends, of (7.27)% for
the year ended 31 December 2023;
· Total
Return per ordinary share, inclusive of dividends, of 79.32% since
inception to 31 December 2023;
· Issuance of 2,277,046 new 2025 ZDP Shares at
119.78 pence per 2025 ZDP share, raising gross proceeds of
approximately £2.73 million;
· NAV as
at 31 December 2023 of £98.0 million, 160 pence per ordinary
share;
· Share
price discount to NAV as at 31 December 2023 of 36.6%;
and
·
Dividend yield for the year ended 31
December 2023 based on dividends declared in respect of the period
and share price at 31 December 2023 of 10.5%.
Post Annual Report Update
· Dividend of
2.675 pence per ordinary share paid in February 2024 in respect of
the quarter ended 31 December 2023; and
· NAV as
at 29 February 2024 of £98.2 million or 161 pence per ordinary
share, representing a year to date Total NAV return per ordinary
share of 1.91%.
The Company's Annual Report and
Audited Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December 2023 is
attached to this release and will be available on the Company's
website (https://www.ejfi.com/investors/)
and the National Storage Mechanism (https://www.fca.org.uk/markets/primary-markets/regulatory-disclosures/national-storage-mechanism)
shortly.
http://www.rns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com/rns/5853I_1-2024-3-27.pdf
As announced on 15 March 2024, a
Results Presentation for analysts and institutional investors will
take place at 1.00pm (GMT) today 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=financial-reports&year=#filter)
shortly.
ENQUIRIES
For
the Investment Manager
EJF Investments Manager
LLC
Peter Stage / Jay Ghatalia
pstage@ejfcap.com /
jghatalia@ejfcap.com
+44 203 752 6775 / +44 203 752
6776
For
the Company Secretary and Administrator
BNP Paribas S.A., Jersey
Branch
jersey.bp2s.ejf.cosec@bnpparibas.com
+44 1534 813
967 / +44 1534 709
189
For
the Brokers
Barclays Bank PLC
Andrew Davies / Dion Di Miceli /
Stuart Muress
BarclaysInvestmentCompanies@barclays.com
+44 20
7623 2323
Liberum Capital Limited
Darren Vickers / Owen
Matthews
+44 203 100 2222
About EJF Investments Ltd
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.