Jefferies Announces First Quarter 2023 Financial Results

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE: JEF):

Q1 Financial Highlights

• Net earnings attributable to common shareholders of $134 million, or $0.54 per diluted share
• Annualized return on adjusted tangible equity of 7.1%¹
• Total net revenues of $1.28 billion
  • Investment Banking net revenues of $568 million, slightly above the fourth quarter, with increases in both equity and debt underwriting offsetting a decline in advisory
  • Capital Markets net revenues of $639 million, our fourth highest quarter ever
  • Asset Management net revenues (before allocated net interest²) of $82 million, including $70 million of asset management fees and revenues and investment return, and $12 million of merchant banking revenue
• On January 13, 2023, we completed the distribution of all the outstanding shares of common stock of Vitesse Energy, Inc. held by us, resulting in a distribution of capital of $527 million
• Repurchased 2.6 million shares of common stock for $98 million, at an average price of $38.01 per share, in connection with net-share settlements under our equity compensation plan

“We are pleased with our first quarter results. Despite the significant decline in M&A activity and a continued lull in the IPO and leveraged finance markets, our Investment Banking business continues to build on our momentum and growing market position. The capital markets continue to be challenging and we are continuing to serve our clients in the best ways possible and they are rewarding us with increased market share. Our team has never been stronger and we continue to attract top talent who increasingly view Jefferies as the firm of choice. We do not know when the capital markets will return to some version of normalcy, but our plan is to be well positioned to gain even further market share and take advantage of the dislocations affecting our industry.

“Our Capital Markets business achieved the fourth highest all-time quarterly revenues of $639 million, which is an increase of $160 million, or 33%, versus the prior year comparable quarter, driven by strength across our diversified Fixed Income and Equities businesses. Fixed Income net revenues increased 63% from the prior year comparable quarter reflecting strong results from our credit businesses. Equities net revenues increased 11% from the prior year comparable quarter with strong performance in our global convertibles and cash businesses. Asset Management also generated consistent revenues versus our prior year quarter after adjusting for the revenues attributable to our interests in Idaho Timber and Vitesse which were disposed of over the course of 2022.

"While our overall return on adjusted tangible equity of 7.1% for the quarter is lower than we would like, we believe the results are reasonable given the current environment. We remain optimistic about our ability to deliver much better results when the capital markets return to some version of normalcy."

Richard Handler, CEO, and Brian Friedman, President

Quarterly Cash Dividend

The Jefferies Board of Directors declared a quarterly cash dividend equal to $0.30 per Jefferies common share, payable on May 26, 2023 to record holders of Jefferies common shares on May 15, 2023. We currently have a $250 million authorization for future share repurchases.

Financial Summary

N/M — Not Meaningful

Highlights

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Amounts herein pertaining to February 28, 2023 represent a preliminary estimate as of the date of this earnings release and may be revised upon filing our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). More information on our results of operations for the three months ended February 28, 2023 will be provided upon filing our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q with the SEC, which we expect to file on or about April 10, 2023.

This press release contains certain “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are based on current views and include statements about our future and statements that are not historical facts. These forward-looking statements are usually preceded by the words “should,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “will,” "would," or similar expressions. Forward-looking statements may contain expectations regarding revenues, earnings, operations, and other results, and may include statements of future performance, plans, and objectives. Forward-looking statements may also include statements pertaining to our strategies for future development of our businesses and products. Forward-looking statements represent only our belief regarding future events, many of which by their nature are inherently uncertain. It is possible that the actual results may differ, possibly materially, from the anticipated results indicated in these forward-looking statements. Information regarding important factors, including Risk Factors that could cause actual results to differ, perhaps materially, from those in our forward-looking statements is contained in reports we file with the SEC. You should read and interpret any forward-looking statement together with reports we file with the SEC. We undertake no obligation to update or revise any such forward-looking statement to reflect subsequent circumstances.

Past performance may not be indicative of future results. Different types of investments involve varying degrees of risk. Therefore, it should not be assumed that future performance of any specific investment or investment strategy will be profitable or equal the corresponding indicated performance level(s).

Selected Financial Information

Financial Data and Metrics

Components of Denominator for Earnings Per Share

The denominators used to calculate basic and diluted earnings per share are as follows (in thousands):

Notes

1. Annualized return on adjusted tangible equity (a non-GAAP financial measure) is defined as annualized adjusted net earnings (a non-GAAP financial measure) divided by our beginning of period adjusted tangible shareholders' equity (a non-GAAP financial measure). Refer to schedule on page 7 for reconciliation to U.S. GAAP amounts.
2. Allocated net interest represents an allocation to Asset Management of certain of our long-term debt interest expense, net of interest income on our Cash and cash equivalents and other sources of liquidity. Allocated net interest has been disaggregated to increase transparency and to present direct Asset Management revenues. We believe that aggregating Allocated net interest would obscure the revenue results by including an amount that is unique to our credit spreads, debt maturity profile, capital structure, liquidity risks and allocation methods. Refer to Selected Financial Information on page 4 .
3. Shares outstanding on a fully diluted basis (a non-GAAP financial measure) is defined as common shares outstanding plus restricted stock units, stock options and other shares. Refer to schedule on page 8 for reconciliation to U.S. GAAP amounts.
4. Tangible book value per fully diluted share (a non-GAAP financial measure) is defined as adjusted tangible book value (a non-GAAP financial measure) divided by shares outstanding on a fully diluted basis (a non-GAAP financial measure). Refer to schedule on page 8 for reconciliation to U.S. GAAP amounts.
5. Allocated net interest is not separately disaggregated for Investment Banking and Capital Markets. This presentation is aligned to our Investment Banking and Capital Markets internal performance measurement.
6. Includes management and performance fees from funds and accounts managed by us as well as our share of fees received by affiliated asset management companies with which we have revenue and profit share arrangements, as well as earnings on our ownership interest in affiliated asset managers.
7. Number of trading loss days is calculated based on trading activities in our Investment Banking and Capital Markets and Asset Management business segments.
8. VaR estimates the potential loss in value of trading positions due to adverse market movements over a one-day time horizon with a 95% confidence level. For a further discussion of the calculation of VaR, see "Value-at-Risk" in Part II, Item 7A "Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk" in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended November 30, 2022.
9. Amounts pertaining to February 28, 2023 represent a preliminary estimate as of the date of this earnings release and may be revised in our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the three months ended February 28, 2023.
10. Level 3 financial instruments represent those financial instruments classified as such under Accounting Standards Codification 820, accounted for at fair value and included within Financial instruments owned.
11. Tangible shareholders' equity (a non-GAAP financial measure), is defined as shareholders' equity less Intangible assets and goodwill. We believe that tangible equity is meaningful for valuation purposes, as financial companies are often measured as a multiple of tangible equity, making these ratios meaningful for investors.
12. Leverage ratio equals total assets divided by total equity.
13. Tangible gross leverage ratio (a non-GAAP financial measure) equals total assets less goodwill and intangible assets divided by tangible equity. The tangible gross leverage ratio is used by rating agencies in assessing our leverage ratio.
14. On November 1, 2022, we completed our merger with Jefferies Group LLC. In connection with the merger, we transferred our legacy merchant banking investments to our Investment Banking and Capital Markets or Asset Management segment and reorganized the presentation of our segments and Net revenues to align with the way we are now managing our business. In addition, we have reclassified the presentation of certain line items within our Net revenues by source to streamline our financial statements to better align the presentation of our firm with the strategy of building our investment banking and capital markets and asset management businesses as we continue to reduce our legacy merchant banking portfolio. Historical periods have been recast to conform to these reclassification and presentation changes.
15. As of November 30, 2022, we have changed the accounting for our secondary trading activity related to the purchases and sales of corporate loans. Historically, we have accounted for purchases and sales of corporate loans on trade date recognizing the total amount of purchased loans within Financial instruments owned and a corresponding liability within Payables - brokers, dealers and clearing organizations and the total amount of loans sold within Financial instruments sold, not yet purchased and a corresponding asset within Receivables - brokers, dealers and clearing organizations on the Consolidated Statements of Financial Condition for the cash to be paid or received upon settlement. We have determined that it is more preferable to recognize this trading activity on a settlement date basis and recognize firm commitments to purchase and/or sell loans on the date of trade execution due to the extended settlement period for this trading activity. There was no impact to net earnings or total equity as a result of this change in accounting policy. Historical periods have been recast to conform to this change in accounting policy.

Non-GAAP Reconciliations

The following tables reconcile our non-GAAP measures to their respective U.S. GAAP measures. Management believes such non-GAAP measures are useful to investors as they allow them to view our results through the eyes of management, while facilitating a comparison across historical periods. These measures should not be considered a substitute for, or superior to, measures prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP.

Annualized Return on Adjusted Tangible Equity Reconciliation

The table below reconciles our Net earnings attributable to common shareholders to adjusted net earnings and our Shareholders' equity to adjusted tangible shareholders' equity (in thousands):

Adjusted Tangible Book Value and Fully Diluted Shares Outstanding GAAP Reconciliation

The table below reconciles our book value (shareholders' equity) to adjusted tangible book value and our common shares outstanding to fully diluted shares outstanding (in thousands, except per share amounts):

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