AG Mortgage Investment Trust, Inc. Reports Second Quarter Results

AG Mortgage Investment Trust, Inc. Reports Second Quarter Results

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- AG Mortgage Investment Trust, Inc. ("MITT" or the "Company") (NYS: MITT) today reported financial results for the quarter ended June 30, 2013. AG Mortgage Investment Trust, Inc. is an actively managed REIT that opportunistically invests in a diversified risk-adjusted portfolio of Agency RMBS, Non-Agency RMBS, ABS, CMBS, commercial loans and other real estate related assets. A reconciliation of core earnings to net income appears at the end of this press release.

SECOND QUARTER 2013 FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS

See footnotes at the end of this press release

• Net loss of $(2.66) per common share (6)

• Core Earnings of $0.83 per share

• $0.80 per share common dividend declared

• $1.78 per common share of undistributed taxable income (1) (13)

• $19.77 net book value per share as of June 30, 2013 (1), net of the second quarter dividend

INVESTMENT HIGHLIGHTS

• $4.5 billion investment portfolio value as of June 30, 2013 (2) (4)

  • 68.2% Agency RMBS investment portfolio

  • 31.8% credit investment portfolio, comprised of Non-Agency RMBS, ABS, CMBS, and commercial loan assets

• 1.96% net interest margin as of June 30, 2013 (3)

• 5.40x leverage as of June 30, 2013 (2) (7)

• Added approximately $1 billion notional of swaps during the quarter

  • Swap ratio at quarter end of 134% of Agency RMBS repo notional, or 95% of total repo notional (8)

• 8.1% constant prepayment rate ("CPR") for the second quarter on the Agency RMBS investment portfolio (5)

  • 9.6% CPR for the month of June

"MITT was not immune to the consequences of the challenging market environment during the second quarter," said David Roberts, Chief Executive Officer. "Based on the heightened volatility in interest rates and in Agency MBS spreads, we responded, and expect to continue to respond, with measures we believe will help maximize long-term franchise value for our shareholders."

KEY STATISTICS (2)

INVESTMENT PORTFOLIO

The following summarizes the Company's investment portfolio as of June 30, 2013 (2):

As of June 30, 2013, the weighted average yield on the Company's investment portfolio was 3.80% and its weighted average cost of funds was 1.84%. This resulted in a net interest margin of 1.96% as of June 30, 2013. (3)

The Company had net realized losses of $(76.6) million, or $(2.73) per share, during the quarter ended June 30, 2013. Of this amount, $(66.1) million, or $(2.36) per share, was from Agency RMBS, $(4.0) million, or $(0.14) per share, was from credit investments, and $(6.5) million, or $(0.23) per share, was from the net settlement of interest rate swaps. Of these amounts, $(43.3) million, or $(1.54) per share, was from the recognition of other-than-temporary impairment recorded on certain securities sold subsequent to quarter end.

The CPR for the Agency RMBS investment portfolio was 8.1% for the second quarter, and 9.6% for the month of June 2013. (5)

The weighted average cost basis of the Agency RMBS investment portfolio, excluding interest-only securities, was 103.8% as of June 30, 2013. The amortization of premiums (net of any accretion of discounts) on these securities for the second quarter of 2013 was $3.2 million, or $(0.12) per share. The unamortized net Agency RMBS premium as of June 30, 2013 was $108.9 million.

Premiums and discounts associated with purchases of the Company's securities are amortized or accreted into interest income over the estimated life of such securities, using the effective yield method. The Company recorded a $1.6 million, or $0.06 per share retrospective adjustment due to the change in projected cash flows on its bonds. Since the cost basis of the Company's Agency RMBS securities, excluding interest-only securities, exceeds the underlying principal balance by 3.8% as of June 30, 2013, slower actual and projected prepayments can have a meaningful positive impact, while faster actual or projected prepayments can have a meaningful negative impact on the Company's asset yields.

We have also entered into "to-be-announced" ("TBA") positions to facilitate the future purchase or sale of Agency RMBS. Under the terms of these TBAs, the Company agrees to purchase or sell, for future receipt or delivery, Agency RMBS with certain principal and interest specifications and certain types of underlying collateral, but the particular Agency RMBS to be received or delivered are not identified until shortly before (generally two days) the TBA settlement date. At June 30, 2013, we had $150.0 million net notional amount of TBA positions with net weighted average purchase and sale prices of 102.0% and 101.5%, respectively. As of June 30, 2013, our TBA portfolio had a net weighted average settlement date of July 17, 2013. We have recorded derivative assets and liabilities of $2.2 million and $4.5 million, respectively, reflecting TBA positions outstanding at June 30, 2013.

LEVERAGE AND HEDGING ACTIVITIES

The investment portfolio is financed with repurchase agreements as of June 30, 2013 as summarized below:

The Company has entered into repurchase agreements with 30 counterparties. We continue to rebalance our exposures to counterparties, add new counterparties and extend original maturities. The weighted average original maturity increased from 87 days as of March 31, 2013, after adjusting for the Wells Fargo Bank, National Association repurchase agreement facility renewed subsequent to first quarter-end, to 94 days as of June 30, 2013.

We have entered into interest rate swap agreements to hedge our portfolio. During the quarter, we added approximately $1 billion notional of interest rate swaps, which increased our swap ratio from 63% at March 31, 2013 to 95% at June 30, 2013 of total repo notional, and 83% at March 31, 2013 to 134% at June 30, 2013 of Agency RMBS repo notional. The Company's swaps as of June 30, 2013 are summarized as follows:

TAXABLE INCOME

The primary differences between taxable income and GAAP net income include (i) unrealized gains and losses associated with investment and derivative portfolios which are marked-to-market in current income for GAAP purposes, but excluded from taxable income until realized or settled, (ii) temporary differences related to amortization of net premiums paid on investments, (iii) the timing and amount of deductions related to stock-based compensation, and (iv) taxes. As of June 30, 2013, the Company had undistributed taxable income of approximately $1.78 per share (13), including the effects of dividends.

DIVIDEND

On June 6, 2013, the Company's board of directors declared the second quarter dividend of $0.80 per share of common stock that was paid on July 26, 2013 to stockholders of record as of June 18, 2013.

On May 14, 2013, the Company declared a dividend of $0.51563 per share of Series A preferred stock and a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share of Series B preferred stock. The preferred distributions were paid on June 17, 2013 to stockholders of record as of May 31, 2013.

STOCKHOLDER CALL

The Company invites stockholders, prospective stockholders and analysts to attend MITT's second quarter earnings conference call on August 7, 2013 at 11:00 am Eastern Time. The stockholder call can be accessed by dialing (888) 424-8151 (U.S. domestic) or (847) 585-4422 (international). Please enter code number 8846814#.

A presentation will accompany the conference call and will be available on the Company's website at www.agmit.com. Select the Q2 2013 Earnings Presentation link to download and print the presentation in advance of the stockholder call.

An audio replay of the stockholder call combined with the presentation will be made available on our website after the call. The replay will be available until midnight on August 21, 2013. If you are interested in hearing the replay, please dial (888) 843-7419 (U.S. domestic) or (630) 652-3042 (international). The conference ID number is 8846814#.

For further information or questions, please contact Lisa Yahr, the Company's Head of Investor Relations, at (212) 692-2282 or lyahr@angelogordon.com.

ABOUT AG MORTGAGE INVESTMENT TRUST, INC.

AG Mortgage Investment Trust, Inc. is a real estate investment trust that invests in, acquires and manages a diversified portfolio of residential mortgage assets, other real estate-related securities and financial assets. AG Mortgage Investment Trust, Inc. is externally managed and advised by AG REIT Management, LLC, a subsidiary of Angelo, Gordon & Co., L.P., an SEC-registered investment adviser that specializes in alternative investment activities.

Additional information can be found on the Company's website at www.agmit.com.

ABOUT ANGELO, GORDON & CO.

Angelo, Gordon & Co. was founded in 1988 and has approximately $24 billion under management. Currently, the firm's investment disciplines encompass five principal areas: (i) distressed debt and leveraged loans, (ii) real estate, (iii) mortgage-backed securities and other structured credit, (iv) private equity and special situations and (v) a number of hedge fund strategies. Angelo, Gordon & Co. employs over 280 employees, including more than 100 investment professionals, and is headquartered in New York, with associated offices in Amsterdam, Chicago, Los Angeles, London, Hong Kong, Seoul, Sydney and Tokyo.

FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS

This press release includes "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 related to future dividends, the credit component of our portfolio book valve, deploying capital, the preferred stock offering and repurchase agreements. Forward-looking statements are based on estimates, projections, beliefs and assumptions of management of the Company at the time of such statements and are not guarantees of future performance. Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties in predicting future results and conditions. Actual results could differ materially from those projected in these forward-looking statements due to a variety of factors, including, without limitation, changes in interest rates, changes in the yield curve, changes in prepayment rates, the availability and terms of financing, changes in the market value of our assets, general economic conditions, market conditions, conditions in the market for Agency RMBS, Non-Agency RMBS, ABS and CMBS securities and loans, and legislative and regulatory changes that could adversely affect the business of the Company. Additional information concerning these and other risk factors are contained in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"). Copies are available free of charge on the SEC's website, http://www.sec.gov/. The Company does not undertake or accept any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements to reflect any change in its expectations or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based.