Document

NEW YORK, February 27, 2024 -- Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Corp. (NYSE: NCDL) (“NCDL” or “the Company”), a business development company externally managed by its investment adviser, Churchill DLC Advisor LLC, and by its sub-adviser, Churchill Asset Management LLC ("Churchill"), today reported financial results for the full year and three months ended December 31, 2023.

"We are proud of NCDL’s successful IPO, which expands access to our institutional-caliber, leading middle market private credit platform to retail investors,” said Ken Kencel, President and Chief Executive Officer of Churchill. “With our experienced investment team, scaled investment platform, differentiated sourcing model and significant liquidity position, we believe NCDL is well positioned to take advantage of an attractive investment environment."

“We achieved record net investment income in 2023, an outstanding year characterized by continued earnings momentum,” said Shai Vichness, Chief Financial Officer. “In particular, Q4 2023 was the most active investment quarter in NCDL’s history. We ended the year with ~$425 million of available capital and reasonable leverage levels that we believe will allow us to operate opportunistically in the current market environment. This positions us to selectively invest to drive yield growth and strong dividend coverage.”

The Company’s Board of Directors has declared a first quarter 2024 distribution of $0.45 per share. The first quarter 2024 distribution is payable on April 29, 2024, to shareholders of record as of March 30, 2024. On January 10, 2024, the Board declared four special distributions of $0.10 per share, payable over the next year, the first of which is payable to shareholders of record as of March 30, 2024. Please refer to the Company's Form 10-K for additional details related to these distributions.

Investment income, attributable to interest and fees on our debt investments, increased to $161.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2023, from $82.5 million for the prior year, primarily due to an increase in interest income from higher weighted average interest rates and increased investment activity driven by an increase in our deployed capital. As of December 31, 2023, the weighted average yield (based upon fair value) of our debt investments increased to 11.9%, compared to 10.9% as of December 31, 2022, primarily due to increases in base interest rates. The shifting environment in base interest rates, such as the Secured Overnight Financing Rate ("SOFR") and any applicable alternate rates, may continue to affect our investment income in the future.

Total expenses increased to $77.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2023, compared to $37.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2022, primarily due to an increase in interest and debt financing expenses and management fees. Interest and debt financing expenses increased due to higher average daily borrowings and higher average interest rates. The increase in management fees were driven by our deployment of capital and our increased invested balance.

As of December 31, 2023, the Company had $67.4 million in cash and cash equivalents and $951.9 million in total aggregate principal amount of debt outstanding. Subject to borrowing base and other conditions, the Company had approximately $215.0 million available for additional borrowings under its existing credit facilities, as of December 31, 2023. Year-end net debt to equity was 1.26x and 1.33x as of December 31, 2023 and December 31, 2022, respectively.

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Corp. will hold a conference call to discuss its fourth quarter and full year 2023 financial results today at 12:00 PM Eastern Time. All interested parties may participate in the conference call by dialing (866)-605-1826 approximately 10-15 minutes prior to the call; international callers should dial (215)-268-9877. Participants should reference Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Corp. when prompted.

Nuveen Churchill Direct Lending Corp. (NCDL) is a specialty finance company focused primarily on investing in senior secured loans to private equity-owned U.S. middle market companies. NCDL has elected to be regulated as a business development company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended. NCDL is externally managed by its investment adviser, Churchill DLC Advisor LLC, and by its sub-adviser, Churchill Asset Management LLC. Both the investment adviser and sub-adviser are affiliates and subsidiaries of Nuveen, LLC (“Nuveen”) the investment management division of Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America (“TIAA”) and one of the largest asset managers globally. Churchill Asset Management LLC is a leading capital provider for private equity-backed middle market companies and operates as the exclusive U.S. middle market direct lending and private capital business of Nuveen and TIAA. Churchill Asset Management is a registered investment advisor and majority-owned, indirect subsidiary of Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America.

Certain information contained herein may constitute “forward-looking statements” that involve substantial risks and uncertainties. Such statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors and undue reliance should not be placed thereon. These forward-looking statements are not historical facts, but rather are based on current expectations, estimates and projections about us, our current and prospective portfolio investments, our industry, our beliefs, and our assumptions. Words such as “anticipates,” “expects,” “intends,” “plans,” “will,” “may,” “continue,” “believes,” “seeks,” “estimates,” “would,” “could,” “should,” “targets,” “projects,” “outlook,” “potential,” “predicts” and variations of these words and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors, some of which are beyond NCDL’s control and difficult to predict and could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or forecasted in the forward-looking statements including, without limitation, the risks, uncertainties and other factors identified in NCDL’s filings with the SEC. Investors should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which apply only as of the date on which NCDL makes them. NCDL does not undertake any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements or any other information contained herein, except as required by applicable law.


	December 31, 2023		December 31, 2022

Assets
Investments
Non-controlled/non-affiliated company investments, at fair value (amortized cost of $1,666,169 and $1,225,573, respectively)	$	1,641,686	$	1,200,376
Cash and cash equivalents	67,395		39,270
Restricted cash	50		50
Due from adviser expense support (See Note 5)	—		1,147

Interest receivable	17,674		11,898
Receivable for investments sold	3,919		719
Contribution receivable	127		458
Prepaid expenses	13		41

Total assets	$	1,730,864	$	1,253,959

Liabilities
Secured borrowings (net of $7,941 and $5,675 deferred financing costs, respectively) (See Note 6)	$	943,936	$	699,772
Payable for investments purchased	—		56
Interest payable	9,837		8,812
Due to adviser expense support (See Note 5)	632		1,147

Management fees payable	3,006		2,211
Distributions payable	22,683		14,325
Directors’ fees payable	96		96
Accounts payable and accrued expenses	2,789		2,583
Total liabilities	$	982,979	$	729,002

Commitments and contingencies (See Note 7)

Net Assets: (See Note 8)

Common shares, $0.01 par value, 500,000,000 and 500,000,000 shares authorized, 41,242,105 and 28,650,548 shares issued and outstanding as of December 31, 2023 and December 31, 2022, respectively	$	412	$	287
Paid-in-capital in excess of par value	776,719		548,600
Total distributable earnings (loss)	(29,246)		(23,930)
Total net assets	$	747,885	$	524,957

Total liabilities and net assets	$	1,730,864	$	1,253,959

Net asset value per share (See Note 9)	$	18.13	$	18.32


	For the Years Ended December 31,
		2023		2022		2021
Investment income:
Non-controlled/non-affiliated company investments:
Interest income		$	156,868	$	79,868	$	34,902
Payment-in-kind interest income		3,644		789		113
Dividend income		101		225		213
Other income		1,143		1,571		1,062
Total investment income		161,756		82,453		36,290

Expenses:
Interest and debt financing expenses		61,206		25,695		9,827
Management fees (See Note 5)		10,509		7,464		4,049
Professional fees		3,455		1,811		1,316

Directors' fees		383		383		383
Administration fees (See Note 5)		1,598		1,111		660
Other general and administrative expenses		751		684		324
Total expenses before expense support		77,902		37,148		16,559
Expense support (See Note 5)		(158)		(179)		(522)
Net expenses after expense support		77,744		36,969		16,037
Net investment income before excise taxes		84,012		45,484		20,253
Excise taxes		6		—		—
Net investment income		84,006		45,484		20,253

Realized and unrealized gain (loss) on investments:
Net realized gain (loss) on non-controlled/non-affiliated company investments		(7,952)		(262)		819
Net change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation):
Non-controlled/non-affiliated company investments		714		(27,912)		6,194
Income tax (provision) benefit		(830)		(24)		—
Total net change in unrealized gain (loss)		(116)		(27,936)		6,194
Total net realized and unrealized gain (loss) on investments		(8,068)		(28,198)		7,013

Net increase (decrease) in net assets resulting from operations		$	75,938	$	17,286	$	27,266

Per share data:
Net investment income per share - basic and diluted		$	2.52	$	1.95	$	1.58
Net increase (decrease) in net assets resulting from operations per share - basic and diluted		$	2.27	$	0.74	$	2.12
Weighted average common shares outstanding - basic and diluted		33,385,880		23,279,341		12,849,333


	For the Years Ended December 31,
	2023		2022
Investments:
Total investments, beginning of period	$	1,225,573	$	770,298
Purchase of investments	589,000		502,250
Proceeds from principal repayments and sales of investments	(146,428)		(49,264)
Payment-in-kind interest	3,268		789
Amortization of premium/accretion of discount, net	2,708		1,762
Net realized gain (loss) on investments	(7,952)		(262)
Total investments, end of period	$	1,666,169	$	1,225,573

Portfolio companies at beginning of period	145		96
Number of new portfolio companies funded	45		52
Number of portfolio companies sold or repaid	(11)		(3)
Portfolio companies at end of period	179		145
Count of investments	385		288
Count of industries	25		23