Capstead Mortgage Corporation Announces Second Quarter 2014 Results

Capstead Mortgage Corporation (NYSE: CMO) (“Capstead” or the “Company”) today announced financial results for the quarter ended June 30, 2014.

Second Quarter 2014 Highlights

• Generated earnings of $36.6 million or $0.35 per diluted common share
• Paid common dividend of $0.34 per common share
• Financing spreads on residential mortgage investments decreased eight basis points to 1.22% with mortgage prepayments increasing 2.06% CPR to 17.22% CPR
• Book value increased $0.10 to $12.69 per common share
• Agency-guaranteed ARM portfolio and leverage ended the quarter at $13.71 billion and 8.52 times long-term investment capital, respectively

Capstead reported net income of $36.6 million or $0.35 per diluted common share for the quarter ended June 30, 2014. This compares to net income of $38.4 million or $0.37 per diluted common share for the quarter ended March 31, 2014. The Company paid a second quarter 2014 dividend of $0.34 per common share on July 18, 2014.

Second Quarter Earnings and Related Discussion

Capstead is a self-managed real estate investment trust, or REIT, for federal income tax purposes. The Company earns income from investing in a leveraged portfolio of short-duration residential adjustable-rate mortgage pass-through securities, referred to as ARM securities, issued and guaranteed by government-sponsored enterprises, either Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, or by an agency of the federal government, Ginnie Mae. This strategy differentiates the Company from its peers because ARM loans underlying its investment portfolio can reset to more current interest rates within a relatively short period of time. This positions the Company to benefit from a potential recovery in financing spreads that typically contract during periods of rising interest rates and can result in smaller fluctuations in portfolio values compared to portfolios containing a significant amount of longer-duration ARM and fixed-rate mortgage securities. Duration is a common measure of market price sensitivity to interest rate movements and a shorter duration generally indicates less interest rate risk.

For the quarter ended June 30, 2014, the Company reported net interest margins related to its residential mortgage investments of $41.6 million compared to $44.0 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2014. Financing spreads on residential mortgage investments averaged 1.22% during the second quarter, a decrease of eight basis points from financing spreads earned during the first quarter reflecting an increase in mortgage prepayments from seasonally-low first quarter levels. Financing spreads on residential mortgage investments is a non-GAAP financial measure based solely on yields on residential mortgage investments, net of borrowing rates on repurchase arrangements and similar borrowings (referred to as repo borrowing rates), adjusted for currently-paying interest rate swap agreements held for hedging purposes.

Yields on Capstead’s residential mortgage investments averaged 1.71% during the second quarter of 2014, a decrease of eight basis points from yields reported for the first quarter. This decrease is primarily due to a $2.9 million increase in investment premium amortization largely as a result of an increase in average mortgage prepayment rates to an annualized constant prepayment rate, or CPR, of 17.22% from 15.16% CPR reported for the first quarter. The increase in mortgage prepayments largely reflects seasonal factors, as well as marginally lower prevailing mortgage interest rates.

The following table illustrates the progression of the Company’s portfolio of residential mortgage investments for the quarter and six months ended June 30, 2014 (dollars in thousands):

At June 30, 2014 repurchase arrangements and similar borrowings totaled $12.79 billion, consisting primarily of 30-day borrowings with 25 counterparties at interest rates averaging 0.31%, one basis point lower than repo borrowing rates at March 31, 2014. Repo borrowing rates averaged 0.32% during the second quarter of 2014, two basis points lower than first quarter average rates. After adjusting for currently-paying interest rate swap agreements, portfolio financing-related borrowing rates averaged 0.49% during the second quarter, unchanged from the first quarter as the benefits of lower repo borrowing rates were offset by a greater percentage of swap agreements moving into current-pay status. During the second quarter, $400 million notional amount of swap agreements requiring fixed rate interest payments averaging 0.51% matured, while $1.10 billion notional amount of previously-acquired forward-starting swap agreements requiring fixed rate interest payments averaging 0.47% moved into current-pay status. Total portfolio financing-related swap agreements held by the Company increased by $300 million quarter-over-quarter to $7.50 billion notional amount with average contract expirations of 16 months at quarter-end. These swap agreements consisted of (a) $6.40 billion notional amount of currently-paying swap agreements requiring fixed rate interest payments averaging 0.49% for average remaining interest-payment terms of 14 months, and (b) $1.10 billion notional amount of forward-starting swap agreements with average contract expirations of 25 months that will begin requiring fixed rate interest payments averaging 0.59% for two-year periods that commence on various dates between July and October 2014. Variable payments that are received by the Company under portfolio financing-related swap agreements typically are based on one-month LIBOR and offset a significant portion of the interest owed on a like amount of the Company’s borrowings under repurchase arrangements.

Capstead remains a clear leader among its mortgage REIT peers in terms of operating efficiency. Total operating costs, expressed as an annualized percentage of long-term investment capital, averaged 0.80% during the second quarter of 2014 and 0.88% during the first half of 2014. This compares to an average of 0.89% for all of 2013.

Investment Capital, Portfolio Leverage and Book Value per Common Share

Capstead’s long-term investment capital, which consists of common and perpetual preferred stockholders’ equity and $100 million of long-term, unsecured borrowings, increased by $23 million during the second quarter of 2014 to $1.50 billion at quarter-end. This increase reflects $12.5 million of new Series E preferred capital issued pursuant to an at-the-market, continuous offering program as well as higher portfolio pricing levels and earnings in excess of common dividend distributions, partially offset by lower pricing levels for interest rate swap agreements held as hedges of the Company’s borrowings. With portfolio acquisitions exceeding runoff during the quarter, portfolio leverage (related borrowings divided by long-term investment capital) at June 30, 2014 was unchanged from March 31, 2014 at 8.52 to one. The following table illustrates the progression of the Company’s book value per common share (total stockholders’ equity, less preferred share liquidation preferences, divided by common shares outstanding) for the quarter and six months ended June 30, 2014:

Nearly all of Capstead’s residential mortgage investments and all of its interest rate swap agreements are reflected at fair value on the Company’s balance sheet and are therefore included in the calculation of book value per common share. Fair value is impacted by market conditions, including changes in interest rates, and the availability of financing at reasonable rates and leverage levels, among other factors. The Company’s investment strategy attempts to mitigate these risks by focusing on investments in agency-guaranteed residential mortgage pass-through securities, which are considered to have little, if any, credit risk and are collateralized by ARM loans with interest rates that reset periodically to more current levels. Because of these characteristics, the fair value of Capstead’s portfolio is less vulnerable to significant pricing declines caused by credit concerns or rising interest rates compared to portfolios containing a significant amount of non-agency and/or fixed-rate mortgage securities.

Management Remarks

Commenting on current operating and market conditions, Andrew F. Jacobs, President and Chief Executive Officer, said, “Mortgage prepayments increased from two-year lows reported in the first quarter in large part due to seasonal factors as well as marginally lower mortgage interest rates available to borrowers which translated into a $0.02 per common share decline in our earnings to $0.35 for the quarter. Book value increased $0.10 per common share during the quarter largely due to higher portfolio pricing levels, and we raised an additional $12.5 million in new 7.50% Series E preferred capital. We put these increases in our capital base to work by increasing the size of our portfolio, maintaining portfolio leverage at 8.52 to one. We are very comfortable with this level of leverage given the current health and breadth of the financing market for agency-guaranteed mortgage securities and the composition of our portfolio.

“The trend experienced in recent quarters of marginally lower repo borrowing rates has continued into July, which could, if it persists, offset modest upward pressure on borrowing costs from additional forward-starting swaps moving into current-pay status in the third quarter. More importantly, a healthy repo market allows us to continue executing our strategy of managing a conservatively leveraged portfolio of agency-guaranteed residential ARM securities that can produce attractive risk-adjusted returns over the long term while reducing, but not eliminating, sensitivity to changes in interest rates. While we anticipate manageably higher mortgage prepayment rates during the third quarter due primarily to the continuation of the summer selling season and a reasonably strong housing market, we expect mortgage prepayments to again moderate in the fourth quarter. Overall, we view these relatively favorable conditions for borrowings and mortgage prepayments conducive to generating satisfactory returns for the remainder of the year.”

Earnings Conference Call Details

An earnings conference call and live audio webcast will be hosted Thursday, July 31, 2014 at 9:00 a.m. ET. The conference call may be accessed by dialing toll free (877) 505-6547 in the U.S., (855) 669-9657 for Canada, or (412) 902-6660 for international callers. A live audio webcast of the conference call can be accessed via the investor relations section of the Company’s website at www.capstead.com, and an audio archive of the webcast will be available for approximately 60 days. The audio replay will be available one hour after the end of the conference call through September 30, 2014. The replay can be accessed by dialing toll free (877) 344-7529 in the U.S., (855) 669-9658 for Canada, or (412) 317-0088 for international callers and entering conference number 10049659.

Cautionary Statement Concerning Forward-looking Statements

This document contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements include, without limitation, any statement that may predict, forecast, indicate or imply future results, performance or achievements, and may contain the words “believe,” “anticipate,” “expect,” “estimate,” “intend,” “will be,” “will likely continue,” “will likely result,” or words or phrases of similar meaning. Forward-looking statements are based largely on the expectations of management and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties including, but not limited to, the following:

• changes in general economic conditions;
• fluctuations in interest rates and levels of mortgage prepayments;
• the effectiveness of risk management strategies;
• the impact of differing levels of leverage employed;
• liquidity of secondary markets and credit markets;
• the availability of financing at reasonable levels and terms to support investing on a leveraged basis;
• the availability of new investment capital;
• the availability of suitable qualifying investments from both an investment return and regulatory perspective;
• changes in legislation or regulation affecting Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and similar federal government agencies and related guarantees;
• other changes in legislation or regulation affecting the mortgage and banking industries;
• changes in market conditions as a result of Federal Reserve monetary policy or federal government fiscal challenges;
• deterioration in credit quality and ratings of existing or future issuances of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac or Ginnie Mae securities;
• changes in legislation or regulation affecting exemptions for mortgage REITs from regulation under the Investment Company Act of 1940; and
• increases in costs and other general competitive factors.

In addition to the above considerations, actual results and liquidity are affected by other risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results to be significantly different from those expressed or implied by any forward-looking statements included herein. It is not possible to identify all of the risks, uncertainties and other factors that may affect future results. In light of these risks and uncertainties, the forward-looking events and circumstances discussed herein may not occur and actual results could differ materially from those anticipated or implied in the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date the statement is made and the Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Accordingly, readers of this document are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements included herein.

Financing spreads on residential mortgage investments, a non-GAAP financial measure, differs from total financing spreads, an all-inclusive GAAP measure, that is based on all interest-earning assets and all interest-paying liabilities. Management believes that presenting financing spreads on residential mortgage investments provides useful information for evaluating the performance of the Company’s portfolio. The following reconciles these two measures.

After consideration of portfolio financing-related swap positions, Capstead’s residential mortgage investments and related borrowings had durations as of June 30, 2014 of approximately 11½ and 9¼ months, respectively, for a net duration gap of approximately 2¼ months. Duration is a measure of market price sensitivity to changes in interest rates, and a shorter duration generally indicates less interest rate risk.