Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund Announces September 30, 2024 Financial Results and Declares Fourth Quarter 2024 Regular Dividend of $0.50 per Share
Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund Announces September 30, 2024 Financial Results and Declares Fourth Quarter 2024 Regular Dividend of $0.50 per Share

NEW YORK, NY, November 7, 2024 — Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund (NYSE: MSDL) (“MSDL” or the “Company”), a business development company externally managed by MS Capital Partners Adviser Inc. (the “Adviser”), today announced its financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2024.


QUARTERLY HIGHLIGHTS

  • Net investment income of $58.7 million, or $0.66 per share, as compared to $56.1 million, or $0.63 per share, for the quarter ended June 30, 2024;
  • Net asset value of $20.83 per share, flat as compared to June 30, 2024;
  • Debt-to-equity was 0.99x as of September 30, 2024, as compared to 0.90x as of June 30, 2024;
  • New investment commitments of $455.4 million, fundings of $377.0 million and sales and repayments of $252.9 million, resulting in net funded deployment of $124.1 million; and
  • The Company’s Board of Directors (the “Board”) declared a regular dividend of $0.50 per share to shareholders of record as of September 30, 2024 as well as a special dividend, which was previously declared by the Board on January 11, 2024, of $0.10 per share to stockholders of record as of August 5, 2024.


SELECTED FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS
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RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
Total investment income for the t­hird quarter ended September 30, 2024 was $109.8 million, compared to $104.2 million for the second quarter ended June 30, 2024. The increase was driven by deployment of capital and repayment related income.

Total expenses for the quarter ended September 30, 2024 were $51.0 million, compared to $48.1 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2024. The increase in expenses quarter over quarter was attributable to higher interest and other financing expenses driven by an increase in weighted average debt outstanding.

Net investment income for the quarter ended September 30, 2024 was $58.7 million, or $0.66 per share, compared to $56.1 million, or $0.63 per share, for the quarter ended June 30, 2024.

For the quarter ended September 30, 2024, net change in unrealized appreciation on investments was $5.4 million, offset by realized losses of $11.0 million.
 

PORTFOLIO AND INVESTMENT ACTIVITY
As of September 30, 2024, the Company’s investment portfolio had a fair value of approximately $3.6 billion, comprised of 200 portfolio companies across 33 industries, with an average investment size of $18.2 million, or 0.5% of our total portfolio on a fair value basis. The composition of the Company’s investments was the following:table


Investment activity for the three months ended September 30, 2024 and June 30, 2024, was as follows:

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Total weighted average yield of investments in debt securities at amortized cost and fair value was 11.0% and 11.0%, respectively, as of September 30, 2024, compared to 11.6% and 11.7%, respectively, as of June 30, 2024. Floating rate debt investments as a percentage of total portfolio on a fair value basis was 99.6% as of September 30, 2024, unchanged compared to June 30, 2024. As of September 30, 2024, certain investments in two portfolio companies were on non-accrual status, representing approximately 0.2% of total investments at amortized cost.
 

CAPITAL AND LIQUIDITY
As of September 30, 2024, the Company had total principal debt outstanding of $1,842.0 million, including $246.0 million outstanding in the Company’s BNP funding facility, $546.0 million outstanding in the Company’s Truist credit facility, $275.0 million outstanding in the Company’s senior unsecured notes due September 2025, $425.0 million outstanding in the Company’s senior unsecured notes due February 2027 and $350.0 million outstanding in the Company’s senior unsecured notes due May 2029. Additionally, on August 21, 2024, the Company executed an amendment to the BNP Funding Facility, which extended the maturity from September 2028 to August 2029 and reduced the applicable margin on borrowings from 2.85% to 2.25%. The combined weighted average interest rate on debt outstanding was 6.45% for the quarter ended September 30, 2024. As of September 30, 2024, the Company had $1,102.7 million of availability under its credit facilities and $88.4 million in unrestricted cash. Debt to equity was 0.99x and 0.90x as of September 30, 2024 and June 30, 2024, respectively.
 

SHARE REPURCHASES
On January 25, 2024, the Company entered into a share repurchase plan to acquire up to $100 million in the aggregate of the Company’s Common Stock at prices below NAV. For the three months ended September 30, 2024, the Company purchased 429,653 shares at an average price of $20.06 per share. 
 

OTHER DEVELOPMENTS

  • On November 4, 2024, the Board declared a regular distribution of $0.50 per share, which is payable on January 24, 2025 to shareholders of record as of December 31, 2024.
  • The Board previously declared a $0.10 per share special dividend to shareholders of record as of November 4, 2024, which is payable on January 24, 2025.

 

CONFERENCE CALL INFORMATION
Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund will host a conference call on Friday, November 8, 2024 at 10:00 am ET to review its financial results and conduct a question-and-answer session. All interested parties are invited to participate in the live earnings conference call by using the following dial-in numbers or audio webcast link available on the MSDL Investor Relations website: 

To avoid potential delays, please join at least 10 minutes prior to the start of the earnings call. An archived replay will also be available on the MSDL Investor Relations website.
 

About Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund
Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund (NYSE: MSDL) is a non-diversified, externally managed specialty finance company focused on lending to middle-market companies. MSDL has elected to be regulated as a business development company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended. MSDL is externally managed by MS Capital Partners Adviser Inc., an indirect, wholly owned subsidiary of Morgan Stanley. MSDL is not a subsidiary of or consolidated with Morgan Stanley. For more information about Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund, please visit www.msdl.com.
 

Forward-Looking Statements
Statements included herein or on the webcast/conference call may constitute “forward-looking statements,” which relate to future events or MSDL’s future performance or financial condition. These statements are not guarantees of future performance, condition or results and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Actual results and conditions may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements as a result of a number of factors, including those described from time to time in MSDL’s filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. MSDL undertakes no duty to update any forward-looking statements made herein or on the webcast/conference call.

 

Contacts

Investors
Michael Occi
msdl@morganstanley.com

Media
Alyson Barnes
212-762-0514
alyson.barnes@morganstanley.com

 

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