Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending (NCDL) Q3 2024 earnings summary

Executive summary

• Net investment income per share rose to $0.58 in Q3 2024, fully covering both regular and special dividends, with net asset value per share increasing to $18.15 from $18.03 sequentially.

• Portfolio grew to $2.05 billion at fair value, diversified across 202 companies and 26 industries, with 90.1% first lien debt.

• Annualized ROE on net investment income was 12.6%, and on net income was 14.7% for Q3 2024.

• Three portfolio companies were on non-accrual, representing 1.4% of total investments at amortized cost, with a stable weighted average internal risk rating of 4.2.

• Strong deal activity, originations, and a successful IPO contributed to portfolio growth and a positive outlook.

Financial highlights

• Net investment income for Q3 2024 was $31.5 million, up from $31.0 million in Q2 2024, and $21.7 million in Q3 2023.

• Net increase in net assets from operations was $0.67 per share for Q3 2024.

• Total investment income rose to $60.3 million, up from $41.7 million year-over-year.

• Paid $0.45 regular and $0.10 special dividend per share for Q3 2024, equating to a 12.1% annualized yield on NAV.

• Debt-to-equity ratio increased to 1.11x, with $1.1 billion in total debt and $990.6 million in net assets.

Outlook and guidance

• Management expects continued strong investment activity, robust deal flow, and increased M&A activity in 2025, supported by strong liquidity and capital resources.

• Declared a fourth quarter regular dividend of $0.45 per share, payable in January 2025.

• Focus remains on disciplined investment in private equity-backed, defensive, cash-generative U.S. middle market companies.