Great Ajax Corp (AJX), an externally managed real estate investment trust, announced a reduced net loss for the third quarter in a report released on Monday. The company also indicated it is undergoing a rebranding to change its name and trading ticker.
Michael Nierenberg, CEO of Rithm Capital Corp., stated, "Upon completing the strategic transaction with Great Ajax, our mission was clear: transforming the Company from a legacy residential mortgage vehicle into an opportunistic real estate platform. During the third quarter, we made significant progress by divesting $148 million in UPB of legacy assets and expanding our commercial real estate debt portfolio to over $100 million UPB."
For the three-month period ending September 30, the Trust recorded a net loss of $8 million, or $0.18 per share, compared to the second-quarter loss of $12.7 million, or $0.32 per share. Excluding particular items, the distributable loss was $5.4 million, or $0.12 per share, compared to the previous quarter's loss of $9.6 million, or $0.24 per share.
The book value registered at $246.1 million, or $5.47 per share, was slightly down from the second quarter's $253.6 million, or $5.56 per share. Net interest income notably rose to $3.688 million from the previous quarter's $0.348 million. The net change in the allowance for credit losses was negative, at $0.857 million, compared to a zero allowance in the last quarter. Overall, the total net loss was narrowed to $2.783 million from the previous quarter's $8.958 million.
Connected to its strategic move with Rithm Capital, Great Ajax plans to rename and rebrand as Rithm Property Trust Inc., adopting the new ticker symbol "RPT" for trading on the New York Stock Exchange. This name change is anticipated to take effect during the fourth quarter.
