CION Investment Corporation Reports Second Quarter 2022 Financial Results

Increases Quarterly Distribution by $0.03 per Share to $0.31 per Share

CION Investment Corporation (NYSE: CION) (“CION” or the “Company”) today reported financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2022 and filed its Form 10-Q with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

CION also announced that, on August 9, 2022, its co-chief executive officers declared a third quarter 2022 regular distribution of $0.31 per share payable on September 8, 2022 to shareholders of record as of September 1, 2022, which is an increase of $0.03 per share, or 10.7%, from the $0.28 per share regular distribution paid for the second quarter 2022.

SECOND QUARTER AND OTHER HIGHLIGHTS

  • Net investment income and earnings per share for the quarter ended June 30, 2022 were $0.34 per share and $(0.02) per share, respectively;
  • Net asset value per share was $15.89 as of June 30, 2022 compared to $16.20 as of March 31, 2022. The decrease was primarily due to mark-to-market adjustments caused by wider credit spreads and price declines on our portfolio during the quarter;
  • As of June 30, 2022, the Company had $947.5 million of total principal amount of debt outstanding, of which 78% was comprised of senior secured bank debt and 22% was comprised of unsecured debt. The Company’s debt-to-equity ratio was 1.05x as of June 30, 2022 compared to 0.95x as of March 31, 2022;
  • As of June 30, 2022, the Company had total investments at fair value of $1,791 million in 121 portfolio companies across 22 industries. The investment portfolio was comprised of 94.2% senior secured loans, including 92.7% in first lien investments;1
  • During the quarter, the Company had new investment commitments of $184 million, funded new investment commitments of $165 million, funded previously unfunded commitments of $8 million, and had sales and repayments totaling $110 million, resulting in a net funded portfolio change of $63 million;
  • As of June 30, 2022, investments on non-accrual status amounted to 1.5% and 3.6% of the total investment portfolio at fair value and amortized cost, respectively;
  • On April 27, 2022, the Company entered into a 5-year floating rate unsecured term loan agreement with More Provident Funds and Pension Ltd. under which the Company borrowed $50 million; and
  • On June 24, 2022, the Company’s board of directors, including the independent directors, increased the amount of shares of the Company’s common stock that may be repurchased under the Company’s share repurchase policy by $10 million to up to an aggregate of $60 million.

DISTRIBUTIONS

  • For the quarter ended June 30, 2022, the Company paid a regular quarterly distribution totaling $15.9 million, or $0.28 per share.

“The improved second quarter financial and portfolio performance is a result of our prudent, long-term investment strategy which we continued to implement even during these volatile market conditions. We remained focused on the expansion and diversification of our portfolio with solid companies across many industries while seeking to capitalize on new opportunities. As a result, during the quarter we increased our portfolio by $63 million in net funded investments. We believe we are well positioned to provide strong returns to our shareholders. Our stock trades at a significant discount to our net asset value per share of $15.89 at quarter end, which is one of the reasons why our Board recently approved the increase of the total amount to be repurchased under our existing share repurchase policy by $10 million to a total of $60 million. Share repurchases under this policy will be accretive to our net investment income per share, thus provide higher returns to our current shareholders,” said Michael A. Reisner, co-Chief Executive Officer of CION.

SELECTED FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS

 

 

 

As of

(in thousands, except per share data)

 

June 30, 2022

 

March 31, 2022

Investment portfolio, at fair value1

 

$

1,791,107

 

$

1,739,534

Total debt outstanding2

 

$

947,500

 

$

875,000

Net assets

 

$

905,238

 

$

922,453

Net asset value per share

 

$

15.89

 

$

16.20

Debt-to-equity

 

1.05x

 

0.95x

 
 

 

 

Three Months Ended

(in thousands, except share and per share data)

 

June 30, 2022

 

March 31, 2022

Total investment income

 

$

43,552

 

 

$

41,683

 

Total operating expenses and income tax expense

 

$

24,264

 

 

$

22,200

 

Net investment income after taxes

 

$

19,288

 

 

$

19,483

 

Net realized gains (losses)

 

$

180

 

 

$

(69

)

Net unrealized losses

 

$

(20,734

)

 

$

(11,525

)

Net (decrease) increase in net assets resulting from operations

 

$

(1,266

)

 

$

7,889

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net investment income per share

 

$

0.34

 

 

$

0.34

 

Net realized and unrealized losses per share

 

$

(0.36

)

 

$

(0.20

)

Earnings per share

 

$

(0.02

)

 

$

0.14

 

 

 

 

 

 

Weighted average shares outstanding

 

 

56,958,440

 

 

 

56,958,440

 

Distributions declared per share

 

$

0.28

 

 

$

0.28

 

Total investment income for the three months ended June 30, 2022 and March 31, 2022 was $43.6 million and $41.7 million, respectively. The increase in investment income was primarily driven by an increase in non-recurring fee revenue during the three months ended June 30, 2022 compared to the three months ended March 31, 2022.

Operating expenses for the three months ended June 30, 2022 and March 31, 2022 were $24.3 million and $22.2 million, respectively. The increase in operating expenses was primarily driven by an increase in interest expense under the Company's financing arrangements due to higher LIBOR and SOFR rates as well as higher average borrowings during the quarter ended June 30, 2022 compared to the quarter ended March 31, 2022.

PORTFOLIO AND INVESTMENT ACTIVITY1

A summary of the Company's investment activity for the three months ended June 30, 2022 is as follows:

 

 

New Investment

Commitments

 

Sales and Repayments

Investment Type

 

$ in

Thousands

 

%

of Total

 

$ in

Thousands

 

%

of Total

Senior secured first lien debt

 

$

181,175

 

98

%

 

$

93,195

 

85

%

Senior secured second lien debt

 

 

1,836

 

1

%

 

 

15,000

 

14

%

Collateralized securities and structured products - equity

 

 

 

 

 

 

854

 

1

%

Equity

 

 

1,009

 

1

%

 

 

504

 

 

Total

 

$

184,020

 

100

%

 

$

109,553

 

100

%

During the three months ended June 30, 2022, new investment commitments were made across 10 new portfolio companies and 9 existing portfolio companies. Sales and repayments were primarily driven by the full sale or repayment of investments in 4 portfolio companies. As a result, the number of portfolio companies increased from 115 as of March 31, 2022 to 121 as of June 30, 2022.

PORTFOLIO SUMMARY1

As of June 30, 2022, the Company’s investments consisted of the following:

 

 

Investments at Fair Value

Investment Type

 

$ in

Thousands

 

%

of Total

Senior secured first lien debt

 

$ 1,660,828

 

92.7 %

Senior secured second lien debt

 

27,086

 

1.5 %

Collateralized securities and structured products - equity

 

1,602

 

0.1 %

Unsecured debt

 

27,994

 

1.6 %

Equity

 

73,597

 

4.1 %

Total

 

$ 1,791,107

 

100.0 %

The following table presents certain selected information regarding the Company’s investments:

 

 

As of

 

 

June 30, 2022

 

March 31, 2022

Number of portfolio companies

 

121

 

 

115

 

Percentage of performing loans bearing a floating rate3

 

89.2

%

 

90.1

%

Percentage of performing loans bearing a fixed rate3

 

10.8

%

 

9.9

%

Yield on debt and other income producing investments at amortized cost4

 

9.14

%

 

8.90

%

Yield on performing loans at amortized cost4

 

9.51

%

 

9.12

%

Yield on total investments at amortized cost

 

8.90

%

 

8.64

%

Weighted average leverage (net debt/EBITDA)5

 

4.67x

 

4.74x

Weighted average interest coverage5

 

3.29x

 

3.73x

Median EBITDA6

 

$33.7 million

 

$32.8 million

As of June 30, 2022, investments on non-accrual status represented 1.5% and 3.6% of the total investment portfolio at fair value and amortized cost, respectively.

LIQUIDITY AND CAPITAL RESOURCES

As of June 30, 2022, the Company had $947.5 million of total principal amount of debt outstanding, comprised of $743 million of outstanding borrowings under its senior secured credit facilities and $205 million of unsecured notes and term loans. The combined weighted average interest rate on debt outstanding was 4.3% for the quarter ended June 30, 2022. As of June 30, 2022, the Company had $57 million in cash and short-term investments and $82 million available under its financing arrangements.2

EARNING CONFERENCE CALL

CION will host an earnings conference call on Thursday, August 11, 2022 at 11:00 am Eastern Time to discuss its financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2022. Please visit the Investor Resources - Events and Presentations section of the Company’s website at www.cionbdc.com for a slide presentation that complements the earnings conference call.

All interested parties are invited to participate via telephone or listen via the live webcast, which can be accessed by clicking the following link: CION Investment Corporation Second Quarter 2022 Financial Results Webcast. Domestic callers can access the conference call by dialing (877) 445-9755. International callers can access the conference call by dialing +1 (201) 493-6744. All callers are asked to dial in approximately 10 minutes prior to the call. An archived replay will be available on a webcast link located in the Investor Resources - Events and Presentations section of CION’s website.

ENDNOTES

1) The discussion of the investment portfolio excludes short-term investments.
 
2)

Total debt outstanding excludes netting of debt issuance costs of $7.8 million and $7.6 million as of June 30, 2022 and March 31, 2022, respectively.

 

3)

 

The fixed versus floating composition has been calculated as a percentage of performing debt investments measured on a fair value basis, including income producing preferred stock investments and excludes investments, if any, on non-accrual status.
 

4)

 

 

Computed based on the (a) annual actual interest rate or yield earned plus amortization of fees and discounts on the performing debt and other income producing investments as of the reporting date, divided by (b) the total performing debt and other income producing investments (excluding investments on non-accrual status) at amortized cost. This calculation excludes exit fees that are receivable upon repayment of the investment.

 

5)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For a particular portfolio company, we calculate the level of contractual indebtedness net of cash (“net debt”) owed by the portfolio company and compare that amount to measures of cash flow available to service the net debt. To calculate net debt, we include debt that is both senior and pari passu to the tranche of debt owned by us but exclude debt that is legally and contractually subordinated in ranking to the debt owned by us. We believe this calculation method assists in describing the risk of our portfolio investments, as it takes into consideration contractual rights of repayment of the tranche of debt owned by us relative to other senior and junior creditors of a portfolio company. We typically calculate cash flow available for debt service at a portfolio company by taking EBITDA for the trailing twelve-month period. Weighted average net debt to EBITDA is weighted based on the fair value of our performing debt investments and excluding investments where net debt to EBITDA may not be the appropriate measure of credit risk, such as cash collateralized loans and investments that are underwritten and covenanted based on recurring revenue.

 

For a particular portfolio company, we calculate the level of contractual indebtedness net of cash (“net debt”) owed by the portfolio company and compare that amount to measures of cash flow available to service the net debt. To calculate net debt, we include debt that is both senior and pari passu to the tranche of debt owned by us but exclude debt that is legally and contractually subordinated in ranking to the debt owned by us. We believe this calculation method assists in describing the risk of our portfolio investments, as it takes into consideration contractual rights of repayment of the tranche of debt owned by us relative to other senior and junior creditors of a portfolio company. We typically calculate cash flow available for debt service at a portfolio company by taking EBITDA for the trailing twelve-month period. Weighted average net debt to EBITDA is weighted based on the fair value of our performing debt investments and excluding investments where net debt to EBITDA may not be the appropriate measure of credit risk, such as cash collateralized loans and investments that are underwritten and covenanted based on recurring revenue.

 

Portfolio company statistics, including EBITDA, are derived from the financial statements most recently provided to us for each portfolio company as of the reported end date. Statistics of the portfolio companies have not been independently verified by us and may reflect a normalized or adjusted amount.

6)

Median EBITDA is calculated based on the portfolio company's EBITDA as of our initial investment.

 

CĪON Investment Corporation

Consolidated Balance Sheets

(in thousands, except share and per share amounts)

 

 

 

June 30, 2022

 

March 31, 2022

 

 

(unaudited)

 

(unaudited)

Assets

Investments, at fair value:

 

 

 

 

Non-controlled, non-affiliated investments (amortized cost of $1,660,187 and $1,576,679, respectively)

 

$

1,601,753

 

 

$

1,533,188

 

Non-controlled, affiliated investments (amortized cost of $131,439 and $144,704, respectively)

 

 

113,554

 

 

 

130,934

 

Controlled investments (amortized cost of $84,347 and $83,702, respectively)

 

 

90,145

 

 

 

91,175

 

Total investments, at fair value (amortized cost of $1,875,973 and $1,805,085, respectively)

 

 

1,805,452

 

 

 

1,755,297

 

Cash

 

 

42,542

 

 

 

17,500

 

Interest receivable on investments

 

 

21,962

 

 

 

21,298

 

Receivable due on investments sold and repaid

 

 

2,713

 

 

 

7,303

 

Prepaid expenses and other assets

 

 

2,112

 

 

 

3,618

 

Total assets

 

$

1,874,781

 

 

$

1,805,016

 

 

 

 

 

 

Liabilities and Shareholders' Equity

Liabilities

 

 

 

 

Financing arrangements (net of unamortized debt issuance costs of $7,849 and $7,636, respectively)

 

$

939,651

 

 

$

867,364

 

Payable for investments purchased

 

 

11,635

 

 

 

 

Accounts payable and accrued expenses

 

 

1,194

 

 

 

862

 

Interest payable

 

 

5,603

 

 

 

3,173

 

Accrued management fees

 

 

6,839

 

 

 

6,655

 

Accrued subordinated incentive fee on income

 

 

4,091

 

 

 

4,133

 

Accrued administrative services expense

 

 

530

 

 

 

376

 

Total liabilities

 

 

969,543

 

 

 

882,563

 

 

 

 

 

 

Commitments and contingencies

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Shareholders' Equity

 

 

 

 

Common stock, $0.001 par value; 500,000,000 shares authorized;

 

 

 

 

56,958,440 shares issued and outstanding for both periods

 

 

57

 

 

 

57

 

Capital in excess of par value

 

 

1,059,989

 

 

 

1,059,989

 

Accumulated distributable losses

 

 

(154,808

)

 

 

(137,593

)

Total shareholders' equity

 

 

905,238

 

 

 

922,453

 

Total liabilities and shareholders' equity

 

$

1,874,781

 

 

$

1,805,016

 

Net asset value per share of common stock at end of period

 

$

15.89

 

 

$

16.20

 

 
 

 

 

CĪON Investment Corporation

Consolidated Statements of Operations

(in thousands, except share and per share amounts)

 

 

 

Three Months Ended

June 30,

 

Six Months Ended

June 30,

 

Year Ended

December 31,

 

 

2022

 

2021

 

2022

 

2021

 

2021

 

 

(unaudited)

 

(unaudited)

 

(unaudited)

 

(unaudited)

 

 

Investment income

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Non-controlled, non-affiliated investments

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Interest income

 

$

31,749

 

 

$

30,167

 

 

$

62,743

 

 

$

56,269

 

 

$

119,792

 

Paid-in-kind interest income

 

 

4,613

 

 

 

3,853

 

 

 

9,219

 

 

 

9,988

 

 

 

17,306

 

Fee income

 

 

2,554

 

 

 

880

 

 

 

3,503

 

 

 

1,813

 

 

 

5,927

 

Dividend income

 

 

 

 

 

91

 

 

 

46

 

 

 

173

 

 

 

366

 

Non-controlled, affiliated investments

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Interest income

 

 

1,545

 

 

 

1,041

 

 

 

2,568

 

 

 

2,442

 

 

 

4,961

 

Paid-in-kind interest income

 

 

874

 

 

 

1,056

 

 

 

2,319

 

 

 

1,879

 

 

 

3,160

 

Fee income

 

 

13

 

 

 

 

 

 

506

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dividend income

 

 

53

 

 

 

933

 

 

 

53

 

 

 

1,760

 

 

 

5,576

 

Controlled investments

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Interest income

 

 

1,742

 

 

 

 

 

 

3,869

 

 

 

 

 

 

260

 

Paid-in-kind interest income

 

 

409

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total investment income

 

 

43,552

 

 

 

38,021

 

 

 

85,235

 

 

 

74,324

 

 

 

157,348

 

Operating expenses

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Management fees

 

 

6,839

 

 

 

8,243

 

 

 

13,494

 

 

 

16,026

 

 

 

31,143

 

Administrative services expense

 

 

781

 

 

 

697

 

 

 

1,501

 

 

 

1,381

 

 

 

3,069

 

Subordinated incentive fee on income

 

 

4,091

 

 

 

 

 

 

8,224

 

 

 

 

 

 

6,875

 

General and administrative

 

 

1,712

 

 

 

2,563

 

 

 

3,934

 

 

 

5,241

 

 

 

9,805

 

Interest expense

 

 

10,841

 

 

 

7,828

 

 

 

19,300

 

 

 

15,376

 

 

 

31,807

 

Total operating expenses

 

 

24,264

 

 

 

19,331

 

 

 

46,453

 

 

 

38,024

 

 

 

82,699

 

Net investment income before taxes

 

 

19,288

 

 

 

18,690

 

 

 

38,782

 

 

 

36,300

 

 

 

74,649

 

Income tax expense, including excise tax

 

 

 

 

 

4

 

 

 

11

 

 

 

15

 

 

 

342

 

Net investment income after taxes

 

 

19,288

 

 

 

18,686

 

 

 

38,771

 

 

 

36,285

 

 

 

74,307

 

Realized and unrealized gains (losses)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net realized gains (losses) on:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Non-controlled, non-affiliated investments

 

 

180

 

 

 

445

 

 

 

208

 

 

 

471

 

 

 

(4,100

)

Non-controlled, affiliated investments

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(97

)

 

 

(1,080

)

 

 

8,010

 

Controlled investments

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(3,067

)

 

 

(3,067

)

Foreign currency

 

 

 

 

 

(4

)

 

 

 

 

 

(11

)

 

 

(3

)

Net realized gains (losses)

 

 

180

 

 

 

441

 

 

 

111

 

 

 

(3,687

)

 

 

840

 

Net change in unrealized (depreciation) appreciation on:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Non-controlled, non-affiliated investments

 

 

(17,482

)

 

 

5,957

 

 

 

(24,977

)

 

 

25,195

 

 

 

25,566

 

Non-controlled, affiliated investments

 

 

(1,577

)

 

 

2,885

 

 

 

(5,357

)

 

 

16,823

 

 

 

7,261

 

Controlled investments

 

 

(1,675

)

 

 

 

 

 

(1,925

)

 

 

3,067

 

 

 

10,790

 

Net change in unrealized (depreciation) appreciation

 

 

(20,734

)

 

 

8,842

 

 

 

(32,259

)

 

 

45,085

 

 

 

43,617

 

Net realized and unrealized (losses) gains

 

 

(20,554

)

 

 

9,283

 

 

 

(32,148

)

 

 

41,398

 

 

 

44,457

 

Net (decrease) increase in net assets resulting from operations

 

$

(1,266

)

 

$

27,969

 

 

$

6,623

 

 

$

77,683

 

 

$

118,764

 

Per share information—basic and diluted(1)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net (decrease) increase in net assets per share resulting from operations

 

$

(0.02

)

 

$

0.49

 

 

$

0.12

 

 

$

1.37

 

 

$

2.09

 

Net investment income per share

 

$

0.34

 

 

$

0.33

 

 

$

0.68

 

 

$

0.64

 

 

$

1.31

 

Weighted average shares of common stock outstanding

 

 

56,958,440

 

 

 

56,747,687

 

 

 

56,958,440

 

 

 

56,750,588

 

 

 

56,808,960

 

(1)

 

 

The Company completed a two-to-one reverse stock split, effective as of September 21, 2021. The weighted average shares used in the computation of the net (decrease) increase in net assets per share resulting from operations and net investment income per share reflect the reverse stock split on a retroactive basis.

ABOUT CION INVESTMENT CORPORATION

CION Investment Corporation is a leading publicly listed business development company that had approximately $1.9 billion in total assets as of June 30, 2022. CION seeks to generate current income and, to a lesser extent, capital appreciation for investors by focusing primarily on senior secured loans to U.S. middle-market companies. CION is advised by CION Investment Management, LLC, a registered investment adviser and an affiliate of CION. For more information, please visit www.cionbdc.com.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This press release may contain forward-looking statements that involve substantial risks and uncertainties. You can identify these statements by the use of forward-looking terminology such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “project,” “target,” “estimate,” “intend,” “continue,” or “believe” or the negatives thereof or other variations thereon or comparable terminology. You should read statements that contain these words carefully because they discuss CION’s plans, strategies, prospects and expectations concerning its business, operating results, financial condition and other similar matters. These statements represent CION’s belief regarding future events that, by their nature, are uncertain and outside of CION’s control. There are likely to be events in the future, however, that CION is not able to predict accurately or control. Any forward-looking statement made by CION in this press release speaks only as of the date on which it is made. Factors or events that could cause CION’s actual results to differ, possibly materially from its expectations, include, but are not limited to, the risks, uncertainties and other factors CION identifies in the sections entitled “Risk Factors” and “Forward-Looking Statements” in filings CION makes with the SEC, and it is not possible for CION to predict or identify all of them. CION undertakes no obligation to update or revise publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.

OTHER INFORMATION

The information in this press release is summary information only and should be read in conjunction with CION’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, which CION filed with the SEC on August 11, 2022, as well as CION’s other reports filed with the SEC. A copy of CION’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q and CION’s other reports filed with the SEC can be found on CION’s website at www.cionbdc.com and the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov.

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