Ellington Financial Inc. Reports Fourth Quarter 2024 Results

Ellington Financial Inc. (NYSE:EFC) ("we") today reported financial results for the quarter ended December 31, 2024.

Highlights

• Net income attributable to common stockholders of $22.4 million, or $0.25 per common share.¹
  • $25.3 million, or $0.28 per common share, from the investment portfolio.
    • $29.3 million, or $0.32 per common share, from the credit strategy.
    • $(4.0) million, or $(0.04) per common share, from the Agency strategy.
  • $26.8 million, or $0.30 per common share, from Longbridge.
• Adjusted Distributable Earnings² of $40.6 million, or $0.45 per common share.
• Book value per common share as of December 31, 2024 of $13.52, including the effects of dividends of $0.39 per common share for the quarter.
• Dividend yield of 11.7% based on the February 26, 2025 closing stock price of $13.33 per share, and monthly dividend of $0.13 per common share declared on February 10, 2025.
• Recourse debt-to-equity ratio³ of 1.8:1 as of December 31, 2024. Including all recourse and non-recourse borrowings, which primarily consist of securitization-related liabilities, debt-to-equity ratio of 8.8:1⁴.
• Cash and cash equivalents of $192.4 million as of December 31, 2024, in addition to other unencumbered assets of $619.8 million.
• Redeemed Series E Preferred Stock on December 13, 2024.

Fourth Quarter 2024 Results

"Our results for the fourth quarter highlight excellent performance from our loan originator affiliates, including our reverse mortgage loan platform Longbridge Financial, as well as securitization-related gains," said Laurence Penn, Chief Executive Officer and President. "Supported by another quarter of strong performance at Longbridge, our adjusted distributable earnings increased by another $0.05 per share sequentially to $0.45, again covering our $0.39 of dividends for the quarter.

"On the asset side of the balance sheet, we grew our closed-end second/HELOC mortgage, proprietary reverse mortgage, and commercial mortgage loan portfolios by a combined 39% during the quarter, excluding the impact of securitizations. This growth continues to reflect the expansion of our proprietary loan origination businesses, where we closed on yet another mortgage originator investment in the fourth quarter, which as usual included an agreement to provide us with forward flow.

"Meanwhile, we strengthened the liability side of our balance sheet in three key ways. First, we capitalized on favorable market conditions by completing four securitization transactions across three different product lines. With each of these securitizations, we generated gains, we secured non-market-to-market term financing on the underlying assets, and we retained the highest-yielding tranches for our investment portfolio. Second, we capitalized on increased competition in the loan financing markets, both negotiating improved terms on several existing loan financing facilities and adding facilities with two new counterparties. And third, we refinanced some of our outstanding higher-cost debt and preferred stock with lower-cost debt, which were immediately accretive to earnings.

"We are committed to building on these achievements throughout 2025, including maintaining the securitization momentum we have built across multiple business lines, and further expanding our asset sourcing channels and sources of financing to drive additional portfolio and earnings growth."

Financial Results

Investment Portfolio Segment

The investment portfolio segment generated net income attributable to common stockholders of $25.3 million in the fourth quarter, consisting of $29.3 million from the credit strategy and $(4.0) million from the Agency strategy.

Credit Performance

The total adjusted long credit portfolio⁵ increased by 5% to $3.42 billion as of December 31, 2024, compared to $3.26 billion as of September 30, 2024. This growth was driven primarily by net purchases of closed-end second lien loans, HELOCs, commercial mortgage bridge loans and non-Agency RMBS.

A portion of the increase was offset by smaller residential transition loan and non-QM loan portfolios, driven by paydowns, and the impact of three securitizations (two of non-QM loans and one of closed-end second lien loans) that we completed during the quarter.

Key Highlights⁶:

• Overall positive performance driven by higher net interest income and net gains from non-Agency RMBS, HELOCs, Forward MSR-related investments, and ABS.
• Net gains on our equity investments in loan originators, driven by strong origination volumes and gain-on-sale margins.
• Net losses on non-QM loans and retained tranches, commercial mortgage loans, and consumer loans, in each case driven by a decline in credit performance, and negative operating income on REO workouts.

During the quarter, the net interest margin⁷ on our credit portfolio increased to 3.02% from 2.64%, driven by a lower overall cost of funds. We continued to benefit from positive carry on our interest rate swap hedges, where we overall receive a higher floating rate and pay a lower fixed rate.

Agency Performance

The long Agency RMBS portfolio decreased by 25% quarter over quarter to $296.7 million as of December 31, 2024, driven primarily by net sales.

Key Highlights⁶:

• Rising interest rates and intra-quarter volatility drove underperformance of Agency RMBS relative to hedging instruments.
• Net losses on Agency RMBS exceeded hedging-related gains, delivering negative results in the Agency strategy.
• Pay-ups on specified pools decreased slightly to 0.67% as of December 31, 2024, from 0.68% as of September 30, 2024.

The net interest margin⁷ on our Agency portfolio (excluding the Catch-up Amortization Adjustment) increased to 2.22% as of December 31, 2024 from 2.03% as of September 30, 2024.

Longbridge Segment

The Longbridge segment reported a net gain to common stockholders of $26.8 million for the fourth quarter. The Longbridge portfolio (excluding non-retained tranches of consolidated securitization trusts) decreased by 15% sequentially to $420.2 million as of December 31, 2024, as the impact of a proprietary reverse mortgage securitization completed during the quarter exceeded the impact of new originations in that sector.

Key Highlights⁶:

• Positive contribution from originations, driven by higher volumes and improved origination margins in HECM, and net gains related to a securitization in proprietary reverse.
• Net gain on the HMBS MSR Equivalent, driven by tighter HMBS yield spreads.
• Net gains on interest rate hedges.

Corporate/Other Summary

Results for the quarter also reflect a net unrealized loss on our unsecured borrowings, driven by tighter credit spreads and shorter duration, as well as net losses on the fixed receiver interest rate swaps used for hedging fixed payments on long-term debt and preferred equity, due to rising interest rates.

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¹ Includes $(29.8) million of preferred dividends accrued and certain corporate/other income and expense items not attributed to either the investment portfolio or Longbridge segments.

² Adjusted Distributable Earnings is a non-GAAP financial measure. See "Reconciliation of Net Income (Loss) to Adjusted Distributable Earnings" below for an explanation regarding the calculation of Adjusted Distributable Earnings.

³ Excludes U.S. Treasury securities and repo borrowings at certain unconsolidated entities that are recourse to us. Including such borrowings, our debt-to-equity ratio, adjusted for unsettled purchases and sales, based on total recourse borrowings was 2.0:1 as of December 31, 2024.

⁴ Excludes U.S. Treasury securities and repo borrowings at certain unconsolidated entities.

⁵ Excludes non-retained tranches of consolidated securitization trusts. The adjusted long credit portfolio also includes the proceeds from financings related to the MSRs underlying our Forward MSR-related investments. Forward MSR-related investments, at fair value are presented on our Consolidated Balance Sheet net of such financings; as of December 31, 2024 and September 30, 2024, such borrowings were $93.5 million and $13.5 million, respectively.

⁶ Sector level results include associated financing costs and hedging gains/losses where applicable.

⁷ Net interest margin represents the weighted average asset yield less the weighted average secured financing cost of funds on such assets. It also includes the effect of actual and accrued periodic payments on interest rate swaps used to hedge the assets.

Credit Portfolio⁽¹⁾

The following table summarizes our credit portfolio holdings as of December 31, 2024 and September 30, 2024:

Agency RMBS Portfolio

The following table⁽¹⁾ summarizes our Agency RMBS portfolio holdings as of December 31, 2024 and September 30, 2024:

Longbridge Portfolio

Longbridge originates reverse mortgage loans, including home equity conversion mortgage loans, or "HECMs," which are insured by the FHA and which are eligible for inclusion in GNMA-guaranteed HECM-backed MBS, or "HMBS." Upon securitization, the HECMs remain on our balance sheet under GAAP, and Longbridge retains the mortgage servicing rights associated with the HMBS, or the "HMBS MSR Equivalent." Longbridge also originates "proprietary reverse mortgage loans," which are not insured by the FHA, and Longbridge has typically retained the associated MSRs. We have securitized some of the proprietary reverse mortgage loans originated by Longbridge, and we have retained certain of the securitization tranches in compliance with credit risk retention rules. The following table summarizes loan-related assets⁽¹⁾ in the Longbridge segment as of December 31, 2024 and September 30, 2024:

The following table summarizes Longbridge's origination volumes by channel for the three-month periods ended December 31, 2024 and September 30, 2024:

Financing

Key Highlights:

• Recourse Debt-to-Equity ratio³ (adjusted for unsettled trades): 1.8:1 as of both December 31, 2024 and September 30, 2024, as credit portfolio growth was roughly offset by a smaller Agency portfolio and the impact of several securitizations completed during the quarter, which converted certain recourse borrowings to non-recourse borrowings.
• Overall Debt-to-Equity ratio⁴ (adjusted for unsettled trades): Increased to 8.8:1 from 8.3:1 during the quarter, reflecting an increase in borrowings from consolidated proprietary reverse mortgage loan securitizations.

The following table summarizes our outstanding borrowings and debt-to-equity ratios as of December 31, 2024 and September 30, 2024:

Operating Results

The following table summarizes our operating results by strategy for the three-month period ended December 31, 2024:

The following table summarizes our operating results by strategy for the three-month period ended September 30, 2024⁽¹⁾:

About Ellington Financial

Ellington Financial invests in a diverse array of financial assets, including residential and commercial mortgage loans and mortgage-backed securities, reverse mortgage loans, mortgage servicing rights and related investments, consumer loans, asset-backed securities, collateralized loan obligations, non-mortgage and mortgage-related derivatives, debt and equity investments in loan origination companies, and other strategic investments. Ellington Financial is externally managed and advised by Ellington Financial Management LLC, an affiliate of Ellington Management Group, L.L.C.

Conference Call

We will host a conference call at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time on Friday, February 28, 2025, to discuss our financial results for the quarter ended December 31, 2024. To participate in the event by telephone, please dial (800) 445-7795 at least 10 minutes prior to the start time and reference the conference ID EFCQ424. International callers should dial (785) 424-1699 and reference the same conference ID. The conference call will also be webcast live over the Internet and can be accessed via the "For Investors" section of our web site at www.ellingtonfinancial.com. To listen to the live webcast, please visit www.ellingtonfinancial.com at least 15 minutes prior to the start of the call to register, download, and install necessary audio software. In connection with the release of these financial results, we also posted an investor presentation, that will accompany the conference call, on our website at www.ellingtonfinancial.com under "For Investors—Presentations."

A dial-in replay of the conference call will be available on Friday, February 28, 2025, at approximately 2:00 p.m. Eastern Time through Friday, March 7, 2025 at approximately 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time. To access this replay, please dial (800) 839-4514. International callers should dial (402) 220-2680. A replay of the conference call will also be archived on our web site at www.ellingtonfinancial.com.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements involve numerous risks and uncertainties. Our actual results may differ from our beliefs, expectations, estimates, and projections and, consequently, you should not rely on these forward-looking statements as predictions of future events. Forward-looking statements are not historical in nature and can be identified by words such as "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "estimate," "project," "plan," "continue," "intend," "should," "would," "could," "goal," "objective," "will," "may," "seek" or similar expressions or their negative forms, or by references to strategy, plans, or intentions. Forward-looking statements are based on our beliefs, assumptions and expectations of our future operations, business strategies, performance, financial condition, liquidity and prospects, taking into account information currently available to us. These beliefs, assumptions, and expectations are subject to risks and uncertainties and can change as a result of many possible events or factors, not all of which are known to us. If a change occurs, our business, financial condition, liquidity, results of operations and strategies may vary materially from those expressed or implied in our forward-looking statements. The following factors are examples of those that could cause actual results to vary from our forward-looking statements: changes in interest rates and the market value of our investments, market volatility, changes in mortgage default rates and prepayment rates, our ability to borrow to finance our assets, changes in government regulations affecting our business, our ability to maintain our exclusion from registration under the Investment Company Act of 1940, our ability to maintain our qualification as a real estate investment trust, or "REIT," and other changes in market conditions and economic trends, such as changes to fiscal or monetary policy, heightened inflation, slower growth or recession, and currency fluctuations. Furthermore, forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, including, among other things, those described under Item 1A of our Annual Report on Form 10-K, which can be accessed through our website at www.ellingtonfinancial.com or at the SEC's website (www.sec.gov). Other risks, uncertainties, and factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected may be described from time to time in reports we file with the SEC, including reports on Forms 10-Q, 10-K and 8-K. We undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.

Reconciliation of Net Income (Loss) to Adjusted Distributable Earnings

We calculate Adjusted Distributable Earnings as U.S. GAAP net income (loss) as adjusted for: (i) realized and unrealized gain (loss) on securities and loans, REO, mortgage servicing rights, financial derivatives (excluding periodic settlements on interest rate swaps), any borrowings carried at fair value, and foreign currency transactions; (ii) incentive fee to affiliate; (iii) Catch-up Amortization Adjustment (as defined below); (iv) non-cash equity compensation expense; (v) provision for income taxes; (vi) certain non-capitalized transaction costs; and (vii) other income or loss items that are of a non-recurring nature. For certain investments in unconsolidated entities, we include the relevant components of net operating income in Adjusted Distributable Earnings. The Catch-up Amortization Adjustment is a quarterly adjustment to premium amortization or discount accretion triggered by changes in actual and projected prepayments on our Agency RMBS (accompanied by a corresponding offsetting adjustment to realized and unrealized gains and losses). The adjustment is calculated as of the beginning of each quarter based on our then-current assumptions about cashflows and prepayments, and can vary significantly from quarter to quarter. Non-capitalized transaction costs include expenses, generally professional fees, incurred in connection with the acquisition of an investment or issuance of long-term debt. We also include in Adjusted Distributable Earnings, for all loans that we originate through Longbridge, any realized and unrealized gains (losses) on such loans up to the point of loan sale or securitization, net of sale or securitization costs.

Adjusted Distributable Earnings is a supplemental non-GAAP financial measure. We believe that the presentation of Adjusted Distributable Earnings provides information useful to investors, because: (i) we believe that it is a useful indicator of both current and projected long-term financial performance, in that it excludes the impact of certain current-period earnings components that we believe are less useful in forecasting long-term performance and dividend-paying ability; (ii) we use it to evaluate the effective net yield provided by our investment portfolio, after the effects of financial leverage and by Longbridge, to reflect the earnings from its reverse mortgage origination and servicing operations; and (iii) we believe that presenting Adjusted Distributable Earnings assists investors in measuring and evaluating our operating performance, and comparing our operating performance to that of our residential mortgage REIT and mortgage originator peers. Please note, however, that: (I) our calculation of Adjusted Distributable Earnings may differ from the calculation of similarly titled non-GAAP financial measures by our peers, with the result that these non-GAAP financial measures might not be directly comparable; and (II) Adjusted Distributable Earnings excludes certain items that may impact the amount of cash that is actually available for distribution.

In addition, because Adjusted Distributable Earnings is an incomplete measure of our financial results and differs from net income (loss) computed in accordance with U.S. GAAP, it should be considered supplementary to, and not as a substitute for, net income (loss) computed in accordance with U.S. GAAP.

Furthermore, Adjusted Distributable Earnings is different from REIT taxable income. As a result, the determination of whether we have met the requirement to distribute at least 90% of our annual REIT taxable income (subject to certain adjustments) to our stockholders, in order to maintain our qualification as a REIT, is not based on whether we distributed 90% of our Adjusted Distributable Earnings.

In setting our dividends, our Board of Directors considers our earnings, liquidity, financial condition, REIT distribution requirements, and financial covenants, along with other factors that the Board of Directors may deem relevant from time to time.

The following table reconciles, for the three-month periods ended December 31, 2024 and September 30, 2024, our Adjusted Distributable Earnings to the line on our Condensed Consolidated Statement of Operations entitled Net Income (Loss), which we believe is the most directly comparable U.S. GAAP measure:

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