REG - EJF Investments Ltd EJF Investments-EJFZ - Annual Financial Report to 31 December 2023

EJF InvestmentsAnnouncement

28/03/2024 07:00

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RNS Number : 5853I  EJF Investments Ltd  28 March 2024

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

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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/
(https://www.ejfi.com/investors/) ) and the National Storage Mechanism
(https://www.fca.org.uk/markets/primary-markets/regulatory-disclosures/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
(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 (http://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.

 

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