Newcastle Announces Second Quarter 2015 Results

2Q Core Earnings Per Share of $0.17

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Newcastle Investment Corp. (NYSE: NCT; “Newcastle”, the “Company”) today reported the following information for the quarter ended June 30, 2015.

SECOND QUARTER FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS

• Core Earnings of $12 million, or $0.17 per WA basic share
• Adjusted Funds from Operations (“AFFO”) of $27 million, or $0.40 per WA basic share
• GAAP Income of $17 million, or $0.26 per WA basic share 
  - Depreciation and amortization of $10 million, or $0.14 per WA basic share*

SECOND QUARTER & SUBSEQUENT HIGHLIGHTS

• Real Estate Debt Portfolio – As of June 30, 2015, the Real Estate Debt Portfolio consisted of $373 million of non-agency assets and $202 million of agency securities. During the quarter, the Company:
  • Sold $203 million of non-agency assets at an average price of 96% of par and $7 million of real estate properties, and received $32 million of pay downs, which generated $73 million of proceeds to NCT and $30 million of gain on sale
  • Collapsed CDOs VIII and IX: Fully repaid $159 million of third party debt and retained $245 million of assets
  • Generated $12 million of net investment income, or a 15% annualized return
• Golf Business – Owned, leased, and managed 88 golf properties across 14 states, of which 76% were located in the top 20 Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs).
  • On August 4, 2015, the Company agreed to repurchase its $157 million of third party golf debt at a price of 90.0% of par, or $141 million. The purchase is expected to close in the third quarter and be funded with cash and new debt financing
  • The golf business added 314 private club members to the same store portfolio year-over-year and increased public golf rounds played by approximately 55,000 during the first six months of 2015 compared to prior year
• Cash Dividends – In June, Newcastle declared a second quarter common cash dividend of $0.12 per share, or $8 million

WA: Weighted Average

*2Q 2015 GAAP Income/(Loss) includes $7 million of total depreciation and amortization charges, $1 million of amortization of favorable or unfavorable leasehold intangibles and $2 million of accretion on golf membership deposit liability. 1Q 2015 GAAP Income/(Loss) includes $7 million of total depreciation and amortization charges, $1 million of amortization of favorable or unfavorable leasehold intangibles, and $1 million of accretion on golf membership deposit liability. The accretion of membership deposit liability was recorded to interest expense and the amortization of favorable and unfavorable leasehold intangibles was recorded to operating expenses - golf.

**For a reconciliation of GAAP Income to Core Earnings and AFFO, please refer to the Reconciliation of Core Earnings and AFFO below.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

For additional information that management believes to be useful for investors, please refer to the presentation posted on the Investor Relations section of Newcastle’s website, www.newcastleinv.com. For consolidated investment portfolio information, please refer to the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q and Annual Report on Form 10-K, which are available on the Company’s website, www.newcastleinv.com.

EARNINGS CONFERENCE CALL

Newcastle’s management will host a conference call on Wednesday, August 5, 2015 at 9:00 A.M. Eastern Time. A copy of the earnings release will be posted to the Investor Relations section of Newcastle’s website, www.newcastleinv.com.

All interested parties are welcome to participate on the live call. The conference call may be accessed by dialing 1-866-393-1506 (from within the U.S.) or 1-706-634-0623 (from outside of the U.S.) ten minutes prior to the scheduled start of the call; please reference “Newcastle Second Quarter 2015 Earnings Call.”

A simultaneous webcast of the conference call will be available to the public on a listen-only basis at www.newcastleinv.com. Please allow extra time prior to the call to visit the website and download any necessary software required to listen to the internet broadcast.

A telephonic replay of the conference call will also be available two hours following the call’s completion through 11:59 P.M. Eastern Time on Wednesday, August 19, 2015 by dialing 1-855-859-2056 (from within the U.S.) or 1-404-537-3406 (from outside of the U.S.); please reference access code “4388519.”

Investment Portfolio

The following table summarizes Newcastle’s consolidated investment portfolio at June 30, 2015 (dollars in millions):

WA- Weighted average

(1) Net of impairment.
(2) Credit represents the weighted average of minimum rating for rated assets, the loan-to-value ratio (based on the appraised value at the time of purchase or refinancing) for non-rated commercial assets, or the FICO score for non-rated residential assets. Ratings provided above were determined by third party rating agencies, represent the most recent credit ratings available as of the reporting date and may not be current.
(3) Weighted average life is based on the timing of expected principal reduction on the asset.
(4) Represents non-consolidated CDO securities, excluding 8 securities with zero value, which had an aggregate face amount of $115.0 million.
(5) Represents an equity investment in a real estate owned property.
(6) Face amount of the golf investment represents the gross carrying amount, including intangibles and excludes accumulated depreciation and amortization.

(1) All per share amounts and shares outstanding for all periods reflect the 1-for-3 reverse stock split, which was effective after the close of trading on August 18, 2014 and the 1-for-2 reverse stock split, which was effective after the close of trading on October 22, 2014.

(A) Net of $1.9 million of deal expenses relating to the sale of the manufactured housing portfolio which were recorded to general and administrative expense under GAAP during 2014.
(B) Including accretion of membership deposit liability of $1.5 million and $2.9 million and amortization of favorable and unfavorable leasehold intangibles of $1.2 million and $2.5 million in the three and six months ended June 30, 2015, respectively. Including accretion of membership deposit liability of $1.4 million and $3.1 million and amortization of favorable and unfavorable leasehold intangibles of $1.2 million and $2.5 million in the three and six months ended June 30, 2014, respectively. The accretion of membership deposit liability was recorded to interest expense and the amortization of favorable and unfavorable leasehold intangibles was recorded to operating expenses - golf.

CORE EARNINGS

Newcastle has the following primary variables that impact its operating performance: (i) the current yield earned on its investments that are not included in non-recourse financing structures (i.e., unlevered investments, including investments in equity method investees and investments subject to recourse debt), (ii) the net yield it earns from its non-recourse financing structures, (iii) the interest expense and dividends incurred under its recourse debt and preferred stock, (iv) the net operating income on its real estate, media and golf investments, (v) its operating expenses and (vi) its realized and unrealized gains or losses, including any impairment, on its investments, derivatives and debt obligations. Core earnings is a non-GAAP measure of the operating performance of Newcastle excluding the sixth variable listed above. It also excludes depreciation and amortization charges, including the accretion of the membership deposit liability and the impact of the application of acquisition accounting, acquisition and spin-off related expenses and restructuring expenses. Core earnings is used by management to gauge the current performance of Newcastle without taking into account gains and losses, which, although they represent a part of our recurring operations, are subject to significant variability and are only a potential indicator of future economic performance. It is the judgment of management that depreciation and amortization charges are not indicative of operating performance and that acquisition and spin-off related expenses are not part of our core operations. Management believes that the exclusion from core earnings of the items specified above allows investors and analysts to readily identify the operating performance of the assets that form the core of our activity, assists in comparing the core operating results between periods, and enables investors to evaluate Newcastle’s current performance using the same measure that management uses to operate the business, which is among the factors considered when determining the amount of distributions to our shareholders.

Core earnings does not represent cash generated from operating activities in accordance with GAAP and therefore should not be considered an alternative to net income as an indicator of our operating performance or as an alternative to cash flow as a measure of our liquidity, and is not necessarily indicative of cash available to fund cash needs. For a further description of the differences between cash flows provided by operations and net income, see “– Liquidity and Capital Resources” in the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q and Annual Report on Form 10-K, which are available on the Company’s website, www.newcastleinv.com. Our calculation of core earnings may be different from the calculation used by other companies and, therefore, comparability may be limited.

(A) Depreciation and amortization charges for the three months ended June 30, 2015 includes $7.1 million of depreciation and amortization, $1.2 million of amortization of favorable or unfavorable leasehold intangibles and $1.5 million of accretion on the golf membership deposit liability. Depreciation and amortization charges for March 31, 2015 includes total depreciation and amortization of $6.8 million, $1.3 million of amortization of favorable or unfavorable leasehold intangibles and $1.4 million of accretion on golf membership deposit liability. The accretion of membership deposit liability was recorded to interest expense and the amortization of favorable and unfavorable leasehold intangibles was recorded to operating expenses - golf.

ADJUSTED FUNDS FROM OPERATIONS

The Company defines Adjusted Funds from Operations (“AFFO”) as net income available for common stockholders plus depreciation and amortization, including accretion of membership deposit liability and amortization of favorable and unfavorable leasehold intangibles. The Company believes AFFO provides useful information to investors regarding the performance of the Company, because it provides a measure of operating performance without regard to depreciation and amortization, which reduce the value of real estate assets over time even though actual real estate values may fluctuate with market conditions, accretion of membership deposit liability and amortization of favorable and unfavorable leasehold intangibles. AFFO does not represent cash generated from operating activities in accordance with GAAP and therefore should not be considered an alternative to net income (loss) as an indicator of Newcastle’s operating performance or as an alternative to cash flow as a measure of Newcastle’s liquidity, and it is not necessarily indicative of cash available to fund cash needs. Newcastle’s calculation of AFFO may be different from the calculation used by other companies and, therefore, comparability may be limited. The Company’s definition of AFFO differs from the definition of FFO established by the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts (“NAREIT”), which defines FFO as net income (or loss) (computed in accordance with GAAP) excluding losses or gains from sales of depreciable property, impairment of depreciable real estate, real estate-related depreciation and amortization and the portion of such items related to unconsolidated affiliates.

ABOUT NEWCASTLE

Newcastle focuses on investing in, and actively managing, real estate related assets. Newcastle conducts its operations to qualify as a REIT for federal income tax purposes. Newcastle is managed by an affiliate of Fortress Investment Group LLC, a global investment management firm.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

Certain items in this press release may constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are based on management's current expectations and beliefs and are subject to a number of trends and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements, many of which are beyond Newcastle’s control. The Company can give no assurance that its expectations will be attained. Accordingly, you should not place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements contained in this press release. For a discussion of some of the risks and important factors that could cause actual results to differ from such forward-looking statements, see the sections entitled “Risk Factors” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” in the Company’s most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q. Furthermore, new risks and uncertainties emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for the Company to predict or assess the impact of every factor that may cause its actual results to differ from those contained in any forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release. The Company expressly disclaims any obligation to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect any change in the Company's expectations with regard thereto or change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any statement is based.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20150805005720/en/

Newcastle Investment Corp.
Investor Relations
212-479-3195

Source: Newcastle Investment Corp.

Released August 5, 2015