Two Harbors Investment Corp. Reports Fourth Quarter 2012 Financial Results

Two Harbors Investment Corp. (NYSE: TWO; NYSE MKT: TWO.WS), a real estate investment trust that invests in residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS), residential mortgage loans and other financial assets, today announced its financial results for the quarter ended December 31, 2012.

Highlights

• Delivered Comprehensive Income of $185.4 million, or $0.63 per diluted weighted average common share.
• Increased Book Value to $11.54 per diluted common share at December 31, 2012.
• Contributed portfolio of single-family residential homes to Silver Bay Realty Trust Corp. ("Silver Bay") in conjunction with its initial public offering in December 2012. In exchange, Two Harbors received approximately 17.8 million shares of Silver Bay common stock.
• Declared a dividend of $0.55 per common share. The quarterly dividend reflects the performance of Two Harbors' residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) portfolio, realized gains and taxable income derived from the company's contribution of its single-family residential portfolio to Silver Bay.
• Generated an aggregate yield of 4.0% in the RMBS portfolio, which was driven by non-Agency portfolio performance of 9.5% as well as a three-month average Constant Prepayment Rate (CPR) of 6.6% in the Agency portfolio.

“We are pleased to have achieved a strong finish to a remarkable year for our investment portfolio. For the year, Two Harbors delivered a return on book value of 47% as measured by dividends declared and book value appreciation,” said Thomas Siering, Two Harbors' President and Chief Executive Officer.

Operating Performance

The following table summarizes the company's GAAP and non-GAAP earnings measurements and key metrics for the respective periods in 2012:

Earnings Summary

Two Harbors reported Core Earnings for the quarter ended December 31, 2012 of $84.0 million, or $0.28 per diluted weighted average common share outstanding, as compared to Core Earnings for the quarter ended September 30, 2012 of $87.1 million, or $0.32 per diluted weighted average common share outstanding.

During the quarter, the company sold residential mortgage-backed securities for $3.2 billion with an amortized cost of $3.1 billion, for a net realized gain of $103.1 million, net of tax; recognized a change in unrealized fair value losses on U.S. Treasury trading securities of $0.5 million, net of tax; and recognized other-than-temporary credit impairment losses on its RMBS securities of $1.6 million, net of tax. The company also recognized a change in unrealized fair value gains on Silver Bay equity securities of $5.9 million, net of tax. The fair value of the Silver Bay common stock at December 31, 2012 was $335.6 million, which included these unrealized fair value gains. The single-family real estate operations of the company are reflected as discontinued operations in the company's financial statements. Included in the income for discontinued operations were realized gains of $10.6 million resulting from the contribution of the company's portfolio to Silver Bay. The realized gain amount is subject to additional installment gains, fee reductions and working capital adjustments, which are currently estimated to increase the net income by $8.3 million and will be recognized in the company's 2013 financial statements.

During the quarter, the company had a net loss of $2.3 million, net of tax, related to the termination and expiration of swaps and swaptions. In addition, the company recognized in earnings an unrealized gain, net of tax, of $12.2 million associated with its interest rate swaps and swaptions economically hedging its repurchase agreements and available-for-sale securities; an unrealized gain, net of tax, of $0.6 million associated with its interest rate swaps economically hedging its trading securities; and net losses on other derivative instruments of approximately $20.4 million, net of tax.

The company reported GAAP Net Income of $189.3 million, or $0.64 per diluted weighted average common share outstanding, for the quarter ended December 31, 2012, as compared to $26.8 million, or $0.10 per diluted weighted average common share outstanding, for the quarter ended September 30, 2012. On a GAAP basis, the company earned an annualized return on average equity of 22.1% and 3.6% for the quarters ended December 31, 2012 and September 30, 2012, respectively.

The company reported Comprehensive Income of $185.4 million, or $0.63 per diluted weighted average common share outstanding, for the quarter ended December 31, 2012, as compared to $524.4 million, or $1.94 per diluted weighted average common share outstanding, for the quarter ended September 30, 2012. The company records unrealized fair value gains and losses for RMBS securities, classified as available-for-sale, as Other Comprehensive Income in the Statement of Stockholders' Equity. On a Comprehensive Income basis, the company recognized an annualized return on average equity of 21.6% and 70.2% for the quarters ended December 31, 2012 and September 30, 2012, respectively.

Other Key Metrics

Two Harbors declared a quarterly dividend of $0.55 per common share for the quarter ended December 31, 2012. The dividend was intended to distribute the remaining REIT taxable income earned during 2012, which included taxable income derived from Two Harbors' contribution of its single-family residential portfolio to Silver Bay and realized gains on the company's RMBS portfolio. The total dividends declared for the year ended December 31, 2012 were $1.71 per common share.

The company's book value per diluted share, after taking into account the fourth quarter 2012 dividend of $0.55, was $11.54 as of December 31, 2012, compared to $11.44 as of September 30, 2012.

Other operating expenses for the fourth quarter 2012 were approximately $6.3 million, or 0.7% of average equity, compared to approximately $4.0 million, or 0.5% of average equity, for the third quarter 2012. Other operating expenses exclude real estate related expenses associated with the company's portfolio of single-family residential properties. The single-family real estate operations of the company are reflected as discontinued operations in the company's financial statements.

Portfolio Summary

For the quarter ended December 31, 2012, the annualized yield on average RMBS securities and Agency Derivatives was 4.0% and the annualized cost of funds on the average borrowings, which includes net interest rate spread expense on interest rate swaps, was 1.1%. This resulted in a net interest rate spread of 2.9%, which compares to 3.1% in the prior quarter.

The company reported debt-to-equity, defined as total borrowings to fund RMBS securities, residential mortgage loans and Agency Derivatives divided by total equity, of 3.4:1.0 and 3.8:1.0 at December 31, 2012 and September 30, 2012, respectively.

The company's portfolio is principally comprised of RMBS available-for-sale securities and Agency Derivatives. As of December 31, 2012, the total value of the portfolio was $14.0 billion, of which approximately $11.3 billion was Agency RMBS and Agency Derivatives and $2.7 billion was non-Agency RMBS. As of December 31, 2012, fixed-rate securities composed 79.8% of the company's portfolio and adjustable-rate securities composed 20.2% of the company's portfolio. In addition, the company held $1.0 billion of U.S. Treasuries classified on its balance sheet as trading securities as of December 31, 2012.

Two Harbors was a party to interest rate swaps and swaptions as of December 31, 2012 with an aggregate notional amount of $19.0 billion, of which $17.5 billion was utilized to economically hedge interest rate risk associated with the company's short-term LIBOR-based repurchase agreements.

The following table summarizes the company's investment portfolio:

“The flexibility of Two Harbors' hybrid approach greatly benefited our stockholders in 2012,” said Bill Roth, Two Harbors' Chief Investment Officer. “The shifting investment landscape during the year provided us the opportunity to raise and deploy capital into non-Agency securities early in 2012, as well as to take advantage of an attractive opportunity in Agencies in the summer. We believe that our strong fourth quarter and full year performance is attributed to our nimble stance and opportunistic approach.”

The company experienced a three-month average CPR of 6.6% for Agency RMBS securities and Agency Derivatives held as of December 31, 2012, as compared to 6.0% for securities held as of September 30, 2012. The weighted average cost basis of the Agency portfolio was 108.2% of par as of December 31, 2012, comparable to the prior quarter. The net premium amortization was $43.9 million and $39.7 million for the quarters ended December 31, 2012 and September 30, 2012, respectively.

The company experienced a three-month average CPR of 3.2% for non-Agency RMBS securities held as of December 31, 2012, as compared to 3.0% for securities held as of September 30, 2012. The weighted average cost basis of the non-Agency portfolio was 52.2% of par as of December 31, 2012 and 52.4% of par as of September 30, 2012. The discount accretion was $37.3 million and $36.2 million for the quarters ended December 31, 2012 and September 30, 2012, respectively. The total net discount remaining was $2.3 billion as of December 31, 2012 and September 30, 2012, with $1.3 billion designated as credit reserve as of December 31, 2012.

Business Diversification

Single-Family Residential Properties

On December 19, 2012, the company completed its contribution of single-family homes to Silver Bay in exchange for approximately 17.8 million shares of Silver Bay common stock. The company had previously announced its intention, subject to the discretion and approval of its Board of Directors and in compliance with applicable securities laws, to distribute these Silver Bay shares to Two Harbors' stockholders by means of a special dividend following the expiration of a 90-day lockup period. As of the date of this release, the company has not issued an announcement nor has the Board of Directors made a final determination concerning any such distribution.

Securitization

As of December 31, 2012, the company had acquired mortgage loans held-for-sale with a carrying value of $58.6 million and had outstanding purchase commitments to acquire an additional $56.9 million. It is the company's intention in the future to securitize these loans and/or exit through a whole loan sale.

Warrants

During the fourth quarter 2012, warrant holders exercised warrants to purchase approximately 3.5 million shares of the company's common stock at an exercise price of $11.00 per share. This resulted in proceeds to the company totaling approximately $38 million. As of December 31, 2012, approximately 13.5 million warrants remained outstanding. The warrants expire on November 7, 2013.

Dividends and Taxable Earnings

The company declared dividends to stockholders totaling $443.4 million, or $1.71 per share, for the 2012 taxable year. As a REIT, the company is required to distribute at least 90% of its taxable income to stockholders, subject to certain distribution requirements. The company distributed approximately 98% of its 2012 taxable earnings to stockholders.

Conference Call

Two Harbors Investment Corp. will host a conference call on February 7, 2013 at 9:00 am EST to discuss fourth quarter 2012 financial results and related information. To participate in the teleconference, please call toll-free (877) 868-1835, Conference Code 85675161, (or (914) 495-8581 for international callers) approximately 10 minutes prior to the above start time. You may also listen to the teleconference live via the Internet on the company's website at www.twoharborsinvestment.com in the Investor Relations section under the Events and Presentations link. For those unable to attend, a telephone playback will be available beginning at 12 p.m. EST on February 7, 2013 through 9 p.m. EST on February 25, 2013. The playback can be accessed by calling (855) 859-2056 (or (404) 537-3406 for international callers) and providing Confirmation Code 85675161. The call will also be archived on the company's website in the Investor Relations section under the Events and Presentations link.

Two Harbors Investment Corp.

Two Harbors Investment Corp., a Maryland corporation, is a real estate investment trust that invests in residential mortgage-backed securities, residential mortgage loans and other financial assets. Two Harbors is headquartered in Minnetonka, Minnesota, and is externally managed and advised by PRCM Advisers LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Pine River Capital Management L.P. Additional information is available at www.twoharborsinvestment.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release includes “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Actual results may differ from expectations, estimates and projections and, consequently, readers should not rely on these forward-looking statements as predictions of future events. Words such as “expect,” “target,” “assume,” “estimate,” “project,” “budget,” “forecast,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “plan,” “may,” “will,” “could,” “should,” “believe,” “predicts,” “potential,” “continue,” and similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements involve significant risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from expected results. Factors that could cause actual results to differ include, but are not limited to, higher than expected operating costs, changes in prepayment speeds of mortgages underlying our RMBS, the rates of default or decreased recovery on the mortgages underlying our non-Agency securities, failure to recover certain losses that are expected to be temporary, changes in interest rates or the availability of financing, the impact of new legislation or regulatory changes on our operations, the impact of any deficiencies in the servicing or foreclosure practices of third parties and related delays in the foreclosure process, the inability to acquire mortgage loans or securitize the mortgage loans we acquire, the impact of new or modified government mortgage refinance or principal reduction programs, and unanticipated changes in overall market and economic conditions.

Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance upon any forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date made. Two Harbors does not undertake or accept any obligation to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statement to reflect any change in its expectations or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based. Additional information concerning these and other risk factors is contained in Two Harbors' most recent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. All subsequent written and oral forward looking statements concerning Two Harbors or matters attributable to Two Harbors or any person acting on its behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statements above.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

In addition to disclosing financial results calculated in accordance with United States generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), this press release and the accompanying investor presentation present non-GAAP financial measures that exclude certain items. Two Harbors' management believes that these non-GAAP measures enable it to perform meaningful comparisons of past, present and future results of the company's core business operations, and uses these measures to gain a comparative understanding of the company's operating performance and business trends. The non-GAAP financial measures presented by the company represent supplemental information to assist investors in analyzing the results of Two Harbors' operations; however, as these measures are not in accordance with GAAP, they should not be considered a substitute for, or superior to, the financial measures calculated in accordance with GAAP. Our GAAP financial results and the reconciliations from these results should be carefully evaluated. See the GAAP to Non-GAAP reconciliation table on page 10 of this release.

Additional Information

Stockholders and warrant holders of Two Harbors, and other interested persons, may find additional information regarding the company at the SEC's Internet site at www.sec.gov or by directing requests to: Two Harbors Investment Corp., Attn: Investor Relations, 601 Carlson Parkway, Suite 1400, Minnetonka, MN 55305, telephone 612-629-2500.