Release Details

VERO BEACH, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Bimini Capital Management, Inc. (OTCQB: BMNM), (“Bimini Capital,” “Bimini,” or the “Company”), today announced results of operations for the three-month period ended March 31, 2024.

First Quarter 2024 Highlights

• Net income of $0.2 million, or $0.02 per common share
• Book value per share of $0.83
• Company to discuss results on Friday, May 3, 2024, at 10:00 AM ET

Management Commentary

Commenting on the first quarter results, Robert E. Cauley, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, said, “The current economic and interest rate cycle that began with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 was supposed to end in early 2024 as the Fed pivoted and started to reverse their tight monetary policy. The economy and inflation are simply too strong for this to occur, at least not yet. While market participants still expect some easing of monetary policy over the course of 2024, the starting point continues to get pushed out further and further into the future and the magnitude of the anticipated easing continues to decrease. Incoming economic data so far in 2024 is consistent with firming inflation and a solid economy, and the labor market shows no signs of weakness. Stimulative fiscal policy out of Washington is working against restrictive monetary policy from the Fed and while inflation has decreased significantly from the peak seen in 2023 it still remains far above the Fed’s target level of 2.0%. So, the odds of monetary policy and funding rates remaining “higher for longer” look very high.

“Despite the ongoing strength of the economy and interest rates retracing much of the declines seen over the last two months of 2023, Agency MBS securities performed fairly well during the first quarter of 2024. When the first quarter of 2024 ended the spread of the current coupon, 30-year fixed rate Agency MBS was trading at a spread to comparable duration treasuries near the low end of the prevailing range since mid-2022, shortly after the Fed began their policy firming. As with the economy, inflation and interest rates, the outlook for the performance of Agency MBS is unclear and there is the possibility the sector could underperform in the near term if the current trends discussed above continue.

“Orchid Island Capital reported net income for the first quarter 2024 of $19.7 million and its shareholders equity increased from $469.9 million to $481.6 million. As a result, Bimini's advisory service revenues were approximately $2.9 million for the quarter. Orchid is obligated to reimburse us for direct expenses paid on its behalf and to pay to us Orchid’s pro rata share of overhead as defined in the management agreement. Such amounts are included in the $2.9 million of quarterly revenue. As a stockholder of Orchid, we will also continue to share in distributions, if any, paid by Orchid to its stockholders. Our operating results are also impacted by changes in the market value of our holdings of Orchid common shares, although these market value changes do not impact our cash flows from Orchid.

“The investment portfolio generated net interest income of $0.4 million inclusive of dividends on our shares of Orchid Island. Mark to market gains and losses on our MBS portfolio, hedge positions and shares of Orchid netted to a net gain of $0.9 million, and we recorded net income before taxes for the quarter of $0.6 million versus a net loss before taxes of $0.4 million for the fourth quarter of 2023.”

Details of First Quarter 2024 Results of Operations

The Company reported a net income of $0.2 million for the three-month period ended March 31, 2024. Advisory service revenue for the quarter was $2.9 million. We recorded interest and dividend income of $1.6 million and interest expense on repurchase agreements of $1.2 million and on long-term debt of $0.6 million. We recorded an unrealized $0.3 million mark to market gain on our shares of Orchid common stock and unrealized mark to market losses of $0.5 million on our MBS portfolio. These losses were more than offset by mark to market gains of $1.2 million on our derivative hedge positions. The results for the quarter also included operating expenses of $3.0 million and an income tax provision of $0.4 million.

Management of Orchid Island Capital, Inc.

Orchid is managed and advised by Bimini. As Manager, Bimini is responsible for administering Orchid’s business activities and day-to-day operations. Pursuant to the terms of the management agreement, Bimini Advisors provides Orchid with its management team, including its officers, along with appropriate support personnel. Bimini also maintains a common stock investment in Orchid which is accounted for under the fair value option, with changes in fair value recorded in the statement of operations for the current period. For the three months ended March 31, 2024, Bimini’s statement of operations included a fair value adjustment of $0.3 million and dividends of $0.2 million from its investment in Orchid’s common stock. Also, during the three months ended March 31, 2024, Bimini recorded $2.9 million in advisory services revenue for managing Orchid’s portfolio consisting of $2.1 million of management fees, $0.6 million in overhead reimbursement and $0.2 million in repurchase, clearing and administrative fees.

Book Value Per Share

The Company's Book Value Per Share on March 31, 2024 was $0.83. The Company computes Book Value Per Share by dividing total stockholders' equity by the total number of shares outstanding of the Company's Class A Common Stock. At March 31, 2024, the Company's stockholders’ equity was $8.3 million, with 10,005,457 Class A Common shares outstanding.

Capital Allocation and Return on Invested Capital

The Company allocates capital between two MBS sub-portfolios, the pass-through MBS portfolio (“PT MBS”) and the structured MBS portfolio, consisting of interest only (“IO”) and inverse interest-only (“IIO”) securities. The table below details the changes to the respective sub-portfolios during the quarter.

The tables below present the allocation of capital between the respective portfolios at March 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023, and the return on invested capital for each sub-portfolio for the three-month period ended March 31, 2024. Capital allocation is defined as the sum of the market value of securities held, less associated repurchase agreement borrowings, plus cash and cash equivalents and restricted cash associated with repurchase agreements. Capital allocated to non-portfolio assets is not included in the calculation.

The returns on invested capital in the PT MBS and structured MBS portfolios were approximately 10.5% and 0.5%, respectively, for the three months ended March 31, 2024. The combined portfolio generated a return on invested capital of approximately 8.0%.

Prepayments

For the first quarter of 2024, the Company received approximately $3.5 million in scheduled and unscheduled principal repayments and prepayments, which equated to a 3-month constant prepayment rate (“CPR”) of approximately 16.5% for the first quarter of 2024. Prepayment rates on the two MBS sub-portfolios were as follows (in CPR):

Portfolio

The following tables summarize the MBS portfolio as of March 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023:

Financing and Liquidity

As of March 31, 2024, the Company had outstanding repurchase obligations of approximately $84.6 million with a net weighted average borrowing rate of 5.46%. These agreements were collateralized by MBS with a fair value, including accrued interest, of approximately $89.0 million. At March 31, 2024, the Company’s liquidity was approximately $3.4 million, consisting of unpledged MBS and cash and cash equivalents.

We may pledge more of our structured MBS as part of a repurchase agreement funding but retain cash in lieu of acquiring additional assets. In this way, we can, at a modest cost, retain higher levels of cash on hand and decrease the likelihood we will have to sell assets in a distressed market in order to raise cash. Below is a list of outstanding borrowings under repurchase obligations at March 31, 2024.

Summarized Consolidated Financial Statements

The following is a summarized presentation of the unaudited consolidated balance sheets as of March 31, 2024, and December 31, 2023, and the unaudited consolidated statements of operations for the three months ended March 31, 2024 and 2024. Amounts presented are subject to change.

About Bimini Capital Management, Inc.

Bimini Capital Management, Inc. invests primarily in, but is not limited to investing in, residential mortgage-related securities issued by the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae), the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac) and the Government National Mortgage Association (Ginnie Mae). Its objective is to earn returns on the spread between the yield on its assets and its costs, including the interest expense on the funds it borrows. In addition, Bimini generates a significant portion of its revenue serving as the manager of the MBS portfolio of, and providing certain repurchase agreement trading, clearing and administrative services to, Orchid Island Capital, Inc.

Forward-Looking Statements

Statements herein relating to matters that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The reader is cautioned that such forward-looking statements are based on information available at the time and on management's good faith belief with respect to future events, and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual performance or results to differ materially from those expressed in such forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause such differences are described in Bimini Capital Management, Inc.'s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including Bimini Capital Management, Inc.'s most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q. Bimini Capital Management, Inc. assumes no obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent results, changes in assumptions or changes in other factors affecting forward-looking statements.

Earnings Conference Call Details

An earnings conference call and live audio webcast will be hosted Friday, May 3, 2024, at 10:00 AM ET. The conference call may be accessed by dialing toll free (888) 330-2214. The conference ID is 5305210. A live audio webcast of the conference call can be accessed via the investor relations section of the Company's website at https://ir.biminicapital.com or at https://events.q4inc.com/attendee/418634405.