NEW YORK, May 06, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Solar Senior Capital Ltd. (NASDAQ: SUNS) (the “Company” “Solar Senior” or “SUNS”), today reported net investment income of $5.7 million, or $0.35 per average share, for the quarter ended March 31, 2019.

At March 31, 2019, net asset value (NAV) was $16.40 per share, up $0.10 per share from the prior quarter.  

The Company’s Board of Directors declared a monthly distribution for May of $0.1175 per share payable on June 4, 2019 to stockholders of record on May 23, 2019. Tax characteristics of all distributions will be reported to shareholders on Form 1099 after the end of the calendar year.

HIGHLIGHTS:
At March 31, 2019:

Comprehensive Investment portfolio* fair value: $598.5 million
Number of portfolio companies*: 162
Net assets: $263.1 million 
Net asset value per share: $16.40

Comprehensive Portfolio Activity** for the Quarter Ended March 31, 2019

Investments made during the quarter: $56.1 million
Investments prepaid or sold during the quarter: $37.1 million

Operating Results for the Quarter Ended March 31, 2019

Net investment income: $5.7 million
Net investment income per share: $0.35
Net realized and unrealized gain: $1.7 million
Net increase in net assets from operations: $7.4 million
Earnings per share: $0.46

* The Comprehensive Investment Portfolio is comprised of Solar Senior Capital Ltd.’s investment portfolio, Gemino Healthcare Finance’s (“Gemino”) full portfolio and North Mill Capital LLC’s (“North Mill”) full portfolio, and excludes the Company’s fair value of its equity interest in Gemino and North Mill.

** Comprehensive Portfolio Activity includes gross originations/repayments through Gemino and North Mill attributable to the Company.

“We are pleased with Solar Senior Capital’s first quarter operating performance. Overall, the financial health of our portfolio companies remains sound and over 98% of our portfolio is invested in first lien senior secured loans. With our continued focus on asset-based specialty lending and cash flow investments in defensive, non-cyclical industries, we believe SUNS is positioned to perform well through economic cycles,” said Michael Gross, Chairman and CEO of Solar Senior Capital Ltd. "The Company has ample capital to expand our specialty finance platform while continuing to be highly selective in cash flow lending."

Conference Call and Webcast

The Company will host an earnings conference call and audio webcast at 11:00 a.m. (Eastern Time) on Tuesday, May 7, 2019. All interested parties may participate in the conference call by dialing (844) 889-7785 approximately 5-10 minutes prior to the call, international callers should dial (661) 378-9929. Participants should reference Solar Senior Capital Ltd. and the participant passcode of 7625319 when prompted. A telephone replay will be available until May 21, 2019 and can be accessed by dialing (855) 859-2056 and using the passcode 7625319. International callers should dial (404) 537-3406. This conference call will also be broadcast live over the Internet and can be accessed by all interested parties through Solar Senior Capital’s website, www.solarseniorcap.com. To listen to the webcast, please go to the Company's website prior to the start of the call to register and download any necessary audio software. For those who are not able to listen to the live broadcast, a replay of the webcast will be available soon after the call.

Comprehensive Investment Portfolio

Investment Activity

During the quarter ended March 31, 2019, Solar Senior Capital had total originations of $56.1 million and repayments of $37.1 million across the Company’s core businesses comprised of senior secured cash flow, traditional asset-based lending and healthcare asset-based lending, resulting in net originations of $19.0 million to the comprehensive portfolio.

The investment activity of our Comprehensive Investment Portfolio for the quarter ended March 31, 2019 was as follows:

Total Portfolio Activity(1) – Q1 2019 (in millions)
Asset Classes	Cash Flow Loans		Asset-based Loans North Mill			Asset-based Healthcare Loans Gemino		Total Portfolio Activity
Originations	$31.2		$15.5			$9.4		$56.1
Repayments / Amortization	$15.6		$18.4			$3.1		$37.1
Net Portfolio Activity	$15.6		$(2.9)			$6.3		$19.0

1. Total Portfolio Activity includes gross originations/repayments across each business unit. 

Portfolio Composition

Our Comprehensive Investment Portfolio composition by business unit at March 31, 2019 was as follows:

Comprehensive Investment Portfolio Composition (at fair value)	Amount				Weighted Average Asset-level Yield
	($mm)		%
First Lien Senior Secured  Loans
Cash Flow 1st Lien Senior Secured Loans	$354.2		59.2%		8.1%5
Traditional Asset-Based 1st Lien Senior Secured Loans(1)  (North Mill)	$118.1		19.7%		13.1%6
Healthcare Asset-Based 1st Lien Senior Secured Loans(2)  (Gemino)	$114.9		19.2%		11.6%6
Total First Lien Senior Secured Loans	$587.2		98.1%
Cash Flow 2nd Lien Senior Secured Loans	$9.9		1.7%
Total Senior Secured Loans	$597.1		99.8%		9.8%
Equity and Equity-like Securities(3)	$1.4		0.2%
Total Comprehensive Investment Portfolio	$598.5		100%
Floating Rate Investments(4)	$566.7		94.9%

1. Includes North Mill’s full portfolio, all of which are 1^st lien senior secured loans.
2. Includes Gemino’s full portfolio, all of which are 1^st lien senior secured loans.
3. Excludes the Company’s equity investments in North Mill and Gemino, which distribute quarterly dividends to the Company.
4. Floating rate investments calculated as a percent of the Company’s income-producing Comprehensive Investment Portfolio.
5. Represents the yield to maturity based on fair market value at 3/31/19.
6. Represents total interest and fee income for the three month period ending on March 31, 2019 against the average portfolio over the same fiscal period, annualized.

The Comprehensive Investment Portfolio is diversified across approximately 162 unique borrowers with average issuer exposure of $3.7 million, or 0.6% of the comprehensive portfolio at March 31, 2019.

The Comprehensive Investment Portfolio is invested 98.1% in first lien senior secured cash flow and asset-based loans and 1.7% in second lien senior secured cash flow loans.

Solar Senior Capital Ltd. Portfolio

Asset Quality

At March 31, 2019, 99.8% and 98.5% of Solar Senior’s portfolio was performing on a fair value and cost basis, respectively.

The Company puts its greatest emphasis on risk mitigation and credit performance. On a quarterly basis, or more frequently if deemed necessary, the Company formally rates each portfolio investment on a scale of one to four, with one representing the least amount of risk.

As of March 31, 2019, the composition of our portfolio, on a risk ratings basis, was as follows:

Internal Investment Rating	Investments at Fair Value		% of Total Portfolio
1	$51.5		11.0%
2	$399.5		85.4%
3	$15.8		3.4%
4	$0.9		0.2%

Solar Senior Capital Ltd.’s Results of Operations for the Quarter Ended March 31, 2019 compared to the Quarter Ended March 31, 2018:

Investment Income

For the quarters ended March 31, 2019 and 2018, gross investment income totaled $10.2 million and $9.3 million, respectively. The increase in gross investment income was primarily due to average portfolio growth.

Our gross investment income by business unit is broken out below.

Investment Income Contribution by Business Unit(1) (in millions)
For the Quarter Ended:	Cash Flow Lending	Asset-based Lending (North Mill)	Asset-based Healthcare Lending (Gemino)	Total
3/31/2019	$7.9	$1.4	$0.9	$10.2
% Contribution	77.5%	13.7%	8.8%	100.0%

1. Investment Income Contribution by Business Unit includes interest income/fees from cash flow loans on balance sheet and distributions from North Mill Capital and Gemino Healthcare Finance.

Expenses

Net expenses totaled $4.6 million and $3.7 million, respectively, for the quarters ended March 31, 2019 and 2018. For the fiscal quarters ended March 31, 2019 and March 31, 2018, $0.5 million and $0.3 million, respectively, of performance-based incentive fees were voluntarily waived by the Company’s investment manager.

Net Investment Income

Net investment income totaled $5.7 million and $5.7 million, or $0.35 and $0.35 per average share, respectively, for the quarters ended March 31, 2019 and 2018.

Net Realized and Unrealized Gain (Loss)

Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) for the quarters ended March 31, 2019 and 2018 totaled approximately $1.7 million and $(0.1) million, respectively.

Net Increase in Net Assets Resulting From Operations

For the quarters ended March 31, 2019 and 2018, the Company had a net increase in net assets resulting from operations of $7.4 million and $5.5 million, respectively. For the quarters ended March 31, 2019 and 2018, earnings per average share were $0.46 and $0.34, respectively.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

As of March 31, 2019, the Company had a total of approximately $88 million of unused borrowing capacity under the Company’s revolving credit facilities, subject to borrowing base limits. When including North Mill and Gemino non-recourse credit facilities, the Company had approximately $225 million of unused borrowing capacity under its revolving credit facilities, subject to borrowing base limits at March 31, 2019.

SOLAR SENIOR CAPITAL LTD.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF ASSETS AND LIABILITIES
(in thousands, except share amounts)
	March 31, 2019 (unaudited)					December 31, 2018
Assets
Investments at fair value:
Companies less than 5% owned (cost: $371,295 and $355,354, respectively)	$	362,949			$	348,211
Companies 5% to 25% owned (cost: $3,518 and $3,524, respectively)		2,624				2,350
Companies more than 25% owned (cost: $98,439 and $98,439, respectively)		102,100				99,550
Cash		6,448				4,875
Interest receivable		2,170				2,141
Dividends receivable		1,893				1,893
Receivable for investments sold		60				87
Prepaid expenses and other assets		342				188
Total assets	$	478,586			$	459,295
Liabilities
Payable for investments purchased	$	—			$	22,805
Credit facility ($155,100 and $119,200 face amounts, respectively, reported net of unamortized debt issuance costs of $1,569 and $1,662, respectively.)		153,531				117,538
FLLP 2015-1, LLC revolving credit facility (the “FLLP Facility”)		56,453				51,371
Distributions payable		1,885				1,885
Management fee payable		1,156				1,189
Performance-based incentive fee payable		8				106
Interest payable		1,440				1,260
Administrative services expense payable		83				923
Other liabilities and accrued expenses		887				826
Total liabilities	$	215,443			$	197,903
Commitments and contingencies
Net Assets
Common stock, par value $0.01 per share, 200,000,000 and 200,000,000 common shares authorized, respectively, and 16,041,604 and 16,040,485 issued and outstanding, respectively	$	160			$	160
Paid-in capital in excess of par		288,808				288,789
Accumulated distributable net loss		(25,825	)			(27,557	)
Total net assets	$	263,143			$	261,392
Net Asset Value Per Share	$	16.40			$	16.30

SOLAR SENIOR CAPITAL LTD.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS (unaudited)
(in thousands, except share amounts)
	Three months ended
	March 31, 2019					March 31, 2018
INVESTMENT INCOME:
Interest:
Companies less than 5% owned	$	7,814			$	5,817
Companies 5% to 25% owned		85				51
Dividends:
Companies more than 25% owned		2,265				3,387
Other income:
Companies less than 5% owned		70				67
Companies more than 25% owned		—				19
Total investment income		10,234				9,341
EXPENSES:
Management fees	$	1,156			$	1,048
Performance-based incentive fees		544				618
Interest and other credit facility expenses		2,685				1,586
Administrative services expense		396				382
Other general and administrative expenses		335				361
Total expenses		5,116				3,995
Performance-based incentive fees waived		(536	)			(308	)
Net expenses		4,580				3,687
Net investment income	$	5,654			$	5,654
REALIZED AND UNREALIZED GAIN (LOSS) ON INVESTMENTS AND CASH EQUIVALENTS:
Net realized gain (loss) on investments and cash equivalents (companies less than 5% owned)	$	105			$	(7	)
Net change in unrealized gain (loss) on investments and cash equivalents:
Companies less than 5% owned		(1,203	)			(1,442	)
Companies 5% to 25% owned		280				108
Companies more than 25% owned		2,550				1,204
Net change in unrealized gain (loss) on investments and cash equivalents		1,627				(130	)
Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) on investments and cash equivalents		1,732				(137	)
NET INCREASE IN NET ASSETS RESULTING FROM OPERATIONS	$	7,386			$	5,517
EARNINGS PER SHARE	$	0.46			$	0.34

About Solar Senior Capital Ltd.

Solar Senior Capital Ltd. is a closed-end investment company that has elected to be treated as a business development company under the Investment Company Act of 1940. A specialty finance company with expertise in several niche markets, the Company primarily invests directly and indirectly in leveraged, U. S. middle market companies primarily in the form of cash flow first lien senior secured debt instruments and asset-based loans including senior secured loans collateralized on a first lien basis primarily by current assets.

Forward-Looking Statements

Statements included herein may constitute “forward-looking statements,” which relate to future events or our future performance or financial condition. These statements are not guarantees of future performance, condition or results and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements as a result of a number of factors, including those described from time to time in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Solar Senior Capital Ltd. undertakes no duty to update any forward-looking statements made herein.

Contact
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(646) 308-8770

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