Runway Growth Finance Corp.

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for standing by, and welcome to the Runway Growth Finance First Quarter 2024 Earnings Conference Call. Please be advised that today's conference is being recorded. I would now like to hand the conference over to Quinlan Abel, Assistant Vice President, Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

Thank you, operator. Good evening, everyone, and welcome to the Runway Growth Finance conference call for the first quarter ended March 31st, 2024. Joining us on the call today from Runway Growth Finance are David Spreng, Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer, Greg Greifeld, Managing Director, Deputy Chief Investment Officer and Head of Credit of Runway Growth Capital, and Tom Ratterman, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer. Runway Growth Finance's first quarter 2024 financial results were released just after today's market close and can be accessed from Runway Growth Finance's investor relations website at investors.runwaygrowth.com. We have arranged for a replay of the call at the Runway Growth Finance webpage. During this call, I want to remind you that we may make forward-looking statements based on current expectations. The statements on this call that are not purely historical are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are not a guarantee of future performance and are subject to uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements, including and without limitation market conditions caused by uncertainty surrounding rising interest rates, changing economic conditions, and other factors we identified in our filings with the SEC. Although we believe that the assumptions on which these forward-looking statements are based are reasonable, Any of those assumptions can prove to be inaccurate, and as a result, the forward-looking statements based on those assumptions can be incorrect. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements contained on this call are made as of the date hereof, and Runway Growth Finance assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking statements or subsequent events. To obtain copies of SEC-related filings, please visit our website. Before we begin, on behalf of the company, we are thrilled to welcome back David Spring, as he assumes full responsibility as Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer of Runway Growth Finance. And with that, I will turn the call over to David.

Thank you, Quinlan, and thanks everyone for joining us this evening to discuss our first quarter results. I want to thank all of those who reached out for their support during my recovery process. Further, I'd like to thank Greg, Tom, and the entire Runway team for their collaboration in navigating the dynamic macro environment over the last several months. To start, I'll provide some first quarter portfolio highlights, then an overview of our financial results, and finally discuss the current market trends that we're observing. During the first quarter, Runway saw heightened pipeline activity and completed two investments in new and existing portfolio companies representing $25 million in funded loans. Runway delivered total investment income of $40 million and net investment income of $18.7 million in the quarter. These figures both represent an increase of approximately 2% from the prior year period. Our weighted average portfolio risk rating increased slightly in Q1, which Tom will provide more details on shortly. We're very focused on credit quality and believe in working closely with all of our portfolio companies throughout the entire lifetime of our loans. This belief drives our monitoring philosophy and is the foundation for preserving credit quality. Consistent communication with our borrowers enables us to accurately mark investments and mitigate potential risk while maintaining consistent yield. Turning now to the market. In our view, companies are increasingly exploring the use of debt as a minimally dilutive alternative to equity financing, which bodes well for us as a preferred partner known for sophisticated financing solutions that meet borrowers' diverse needs. As the economy proves resilient with expectations for a soft landing, we believe our low leverage ratio and ample dry powder position us well to take advantage of opportunities that meet our high credit bar. Our role as a lender is to support the best companies with high conviction to reach their full growth potential. We are not a lender of last resort to provide funding during a crisis or a troubled situation. In fact, we are often the last capital brought in before a company executes a strategic exit like an M&A transaction or IPO. And that point remains critical for us. As an investor, I've spent nearly three decades sourcing, evaluating, and deal-making in the venture ecosystem. Prior to founding Runway nearly nine years ago, I was a venture capitalist for over 20 years. My experience across economic cycles and rate environments underscores the importance of underwriting rigor. In the current market, we are seeing more venture-backed companies seeking capital than ever before. Further, these companies have a difficult fundraising backdrop as they mull over the possibility of down rounds and seek non-dilutive capital. We know this may sound counterintuitive given the quantum of VC dry powder, but it's important to remember that many of these companies last raised money at record valuations and now want to preserve a functioning cap table for their investors and employees. That is precisely why our focus on selectivity and underwriting standards remains so high. We know that we're not going to bat a thousand on every loan, but when we have a credit that is pressured, our underwriting analysis strives to ensure that future challenges are limited to unforeseen external factors. These may include changes in market conditions or shifts in an operating environment as opposed to loosened underwriting standards. A poorly structured loan is far more than just a challenge for that one borrower in a portfolio. It requires more time from a lender's team puts stress on the ability to monitor other names in the portfolio, and ultimately impacts a portfolio's earnings power. I want to be clear. We currently have two names on non-accrual, and we're working towards favorable outcomes for our shareholders there. That said, we're not going to adjust our underwriting standards to accelerate portfolio growth that minimizes the impact of these credits in the near term. Instead, we aim to preserve our ability to serve the broader portfolio and deliver value for our shareholders through disciplined underwriting. We've been investors and operators for a long time and we have a strong idea of what is ahead of us. We are confident in our ability to source, originate, and underwrite deals that are up to our standards in the coming year. Further, we have a line of sight on our ability to preserve earnings for our and ensure our shareholders can expect consistent distributions for the foreseeable future. Our selectivity is what will fund our future dividends in the years to come. And we're optimistic about the opportunities we're evaluating that we expect to manifest in the latter half of the year. We remain committed to delivering value to our shareholders which is a direct result of the strength of our portfolio. With that, I'll turn it over to Greg.