WALTHAM, Mass., Feb. 16, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Great Elm Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: GEG), a diversified holding company, today announced financial results for its fiscal 2021 second quarter ended December 31, 2020.

Fiscal 2021 Second Quarter Highlights
(all comparisons versus the prior-year period unless otherwise noted)

Operating Companies:

• DME reported total revenue of $14.5 million, an increase of 1% year-over-year
• DME reported net loss of $2.9 million, compared to net loss of $0.7 million
• DME reported Adjusted EBITDA of $1.9 million, compared to $3.5 million; $0.3 million of this decrease was from the allocation of personnel expense to DME previously allocated to GEG.
• Having completed significant investments into the platform, DME management is fully focused on executing on attractive acquisition opportunities.

Investment Management (“IM”):

• IM reported revenue of $0.8 million, compared to $0.9 million
• IM reported net loss of $0.3 million, compared to net income of $5 thousand
• Following the completion of the $31.7 million rights offering by Great Elm Capital Corp (“GECC”) on October 1, 2020, IM is poised to benefit from increased fee revenue as GECC aims to grow its portfolio by successfully deploying the rights offering proceeds.
• IM established a new fund to invest in SPAC securities, an area which management believes it has expertise in evaluating and assessing investment opportunities.

Corporate Structure Reorganization and Strategic Financing Transaction

• On December 29, 2020, we completed a reorganization of our corporate structure and executed a strategic financing transaction with J.P. Morgan Broker-Dealer Holdings (“JPM”), wherein JPM invested a total of $37.7 million in Great Elm.
• JPM purchased $35 million of 9.0% preferred stock from our subsidiary, Forest Investments, Inc. (“Forest”) (formerly Great Elm Capital Group, Inc.).
• JPM also purchased 20% of the equity of Forest for $2.7 million after distribution of the DME and Investment Management businesses to Great Elm Group.
• Proceeds from the JPM investment was used to refinance DME’s existing term loan of approximately $24.8 million and provide growth capital; DME also distributed approximately $2.3 million in cash to GEG, inclusive of fees and expenses.
• The transaction is an important step as we seek to strengthen our relationship with JPM.

Management Commentary

"This was a significant quarter for Great Elm, in that we achieved our strategic goals of providing the DME and Investment Management businesses with the financial capacity to pursue their respective growth opportunities,” Peter A. Reed, Chief Executive Officer, stated. “The financing transaction with JPM is important for our DME business, as it immediately lowers DME’s cost of capital, in addition to creating greater leverage capacity at DME to pursue organic and M&A growth. DME was able to grow revenue during the quarter despite the continued negative impact of COVID-19 on its business. Profitability was depressed during the quarter primarily as a result of legacy revenue reserve issues as well as increased operating costs due to the pandemic. Our team remains focused on improving profitability and resuming a more active acquisition program. In our Investment Management business, we were successful in raising $31.7 million in a rights offering at GECC in October 2020. This business is now well capitalized to pursue attractive opportunities to grow its portfolio and our team is actively focused on such efforts.”

Alignment of Interest

A distinct attribute of Great Elm is the particularly strong alignment of interest shared among shareholders and the employees, its directors, and other insiders of Great Elm. As of December 31, 2020, employees and directors of Great Elm and Great Elm Capital Management, Inc. (“GECM”) collectively own or manage 7.1 million shares, or approximately 27% of Great Elm’s outstanding shares.

Discussion of Financial Results for the Quarter ended December 31, 2020

Great Elm has three operating segments: Durable Medical Equipment, Investment Management, Real Estate with general corporate representing unallocated costs and activity to arrive at consolidated operations.

Durable Medical Equipment

During the three months ended December 31, 2020, Great Elm’s DME operations recognized $14.5 million in total revenue, compared to $14.4 million during the same period last year. While revenue was higher by $1.1 million year-over-year, this increase was offset by higher revenue reserves of $1.0 million during the quarter. The increase in revenue was driven primarily by organic growth in CPAP resupply sales year-over-year, offset by lower sleep studies revenue and lower rental revenues for new equipment set-ups. The demand for sleep studies continues to be softened by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, and referrals for new equipment set-ups have declined as they are generally driven by in-house or external sleep studies.

Great Elm’s DME operations reported net loss of $2.9 million for the fiscal 2021 second quarter compared to net loss of $0.7 million in the prior-year period. Adjusted EBITDA, a non-GAAP measure, was $1.9 million in the fiscal 2021 second quarter, compared to $3.5 million in the prior-year period. Adjusted EBITDA was lower due primarily to the higher revenue reserves of $1.0 million discussed above, $0.3 million from the reallocation of GEG corporate personnel to DME and $0.2 million increase in operating expenses related to COVID-19. Additionally, operating expenses were higher compared to the year ago period due to additional expenses incurred to enhance the platform and scalability of the business, and also a reduction in sleep study services, which tend to generate higher margin as compared to equipment sales.

Investment Management

During the three months ended December 31, 2020, Great Elm’s Investment Management business recognized total investment management revenue of $0.8 million, compared to $0.9 million during the same period in the prior year. Revenue was slightly lower due to reduced assets under management in our managed portfolios as compared to pre-pandemic levels.

Great Elm recognized a net loss of $0.3 million compared to net income of $5 thousand during the same period in the prior year. Adjusted EBITDA was $41 thousand in the fiscal 2021 second quarter, compared to $0.3 million during the same period in the prior year. Adjusted EBITDA was impacted by additional staffing costs as this segment intends to continue to focus on attractive acquisition opportunities, particularly in the specialty finance sector which has generated results that have exceeded internal expectations.

Real Estate

During the three months ended December 31, 2020, Great Elm’s real estate business recognized $1.3 million in rental revenue, $71 thousand in net income and Adjusted EBITDA of $1.1 million. During the same period last year, Great Elm recognized $1.3 million in rental revenue, $60 thousand in net income and Adjusted EBITDA of $1.1 million.

Our revenues, costs and expenses have generally remained consistent year over year, as real estate rental revenue consists of rents received from the two Class A office buildings in Fort Meyers, Florida. Great Elm continues to manage the Fort Myers investment to monetize significant net operating loss carryforwards.

General Corporate

During the three months ended December 31, 2020, Great Elm recognized $45 thousand in revenue compared to $57 thousand in revenue during the same period in the prior year. Revenue increased slightly as a result of increased management fees earned from DME.

Great Elm recognized $2.2 million in net income vs. net loss of $1.4 million during the same period in the prior year. The increase in net income was driven primarily by net unrealized gains on Great Elm’s investment in GECC and higher dividend income due to a larger investment in GECC following stock distributions received and our participation in the GECC rights offering in October 2020. Great Elm recognized $(0.9) million in Adjusted EBITDA compared to Adjusted EBITDA of $(1.6) million during the prior year period. Great Elm made significant progress on reducing its corporate overhead, driven largely by a reduction in audit cost and the reallocation of certain personnel expenses to DME. Great Elm intends to continue to focus on reducing its corporate overhead.

About Great Elm Group, Inc.

Great Elm Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: GEG) is a publicly-traded holding company that is building a business across two operating verticals: investment management and operating companies. Great Elm Group, Inc.’s website can be found at www.greatelmgroup.com.