Two Harbors Investment Corp. Reports Second Quarter 2017 Financial Results

Delivered Strong Quarter While Taking Key Steps to Maximize Shareholder Value

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Two Harbors Investment Corp. (NYSE: TWO), a leading hybrid mortgage real estate investment trust (REIT) that invests in residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS), mortgage servicing rights (MSR)and other financial assets, today announced its financial results for the quarter ended June 30, 2017.

Summary

• Delivered Comprehensive Income of $85.9 million, a return on average common equity of 9.9%, or $0.25 per weighted average common share.
• Reported Core Earnings of $97.5 million, or $0.28 per weighted average common share.⁽¹⁾
• Formed Granite Point Mortgage Trust Inc. (“Granite Point”) (NYSE: GPMT) and contributed portfolio of commercial real estate assets to Granite Point concurrent with the closing of Granite Point’s initial public offering (“IPO”).⁽²⁾
• Added $18.9 billion in unpaid principal balance (UPB) of MSR, including $13.1 billion UPB through two bulk purchases.
• Reported book value of $9.87 per common share, representing a 2.2%⁽³⁾ total quarterly return on book value after accounting for a dividend of $0.26 per common share.
• Subsequent to quarter end, issued 11,500,000 shares of 7.625% Series B fixed-to-floating rate cumulative redeemable preferred stock for proceeds, net of offering costs, of $278.1 million.

“Our results in the second quarter were driven by solid performance across our strategies as our team took advantage of attractive market opportunities,” stated Thomas Siering, Two Harbors’ President and Chief Executive Officer. “Additionally, we took key steps to maximize shareholder value through the formation of Granite Point as a standalone entity for our commercial real estate platform and with the preferred stock offering post quarter-end. We believe that we are in an excellent position to continue to deliver strong returns going forward.”

(1) Core Earnings is a non-GAAP measure. Please see page 13 for a definition of Core Earnings and a reconciliation of GAAP to non-GAAP financial information.

(2) Due to the company’s controlling ownership interest in Granite Point, the company consolidates Granite Point on its financial statements and reflects noncontrolling interest for the portion of equity and comprehensive income not attributable to the company.

(3) Return on book value for the quarter ended June 30, 2017 is defined as the decrease in book value per common share from March 31, 2017 to June 30, 2017 of $0.04, plus the dividend declared of $0.26 per common share, divided by March 31, 2017 book value of $9.91 per common share.

Operating Performance
The following table summarizes the company’s GAAP and non-GAAP earnings measurements and key metrics for the second quarter of 2017:

Earnings Summary
Two Harbors reported Comprehensive Income of $85.9 million, or $0.25 per weighted average common share, for the quarter ended June 30, 2017, as compared to Comprehensive Income of $145.7 million, or $0.42 per weighted average common share, for the quarter ended March 31, 2017. The company records unrealized fair value gains and losses on the majority of RMBS, classified as available-for-sale, in Other Comprehensive Income. On a Comprehensive Income basis, the company recognized an annualized return on average common equity of 9.9% and 16.9% for the quarters ended June 30, 2017 and March 31, 2017, respectively.

The company reported GAAP Net Income of $4.3 million, or $0.01 per weighted average common share, for the quarter ended June 30, 2017, as compared to GAAP Net Income of $72.0 million, or $0.21 per weighted average common share, for the quarter ended March 31, 2017. On a GAAP Net Income basis, the company recognized an annualized return on average common equity of 0.5% and 8.3% for the quarters ended June 30, 2017 and March 31, 2017, respectively.

For the second quarter of 2017, the company recognized:

• net realized gains on RMBS and mortgage loans held-for-sale of $23.3 million, net of tax;
• net unrealized losses on certain RMBS and mortgage loans held-for-sale of $2.0 million, net of tax;
• net losses of $35.4 million, net of tax, related to swap and swaption terminations and expirations;
• net unrealized losses of $43.1 million, net of tax, associated with interest rate swaps and swaptions economically hedging interest rate exposure (or duration);
• net realized and unrealized losses on other derivative instruments of $14.5 million, net of tax;
• net realized and unrealized gains on consolidated financing securitizations of $1.4 million, net of tax;
• net realized and unrealized losses on MSR of $16.6 million⁽³⁾, net of tax;
• non-cash equity compensation expense of $3.7 million, net of tax; and
• transaction expenses associated with the Granite Point IPO of $2.2 million, net of tax; $0.4 million of which was recorded by Granite Point and included in our consolidated results.

(3) Excludes estimated amortization of $28.2 million, net of tax, included in Core Earnings.

The company reported Core Earnings for the quarter ended June 30, 2017 of $97.5 million, or $0.28 per weighted average common share outstanding, as compared to Core Earnings for the quarter ended March 31, 2017 of $95.0 million, or $0.27 per weighted average common share outstanding. On a Core Earnings basis, the company recognized an annualized return on average common equity of 11.2% and 11.0% for the quarters ended June 30, 2017 and March 31, 2017, respectively.

Other Key Metrics
Two Harbors declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.26 per common share for the quarter ended June 30, 2017. The annualized dividend yield on the company’s common stock for the quarter, based on the June 30, 2017 closing price of $9.91, was 10.5%.

Two Harbors declared a quarterly dividend of $0.75043 per share on its 8.125% Series A fixed-to-floating rate cumulative redeemable preferred stock. The dividend was paid on July 27, 2017 to Series A preferred stockholders of record at the close of business on July 12, 2017.

The company’s book value per common share, after taking into account the second quarter 2017 common and preferred stock dividends, was $9.87 as of June 30, 2017, compared to $9.91 as of March 31, 2017, which represented a total return on book value for the quarter of 2.2%.⁽¹⁾

Other operating expenses for the quarter ended June 30, 2017 were approximately $19.4 million, which includes $2.2 million of transaction expenses related to the initial public offering of Granite point stock. Excluding these transaction expenses, our annualized expense ratio was 1.9% of average equity, compared to approximately $16.0 million, or 1.8% of average equity, for the quarter ended March 31, 2017.

Portfolio Summary
The company’s aggregate portfolio is principally comprised of RMBS available-for-sale securities, inverse interest-only securities (Agency Derivatives), MSR and net economic interests in consolidated securitization trusts. Due to the company’s controlling ownership interest in Granite Point, the company consolidates Granite Point on its financial statements and reflects noncontrolling interest for the portion of equity and comprehensive income not attributable to the company. During the consolidation period, the company’s financial condition and results of operations will reflect Granite Point’s commercial real estate strategy. As of June 30, 2017, the total value of the company’s portfolio was $19.5 billion.

The company’s portfolio includes rates and credit strategies, and the consolidated results of Granite Point. The rates strategy consisted of $15.2 billion of Agency RMBS, Agency Derivatives and MSR as well as their associated notional hedges as of June 30, 2017. The credit strategy consisted of $2.5 billion of non-Agency RMBS, net economic interests in consolidated securitization trusts, as well as their associated notional hedges as of June 30, 2017. Granite Point’s portfolio consisted of senior and mezzanine commercial real estate assets with an aggregate carrying value of $1.8 billion as of June 30, 2017.

For the quarter ended June 30, 2017, the annualized yield on the company’s average aggregate portfolio was 3.96% and the annualized cost of funds on the associated average borrowings, which includes net interest rate spread expense on interest rate swaps, was 1.60%. This resulted in a net interest rate spread of 2.36%.

RMBS and Agency Derivatives
For the quarter ended June 30, 2017, the annualized yield on average RMBS and Agency Derivatives was 3.7%, consisting of an annualized yield of 3.1% in Agency RMBS and Agency Derivatives and 8.4% in non-Agency RMBS.

(1) Return on book value for the quarter ended June 30, 2017 is defined as the decrease in book value per common share from March 31, 2017 to June 30, 2017 of $0.04, plus the dividend declared of $0.26 per common share, divided by March 31, 2017 book value of $9.91 per common share.

The company experienced a three-month average constant prepayment rate (CPR) of 8.0% for Agency RMBS and Agency Derivatives held as of June 30, 2017, compared to 5.6% for those securities held as of March 31, 2017. The weighted average cost basis of the principal and interest Agency portfolio was 106.6% of par as of June 30, 2017, compared to 105.9% of par as of March 31, 2017. The net premium amortization was $36.9 million and $30.7 million for the quarters ended June 30, 2017 and March 31, 2017, respectively.

The company experienced a three-month average CPR of 6.2% for non-Agency principal and interest RMBS held as of June 30, 2017, as compared to 6.7% for those securities held as of March 31, 2017. The weighted average cost basis of the non-Agency portfolio was 60.5% of par as of June 30, 2017, compared to 59.5% of par as of March 31, 2017. The discount accretion was $22.1 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2017, compared to $22.2 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2017. The total net discount remaining was $1.2 billion as of June 30, 2017, compared to $1.3 billion as of March 31, 2017, with $0.4 billion designated as credit reserve as of June 30, 2017.

As of June 30, 2017, fixed-rate investments composed 87.4% and adjustable-rate investments composed 12.6% of the company’s RMBS and Agency Derivatives portfolio.

As of June 30, 2017, the company had residential mortgage loans held-for-investment with a carrying value of $3.1 billion and the company’s collateralized borrowings had a carrying value of $2.9 billion, resulting in net economic interests in consolidated securitization trusts of $240.1 million.

Mortgage Servicing Rights
As of June 30, 2017, the company held MSR on mortgage loans with UPB totaling $84.8 billion.⁽¹⁾ The MSR had a fair market value of $898.0 million, as of June 30, 2017, and the company recognized fair value losses of $46.6 million during the quarter ended June 30, 2017.

The company does not directly service mortgage loans, but instead contracts with fully licensed subservicers to handle substantially all servicing functions for the loans underlying the company’s MSR. The company recognized $51.3 million of servicing income and $10.9 million⁽¹⁾ of servicing expenses during the quarter ended June 30, 2017.

Granite Point Mortgage Trust
On June 28, 2017, the company completed the contribution of its equity interests in TH Commercial Holdings LLC to Granite Point simultaneously with the closing of Granite Point’s IPO. In exchange for the contribution, Granite Point issued to the company approximately 33.1 million shares of common stock of Granite Point. The company has previously announced its intention, subject to the discretion and approval of its Board of Directors and in compliance with applicable securities laws, to distribute these Granite Point shares to Two Harbors’ common stockholders by means of a special dividend following the expiration of a 120-day lockup period. As of the date of this release, the company has not issued an announcement nor has the Board of Directors made a final determination concerning any such distribution. For so long as Granite Point remains a majority-owned subsidiary of the company, financial information for Granite Point and its subsidiaries will be included in the company’s consolidated financial statements. As of June 30, 2017, Granite Point held senior, mezzanine and B-note commercial real estate assets with an aggregate carrying value of $1.8 billion. For both of the quarters ended June 30, 2017 and March 31, 2017, the annualized yield on Granite Point’s portfolio of commercial real estate assets was 6.2%.

(1) Excludes residential mortgage loans held-for-investment in securitization trusts for which the company is the named servicing administrator.

Other Investments and Risk Management Derivatives
The company held $1.1 billion notional of net short TBAs as of June 30, 2017, which are accounted for as derivative instruments in accordance with GAAP.

As of June 30, 2017, the company was a party to interest rate swaps and swaptions with a notional amount of $16.1 billion. Of this amount, $14.8 billion notional in swaps were utilized to economically hedge interest rate exposure (or duration), and $1.4 billion net notional in swaptions were utilized as macroeconomic hedges.

The following tables summarize the company’s investment portfolio as of June 30, 2017 and March 31, 2017:

“Residential credit again performed well in the second quarter, as this strategy continues to benefit from fundamental improvement and positive market technicals,” stated Bill Roth, Two Harbors’ Chief Investment Officer. “Additionally, we continued building our MSR position to pair with Agency RMBS, which we believe will allow us to deliver strong results and book value stability through a variety of rate environments.”

Financing Summary
The company reported a debt-to-equity ratio, defined as total borrowings under repurchase agreements, FHLB advances, revolving credit facilities and convertible senior notes to fund RMBS, Agency Derivatives, commercial real estate assets and MSR divided by total equity, of 4.5:1.0 and 4.9:1.0 as of June 30, 2017 and March 31, 2017, respectively. The company’s June 30, 2017 debt-to-equity ratio includes the consolidation of Granite Point’s assets and liabilities. Excluding the noncontrolling interest from the Granite Point IPO, as of June 30, 2017, the company’s debt-to-equity ratio would have been 4.7:1.0.

As of June 30, 2017, the company had outstanding $13.3 billion of repurchase agreements funding RMBS, Agency Derivatives and commercial real estate assets with 25 different counterparties. Excluding the effect of the company’s interest rate swaps, the repurchase agreements had a weighted average borrowing rate of 1.56% as of June 30, 2017.

The company’s wholly owned subsidiary, TH Insurance Holdings Company LLC (TH Insurance), is a member of the FHLB. As a member of the FHLB, TH Insurance has access to a variety of products and services offered by the FHLB, including secured advances. As of June 30, 2017, TH Insurance had $3.2 billion in outstanding secured advances, with a weighted average borrowing rate of 1.52%.

As of June 30, 2017, the company had outstanding $40.0 million of short-term borrowings secured by MSR collateral under revolving credit facilities with a weighted average borrowing rate of 4.83% and remaining maturities of 86 days.

As of June 30, 2017, the company’s aggregate repurchase agreements, FHLB advances, revolving credit facilities and convertible senior notes funding RMBS, Agency Derivatives, commercial real estate assets and MSR had a weighted average of 2.9 years to maturity.

The following table summarizes the company’s borrowings by collateral type under repurchase agreements, FHLB advances, revolving credit facilities and convertible senior notes outstanding as of June 30, 2017 and March 31, 2017, and the related cost of funds for the three months ended June 30, 2017 and March 31, 2017:

Conference Call
Two Harbors Investment Corp. will host a conference call on August 8, 2017 at 9:00 a.m. EDT to discuss second quarter 2017 financial results and related information. To participate in the teleconference, please call toll-free (877) 868-1835 (or (914) 495-8581 for international callers), conference code 42991143, approximately 10 minutes prior to the above start time. You may also listen to the teleconference live via the Internet on the company’s website at www.twoharborsinvestment.com in the Investor Relations section under the Events and Presentations link. For those unable to attend, a telephone playback will be available beginning at 12:00 p.m. EDT on August 8, 2017, through 12:00 a.m. EST on August 15, 2017. The playback can be accessed by calling (855) 859-2056 (or (404) 537-3406 for international callers), conference code 42991143. The call will also be archived on the company’s website in the Investor Relations section under the Events and Presentations link.

Two Harbors Investment Corp.
Two Harbors Investment Corp., a Maryland corporation, is a real estate investment trust that invests in residential mortgage-backed securities, mortgage servicing rights and other financial assets. Two Harbors is headquartered in New York, New York, and is externally managed and advised by PRCM Advisers LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Pine River Capital Management L.P. Additional information is available at www.twoharborsinvestment.com.

Forward-Looking Statements
This presentation includes “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Actual results may differ from expectations, estimates and projections and, consequently, readers should not rely on these forward-looking statements as predictions of future events. Words such as “expect,” “target,” “assume,” “estimate,” “project,” “budget,” “forecast,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “plan,” “may,” “will,” “could,” “should,” “believe,” “predicts,” “potential,” “continue,” and similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements involve significant risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from expected results, including, among other things, those described in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2016, and any subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, under the caption “Risk Factors.” Factors that could cause actual results to differ include, but are not limited to: the state of credit markets and general economic conditions; changes in interest rates and the market value of our assets; changes in prepayment rates of mortgages underlying our target assets; the rates of default or decreased recovery on the mortgages underlying our target assets; the occurrence, extent and timing of credit losses within our portfolio; the concentration of credit risks we are exposed to; declines in home prices; our ability to establish, adjust and maintain appropriate hedges for the risks in our portfolio; the availability and cost of our target assets; the availability and cost of financing; changes in the competitive landscape within our industry; our ability to effectively execute and to realize the benefits of strategic transactions and initiatives we have pursued or may in the future pursue; our ability to manage various operational risks and costs associated with our business; interruptions in or impairments to our communications and information technology systems; our ability to acquire MSR and successfully operate our seller-servicer subsidiary and oversee our subservicers; the impact of any deficiencies in the servicing or foreclosure practices of third parties and related delays in the foreclosure process; our exposure to legal and regulatory claims; legislative and regulatory actions affecting our business; the impact of new or modified government mortgage refinance or principal reduction programs; our ability to maintain our REIT qualification; the state of commercial real estate markets; our anticipated distribution of Granite Point shares to the holders of our common stock; and limitations imposed on our business due to our REIT status and our exempt status under the Investment Company Act of 1940.

Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance upon any forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date made. Two Harbors does not undertake or accept any obligation to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statement to reflect any change in its expectations or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based. Additional information concerning these and other risk factors is contained in Two Harbors’ most recent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). All subsequent written and oral forward-looking statements concerning Two Harbors or matters attributable to Two Harbors or any person acting on its behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statements above.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures
In addition to disclosing financial results calculated in accordance with United States generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), this press release and the accompanying investor presentation present non-GAAP financial measures, such as Core Earnings and Core Earnings per common share, that exclude certain items. Two Harbors’ management believes that these non-GAAP measures enable it to perform meaningful comparisons of past, present and future results of the company’s core business operations, and uses these measures to gain a comparative understanding of the company’s operating performance and business trends. The non-GAAP financial measures presented by the company represent supplemental information to assist investors in analyzing the results of its operations. However, because these measures are not calculated in accordance with GAAP, they should not be considered a substitute for, or superior to, the financial measures calculated in accordance with GAAP. The company’s GAAP financial results and the reconciliations from these results should be carefully evaluated. See the GAAP to non-GAAP reconciliation table on page 13 of this release.

Additional Information
Stockholders of Two Harbors and other interested persons may find additional information regarding the company at the SEC’s Internet site at www.sec.gov or by directing requests to: Two Harbors Investment Corp., Attn: Investor Relations, 590 Madison Avenue, 36th Floor, New York, NY 10022, telephone (612) 629-2500.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170807005971/en/

Two Harbors Investment Corp.
Investor Relations:
Margaret Field, 212-364-3663
margaret.field@twoharborsinvestment.com

Source: Two Harbors Investment Corp.

Released August 7, 2017