OFS Capital Corporation Q1 2025 Results: Navigating Rate Cuts and Portfolio Shifts

OFS Capital Corporation (NASDAQ: OFS) has released its first-quarter 2025 financial results, revealing a mix of strategic adjustments and challenges amid shifting interest rates and market conditions. The BDC’s performance underscores the tension between declining net investment income (NII) and efforts to diversify its portfolio through higher-yielding CLO (collateralized loan obligation) investments. Below is a deep dive into the numbers, risks, and opportunities for investors.

Key Financial Metrics: A Mixed Quarter

OFS reported a $0.26 per share NII for Q1 2025, down from $0.30 in Q4 2024, driven by lower interest income as the U.S. Federal Reserve reduced the SOFR rate by 50 basis points in late 2024. The net loss on investments widened to $0.80 per share, primarily due to $8.2 million in unrealized depreciation, with non-accrual loans contributing $3.9 million to this decline.

The company’s net asset value (NAV) fell to $11.97 per share, a drop of 6.8% from $12.85 in Q4. This decline reflects the mark-to-market impact of falling interest rates and credit spreads, which disproportionately affected floating-rate loans. Despite these headwinds, OFS maintained a robust liquidity position with $21.5 million unused under its Banc of California facility and $85.5 million under BNP Paribas, ensuring flexibility for future investments.

Portfolio Dynamics: Shifting Toward CLOs

A key strategic shift emerged in Q1 2025: OFS deployed $48.8 million in CLO equity and debt securities, a significant increase from prior quarters. This focus aligns with CEO Bilal Rashid’s emphasis on capitalizing on “attractive yields” in structured finance products. The portfolio now holds $79.5 million in CLOs, representing nearly 20% of total investments.

The weighted-average performing income yield for the portfolio dipped to 13.4%, down from 13.8% in Q4, as lower SOFR rates reduced floating-rate income. However, CLO equity investments maintained a 18.01% cash flow yield, offering a critical buffer against declining conventional loan yields.

Liquidity and Capital Management

OFS’s liquidity metrics remain strong, with $4.1 million in cash and $13.8 million in undrawn commitments to portfolio companies. Debt facilities are well-utilized: total borrowings stand at $248.1 million, with an average interest rate of 6.29%, slightly lower than the prior quarter. The company also raised $18.3 million via an at-the-market (ATM) equity offering, extending the portfolio’s reinvestment period to 3.3 years. This underscores management’s confidence in deploying capital into longer-term opportunities like CLOs.

Risks and Challenges

• Distribution Sustainability: The declared second-quarter distribution of $0.34 per share exceeds Q1’s NII of $0.26, signaling reliance on capital gains or equity issuances to maintain payouts.
• Credit Quality: While no new loans were placed on non-accrual status, existing non-accrual loans remain at 4.2% of total investments, a metric investors should monitor closely.
• Interest Rate Sensitivity: With 90% of loans floating-rate, OFS benefits from rising rates but faces headwinds in a low-rate environment. The Fed’s 2024 rate cuts have already pressured income, and further easing could amplify this trend.

Management Perspective: Strategic Resilience

CEO Rashid highlighted OFS’s focus on middle-market lending, targeting companies with $5–$50 million EBITDA and investments of $3–$20 million. The strategic pivot to CLOs reflects an effort to mitigate interest rate risks while capitalizing on structured finance opportunities. The ATM offering’s success also signals investor appetite for growth in this sector, despite the NAV decline.

Conclusion: A Strategic BDC in Transition

OFS Capital’s Q1 2025 results present both challenges and opportunities. The NAV decline and lower NII underscore the impact of Fed rate cuts, but the company’s $48.8 million CLO deployment and robust liquidity suggest a disciplined strategy to navigate the environment.

Crucial data points:
- CLO Equity Yield: 18.01% provides a critical income cushion.
- Leverage Flexibility: $107 million in unused credit facilities (Banc of California + BNP Paribas) offer room for growth.
- Distribution Coverage: The $0.34 distribution requires sustained capital gains or equity issuance to remain sustainable.

Investors should weigh OFS’s 19.3% annualized distribution rate (based on its $7.14 share price) against its ability to grow NAV. While the near-term yield environment remains uncertain, the company’s focus on senior secured loans and CLOs positions it to capitalize on improving credit fundamentals in the middle-market sector.

The next quarter will test whether OFS can stabilize NAV and NII through its strategic shifts. For now, the $11.97 NAV and diversified portfolio suggest a resilient BDC, albeit one navigating a challenging macroeconomic landscape.