BUFFALO, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Rand Capital Corporation (Nasdaq: RAND), a business development company, announced its results for the quarter ended March 31, 2020.

Allen F. (“Pete”) Grum, President and Chief Executive Officer of Rand Capital, commented, “These are certainly unprecedented times with the COVID-19 global pandemic. We are actively engaged in conversation with our portfolio companies to ascertain their efforts to address the impacts on their businesses and believe they are being proactive and aggressive in the actions they are taking including cost cuts and accessing federal loan programs.”

He continued, “In the midst of this turmoil, we continue our efforts to transform Rand into a dividend-paying BDC and create a better investment opportunity for shareholders. The process is not simple and has required the following:

• We are distributing $23.7 million in accumulated earnings and profits to our shareholders consisting of approximately $4.75 million in cash and $19.0 million in Rand common stock.
• We are refocusing our investments into income producing assets.
• Our Board has approved a 1:9 reverse stock split, and
• The Board amended our share repurchase program to authorize the repurchase of up to $1.5 million in Rand stock.

Importantly, we believe during these challenging times that the share repurchase authorization further reinforces our long-term optimism regarding our prospects.”

First Quarter 2020 Financial Highlights

• Net asset value (“NAV”) at March 31, 2020 was $3.69 per share, up from $3.66 per share at December 31, 2019. The increase was primarily due to the $2.9 million in net investment income and net gains realized from sales of assets, including Outmatch Holdings, LLC. This more than offset the $2.5 million net change in unrealized depreciation on assets which included $1.8 million associated with the write off of a deferred tax asset associated with the conversion to a regulated investment company (“RIC”) for U.S. federal tax purposes beginning with tax year 2020.
• At March 31, 2020, portfolio fair value was $36.0 million and consolidated cash was $29.1 million, of which $15.6 million was available for corporate purposes and $13.5 million is restricted to lending by the SBIC.

Total investment income was $636,000 compared with $719,000 in the same period last year. The decline was mostly the result of lower fee income. The first quarter of 2019 benefitted from an atypically high level of fee income related to a large loan repayment.

Total expenses were $517,000 compared with $690,000 in the prior-year period. Lower expenses reflect the benefit of the conversion to an externally-managed BDC structure.

The $419,000 income tax benefit for the quarter was the result of the conversion to a regulated investment company and the allowance in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act to carryback net operating loss from certain allowed prior years.

Net investment gain was $538,000 compared with $23,000 in the first quarter of 2019.

Portfolio Companies Address COVID-19 Situation

Rand believes that its portfolio companies are taking necessary actions to ensure the safety of their employees, customers and suppliers during the COVID-19 pandemic by enacting work from home processes, staggered manufacturing schedules, increased sanitation efforts and social distancing. In addition, most of the portfolio companies that qualify have applied for available federal loans resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Rand Capital Management, the external investment adviser for Rand, has also implemented remote operations and staggered schedules to maintain social distancing.

Portfolio Additions

During the quarter, Rand invested $1.7 million in the public equity of other business development companies. These investments provide income through dividends and are also more liquid assets than is typical for the portfolio.

BDC investments included:

*Source: Nasdaq.com

As of March 31, 2020, Rand’s portfolio consisted of 36 active companies. At that date, the portfolio was comprised of approximately 59% in equity investments and 41% in debt investments.

Special Dividend

As previously announced on March 3, 2020, Rand’s Board of Directors declared a special dividend of $23.7 million, or approximately $1.62 per share, in connection with its plans to elect to become a regulated investment company (“RIC”) for U.S. federal tax purposes beginning with tax year 2020.

The special dividend is being paid today in a combination of $4.75 million in cash and approximately 8.6 million shares of the Company’s common stock. The stock will trade ex-dividend effective May 12, 2020.

1:9 Reverse Stock Split

Following approval by the Company's shareholders at its Annual Meeting in December 2019, the Company's Board of Directors has approved a 1-for-9 reverse stock split of the Company's common stock. The reverse split will be effective at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time on May 21, 2020 (the "Effective Time"), and the Company's common stock will begin trading on a split-adjusted basis as of the market open on May 22, 2020.

The reverse stock split affects all issued and outstanding shares of the Company's common stock including shares held in treasury. The reverse stock split will reduce the number of issued and outstanding shares of the Company's common stock following the Special Dividend distribution from 23,845,470 shares and 23,304,424 shares, respectively, to approximately 2,649,496 shares and 2,589,380 shares, respectively. The reverse stock split affects all stockholders uniformly and will not alter any stockholder's percentage interest in the Company's outstanding common stock, except for adjustments that may result from the treatment of fractional shares.

No fractional shares will be issued as a result of the reverse stock split. The Company will pay cash in lieu of any fractional shares, which amount will be determined based on the closing price of a share of Rand’s common stock on the Nasdaq Stock Market on the last trading day preceding the Effective Time (as adjusted to give effect to the reverse stock split).

New Share Repurchase Authorization

Rand’s Board of Directors approved a new share repurchase program which authorizes the purchase of up to $1.5 million in Rand common stock. The shares may be repurchased from time to time in privately negotiated transactions or the open market, including pursuant to any Rule 10b5-1 trading plans if established, and in accordance with applicable regulations of the SEC. The stock repurchase program does not obligate the Company to purchase any particular number of shares, and the timing and exact amount of any repurchases will depend on various factors, including the performance of the Company’s stock price, general market and other conditions, applicable legal requirements and other factors. The new stock repurchase program expires on April 22, 2021. The new stock repurchase program may be suspended, terminated or amended by the Board at any time prior to the expiration date.

ABOUT RAND CAPITAL

Rand Capital (Nasdaq: RAND) is an externally-managed Business Development Company (BDC) with a wholly-owned subsidiary licensed by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) as a Small Business Investment Company (SBIC). The Company’s investment objective is to maximize total return to its shareholders with current income and capital appreciation by focusing its debt and related equity investments in privately-held, lower middle market companies with committed and experienced managements in a broad variety of industries. Rand invests in early to later stage businesses that have sustainable, differentiated and market-proven products, revenue of more than $2 million and a path to free cash flow or up to $5 million in EBITDA. The Company’s investment activities are managed by its external investment adviser, Rand Capital Management, LLC. Additional information can be found at the Company’s website where it regularly posts information: https://www.randcapital.com/.