Encore Capital Group Announces First Quarter 2011 Financial Results

April 27, 2011 at 4:08 PM EDT
Quarterly Net Income Increases 26% to $13.7 Million, or $0.54 per Fully Diluted Share; Quarterly Gross Collections Increase 35% to $191.1 Million

SAN DIEGO, April 27, 2011 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ --

Encore Capital Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: ECPG), a leading distressed consumer debt buying and recovery company, today reported consolidated financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2011.

For the first quarter of 2011:

  • Gross collections were $191.1 million, a 35% increase over the $141.3 million in the same period of the prior year.
  • Investment in receivable portfolios was $90.7 million, to purchase $2.9 billion in face value of debt, compared to $81.6 million, to purchase $2.1 billion in face value of debt in the same period of the prior year. Available capacity under the Company's revolving credit facility, subject to borrowing base and applicable debt covenants, was $110.5 million as of March 31, 2011. Total debt, consisting of the revolving credit facility, senior secured notes and capital lease obligations, was $382.4 million as of March 31, 2011, a decrease of 1% from $385.3 million as of December 31, 2010.
  • Revenue from receivable portfolios, net was $105.3 million, a 27% increase over the $82.9 million in the same period of the prior year. Revenue recognized on receivable portfolios, as a percentage of portfolio collections, excluding the effects of net portfolio allowances, was 58%, compared to 64% in the same period of the prior year.
  • Revenue from bankruptcy servicing was $4.9 million, an 11% increase over the $4.4 million in the same period of the prior year.
  • Total operating expenses were $82.5 million, a 26% increase over the $65.6 million in the same period of the prior year. Adjusted operating expense (operating expenses excluding stock-based compensation expense and bankruptcy servicing expenses) per dollar collected decreased to 40.0% compared to 42.9% in the same period of the prior year.
  • Adjusted EBITDA, defined as net income before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, stock-based compensation expense and portfolio amortization, was $116.4 million, a 41% increase over the $82.6 million in the same period of the prior year.
  • Total interest expense was $5.6 million, compared to $4.5 million in the same period of the prior year.
  • Net income was $13.7 million or $0.54 per fully diluted share, compared to net income of $10.9 million or $0.44 per fully diluted share in the same period of the prior year.
  • Tangible book value per share, computed by dividing total stockholders' equity less goodwill and identifiable intangible assets by the number of diluted shares outstanding, was $11.87 as of March 31, 2011, a 5% increase over $11.35 as of December 31, 2010.

Conference Call and Webcast

The Company will hold a conference call today at 2:00 p.m. Pacific time / 5:00 p.m. Eastern time to discuss first quarter results.

Members of the public are invited to listen to the event via a listen-only telephone conference call line or the Internet. To access the live telephone conference call line, please dial 877-670-9781. To access the live webcast via the Internet, log on at the Investor Relations page of the Company's website at www.encorecapital.com.

For those who cannot listen to the live broadcast, a telephone replay will be available for seven days by dialing 800-642-1687 and using the passcode 55976251. A replay of the conference call will also be available shortly after the call on the Company's website.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

The Company has included information concerning Adjusted EBITDA because management utilizes this information, which is materially similar to a financial measure contained in covenants used in the Company's credit agreement, in the evaluation of its operations and believes that this measure is a useful indicator of the Company's ability to generate cash collections in excess of operating expenses through the liquidation of its receivable portfolios. The Company has included information concerning adjusted operating expenses excluding stock-based compensation expense and bankruptcy servicing expenses in order to facilitate a comparison of approximate cash costs to cash collections for the debt purchasing business in the periods presented. The Company has included information concerning tangible book value per share because management believes that this metric is a meaningful measure of the equity deployed in the business. Adjusted EBITDA, adjusted operating expenses excluding stock-based compensation expense and bankruptcy servicing expenses, and tangible book value per share have not been prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). These non-GAAP financial measures should not be considered as alternatives to, or more meaningful than, net income and total operating expenses as indicators of Encore Capital Group's operating performance and total stockholders' equity as an indicator of Encore Capital Group's financial condition. Further, these non-GAAP financial measures, as presented by Encore Capital Group, may not be comparable to similarly titled measures reported by other companies. The Company has included a reconciliation of Adjusted EBITDA to reported earnings under GAAP, a reconciliation of adjusted operating expenses excluding stock-based compensation expense and bankruptcy servicing expenses to the GAAP measure total operating expenses, and a reconciliation of tangible book value per share to the GAAP measure total stockholders' equity in the attached financial tables.

About Encore Capital Group, Inc.

Encore Capital Group is a leader in consumer debt buying and recovery. We purchase portfolios of defaulted consumer receivables from major banks, credit unions, and utility providers and partner with individuals as they repay their obligations and work toward financial recovery. Our success and future growth are driven by our sophisticated and widespread use of analytics, our broad investments in data and behavioral science, the significant cost advantages provided by both our operations in India and our enterprise-wide, account-level cost database, and our demonstrated commitment to conduct business ethically and in ways that support our consumers' financial recovery.

Headquartered in San Diego, we are a publicly traded NASDAQ Global Select company (ticker symbol: ECPG) and a component stock of both the Russell 2000 and Wilshire 4500. More information about the Company can be found at www.encorecapital.com.

Contact:

Encore Capital Group, Inc.Paul Grinberg (858) 309-6904 paul.grinberg@encorecapital.com or Ren Zamora (858) 560-3598 ren.zamora@encorecapital.com

FINANCIAL TABLES FOLLOW

ENCORE CAPITAL GROUP, INC.

Condensed Consolidated Statements of Financial Condition

(In Thousands, Except Par Value Amounts)

(Unaudited)






March31,
2011


December31,
2010


Assets



Cash and cash equivalents

$ 22,375

$ 10,905

Accounts receivable, net

4,474

3,331

Investment in receivable portfolios, net

648,820

644,753

Deferred court costs, net

34,286

32,158

Property and equipment, net

13,677

13,658

Prepaid income tax

--

1,629

Other assets

13,892

13,301

Goodwill

15,985

15,985

Identifiable intangible assets, net

676

748




Total assets

$ 754,185

$ 736,468




Liabilities and stockholders' equity



Liabilities:



Accounts payable and accrued liabilities

$ 26,142

$ 26,539

Income taxes payable

5,475

--

Deferred tax liabilities, net

17,568

17,626

Debt

382,380

385,264

Other liabilities

3,780

4,342




Total liabilities

435,345

433,771




Commitments and contingencies



Stockholders' equity:



Convertible preferred stock, $.01 par value, 5,000 shares authorized, no shares issued and outstanding

--

--

Common stock, $.01 par value, 50,000 shares authorized, 24,172 shares and 24,011 shares issued and outstanding as of March 31, 2011 and December31, 2010, respectively

242

240

Additional paid-in capital

115,367

113,412

Accumulated earnings

202,573

188,894

Accumulated other comprehensive income

658

151




Total stockholders' equity

318,840

302,697




Total liabilities and stockholders' equity

$ 754,185

$ 736,468





ENCORE CAPITAL GROUP, INC.

Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income

(In Thousands, Except Per Share Amounts)

(Unaudited)






Three Months Ended

March 31,



2011


2010


Revenue



Revenue from receivable portfolios, net

$ 105,326

$ 82,907

Servicing fees and other related revenue

4,977

4,431




Total revenue

110,303

87,338




Operating expenses



Salaries and employee benefits (excluding stock-based compensation expense)

19,040

15,485

Stock-based compensation expense

1,765

1,761

Cost of legal collections

36,509

26,433

Other operating expenses

10,096

9,114

Collection agency commissions

3,914

5,296

General and administrative expenses

10,169

6,879

Depreciation and amortization

1,053

673




Total operating expenses

82,546

65,641




Income from operations

27,757

21,697




Other (expense) income



Interest expense

(5,593)

(4,538)

Other income

116

192




Total other expense

(5,477)

(4,346)




Income before income taxes

22,280

17,351

Provision for income taxes

(8,601)

(6,490)




Net income

$ 13,679

$ 10,861




Weighted average shares outstanding:



Basic

24,260

23,494

Diluted

25,451

24,685

Earnings per share:



Basic

$ 0.56

$ 0.46

Diluted

$ 0.54

$ 0.44


ENCORE CAPITAL GROUP, INC.

Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows

(Unaudited, In Thousands)






Three Months Ended

March 31,



2011


2010


Operating activities:



Net income

$ 13,679

$ 10,861

Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided by operating activities:



Depreciation and amortization

1,053

673

Amortization of loan costs and debt discount

440

1,062

Stock-based compensation expense

1,765

1,761

Deferred income tax (benefit) expense

(58)

117

Excess tax benefit from stock-based payment arrangements

(1,343)

(458)

Provision for allowances on receivable portfolios, net

5,498

7,881

Changes in operating assets and liabilities



Other assets

(1,819)

(822)

Deferred court costs

(2,128)

354

Prepaid income tax and income taxes payable

8,437

2,903

Accounts payable, accrued liabilities and other liabilities

(1,889)

(3,804)




Net cash provided by operating activities

23,635

20,528




Investing activities:



Purchases of receivable portfolios

(90,675)

(81,632)

Collections applied to investment in receivable portfolios, net

80,211

50,384

Proceeds from put-backs of receivable portfolios

900

584

Purchases of property and equipment

(630)

(208)




Net cash used in investing activities

(10,194)

(30,872)




Financing activities:



Payment of loan costs

(734)

(4,660)

Proceeds from senior secured notes

25,000

--

Proceeds from notes payable and other borrowings

19,000

35,000

Repayment of notes payable and other borrowings

(46,000)

(22,000)

Proceeds from net settlement of certain call options

--

524

Proceeds from exercise of stock options

297

395

Excess tax benefit from stock-based payment arrangements

1,343

458

Repayment of capital lease obligations

(877)

(186)




Net cash (used in) provided by financing activities

(1,971)

9,531




Net increase (decrease) in cash

11,470

(813)

Cash and cash equivalents, beginning of period

10,905

8,388




Cash and cash equivalents, end of period

$ 22,375

$ 7,575




Supplemental disclosures of cash flow information:



Cash paid for interest

$ 5,002

$ 3,516

Cash paid for income taxes

$ 166

$ 3,832

Supplemental schedule of non-cash investing and financing activities:



Fixed assets acquired through capital lease

$ 371

$ 862


ENCORE CAPITAL GROUP, INC.

Supplemental Financial Information

Reconciliation of Adjusted EBITDA to GAAP Net Income, Adjusted Operating Expenses Excluding Stock-based Compensation Expense and Bankruptcy Servicing Expenses to GAAP Total Operating Expenses, and Tangible Book Value Per Share to GAAP Total Stockholders' Equity

(In Thousands, Except Per Share Amounts)

(Unaudited)






Three Months Ended
March31,



2011


2010


GAAP net income, as reported

$ 13,679

$ 10,861

Interest expense

5,593

4,538

Provision for income taxes

8,601

6,490

Depreciation and amortization

1,053

673

Amount applied to principal on receivable portfolios

85,709

58,265

Stock-based compensation expense

1,765

1,761




Adjusted EBITDA

$116,400

$82,588










Three Months Ended
March31,



2011


2010


GAAP total operating expenses, as reported

$ 82,546

$ 65,641

Stock-based compensation expense

(1,765)

(1,761)

Bankruptcy servicing expenses

(4,319)

(3,311)




Adjusted operating expenses excluding stock-based compensation expense and bankruptcy servicing expenses

$76,462

$60,569








As of

March 31, 2011


As of

December 31, 2010


GAAP total stockholders' equity, as reported

$318,840

$302,697

Goodwill

(15,985)

(15,985)

Identifiable intangible assets, net

(676)

(748)




Tangible book value

$302,179

$285,964

Diluted shares outstanding

25,451

25,206




Tangible book value per share

$11.87

$11.35


SOURCE Encore Capital Group, Inc.