Operator

Welcome to the Atrium Mortgage Investment Corporation's First Quarter Results Conference Call.

[Operator Instructions]

A reminder that this conference is being recorded, Friday, May 8, 2026. Certain statements will be made during this phone call that may be forward-looking statements. Although Atrium believes that such statements are based upon reasonable assumptions, actual results may differ materially. Forward-looking statements are based upon beliefs, estimates and opinions of Atrium's management on the date the statements are made. Atrium undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements in the event that management's beliefs, estimates, opinions or other factors change.

I would now like to turn the conference over to your host, Robert Goodall, CEO of Atrium. Mr. Goodall, please go ahead.

Robert G. Goodall
Founder, CEO & Director

Thank you, and thank you all for calling in on a Friday morning. Our CFO, Chris Anastasopoulos, is joining me today. Chris will start with an overview of our financial results, and then I'll speak about our performance from an operational and portfolio perspective. Chris?

Chris Anastasopoulos
CFO & Corporate Secretary

Thank you, Rob. Atrium had a strong start to 2026 despite a continuing challenging lending environment. Atrium generated net income of $12 million in the first quarter, and our basic and diluted earnings per share was $0.25 per share, which is consistent with the fourth quarter of 2025 and the comparative quarter of 2025 as well. Earnings continue to outpace our regular dividend of $0.2325 per share for the quarter. As expected, the average interest rate on the mortgage portfolio decreased to 8.86% at March 31, 2026, down from 8.98% at December