Avalo Therapeutics, Inc.

Greetings, and welcome to the Horizon Technology Finance Corporation first quarter 2024 earnings conference call. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. A question and answer session will follow the formal presentation. If anyone should require operator assistance during the conference, please press star zero on your telephone keypad. As a reminder, this conference is being recorded. It is now my pleasure to introduce your host, Megan Bacon, Director of Investor Relations and Marketing. Thank you. You may begin.

Thank you, and welcome to Horizon Technology Finance Corporation's first quarter 2024 conference call. Representing the company today are Rob Pomeroy, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Jerry Michaud, President, Dan Dvoracic, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Investment Officer, and Dan Trollio, Chief Financial Officer. I would like to point out that the Q1 earnings press release and Form 10-Q are available on the company's website at horizontechfinance.com. Before we begin our formal remarks, I need to remind everyone that during this conference call, the company will make certain forward-looking statements, including statements with regard to the future performance of the company. Words such as believes, expects, anticipates, intends, or similar expressions are used to identify forward-looking statements These forward-looking statements are subject to the inherent uncertainties in predicting future results and conditions. Certain factors could cause actual results to differ on a material basis from those projected in these forward-looking statements. And some of these factors are detailed in the risk factor discussion in the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the company's Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023. The company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise. At this time, I would like to turn the call over to Rob Pomeroy.

Welcome, everyone, and thank you for your interest in Horizon. Today, we will update you on our performance and our current overall operating environment. Dan DeVorsitz will take us through recent business and portfolio developments, Jerry will then discuss the current status of the venture lending market, and Dan Trollio will detail our operating performance and financial condition. We will then take some questions. Before we get to our specific results for the first quarter, I would like to speak to the nature and current status of the venture lending business. Venture lending is an exciting and rewarding endeavor, which is driven by the support of venture investors and the advancement of technology. The Horizon platform has one of the most experienced teams of venture lenders, and we are passionate about our industry and its prospects. We seek investment opportunities in development-stage companies that drive technological innovation and are backed by committed investor support, including significant capital investment. These companies rely on additional capital to advance their technologies and growth. Venture debt is an essential part of this capital ecosystem. When we underwrite a venture loan, we base our investment thesis on an enterprise's strength of technology or market position, its ability to further develop its market and technology, its ability to grow or achieve revenue, its ability to attract additional institutional capital or strategic interest, and eventually to advance to an exit or more traditional bank lending. Business plans of these younger companies are subject to many kinds of detours. and their agility to adapt and react is necessary to navigate ever-changing waters. As seasoned venture lenders, we know that plans and the environment are always changing. Sometimes there are jolts to the ecosystem, like we experienced last year with the tech bank crisis. Global unrest, higher interest rates, and pandemics, just to name a few recent shocks, can upset plans and require management, investors, and venture lenders to thoughtfully react and adapt. While we have experienced all of the impact of these shocks over the past several quarters, we are starting to see the beginnings of a recovery in the venture ecosystem. We recognize the signs of recovery because we have previously seen and experienced cycles of shocks and recovery. Our senior lending team has an average tenure in the venture lending business of over 20 years. This tenure has provided us with the experience to know how to smartly support our portfolio companies through difficult times, while seeking to preserve shareholders' capital and maximize net asset value. The results for the first quarter reflect our expertise and our efforts to grow our portfolio and maximize NAV in a difficult environment. Our debt portfolio yield remains strong, and our earnings continue to cover our distributions as they have for more than six years. This is the essence of the venture lending model. I will turn the call over to Dan, Jerry, and Dan to give you the details of our first quarter results and progress. We appreciate your continued interest and support in the Horizon Technology Finance platform.