Record Net Investment Income of $25.2 Million in Q1 Record Total Investment Income of $50.5 Million Return on Average Equity of 16.1% PHOENIX, May 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Trinity Capital Inc. (NASDAQ:TRIN) ("Trinity" or the "Company"), a leading provider of diversified financial solutions to growth-stage companies, today announced its financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2024. First Quarter 2024 Highlights Record total investment income of $50.5 million, an increase of 21.5% year-over-year Record net investment income ("NII") of $25.2 million, or $0.54 per basic share, an increase of 30.1% year-over-year Net increase in net assets resulting from operations of $14.5 million, or $0.31 per basic share 16.1% Return on Average Equity "ROAE" (NII/Average Equity) 7.5% Return on Average Assets "ROAA" (NII/Average Assets) Net Asset Value of $626.3 million, or $12.88 per share at the end of Q1 Total gross investment commitments of $286.8 million Total gross investments funded of $242.7 million, comprised of $182.9 million across eight new portfolio companies, $57.4 million across 12 existing portfolio companies and $2.4 million into Trinity's joint venture (the "JV") Debt principal repayments of $148.5 million, including $43.4 million from early repayments on debt investments 13th consecutive increase in the regular quarterly dividend after the first-quarter distribution of $0.51 per share, an increase of 2.0% from the regular dividend declared in the fourth quarter of 2023 "Trinity's diversified investment platform continued to execute during the first quarter, delivering strong origination performance and record net investment income for our shareholders," said Kyle Brown, Chief Executive Officer of Trinity. "Our business fundamentals remain strong, and we continue to benefit from increasing private credit demand while adhering to our rigorous approach to underwriting and portfolio management." Brown further highlighted, "We believe that Trinity's experienced team and differentiated investment strategy position us to perform in any market environment. Interest in direct lending solutions is accelerating, and we stand ready to assist growing companies with our diverse capital offerings." First Quarter 2024 Operating Results For the three months ended March 31, 2024, total investment income was $50.5 million compared to $41.5 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2023. This represents an effective yield on the average debt investments at cost of 15.8% and 15.2% for the periods ended March 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively. Effective yields generally include the effects of fees and income accelerations attributed to early loan repayments and other one-time events and may fluctuate quarter-to-quarter depending on the amount of prepayment activity.  Total operating expenses and excise taxes, excluding interest expense, for the first quarter of 2024 were $13.2 million compared to $11.1 million during the first quarter of 2023. The increase is primarily attributable to higher compensation and benefits associated with additional headcount, variable compensation and amortization of restricted stock grants. Interest expense for the first quarter of 2024 was $12.1 million compared to $11.1 million during the first quarter of 2023. The increase is primarily attributable to an increase in the average debt outstanding and an increase in the weighted average interest rate on total debt. Net investment income was approximately $25.2 million, or $0.54 per share based on 46.7 million basic weighted average shares outstanding for the first quarter of 2024, compared to $19.3 million or $0.55 per share for the first quarter of 2023 based on 35.1 million basic weighted average shares outstanding. During the three months ended March 31, 2024, our net unrealized depreciation totaled approximately $12.0 million, which included net unrealized appreciation of $3.8 million from our warrant investments, net unrealized depreciation of $3.4 million from our equity investments and net unrealized depreciation of $12.4 million from our debt investments. Net realized gain on investments was approximately $1.4 million, primarily attributable to the equipment financing to Core Scientific, Inc. Net increase in net assets resulting from operations was $14.5 million, or $0.31 per share, based on 46.7 million basic weighted average shares outstanding. This compares to a net increase in net assets resulting from operations of $22.5 million, or $0.64 per share, based on 35.1 million basic weighted average shares outstanding for the first quarter of 2023. Trinity's higher weighted average shares outstanding for the first quarter as compared to the same period in the prior year was mostly attributable to additional shares issued during the quarter. Net Asset Value As of March 31, 2024, total net assets increased to $626.3 million, compared to $611.2 million as of December 31, 2023. The increase in total net assets was primarily driven by net investment income that exceeded the declared dividend and proceeds received from the shares issued under the ATM program during the quarter, partially offset by net unrealized depreciation on investments. The change in NAV per share to $12.88 from $13.19 per share in the prior quarter was primarily attributed to new restricted stock awards and net unrealized depreciation on investments, partially offset by the accretive issuances of shares under the ATM program. Portfolio and Investment Activity As of March 31, 2024, Trinity's investment portfolio had an aggregate fair value of approximately $1.4 billion and was comprised of approximately $1.0 billion in secured loans, $277.6 million in equipment financings and $75.5 million in equity and warrants across 128 portfolio companies. The Company's debt portfolio is comprised of 75.3% first lien loans and 24.7% second lien loans, with 75.4% of the debt portfolio at floating rates based on principal outstanding. During the first quarter, the Company originated approximately $286.8 million of total new commitments and funded approximately $242.7 million, which was comprised of $182.9 million of investments in eight new portfolio companies, $57.4 million of investments in 12 existing portfolio companies and $2.4 million of investments in the JV. Gross investment fundings during the quarter for secured loans totaled $187.4 million, equipment financings totaled $50.1 million and warrant and equity investments totaled $5.3 million. Proceeds received from repayments of the Company's debt investments during the first quarter totaled approximately $148.5 million, which included $43.4 million from early repayments on debt investments and $55.4 million of assets sold to the JV. The investment portfolio increased by $100.7 million, or approximately 7.6%, on a cost basis, and by $88.7 million, or approximately 7.0%, at fair value as compared to December 31, 2023. Total assets under management, including the assets in the JV, increased by 10.2% to a total of $1.6 billion. As of the end of the first quarter, secured loans to four portfolio companies and equipment financings to one portfolio company were on non-accrual status, with an aggregate fair value of approximately $30.4 million, or 2.4% of the Company's debt investment portfolio at fair value. The following table shows the distribution of the Company's loan and equipment financing investments on the 1 to 5 investment risk rating scale at fair value as of March 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023 (dollars in thousands): March 31, 2024 December 31, 2023 Investment Risk Rating  Scale Range Designation Investments atFair Value Percentage ofTotal Portfolio Investments atFair Value Percentage ofTotal Portfolio 4.0 - 5.0 Very Strong Performance $ 56,991 4.4 % $ 40,584 3.3 % 3.0 - 3.9 Strong Performance 275,107 21.4 % 277,867 22.9 % 2.0 - 2.9 Performing 875,950 68.0 % 805,730 65.9 % 1.6 - 1.9 Watch 65,410 5.1 % 56,740 4.6 % 1.0 - 1.5 Default/Workout 5,539 0.4 % 33,452 2.7 % Total Debt Investments excluding Senior Credit Corp 2022 LLC 1,278,997 99.3 % 1,214,373 99.4 % Senior Credit Corp 2022 LLC (1) 9,394 0.7 % 7,704 0.6 % Total Debt Investments $ 1,288,391 100.0 % $ 1,222,077 100.0 % _____________ (1) An investment risk rating is not applied to Senior Credit Corp 2022 LLC.  As of both March 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023, the Company's loan and equipment financing investments had a weighted average risk rating score of 2.7. Trinity's grading scale is comprised of numerous factors, two key factors being liquidity and performance to plan. A company may be downgraded as it approaches the need for additional capital or if they are underperforming relative to their business plans. Conversely, they may be upgraded upon a capitalization event or if they are exceeding their plan. As such, the overall grading may fluctuate quarter-to-quarter. Liquidity and Capital Resources As of March 31, 2024, the Company had approximately $172.0 million in available liquidity, including $12.0 million in unrestricted cash and cash equivalents. At the end of the period, the Company had approximately $160.0 million in available borrowing capacity under its credit facility with KeyBank, subject to existing terms and advance rates and regulatory and covenant requirements. In March 2024, the Company closed an underwritten public offering of $100.0 million in aggregate principal amount of 7.875% notes due 2029 (the "March 2029 Notes") and the underwriters subsequently exercised their option to purchase an additional $15.0 million of the March 2029 Notes. The March 2029 Notes are traded on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the trading symbol "TRINZ." On April 16, 2024, the Company caused notice to be issued to the holders regarding the Company's exercise of its option to redeem a portion of the issued and outstanding 2025 Notes. The Company will redeem $30.0 million in aggregate principal amount of the $182.5 million in aggregate principal amount of outstanding 2025 Notes on May 17, 2024. As of March 31, 2024, Trinity's leverage or debt-to-equity ratio was approximately 118% as compared to 106% as of December 31, 2023. The increase in the leverage ratio was primarily attributable to the increase in total debt outstanding to fund net portfolio growth. During the three months ended March 31, 2024, Trinity utilized its ATM offering program to sell 1.7 million shares of its common stock at a weighted average price of $14.84 per share, raising $24.3 million of net proceeds. As of March 31, 2024, the JV had approximately $94.5 million in available liquidity, including $64.0 million of uncalled capital, $30.3 million of availability under the JV's credit facility and $0.2 million of cash and cash equivalents. During the quarter, the JV expanded its credit facility to $120 million. Distributions On March 14, 2024, the Company's Board of Directors declared a dividend of $0.51 per share with respect to the quarter ended March 31, 2024, which was paid on April 15, 2024, to stockholders of record as of March 28, 2024. Conference Call Trinity will hold a conference call to discuss its first quarter 2024 financial results at 9:00 a.m. Pacific Time (12:00 p.m. Eastern Time) on Wednesday, May 1, 2024. To listen to the call, please dial (800) 245-3047, or (203) 518-9765 internationally, and reference Conference ID: TRINQ124 if asked, approximately 10 minutes prior to the start of the call. A taped replay will be made available approximately two hours after the conclusion of the call and will remain available for seven days. To access the replay, please dial (800) 839-2389 or (402) 220-7204. About ...