NOTE 1 — NATURE OF OPERATIONS AND SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

Nature of Operations

Stellus Private Credit BDC (“we”, “us”, “our” and the “Company”) was formed on December 7, 2021 (“Inception”) as a Delaware statutory trust and is an externally managed, closed-end, non-diversified investment management company. Prior to February 1, 2022 (“Commencement of Operations”), the Company was devoting substantially all of its efforts to establishing the business and conducting organizational and marketing efforts. The Company is applying the guidance of Accounting Standards Codification Topic 946, Financial Services Investment Companies (“ASC Topic 946”). The Company has elected to be regulated as a business development company (“BDC”) under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the "1940 Act"). In addition, the Company has elected to be treated and intends to qualify annually, as a regulated investment company (“RIC”) under Subchapter M of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”), for U.S. federal income tax purposes. Subject to the supervision of the Company’s Board of Trustees (the “Board”), a majority of which is made up of trustees who are not interested persons as defined in Section 2(a)(19) of the 1940 Act (the “Independent Trustees”), the Advisor (as defined below) manages the Company’s day-to-day operations and provides the Company with investment advisory and management services. Trustees who are interested persons as defined in Section 2(a)(19) of the 1940 Act are referred to herein as Interested Trustees. The Company is externally managed by Stellus Private BDC Advisor, LLC (the “Advisor”), a Delaware limited liability company that is registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended, (the “Advisers Act”), and a majority-owned subsidiary of Stellus Capital Management, LLC (“Stellus Capital Management”) and an investment adviser that is registered with the SEC under the Advisers Act. Stellus Capital Management serves as the Company’s administrator (the “Administrator”) pursuant to an administration agreement (the “Administration Agreement”). Stellus Capital Management, may retain a sub-administrator to perform any or all of its obligations under the Administration Agreement.

As of June 30, 2025, the Company has issued a total of 11,127,069 common shares of beneficial interest in connection with draw downs of $130,000,000 of outstanding capital commitments, share purchases of $41,697,000 by investors pursuant to immediate share issuance subscription agreements, and $2,999,482 from dividend reinvestments for total contributed capital of $174,696,482. As of June 30, 2025, the Company had $106,937,318 in uncalled capital commitments pursuant to draw down subscription agreements.

On August 15, 2024, the Company commenced a quarterly share repurchase program in which the Company intends to repurchase, in each quarter, up to 5% of the common shares of beneficial interest outstanding as of the close of the previous calendar quarter (the “Share Repurchase Program”), subject to the discretion of the Board. Any such repurchases are subject to approval by the Board, in its discretion, and the availability of cash to fund such repurchases. The Board may amend, suspend or terminate the share repurchase program if it deems such action to be in the Company’s best interest and the best interest of the Company’s stockholders. As a result, share repurchases may not be available each quarter. The Company intends to conduct such repurchase offers in accordance with the requirements of Rule 13e-4 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "Exchange Act") and the 1940 Act and subject to compliance with applicable covenants and restrictions under the Company’s financing arrangements. All shares repurchased by the Company pursuant to the terms of each tender offer will be redeemed and thereafter will be authorized and unissued shares. As of June 30, 2025, the Company repurchased 528,681 common shares of beneficial interest at a weighted-average purchase price of $15.15.

On February 11, 2022, the Company formed PBDC Consolidated Blocker, LLC (the “Taxable Subsidiary”), which is structured as a Delaware entity, to hold equity or equity-like investments in portfolio companies organized as limited liability companies, or LLCs (or other forms of pass-through entities). The Taxable Subsidiary is consolidated for U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“U.S. GAAP”) reporting purposes, and the portfolio investments held by the Taxable Subsidiary are included in the consolidated financial statements.

On May 20, 2024, the Company formed Stellus Private Credit BDC SPV LLC (“PBDC SPV”), which is structured as a Delaware limited liability company, for a special purpose vehicle financing credit facility (the “SPV Facility”). The PBDC SPV is consolidated for U.S. GAAP reporting purposes, and the portfolio investments held by the PBDC SPV are included in the consolidated financial statements. See Note 9 for further details regarding the SPV Facility.

As a BDC, the Company is required to comply with certain regulatory requirements. For instance, as a BDC, we may not acquire any assets other than “qualifying assets” as specified in the 1940 Act unless, at the time the acquisition is made, at least 70% of our total assets are qualifying assets. Qualifying assets include investments in “eligible portfolio companies.” Under the relevant SEC rules, the term “eligible portfolio company” includes any issuer that (i) is organized and with their principal of business in the United States., (ii) is not an investment company that are wholly owned subsidiaries of a BDC) or a company that would be an investment company but for certain exclusions under the 1940 Act, and (iii) satisfies any one of the following criteria: such company (a) has a market capitalization of less than $250,000,000 or does not have a class of securities listed on a national securities exchange, (b) is controlled by a BDC or a group of companies including a BDC, the BDC actually exercises a controlling influence over the management or policies of the company, and, as a result thereof, the BDC has an affiliated person who is a director of the company, or (c) is a small and solvent company having total assets of not more than $4 million and capital and surplus of not less than $2,000,000. Additionally, in accordance with the 1940 Act, we are required to meet a coverage ratio of total assets (less total liabilities other than indebtedness) to total borrowings and other senior securities (including any preferred stock that we may issue in the future) of at least 150%, subject to meeting certain conditions. If this ratio declines below 150%, we cannot incur additional leverage and could be required to sell a portion of our investments to repay some leverage when it is disadvantageous to do so. The amount of leverage that we employ at any time depends on our assessment of the market and other factors at the time of any proposed borrowing. As of June 30, 2025 and December 31, 2024, our asset coverage ratio was 198% and 216%, respectively.

The Company’s investment objective is to maximize the total return to its shareholders in the form of current income and capital appreciation through debt and related equity investments in lower middle-market companies (“LMM”). The Company seeks to achieve its investment objective by originating and investing primarily in private U.S. LMM companies (typically those with $5,000,000 to $50,000,000 of earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (“EBITDA”) with a focus on investing through first lien (including unitranche) loans, often with a corresponding equity investment. The Company sources investments primarily through the extensive network of relationships that the principals of Stellus Capital Management have developed with financial sponsor firms, financial institutions, LMM companies, management teams and other professional intermediaries.

Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

Basis of Presentation

The accompanying unaudited consolidated financial statements have been prepared on the accrual basis of accounting in conformity with U.S. GAAP for interim financial information and pursuant to the requirements for reporting on Form 10-Q and Article 10 of Regulation S-X under the Exchange Act. Accordingly, certain disclosures accompanying the annual financial statements prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP are omitted. The unaudited consolidated financial statements include the accounts of the Company and its wholly owned subsidiary.

In the opinion of management, the unaudited consolidated financial results included herein contain all adjustments, consisting solely of normal recurring accruals, considered necessary for the fair presentation of the financial statements for the interim periods included herein. The results of operations for the three and six months ended June 30, 2025 and 2024 are not necessarily indicative of the operating results to be expected for the full year. Also, the unaudited

consolidated financial statements and notes should be read in conjunction with the audited consolidated financial statements and notes thereto for the year ended December 31, 2024.

In accordance with Regulation S-X under the Exchange Act, the Company does not consolidate portfolio company investments. The accounting records of the Company are maintained in U.S. dollars.

Economic Developments

Economic activity has continued to accelerate across sectors and regions. Nonetheless, we have observed and may continue to observe supply chain interruptions, labor resource shortages, commodity inflation, fluctuating interest rates, bank impairments and failures, economic sanctions in response to international conflicts and instances of geopolitical, economic and financial market instability in the United States and abroad. One or more of these factors may contribute to increased market volatility and may have long- and short-term effects in the United States and worldwide financial markets.

Portfolio Investment Classification

The Company classifies its portfolio investments in accordance with the requirements of the 1940 Act as follows: (a) “Controlled Investments” are defined as investments in which the Company owns more than 25% of the voting securities or has rights to maintain greater than 50% of the board representation; (b) “Affiliate Investments” are defined as investments in which the Company owns between 5% and 25% of the voting securities and does not have rights to maintain greater than 50% of the board representation; and (c) “Non-controlled, non-affiliate investments” are defined as investments that are neither Controlled Investments or Affiliate Investments.

Cash and Cash Equivalents

Cash consists of bank demand deposits. We deem certain money market mutual funds, U.S. Treasury Bills, and other high-quality, short-term debt securities as cash equivalents.

As of June 30, 2025, cash balances totaling $107,198 did not exceed Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation ("FDIC") insurance protection levels of $250,000. In addition, at June 30, 2025, the Company held $3,549,764 in cash equivalents in money market mutual funds, which are carried at net asset value, which is considered a Level 1 valuation technique. All of the Company’s cash deposits are held at large established high credit quality financial institutions, and management believes that risk of loss associated with any uninsured balances is remote.

Fair Value Measurements

We account for all of our financial instruments at fair value in accordance with ASC Topic 820, Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures (“ASC Topic 820”). ASC Topic 820 defines fair value, establishes a framework used to measure fair value, and requires disclosures for fair value measurements, including the categorization of financial instruments into a three-level hierarchy based on the transparency of valuation inputs. ASC Topic 820 requires disclosure of the fair value of financial instruments for which it is practical to estimate such value. We believe that the carrying amounts of our financial instruments such as receivables and payables approximate the fair value of these items due to the short maturity of these instruments. These are considered Level 2 in the fair value hierarchy. The carrying values of our Credit Facilities (defined below) approximates fair value because the interest rates adjusts to the market interest rates (Level 3 classification). Valuation techniques and significant inputs used to determine fair value include Company details; credit, market and liquidity risk and events; financial health of the Company; place in the capital

structure; interest rate; and terms and conditions of the Credit Facilities. See Note 6 to the consolidated financial statements for further discussion regarding the fair value measurements and hierarchy.

Consolidation

As permitted under Regulation S-X under the Exchange Act and ASC Topic 946, we generally do not consolidate our investment in a portfolio company but do consolidate any investment company subsidiary and PBDC SPV. Accordingly, we consolidated the results of the Taxable Subsidiary. All intercompany balances have been eliminated upon consolidation.

Use of Estimates

The preparation of the Consolidated Statements of Assets and Liabilities in conformity with U.S. GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amount of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements. Changes in the economic environment, financial markets and any other parameters used in determining these estimates could cause actual results to differ materially.

Deferred Financing Costs

Deferred financing costs consists of prepaid loan structure fees and expenses paid in connection with the closing of our Credit Facilities and are capitalized at the time of payment. These costs are amortized using the straight line method over the term of the respective instrument and presented as an offset to the corresponding debt on the Consolidated Statements of Assets and Liabilities.

Organizational Costs

Organizational costs include costs relating to the formation and incorporation of the Company, which generally include legal fees. These costs are expensed as incurred.

Deferred Offering Costs

Costs associated with the offering of common shares of beneficial interest of the Company are capitalized as deferred offering costs, included on the Consolidated Statements of Assets and Liabilities and amortized over a twelve-month period from Commencement of Operations or the date of incurrence, thereafter. These expenses include legal, accounting, printing fees and other related expenses and costs incurred in connection with preparing the offering documents relating to the Private Offering. As of June 30, 2025 and December 31, 2024, $91,083 and $127,983 of such offering costs had yet to be amortized, respectively.

Investments

Rule 2a-5 under the 1940 Act allows the Board to designate a valuation designee (the “Valuation Designee ”) to perform the fair value determination responsibilities, subject to certain conditions, including continued board of directors’ oversight and creates a framework for the determination of the fair value of a fund’s investment in order to establish a standard baseline valuation practice across all funds. Determination of fair value in good faith requires, among other things, assessment and management of material valuation risks, the establishment and consistent application of appropriate methodologies for calculating fair value (including regular review of which methodologies have been selected and monitoring for circumstances that require fair value), the regular testing of the established fair value methodologies, and the evaluation and oversight of any pricing services used. The Board has amended its

valuation policy in accordance with the requirements of Rule 2a-5 and Rule 31a-4. The Board has not elected to designate a Valuation Designee.

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As a BDC, the Company will generally invest in illiquid loans and securities including debt and equity securities of private middle-market companies. Section 2(a)(41)of the 1940 Act requires that a BDC value its assets as follows: (i) the third party price for securities for which a quotation is readily available; and (ii) for all other securities and assets, fair value, as determined in good faith under procedures adopted by a BDC's board. Under procedures approved by our Board, the Company intends to value investments for which market quotations are readily available at such market quotations. The Company will obtain these market values from an independent pricing service or at the midpoint of the bid and ask prices obtained from at least two brokers or dealers (if available, otherwise by a principal market maker or a primary market dealer). Debt and equity securities that are not publicly traded or whose market prices are not readily available will be valued at fair value as determined in good faith by our Board. Such determination of fair values may involve subjective judgments and estimates. The Company also engages independent valuation providers to review the valuation of each portfolio investment that does not have a readily available market quotation at least twice annually.

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Debt and equity investments purchased within approximately 90 days of the valuation date will be valued at cost, plus accreted discount, or minus amortized premium, which approximates fair value. With respect to unquoted securities, our Board will value each investment considering, among other measures, discounted cash flow models, comparisons of financial ratios of peer companies that are public and other factors. When an external event such as a purchase transaction, public offering or subsequent equity sale occurs, the Board will use the pricing indicated by the external event to corroborate and/or assist us in its valuation. Because the Company expects that there will not be a readily available market quotation for many of the investments in its portfolio, the Company expects to value most of its portfolio investments at fair value as determined in good faith by the Board using a documented valuation policy and a consistently applied valuation process. Due to the inherent uncertainty of determining the fair value of investments that do not have a readily available market value, the fair value of our investments may differ significantly from the values that would have been used had a readily available market value existed for such investments, and the differences could be material.

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In following these approaches, the types of factors that will be taken into account in fair value pricing investments will include, as relevant, but not be limited to:

Revenue Recognition

We record interest income on an accrual basis to the extent such interest is deemed collectible. Payment-in-kind (“PIK”) interest, represents contractual interest accrued and added to the loan balance that generally becomes due at maturity. We will not accrue any form of interest on loans and debt securities if we have reason to doubt our ability to collect such interest. Loan origination fees, original issue discount and market discount or premium are capitalized, and we then accrete or amortize such amounts using the effective interest method as interest income. Upon the prepayment of a loan or debt security, any unamortized loan origination fee is recorded as interest income. We record prepayment premiums on loans and debt securities as other income. Dividend income, if any, will be recognized on the ex-dividend date.

A presentation of the interest income we have received from portfolio companies for the three and six months ended June 30, 2025 and 2024 is as follows:

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Management considers portfolio company specific circumstances as well as other economic factors in determining collectability of income. As of June 30, 2025, the Company had loans to one portfolio company on non-accrual status, which represented approximately 1.7% of the Company’s loan portfolio at cost and 1.4% at fair value. As of June 30, 2025 and December 31, 2024, $928,095 and $89,992 of income from investments on non-accrual has not been accrued, respectively. As of December 31, 2024, the Company had loans to one portfolio company on non-accrual status, which represented approximately 1.8% of the Company’s loan portfolio at cost and 1.2% at fair value. If a loan or debt security’s status significantly improves regarding the debtor’s ability to service the debt or other obligations, or if a loan or debt security is sold or written off, the Company will remove it from non-accrual status.

Net Realized Gains or Losses and Net Change in Unrealized Appreciation or Depreciation

Realized gains or losses are measured by the difference between the net proceeds from the repayment, sale or disposition and the amortized cost basis of the investment, without regard to unrealized appreciation or depreciation previously recognized. Net change in unrealized appreciation or depreciation reflects the change in portfolio investment values during the reporting period, including any reversal of previously recorded unrealized appreciation or depreciation, when gains or losses are realized.

Foreign currency amounts are translated into US Dollars on the following basis:

Investment Transaction Costs

Costs that are material and associated with an investment transaction, including legal expenses, are included in the cost basis of purchases, and deducted from the proceeds of sales unless such costs are reimbursed by the borrower.

Receivables and Payables for Unsettled Securities Transaction

The Company records all investments on a trade date basis.

U.S. Federal Income Taxes

The Company has elected to be treated, and intends to qualify annually, as a RIC under Subchapter M of the Code, and to operate in a manner to qualify for the tax treatment applicable to RICs. To qualify for tax treatment as a RIC, among other things, the Company is required to timely distribute to its shareholders at least 90% of investment company taxable income, as defined by the Code, for each year. So long as the Company maintains its status as a RIC, it generally will not be subject to U.S. federal income tax on any ordinary income or capital gains that it distributes at least annually to its shareholders as dividends. Rather, any tax liability related to income earned by the Company represents obligations of the Company’s investors and will not be reflected in the consolidated financial statements of the Company.

To avoid a 4% U.S federal excise tax on undistributed earnings, the Company is required to distribute each calendar year the sum of (i) 98% of its ordinary income for such calendar year, (ii) 98.2% of its net capital gains for the one-year period ending December 31, and (iii) any income recognized, but not distributed, in preceding years and on which the Company paid no federal income tax or the Excise Tax Avoidance Requirement. For this purpose, however, any net ordinary income or capital gain net income retained by us that is subject to corporate income tax for the tax year ending in that calendar year will be considered to have been distributed by year end (or earlier if estimated taxes are paid). The Company, at its discretion, may choose not to distribute all its taxable income for the calendar year and pay a non-deductible 4% excise tax on this income. If the Company chooses to do so, all other things being equal, this would increase expenses and reduce the amount of cash available to be distributed to shareholders. To the extent that the Company determines that its estimated current year annual taxable income will be in excess of estimated current year dividend distributions from such taxable income, the Company accrues excise taxes on estimated excess taxable income as taxable income is earned. As of December 31, 2024, the Company estimates that it had $647,253 of undistributed taxable income that was carried forward toward distributions to be paid in 2025. The Company intends to distribute any undistributed ordinary income as of December 31, 2024 within the required period of time such that the Company will not have to pay corporate-level U.S. federal income tax related to the year ended December 31, 2024.

Current income tax expense estimates for the three and six months ended June 30, 2025 of $14,758 and $17,107, respectively, is related to federal excise taxes. Current income tax expense estimates for the three and six months ended June 30, 2024 of $7,685 and $29,274, respectively, is related to federal excise taxes.

The Company evaluates tax positions taken or expected to be taken while preparing its tax returns to determine whether the tax positions are “more-likely-than-not” of being sustained by the applicable tax authority. Tax positions deemed to meet a “more-likely-than-not” threshold would be recorded as a tax benefit or expense in the applicable period. As of June 30, 2025, the Company had not recorded a liability for any uncertain tax positions. Management’s evaluation of uncertain tax positions may be subject to review and adjustment at a later date based upon factors including, but not limited to, an on-going analysis of tax laws, regulations and interpretations thereof. The Company’s policy is to include interest and penalties related to income taxes, if applicable, in general and administrative expenses. There were no such expenses for the three and six months ended June 30, 2025 and 2024.

The Taxable Subsidiary is a direct wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company that has elected to be a taxable entity. The Taxable Subsidiary permits the Company to hold equity investments in portfolio companies that are “pass through” entities for U.S. federal income tax purposes and continue to comply with the “source-of-income” requirements contained in RIC tax provisions of the Code. The Taxable Subsidiary is not consolidated with the Company for U.S. federal income tax purposes and may generate income tax expense, benefit, and the related tax assets and liabilities, as a result of their ownership of certain portfolio investments. The income tax expense, or benefit, if any, and related tax assets and liabilities are reflected in the Company’s consolidated financial statements.

The Taxable Subsidiary uses the liability method in accounting for income taxes. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are recorded for temporary differences between the tax basis of assets and liabilities and their reported amounts in the financial statements, using statutory tax rates in effect for the year in which the temporary differences are expected to reverse. A valuation allowance is provided against deferred tax assets when it is more likely than not that some portion or all of the deferred tax asset will not be realized.

Taxable income generally differs from net income for financial reporting purposes due to temporary and permanent differences in the recognition of income and expenses. Taxable income generally excludes net unrealized appreciation or depreciation, as investment gains or losses are not included in taxable income until they are realized.

For the three and six months ended June 30, 2025, the Company recorded deferred income tax (provision) benefit of ($23,593) and $38,266 related to the Taxable Subsidiary, respectively. For the three and six months ended June 30, 2024, the Company recorded deferred income tax (provision) benefit of ($42,087) and $3,798, respectively, related to the Taxable Subsidiary. In addition, as of June 30, 2025 and December 31, 2024, the Company had a deferred tax liability of $221,189 and $259,455, respectively.

Earnings per Share

Basic per share calculations are computed utilizing the weighted average number of common shares of beneficial interest outstanding for the period. The Company has no common share of beneficial interest equivalents. As a result, there is no difference between diluted earnings per share and basic per share amounts.

Paid-In Capital

The Company records the proceeds from the sale of its common shares of beneficial interest on a net basis to (i) capital stock and (ii) paid-in capital in excess of par value, excluding all commissions and marketing support fees.

Distributable Earnings

The components that make up total distributable earnings on the Statements of Assets and Liabilities as of June 30, 2025 and December 31, 2024 are as follows:

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Recently Issued Accounting Standards

In December 2023, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (the "FASB") issued ASU 2023-09, Improvements to Income Tax Disclosures (“ASU 2023-09”). The amendments in this update require more disaggregated information on income taxes paid. ASU 2023-09 is effective for years beginning after December 15, 2024. Early adoption is permitted; however, the Company has not elected to adopt this provision as of the date of the financial statements contained in this quarterly report on Form 10-Q. The Company is still assessing the impact of the new guidance. However, it does not expect ASU 2023-09 to have a material impact on the consolidated financial statements and the notes thereto.

In November 2024, the FASB issued ASU 2024-03, Income Statement—Reporting Comprehensive Income—Expense Disaggregation Disclosures (“ASU 2024-03”), which requires disaggregated disclosure of certain costs and expenses, including purchases of inventory, employee compensation, depreciation, amortization and depletion, within relevant income statement captions. ASU 2024-03 is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2026, and interim periods beginning with the first quarter ended March 31, 2028. Early adoption and retrospective application is permitted. The Company is currently assessing the impact of this guidance, however, the Company does not expect a material impact on its consolidated financial statements.

See Note 11 to the consolidated financial statements contained herein for further discussion regarding recently issued accounting standards.

From time to time, new accounting pronouncements are issued by the Financial Accounting Standards Board or other standards setting bodies that are adopted by the Company as of the specified effective date. We believe the impact of the recently issued standards and any that are not yet effective will not have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements upon adoption.