Ladder Capital Corp (NYSE:LADR) Q4 2023 Earnings Conference Call February 8, 2024 10:00 AM ET
Company Participants
Pamela McCormack - President
Paul Miceli - CFO
Brian Harris - Founder and CEO
Craig Robertson - Head of Underwriting & Loan Portfolio Manager
Conference Call Participants
Sarah Barcomb - BTIG
Stephen Laws - Raymond James
Steve DeLaney - JMP Securities
Jade Rahmani - KBW
Matthew Howlett - B. Riley Securities
Operator
Good morning, and welcome to Ladder Capital Corp.'s Earnings Call for the Fourth Quarter of 2023. As a reminder, today's call is being recorded.
This morning, Ladder released its financial results for the quarter and year ended December 31, 2023.
Before the call begins, I'd like to call your attention to the customary Safe Harbor disclosure in our earnings release regarding forward-looking statements. Today's call may include forward-looking statements and projections, and we refer you to our most recent Form 10-K for important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from these statements and projections. We do not undertake any obligation to update our forward-looking statements or projections unless required by law.
In addition, Ladder will discuss certain non-GAAP financial measures on this call, which management believes are relevant to assessing the company's financial performance. The company's presentation of this information is not intended to be considered in isolation, or as a substitute for the financial information presented in accordance with GAAP. These measures are reconciled to GAAP figures in our supplemental presentation, which is available in the Investor Relations section of our website. We also refer you to our Form 10-K and earnings supplement presentation for definitions of certain metrics, which we may cite on today's call.
At this time, I'd like to turn the call over to Ladder's President, Pamela McCormack.
Pamela McCormack
Good morning. We are pleased to provide an overview of Ladder's financial performance for the fourth quarter and full year 2023. In the fourth quarter, Ladder generated distributable earnings of $40 million, or $0.32 per share, resulting in a 10.5% return on equity. For the full year 2023, Ladder reported distributable earnings of $167.7 million, or $1.34 per share, generating a 10.9% return on equity.
Ladder demonstrated notable financial strengthening across key metrics over the course of the year. With a smaller asset base and lower leverage, we achieved higher returns. Our adjusted leverage ratio stands at 0.7 times, excluding investment grade securities and unrestricted cash and cash equivalents. Distributable earnings increased 13% year-over-year, and undepreciated book value increased to $13.79. Our financial performance benefited from a positive correlation to rising interest rates, with net interest income growing 58%.