Callidus Capital Corp. continues to lose money and set aside provisions for bad loans as new management take the wheel at the distressed lender, which is controlled by financier Newton Glassman.
Toronto-based Callidus lost $20.4-million in the most recent quarter, the company announced late Wednesday, up from a loss of $17.6-million in the same period a year ago and its eighth consecutive quarterly loss.
The red ink reflected a $24.7-million provision for bad loans in the quarter, which the company said was “primarily related to a $13.1-million provision on one specific loan concentrated in the energy sector as a result of lower expected recovery values and a delay in expected future cashflows.”
Callidus has a $1-billion loan portfolio and lends to companies that cannot borrow from traditional sources such as banks. A number of these clients have defaulted on their loans in the past. In April, Callidus took a $131.9-million provision against a loan to an energy company and said it may take further losses on the account due to political problems in the unnamed country where it operates. Analysts said the country in question is Venezuela, and that the borrower is Oklahoma-based Horizontal Well Drillers.
The company’s shares closed Wednesday at $1.63 on the Toronto Stock Exchange. Callidus halted its common share dividend in July.
Callidus executives have been saying since 2016 that they are working on a transaction to take the company private. Mr. Glassman previously stated that he was pursuing a deal that valued the company between $18 to $22 a share, based on a valuation by National Bank Financial.
In the latest press release, Callidus said: “The company continues to pursue a privatization and has no material facts or changes to report.”
Callidus, is scheduled to hold a conference call Thursday on quarterly financial results hosted by Patrick Dalton, who was named interim CEO in late October. Mr. Dalton, 49, has two decades of experience in private credit markets and is filling in for Mr. Glassman, who the company said is on an extended medical leave following back surgery.
The appointment of an interim CEO is part of a changing of the guard at the Toronto-based company.
Callidus chief credit officer James Rogers will leave the company early in 2019, the company announced in late October. Mr. Rogers has been at Callidus since 2016. In a press release, the company said he is leaving to “pursue opportunities closer to his family in the United States.”
Mr. Rogers’ responsibilities will be handed to Jim Hall, aged 71, who rejoined Callidus in October as a senior vice-president. He worked for the company from 2014 to 2017 as a vice-president and portfolio manager.
When Callidus appointed Mr. Dalton, lead director Tibor Donath said the interim CEO would “advance our strategy, drive growth in our portfolio and unlock value from our assets.” Prior to joining Callidus, Mr. Dalton worked at U.S. private lenders, including Fifth Street Asset Management, Gordon Brothers Finance Co., Apollo Investment Corp.
Mr. Dalton is expected to outline plans Thursday for both building the loan portfolio at Callidus and working out troubled credits. The company announced on Wednesday that Callidus committed $1662-million to two new loans in the most recent quarter. Last year, Callidus made a total of two loans for a total of $54-million.
Callidus is 72 per cent owned by Toronto-based Catalyst Capital Group Inc., which bills itself as Canada’s largest private equity funds and has raised several billion dollars from institutional investors and wealthy individuals. Catalyst is also controlled by Mr. Glassman and is currently running four large funds, the oldest of which originally pledged to cash in investments and pay out clients by 2016. That deadline was subsequently moved to 2019.
Andrew Willis