Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance (REFI) Q1 2025 Earnings Call May 07, 2025 09:00 AM ET Company Participants Tripp Sullivan - PresidentPeter Sack - CEODavid Kite - Chief Operating Officer of Chicago Atlantic REIT Manager, LLCPhil Silverman - CFOAaron Grey - Managing Director, Head of Consumer ResearchChris Muller - Director - Equity ResearchPablo Zuanic - Managing Partner Operator Good day, and welcome to Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance Inc. First Quarter twenty twenty five Earnings Conference Call. ...

Core Insights - The company reported a net income of $842,000 for Q1 2025, a significant decrease from $2.19 million in Q1 2024, resulting in earnings per share of $0.19 compared to $0.48 a year earlier [2][14] - The decrease in earnings was primarily due to a one-time expense of approximately $1 million related to a consultant for negotiating a contract with the core service provider, which is expected to yield long-term cost savings [4][10] - The company maintained a strong cash position, allowing it to pay off approximately $10 million of capital notes without raising new capital, which will reduce annual interest expenses by about $327,000 [5] Financial Performance - Total interest income increased by 6.90% to $11.23 million in Q1 2025 from $10.51 million in Q1 2024, driven by higher yields on loans and growth in commercial real estate loans [12][14] - Net interest income after provision for credit losses rose to $7.58 million, compared to $7.50 million a year earlier, with a net interest margin improvement to 3.25% from 3.02% [11][15] - Noninterest income was stable at $3.28 million, with contributions from commercial treasury services and wealth management activities [16][14] Asset Quality and Growth - Total assets grew by 3% to $1.01 billion at March 31, 2025, from $979.24 million at December 31, 2024, with loans net of allowance for credit losses increasing to $642.39 million [18][24] - The ratio of nonperforming loans to total loans was 0.28%, indicating strong asset quality, with total nonperforming loans at $1.80 million [22][24] - The company added two experienced commercial relationship managers to enhance its commercial lending capabilities and expand market share [8][9] Shareholder Value - Stockholders' equity increased to $68.35 million at March 31, 2025, up from $64.87 million at December 31, 2024, with a book value per share rising to $15.04 from $14.28 [24][14] - The board of directors approved a quarterly dividend of $0.10 per common share, reflecting the company's commitment to returning value to shareholders [14]