Capital Southwest boosts dividend to 53c per share

"Our portfolio continued to perform well this quarter, producing $0.60 of Pre-Tax Net Investment Income. Deal activity remained strong, as we closed new commitments of approximately $164 million during the quarter. On the capitalization front, we continued to programmatically raise equity through both our equity ATM program and an underwritten public equity offering, raising $104.3M in gross proceeds at 109% of the prevailing NAV per share during the quarter. Over the past twelve months, we have raised over $203M in equity capital and reduced our regulatory leverage from 1.23x to 0.91x as of the current quarter end. Finally, in consideration of the performance of our portfolio, improvements in our operating leverage, and rising market interest rates, the Board of Directors has declared an increase in our regular quarterly dividend to 53c per share. Based on the strength of our balance sheet, liquidity position, leverage profile, and the current interest rate environment, we feel confident in our ability to continue to grow Pre-Tax Net Investment Income. In addition, given the excess earnings being generated by our floating rate debt portfolio, our Board of Directors has also declared a supplemental dividend of 5c per share for the March quarter. While future dividend declarations are at the discretion of our Board of Directors, it is our intent to continue to distribute quarterly supplemental dividends for the foreseeable future while base rates remain materially above long-term historical averages."