Annaly Capital Management, Inc. Reports 4th Quarter 2014 Results

Annaly Capital Management, Inc. (NYSE:NLY) today announced its financial results for the quarter and year ended December 31, 2014.

Financial Performance

GAAP net loss for the quarter ended December 31, 2014 was $658.3 million, or $0.71 loss per average common share, compared to GAAP net income of $354.9 million, or $0.36 per average common share, for the quarter ended September 30, 2014, and GAAP net income of $1.0 billion, or $1.07 per average common share, for the quarter ended December 31, 2013. The decrease in net income for the quarter ended December 31, 2014 compared to the quarters ended September 30, 2014 and December 31, 2013 was primarily attributable to mark-to-market losses on our interest rate swaps. Core earnings for the quarter ended December 31, 2014 was $298.9 million, or $0.30 per average common share, compared to $308.6 million, or $0.31 per average common share, for the quarter ended September 30, 2014, and $350.1 million, or $0.35 per average common share, for the quarter ended December 31, 2013. "Core earnings" represents a non-GAAP measure and is defined as net income (loss) excluding gains or losses on disposals of investments and termination of interest rate swaps, unrealized gains or losses on interest rate swaps and Agency interest-only mortgage-backed securities, net gains and losses on trading assets, impairment losses, net income (loss) attributable to noncontrolling interest, and certain other non-recurring gains or losses.

GAAP net loss for the year ended December 31, 2014 was $842.3 million, or $0.96 loss per average common share and GAAP net income for the year ended December 31, 2013 was $3.7 billion, or $3.86 per average common share. Core earnings for the years ended December 31, 2014 and 2013, respectively, were $1.1 billion or $1.14 per average common share and $1.2 billion, or $1.21 per average common share.

Net interest margin for the quarters ended December 31, 2014, September 30, 2014 and December 31, 2013 was 1.56%, 1.61% and 1.78%, respectively. Net interest margin represents the Company’s annualized economic net interest income, inclusive of interest expense on interest rate swaps, divided by its average interest-earning assets. For the quarter ended December 31, 2014, the average yield on interest earning assets was 2.98% and the average cost of interest bearing liabilities, including interest expense on interest rate swaps, was 1.69%, which resulted in a net interest spread of 1.29%. Our average yield on interest earning assets was relatively unchanged for the quarter ended December 31, 2014 when compared to the quarter ended September 30, 2014. Our average yield on interest earning assets decreased for the quarter ended December 31, 2014 when compared to the quarter ended December 31, 2013 due to higher amortization expense in the current quarter resulting from faster prepayment speeds. Our average cost of interest bearing liabilities increased for the quarter ended December 31, 2014 when compared to the quarter ended September 30, 2014 due to higher interest expense on interest rate swaps. Our average cost of interest bearing liabilities decreased for the quarter ended December 31, 2014 when compared to the quarter ended December 31, 2013 due to lower interest rate swap and swaption notional balances as a percentage of repurchase agreements.

Wellington J. Denahan, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Annaly, commented on the Company’s results. “We fully expect the Federal Reserve to adjust policy accommodation sometime this year and the markets to endure higher levels of volatility. We look forward to the opportunities that will accompany that adjustment and remain comfortable in our continued ability to deliver attractive relative returns.”

Kevin Keyes, President of Annaly, added “In addition to our size, liquidity and industry-low leverage, our diversified Agency and Commercial strategies help to insulate the Company from heightened volatility while providing complimentary and more durable earnings over time.”

Asset Portfolio

Investment Securities, which are comprised of Agency mortgage-backed securities and Agency debentures, were $82.9 billion at December 31, 2014, compared to $82.8 billion at September 30, 2014 and $73.4 billion at December 31, 2013. As of December 31, 2014, substantially all of the Company’s Investment Securities were Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae mortgage-backed securities and debentures. Fixed-rate Agency mortgage-backed securities and debentures comprised 95% of the Company’s Investment Securities portfolio at December 31, 2014 and adjustable-rate Agency mortgage-backed securities and debentures comprised the remainder of the Company’s Investment Securities portfolio. During the quarter ended December 31, 2014, the Company disposed of $7.3 billion of Investment Securities, resulting in a realized gain of $3.2 million. During the quarter ended September 30, 2014, the Company disposed of $4.2 billion of Investment Securities, resulting in a realized gain of $4.7 million. During the quarter ended December 31, 2013, the Company disposed of $11.9 billion of Investment Securities, resulting in a realized gain of $49.6 million.

During the year ended December 31, 2014, the Company disposed of $22.5 billion of Investment Securities, resulting in a realized gain of $94.5 million. During the year ended December 31, 2013, the Company disposed of $56.8 billion of Investment Securities, resulting in a realized gain of $424.1 million.

The weighted average experienced constant prepayment rate for the quarters ended December 31, 2014, September 30, 2014, and December 31, 2013, was 8%, 9% and 7%, respectively. The net amortization of premiums and accretion of discounts on Investment Securities for the quarters ended December 31, 2014, September 30, 2014, and December 31, 2013, was $198.0 million, $197.7 million, and $30.7 million, respectively. The total net premium balance on Investment Securities at December 31, 2014, September 30, 2014, and December 31, 2013, was $5.3 billion, $5.5 billion, and $4.6 billion, respectively. The weighted average amortized cost basis of the Company’s non-interest-only Investment Securities at December 31, 2014, September 30, 2014, and December 31, 2013, was 105.3%, 105.4%, and 105.0%, respectively. The weighted average amortized cost basis of the Company’s interest-only Investment Securities at December 31, 2014, September 30, 2014, and December 31, 2013, was 15.4%, 15.2%, and 14.1%, respectively.

Commercial real estate debt and preferred equity, including securitized loans, totaled $1.5 billion and investments in commercial real estate totaled $210.0 million at December 31, 2014. Commercial real estate debt and preferred equity, including securitized loans, totaled $1.6 billion and investments in commercial real estate totaled $73.8 million at September 30, 2014. The commercial investment portfolio, net of financing, represented 11% of stockholders’ equity at December 31, 2014 and September 30, 2014. The weighted average yield on commercial real estate debt and preferred equity as of December 31, 2014, September 30, 2014, and December 31, 2013, was 9.00%, 9.23% and 9.17%, respectively. The weighted average levered equity yield on investments in commercial real estate, excluding real estate held-for-sale, as of December 31, 2014, September 30, 2014, and December 31, 2013, was 13.95%, 11.46% and 10.80%, respectively.

Capital and Funding

At December 31, 2014, total stockholders’ equity was $13.3 billion. Leverage at December 31, 2014, September 30, 2014, and December 31, 2013, was 5.4:1, 5.4:1 and 5.0:1, respectively. Leverage includes repurchase agreements, Convertible Senior Notes, securitized debt, loan participation and mortgages payable. Securitized debt, loan participation and mortgages payable are non-recourse to the Company. At December 31, 2014, September 30, 2014, and December 31, 2013, the Company’s capital ratio, which represents the ratio of stockholders’ equity to total assets, was 15.1%, 15.0%, and 15.1%, respectively. At December 31, 2014, September 30, 2014, and December 31, 2013, the Company’s net capital ratio was 15.1%, 15.0%, and 15.9%, respectively. The Company’s net capital ratio takes into account the net balances of its reverse repurchase agreements and repurchase agreements, U.S Treasury securities and U.S Treasury securities sold, not yet purchased, and securities borrowed and securities loaned, as applicable. On a GAAP basis, the Company produced an annualized return (loss) on average equity for the quarters ended December 31, 2014, September 30, 2014, and December 31, 2013 of (19.91%), 10.69%, and 32.46%, respectively. On a Core earnings basis, the Company provided an annualized return on average equity for the quarters ended December 31, 2014, September 30, 2014, and December 31, 2013, of 9.04%, 9.30%, and 11.05%, respectively.

At December 31, 2014, September 30, 2014, and December 31, 2013 the Company had outstanding $71.4 billion, $69.6 billion, and $61.8 billion of repurchase agreements, respectively, with weighted average remaining maturities of 141 days, 159 days, and 204 days, respectively, and with weighted average borrowing rates of 1.62%, 1.61%, and 2.33%, respectively, after giving effect to the Company’s interest rate swaps.

At December 31, 2014, September 30, 2014, and December 31, 2013, the Company had a common stock book value per share of $13.10, $12.87 and $12.13, respectively.

The following table presents the principal balance and weighted average rate of repurchase agreements by maturity at December 31, 2014:

(1) Approximately 15% of the total repurchase agreements have a remaining maturity over 1 year.

Hedge Portfolio

At December 31, 2014, the Company had outstanding interest rate swaps with a net notional amount of $31.5 billion and interest rate swaptions with a net notional amount of $1.8 billion, representing 47% of the Company’s repurchase agreements. Interest rate swaps and swaptions represented 48% of the Company’s repurchase agreements at September 30, 2014 and 92% of the Company’s repurchase agreements at December 31, 2013. Changes in the unrealized gains or losses on the interest rate swaps are reflected in the Company’s Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income (Loss). The purpose of the interest rate swaps is to mitigate the risk of rising interest rates that affect the Company’s cost of funds. Since the Company pays a fixed rate and receives a floating rate on the notional amount of the swaps, the intended effect of the swaps is to lock in a cost of financing. As of December 31, 2014, the swap portfolio, excluding forward starting swaps, had a weighted average pay rate of 2.49%, a weighted average receive rate of 0.22% and weighted average maturity of 8.38 years.

At December 31, 2014, the Company had outstanding interest rate swaptions with a net notional amount of $1.8 billion. Changes in the unrealized gains or losses on the interest rate swaptions are reflected in the Company’s Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income (Loss). The interest rate swaptions provide the Company with the option to enter into an interest rate swap agreement for a specified notional amount, duration, and pay and receive rates. As of December 31, 2014, the long swaption portfolio had a weighted average pay rate of 2.88% and weighted average expiration of 3.59 months. As of December 31, 2014, there were no short swaption positions.

The following table summarizes certain characteristics of the Company’s interest rate swaps at December 31, 2014:

The following table summarizes certain characteristics of the Company’s interest rate swaptions at December 31, 2014:

Key Metrics

The following table presents key metrics of the Company’s portfolio, liabilities and hedging positions, and performance as of and for the quarters ended December 31, 2014, September 30, 2014, and December 31, 2013:

The following table presents a reconciliation between GAAP net income and Core earnings for the quarters ended December 31, 2014, September 30, 2014, and December 31, 2013:

The following table presents a reconciliation between GAAP net income and Core earnings for the years ended December 31, 2014 and 2013:

The following table presents the components of the Company’s interest income and interest expense for the quarters ended December 31, 2014, September 30, 2014, and December 31, 2013:

(1) Consists of commercial real estate debt and preferred equity and corporate debt.

Dividend Declarations

Common dividends declared for the quarters ended December 31, 2014, September 30, 2014, and December 31, 2013 were $0.30, $0.30, and $0.30 per common share, respectively. The annualized dividend yield on the Company’s common stock for the quarter ended December 31, 2014, based on the December 31, 2014 closing price of $10.81, was 11.10%, compared to 11.24% for the quarter ended September 30, 2014, and 12.04% for the quarter ended December 31, 2013.

Other Information

Annaly’s principal business objective is to generate net income for distribution to its shareholders from its investments. Annaly is a Maryland corporation that has elected to be taxed as a real estate investment trust (“REIT”). Annaly is managed and advised by Annaly Management Company LLC.

The Company prepares a supplement to provide additional quarterly information for the benefit of its shareholders. The supplement can be found at the Company’s website in the Investor Relations section under “Quarterly Supplemental Information”.

Conference Call

The Company will hold the fourth quarter 2014 earnings conference call on February 25, 2015 at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time. The number to call is 888-317-6003 for domestic calls and 412-317-6061 for international calls. The conference passcode is 1590772. There will also be an audio webcast of the call on www.annaly.com. The replay of the call is available for one week following the conference call. The replay number is 877-344-7529 for domestic calls and 412-317-0088 for international calls and the conference passcode is 10060573. If you would like to be added to the e-mail distribution list, please visit www.annaly.com, click on Investor Relations, then select Email Alerts and complete the email notification form.

This news release and our public documents to which we refer contain or incorporate by reference certain forward-looking statements which are based on various assumptions (some of which are beyond our control) and may be identified by reference to a future period or periods or by the use of forward-looking terminology, such as "may," "will," "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "continue," or similar terms or variations on those terms or the negative of those terms. Actual results could differ materially from those set forth in forward-looking statements due to a variety of factors, including, but not limited to, changes in interest rates; changes in the yield curve; changes in prepayment rates; the availability of mortgage-backed securities and other securities for purchase; the availability of financing and, if available, the terms of any financings; changes in the market value of our assets; changes in business conditions and the general economy; our ability to grow the commercial mortgage business; credit risks related to our investments in commercial real estate assets and corporate debt; our ability to consummate any contemplated investment opportunities; changes in government regulations affecting our business; our ability to maintain our qualification as a REIT for federal income tax purposes; our ability to maintain our exemption from registration under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended; risks associated with the businesses of our subsidiaries, including the investment advisory business of a wholly-owned subsidiary and the broker-dealer business of a wholly-owned subsidiary. For a discussion of the risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements, see "Risk Factors" in our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and any subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q. We do not undertake, and specifically disclaim any obligation, to publicly release the result of any revisions which may be made to any forward-looking statements to reflect the occurrence of anticipated or unanticipated events or circumstances after the date of such statements.

(1) Derived from the audited consolidated financial statements at December 31, 2013.

(2) Includes senior securitized mortgages of consolidated VIE with a carrying value of $398.6 million, $398.4 million, $398.3 million, $398.1 million and $0, respectively.