RAND - Rand Capital Announces Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2018 Results

Rand Capital Corporation (Nasdaq: RAND) (“Rand”), a venture capital company which invests in growth businesses with unique product, service or technology concepts, announced its results for the quarter and year ended December 31, 2018.

Allen F. (“Pete”) Grum, President and Chief Executive Officer of Rand Capital, commented, “We are diligently working with East Asset Management on the proposed $25 million investment in Rand, announced in late January. This will be an exciting and transformational event for Rand and our shareholders.”

He added, “As previously announced, we were pleased to receive a $6 million funding commitment from the U.S. Small Business Administration in December. Our investing activity increased to a more normal level in the fourth quarter, as we provided capital to five companies in support of their growth plans.”

Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2018 Financial Highlights

• Reported $4.99 net asset value (NAV) per share at December 31, 2018, compared with $4.84 at September 30, 2018 and $5.05 at December 31, 2017
  • Sequential improvement was primarily driven by net appreciation in certain portfolio investments, in accordance with the Company’s valuation policy.
  • Decline compared with the year-ago value was primarily due to net realized losses on dispositions of certain portfolio investments.
• For the full year, invested in eight companies totaling $2.5 million
• During the fourth quarter, invested $1.1 million
  • Included $600,000 in a new portfolio company, Tech 2000, Inc.
  • Supported four existing portfolio companies with follow-on investments:
    • Genicon Inc., $250,000
    • BeetNPath, LLC, $122,628
    • Tilson Technology Management, Inc., $100,000
    • Empire Genomics, LLC, $50,000

• Investment income increased 76% and 45% over the prior-year fourth quarter and full year, respectively, driven by higher interest and dividends as well as nonrecurring distribution income and nonrecurring loan restructuring income
• At December 31, 2018, portfolio fair value was $34.7 million and consolidated cash was
  $4.0 million
• During the fourth quarter, received a $6 million SBIC funding commitment, and drew down $750,000 to fund investment activity and operations

Total investment income in the fourth quarter of 2018 grew 76% to $668,000, up from $380,000 in the fourth quarter of 2017. The $288,000 increase included approximately $114,000 of incremental interest and $156,000 of incremental dividends and other distributions, as well as increases in other income. Total expenses in the 2018 and 2017 fourth quarters were $684,000 and $448,000, respectively. Excluding bonuses, 2018 fourth quarter expenses were $559,000, compared with $436,000 last year. The increase was driven by higher professional fees primarily due to the pending strategic investment that was announced on January 25, 2019.

Total investment income was $2.1 million and $1.5 million for the years ended December 31, 2018 and 2017, respectively. The growth was driven by higher interest and dividend income as well as loan restructuring income in the third quarter. Total expenses for the year were approximately

$2.2 million in 2018, up from $2.0 million in 2017.

Selected Portfolio Highlights

• Tech 2000, Inc. is a Cisco Training Partner offering a variety of training courses and certifications. For more than 25 years, the company has worked with Fortune 500 companies to develop and deliver solutions to support their IT training needs. From traditional classroom and computer-based training, to virtual delivery and today’s enhanced eLearning, Tech 2000 is a leader in the delivery of knowledge and skills. They are on the forefront of providing next generation learning and training solutions to meet the individual needs of their clients. Their recent financing provides the company with capital to continue to expand and leverage ongoing industry advancements to better serve its customers. Tech 2000 is the newest addition to the Rand portfolio, with a debt investment valued at approximately $611,000 at December 31, 2018.
• Knoa Software, Inc. is a leading provider of user experience management software. They deliver solutions that generate unique insights for the optimization of the end-user experience and improved efficiencies for enterprise applications from vendors including SAP, Oracle and others. Knoa's patented software provides CIOs and business executives the actionable metrics needed to ensure that organizations and end-users realize the full value of their software investment. SAP resells Knoa’s solution under the name SAP User Experience Management by Knoa. As evidence of their market penetration, in 2018, Knoa’s cloud revenue accelerated by more than 250% and its total number of cloud customers doubled. Additionally, they closed on their largest cloud deal in their history in 2018. At December 31, 2018 Rand’s investment in Knoa Software was valued at approximately $1.2 million.
• Microcision, LLC is a leading manufacturer of medical device implants and instrumentation. From product development through production, Microcision capabilities include complex turning, drilling, cross-drilling, threading and milling of small parts made from all medical grade metals and plastics. The company has invested millions of dollars in state-of-the-art CNC technology, training, information and tracking systems, allowing Microcision to produce the most complex configurations in the most cost-effective manner. The company’s financial results led to Rand increasing the fair value of its investment in the fourth quarter. At December 31, 2018 Rand’s investment in Microcision was valued at approximately $2.5 million.

As of December 31, 2018, Rand’s portfolio consisted of 30 active companies. At that date, the portfolio was comprised of approximately 59% in equity investments and 41% in debt investments, compared with 57% in equity investments and 43% in debt investments at December 31, 2017.

Webcast and Conference Call

Rand will host a conference call and live webcast today, March 7, 2019, at 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time to review its financial condition and results for the 2018 fourth quarter and full year, as well as its strategy and outlook. The review will be accompanied by a slide presentation, which will be available on Rand’s website at www.randcapital.com under the “Investor Relations” heading. A question-and-answer session will follow the formal presentation.

Rand’s conference call can be accessed by calling (201) 689-8263. Alternatively, the webcast can be monitored on Rand’s website at www.randcapital.com under the “Investor Relations” heading.

A telephonic replay will be available from 7:30 p.m. ET on the day of the call through Thursday, March 14, 2019. To listen to the archived call, dial (412) 317-6671 and enter replay pin number 13687508. The webcast replay will be available in the Investors section at www.randcapital.com, where a transcript will also be posted once available.

ABOUT RAND CAPITAL

Rand Capital (Nasdaq: RAND) provides investors the ability to participate in venture capital opportunities through an investment in the Company’s stock. Rand is a Business Development Company (BDC) with a wholly-owned subsidiary licensed by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) as a Small Business Investment Company (SBIC). Rand focuses its equity investments in early

or expansion stage companies and generally lends to more mature companies. The Company seeks investment opportunities in businesses with strong leaders who are bringing to market new or unique products, technologies or services that have a high potential for growth. Additional information can be found at the Company’s website where it regularly posts information: http://www.randcapital.com/.

Safe Harbor Statement

This press release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. All statements, other than historical facts, including but not limited to statements regarding the expected timing of the closing of the proposed transactions; the ability of the parties to complete the proposed transactions considering the various closing conditions, including receipt of necessary shareholder approvals and approval from the Small Business Administration; the intention of Rand Capital to elect to be become a regulated investment company for U.S. federal tax purposes; the intention to declare and pay a special cash and stock dividend upon the closing of the proposed transactions; the intention to pay a regular cash dividend after the completion of the proposed transactions; the expected benefits of the proposed transactions such as a lower expense-to-asset ratio for Rand Capital, increased net investment income, availability of additional resources, expanded access to and sourcing platform for new investments and streamlining of operations under the external management structure; the business strategy of originating additional income producing investments; the competitive ability and position of Rand Capital following completion of the proposed transactions; and any assumptions underlying any of the foregoing, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements concern future circumstances and results and other statements that are not historical facts and are sometimes identified by the words “may,” “will,” “should,” “potential,” “intend,” “expect,” “endeavor,” “seek,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “overestimate,” “underestimate,” “believe,” “could,” “project,” “predict,” “continue,” “target” or other similar words or expressions. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove to be incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those indicated or anticipated by such forward-looking statements. The inclusion of such statements should not be regarded as a representation that such plans, estimates or expectations will be achieved. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from such plans, estimates or expectations include, among others, (1) that one or more closing conditions to the transactions may not be satisfied or waived, on a timely basis or otherwise, including that the SBA may not approve the proposed transactions or that the required approvals by the shareholders of Rand Capital may not be obtained; (2) the risk that the proposed transactions may not be completed in the time frame expected by parties, or at all; (3) the risk that Rand Capital may be unable to fulfill the conditions required in order to elect to be treated as a regulated investment company for U.S. federal tax purposes; (4) uncertainty of the expected financial performance of Rand Capital following completion of the proposed transactions; (5) failure to realize the anticipated benefits of the proposed transactions, including as a result of delay in completing the proposed transactions; (6) the risk that Rand Capital is unable to declare the special cash and stock dividend or pay regular dividends on a going forward basis; (7) the occurrence of any event that could give rise to termination of the stock purchase agreement; (8) the risk that shareholder litigation in connection with the proposed transactions may affect the timing or occurrence of the contemplated transactions or result in significant costs of defense, indemnification and liability; (9) evolving legal, regulatory and tax regimes; (10) changes in general economic and/or industry specific conditions; and (11) other risk factors as detailed from time to time in Rand Capital’s reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), including Rand Capital’s annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2018, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K and other documents filed with the SEC. Consequently, such forward-looking statements should be regarded as Rand Capital’s current plans, estimates and beliefs. Except as required by applicable law, Rand Capital assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking information contained in this release.

FINANCIAL TABLES FOLLOW.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190307005108/en/