AUSTIN, Texas, April 23 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- EZCORP, Inc. (Nasdaq: EZPW) announced today results for its fiscal second quarter and six-month period ended March 31, 2009.
EZCORP's net income for the quarter ended March 31, 2009 increased 41% to $18,320,000 ($0.37 per share) compared to $13,016,000 ($0.30 per share) for the quarter ended March 31, 2008. Total revenues for the quarter increased 38% over the prior year period to $156,266,000 with pawn service charges up 54%, total sales (merchandise and jewelry scrapping) up 45%, and signature loan revenues (payday loan and credit service fees) up 5%.
Consolidated operating income improved 40% to $27,690,000 (29% of net revenues) from $19,712,000 (28% of net revenues) in the prior year quarter. The Company's U.S. pawn operations contributed $6,574,000 of the improvement and EZMONEY operations contributed $2,157,000, partially offset by an increase in administrative costs. Operating income from the 45-store Empeno Facil pawn segment increased 34% in Mexican pesos, but was relatively flat after translation to a stronger U.S. dollar.
The 78 pawn stores acquired in the December quarter contributed total revenues of $36,725,000, operating income of $4,881,000, and net income of $2,896,000. The acquired stores contributed approximately $0.02 earnings per share after the effect of shares issued in the acquisitions.
EZCORP's net income for the six-month period ended March 31, 2009 increased 30% to $33,148,000 ($0.71 per share) compared to $25,571,000 ($0.59 per share) for the prior year six-month period. Operating income for the six months improved 28% to $49,702,000 (29% of net revenues) compared to $38,842,000 (28% of net revenues) for the prior year six-month period.
Commenting on these results, President and Chief Executive Officer, Joe Rotunda, stated, "Our second quarter was another strong quarter for us, with the 23% increase in earnings per share exceeding our guidance. This is our 27th consecutive quarter of year over year earnings growth. We ended the quarter with a strong balance sheet reflecting cash in excess of outstanding debt, and an additional $80 million available on our revolving line of credit."
Rotunda continued, "We are pleased with the contribution from the 78 stores we acquired in November and December. We migrated all acquired stores to our point-of-sale system by March 31 and all administrative functions will be fully integrated by April 30, leading to additional efficiencies and earnings accretion."
Rotunda concluded, "We expect full-year earnings per share of $1.50 to $1.52 compared to last year's $1.21, representing an increase of 24% to 26%. We expect our June quarter to be approximately $0.34 for a 36% increase, and the September quarter to be $0.46 to $0.48, or an increase of 24% to 30% over the prior year quarter. We remain on track to open 30 to 35 Mexico pawn locations by fiscal year-end, including the six opened and one acquired year-to-date. We opened fourteen EZMONEY stores year-to-date and closed nine as part of the ongoing analysis of store performance. We expect to open two more EZMONEY stores in the remainder of the fiscal year."
EZCORP is primarily a lender or provider of credit services to individuals who do not have cash resources or access to credit to meet their short-term cash needs. In its pawnshops, the Company offers non-recourse loans collateralized by tangible personal property, commonly known as pawn loans. At these locations, the Company also sells merchandise, primarily collateral forfeited from its pawn lending operations, to consumers looking for good value. In its signature loan stores and some pawnshops, the Company offers short-term non-collateralized loans, often referred to as payday loans, or fee based credit services to customers seeking loans.
As of March 31, 2009, EZCORP operated a total of 898 locations in the U.S. and Mexico consisting of 371 U.S. pawnshops, 45 pawnshops in Mexico and 482 U.S. signature loan stores.
This announcement contains certain forward-looking statements regarding the Company's expected operating and financial performance for future periods, including new store expansion, anticipated benefits of acquisitions and expected future earnings. These statements are based on the Company's current expectations. Actual results for future periods may differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements due to a number of uncertainties and other factors, including changing market conditions in the overall economy and the industry, consumer demand for the Company's services and merchandise, actions of third parties who offer services and products in the Company's locations and changes in the regulatory environment. For a discussion of these and other factors affecting the Company's business and prospects, see the Company's annual, quarterly and other reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
You are invited to listen to a conference call discussing these results on April 23, 2009 at 3:30pm Central Time. The conference call can be accessed over the Internet or replayed at your convenience at the following address. http://www.videonewswire.com/event.asp?id=57864
For additional information, contact Dan Tonissen at (512) 314-2289.
EZCORP, Inc.
Highlights of Consolidated Statements of Operations (Unaudited)
(in thousands, except per share data)
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Three Months
Ended March 31,
----------------
2009 2008
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1 Revenues:
2 Merchandise sales $61,056 $44,675
3 Jewelry scrapping sales 27,957 16,655
4 Pawn service charges 33,516 21,785
5 Signature loan fees 31,594 30,166
6 Auto title loan fees 415 -
7 Other 1,728 344
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8 Total revenues 156,266 113,625
9 Cost of goods sold:
10 Cost of merchandise sales 38,125 27,165
11 Cost of jewelry scrapping sales 18,301 9,566
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12 Total cost of goods sold 56,426 36,731
13 Bad debt:
14 Signature loan bad debt 5,072 6,632
15 Auto title loan bad debt 42 -
-- ---
16 Total bad debt 5,114 6,632
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17 Net revenue 94,726 70,262
18
19 Operations expense 54,628 38,899
20 Administrative expense 9,794 8,451
21 Depreciation and amortization 3,151 3,119
22 (Gain) / Loss on sale/disposal of assets (537) 81
---- --
23 Operating income 27,690 19,712
24
25 Interest income (72) (137)
26 Interest expense 471 75
27 Equity in net income of unconsolidated affiliate (1,371) (1,118)
28 Other 2 -
--- ---
29 Income before income taxes 28,660 20,892
30 Income tax expense 10,340 7,876
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31 Net income $18,320 $13,016
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32
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33 Net income per share, diluted $0.37 $0.30
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34
35 Weighted average shares, diluted 49,272 43,228
EZCORP, Inc.
Highlights of Consolidated Statements of Operations (Unaudited)
(in thousands, except per share data)
-------------------------------------
Six Months Ended
March 31,
----------------
2009 2008
---- ----
1 Revenues:
2 Merchandise sales $105,851 $85,174
3 Jewelry scrapping sales 47,742 31,663
4 Pawn service charges 59,897 44,693
5 Signature loan fees 67,594 63,694
6 Auto title loan fees 636 -
7 Other 3,161 707
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8 Total revenues 284,881 225,931
9 Cost of goods sold:
10 Cost of merchandise sales 65,291 51,416
11 Cost of jewelry scrapping sales 31,560 18,856
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12 Total cost of goods sold 96,851 70,272
13 Bad debt:
14 Signature loan bad debt 14,556 16,302
15 Auto title loan bad debt 49 -
-- ---
16 Total bad debt 14,605 16,302
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17 Net revenue 173,425 139,357
18
19 Operations expense 98,122 77,435
20 Administrative expense 20,205 16,891
21 Depreciation and amortization 6,217 5,946
22 (Gain) / Loss on sale/disposal of assets (821) 243
---- ---
23 Operating income 49,702 38,842
24
25 Interest income (198) (194)
26 Interest expense 636 156
27 Equity in net income of unconsolidated affiliate (2,312) (2,165)
28 Other 27 -
-- ---
29 Income before income taxes 51,549 41,045
30 Income tax expense 18,401 15,474
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31 Net income $33,148 $25,571
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32
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33 Net income per share, diluted $0.71 $0.59
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34
35 Weighted average shares, diluted 46,939 43,241
EZCORP, Inc.
Highlights of Consolidated Balance Sheets (Unaudited)
(in thousands, except per share data and store counts)
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As of March 31,
2009 2008
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1 Assets:
2SOURCE EZCORP, Inc.
