CURO Group Holdings Corp. Announces Second Quarter 2022 Financial Results

Consolidated Revenue Grew 62.2% in the Quarter Compared to 2021

CURO Group Holdings Corp. (NYSE: CURO) (“CURO” or the “Company”), a tech-enabled, omni-channel consumer finance company serving a full spectrum of non-prime and prime consumers in the U.S. and Canada, today announced financial results for its second quarter ended June 30, 2022.

“It was a very busy and productive quarter for CURO. In July, we successfully closed the transformative transactions that we announced in May 2022 - the sale of our legacy US Direct Lending business and acquisition of First Heritage Credit,” said Don Gayhardt, CURO’s Chief Executive Officer. “These transactions complete CURO’s strategic transition into longer term, higher balance and lower rate credit products, simplify and improve the future predictability of our business results, expand our access to lower cost funding, and focuses our capital on higher-growth, durable business lines. On the funding side, we also entered into new non-recourse revolving warehouse facilities to fund the loan portfolios and new originations for Heights Finance and First Heritage at lower spreads and higher advance rates.

“I am proud of what our team accomplished during these trying market conditions while still driving solid results in our Heights Finance, Canada Direct Lending, and Flexiti businesses. Excluding the sold U.S. Legacy Direct Lending business, loan balances grew 163.7% year-over-year and 9.4% sequentially compared to the first quarter of 2022. As expected, this solid sequential loan growth and normalization of net charge-off rates and loan loss provisions caused a meaningful reduction in year-over-year earnings for the quarter. As we enter the second half of the year, we will be laser-focused on execution – integrating and capitalizing on the Heights Finance and First Heritage acquisition synergies, careful credit risk management, liquidity and optimizing our cost structure in the wake of the sale of our U.S. Legacy Direct Lending business.”

Consolidated Summary Results

We reported a Net loss of $26.1 million ($0.65 loss per share) and Adjusted net loss of $11.3 million ($0.28 adjusted loss per share) on revenue of $304.4 million for the three months ended June 30, 2022, compared with Net income of $104.5 million ($2.39 per share) and Adjusted net income of $17.4 million ($0.40 adjusted diluted earnings per share) on total revenue of $187.7 million for the three months ended June 30, 2021.

The decline in Net income was primarily driven by (i) year-over-year comparisons for the provision for loan losses which continued to be affected by COVID-19 impacts during the second quarter of 2021 and (ii), higher interest expense. During the second quarter of 2021 Katapult became a public company via a SPAC merger, generating a pretax gain of $135.4 million. Government stimulus in March 2021 and pandemic-related consumer behavior reduced demand, increased payment rates and lowered loss rates in the second quarter of 2021, resulting in a provision for loan losses that was $4.6 million less than net charge-offs (NCOs). In this year's second quarter, credit normalization and strong sequential loan growth resulted in a provision for loan losses that exceeded NCOs by $24.3 million (including the impact of purchase accounting for the Heights Finance portfolio acquired in December 2021). Interest expense increased because of our issuance of 7.50% Senior Secured Notes in the fourth quarter of 2021 to finance, in part, the Heights Finance acquisition, as well as the expansion of non-recourse asset-backed facility borrowing to support loan growth.

Below are additional highlights of our performance this year:

• Revenue and Net Revenue
  • Revenue increased $116.7 million, or 62.2%, year over year, primarily driven by our December 27, 2021 acquisition of Heights Finance, which accounted for $74.3 million of revenue for the second quarter of 2022. Revenue for Canada POS Lending and Canada Direct Lending grew 229.9% and 22.1%, respectively, year over year.
  • Sequentially, revenue increased $14.2 million, or 4.9%, driven by growth of $2.8 million, or 14.0%, in Canada POS Lending, $4.1 million, or 5.7%, in Canada Direct Lending, and $7.3 million, or 3.7% in the U.S. Direct Lending.
  • For the three months ended June 30, 2022, net revenue increased $32.3 million, or 22.7%, year over year, and $17.8 million sequentially. Excluding Heights Finance, net revenue decreased $54.1 million, or 28.1%, year over year, because of the aforementioned loan loss provision comparisons.
    
    
    
    
• Loans Receivable
  • Year-over-year growth in Company Owned gross loans receivable and combined gross loans receivable (gross loans receivable plus loans originated by third-party lenders which are guaranteed by the company) of $1,011.6 million, or 131.5%, and $1,025.8 million, or 127.2%, respectively, as a result of the acquisition of Heights Finance. Excluding Heights Finance, combined gross loans receivables increased $534.3 million, or 66.3%, year over year, primarily driven by $405.7 million, or 183.2%, for Canada POS Lending. Canada and U.S. Direct Lending (excluding Heights Finance) combined gross loans receivable grew 29.4% and 10.0%, respectively, versus the second quarter of 2021.
  • Sequential loan growth in Company Owned gross loans receivable and combined gross loans receivable of $152.3 million, or 9.4%, and $159.2 million, or 9.5%, respectively, was primarily due to growth in Canada POS Lending of $85.4 million, or 15.8%, and U.S. Direct Lending of $54.3 million, or 7.9%.
    
    
    
    
• NCOs and Delinquency Metrics
  • Consolidated quarterly NCO rates improved by 60 bps year over year, primarily from the relative growth of Canada POS Lending and the acquisition of Heights Finance, which shifts our loan portfolio mix to lower loss-rate products offset by credit normalization in the U.S. Direct Lending business.
  • Sequentially, consolidated quarterly NCO rates improved by 80 bps, largely driven by loan growth at Heights and Canada POS Lending, which have lower NCO rates, offset by credit normalization in the U.S. Direct Lending business.
  • Consolidated past-due rates increased 300 bps year over year as credit continued to normalize compared to the first six months of 2021, which was affected by pandemic-related U.S. government stimulus.
  • Consolidated past-due rates increased by 100 bps sequentially, primarily due to seasonality and credit normalization.
    
    
    
    
• Other Highlights
  • On July 8, 2022, we completed the sale of our U.S. Legacy Direct Lending business to Community Choice Financial, a consumer financial services company based in Dublin, Ohio, for total cash consideration of $345 million. The consideration included $310 million in cash paid at closing and $35 million payable in monthly installment payments over the subsequent 12 months.
  • On July 13, 2022, we completed the acquisition of First Heritage Credit ("FHC"), a consumer lender that provides near-prime installment loans along with customary opt-in insurance and other financial products, based in Ridgeland, Mississippi, for a total purchase price of $140 million in cash.
  • On July 13, 2022, concurrently with the closing of the FHC acquisition, we entered into a new $225 million non-recourse revolving warehouse facility to replace FHC's incumbent lender's facility and finance future loans originated by FHC.
  • On July 15, 2022, we entered into a new $425 million non-recourse revolving warehouse facility to replace the incumbent lender's facility and finance future loans originated by Heights Finance.
  • On August 3, 2022 we declared the next quarterly dividend of $0.11 per share, payable on August 26, 2022 to stockholders of record as of August 15, 2022.

From the second quarter of 2020 through the first half of 2021, we experienced lower customer demand in the U.S. and Canada Direct Lending, relatively good credit performance, increased or accelerated repayments and favorable payment trends, as customers were aided by government stimulus programs while periodically enduring pandemic lockdowns as a result of COVID-19. From the third quarter of 2021 through the second quarter of 2022, our markets were less affected by COVID-19, resulting in positive growth trends in revenue and receivables, along with increases in charged off accounts as stimulus programs waned and credit normalized.

Results of Consolidated Operations

Beginning January 1, 2022, we began reporting "Interest and fees revenue," "Insurance premiums and commissions" and "Other revenue" in place of our previously reported "Revenue" on our Statements of Operations. Prior period presentations have been revised to conform to the current period presentation.

Table 3 - Consolidated Revenue by Product and Segment

The following table summarizes revenue by product, including revenue related to loans Held for Sale and revenue we earn from operating as a credit services organization ("CSO") by charging customers a fee for arranging an unrelated third party to make a loan to that customer, which we refer to as "CSO fees," for the period indicated:

Table 4 - Consolidated Loans Receivable

The following table reconciles Company Owned gross loans receivable, a GAAP-basis balance sheet measure, to Gross combined loans receivable, a non-GAAP measure⁽¹⁾. Gross combined loans receivable includes loans originated by third-party lenders through CSO programs, which are not included in the Consolidated Financial Statements but from which we earn revenue by providing a guarantee to the unaffiliated lender.

Segment Analysis

The following is a summary of segment operating (loss) income and portfolio performance for the segment and period indicated. Included are results related to the business classified as Held for Sale.

Table 5 - Summary of Segment Operating (Loss) Income

Table 6 - Summary of Adjusted Segment Operating (Loss) Income

Table 7 - U.S. Portfolio Performance

Table 8 - Canada Direct Lending Portfolio Performance

Table 9 - Canada POS Lending Portfolio Performance

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

In addition to the financial information prepared in conformity with U.S. GAAP, we provide certain “non-GAAP financial measures,” including:

• Adjusted Net Income ("ANI") and Adjusted Earnings Per Share, or the Adjusted Earnings Measures (net income plus or minus certain legal and other costs, income or loss from equity method investment, goodwill and intangible asset impairments, transaction-related costs, restructuring costs, loss on extinguishment of debt, adjustments related to acquisition accounting, share-based compensation, intangible asset amortization, certain tax adjustments and impacts from tax law changes and cumulative tax effect of applicable adjustments, on a total and per share basis);
• EBITDA (earnings before interest, income taxes, depreciation and amortization);
• Adjusted EBITDA (EBITDA plus or minus certain non-cash and other adjusting items); and
• Gross Combined Loans Receivable (includes loans originated by third-party lenders through CSO programs which are not included in the Consolidated Financial Statements).

We believe that presentation of non-GAAP financial information is meaningful and useful in understanding the activities and business metrics of the Company's operations. We believe that these non-GAAP financial measures reflect an additional way of viewing aspects of the business that, when viewed with the Company's U.S. GAAP results, provide a more complete understanding of factors and trends affecting the business.

We believe that investors regularly rely on non-GAAP financial measures, to assess operating performance and that such measures may highlight trends in the business that may not otherwise be apparent when relying on financial measures calculated in accordance with U.S. GAAP. In addition, we believe that the adjustments shown above are useful to investors to allow them to compare our financial results during the periods shown without the effect of each of these income or expense items. In addition, we believe that these non-GAAP financial measures are frequently used by securities analysts, investors and other interested parties in the evaluation of public companies in our industry, many of which present non-GAAP financial measures when reporting their results.

In addition to reporting loans receivable information in accordance with U.S. GAAP, we provide Gross Combined Loans Receivable consisting of owned loans receivable plus loans originated by third-party lenders through the CSO programs, which we guarantee but do not include in the Consolidated Financial Statements. Management believes this analysis provides investors with important information needed to evaluate overall lending performance.

We provide non-GAAP financial information for informational purposes and to enhance understanding of the U.S. GAAP Consolidated Financial Statements. Non-GAAP financial measures should not be considered as alternatives to income, segment operating income, or any other performance measure derived in accordance with U.S. GAAP, or as an alternative to cash flows from operating activities or any other liquidity measure derived in accordance with U.S. GAAP. Readers should consider the information in addition to, but not instead of or superior to, the financial statements prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP. This non-GAAP financial information may be determined or calculated differently by other companies, limiting the usefulness of those measures for comparative purposes.

Description and Reconciliations of Non-GAAP Financial Measures

Non-GAAP financial measures have limitations as analytical tools, and you should not consider these measures in isolation or as a substitute for analysis of our income or cash flows as reported under U.S. GAAP. Some of these limitations are:

• they do not include cash expenditures or future requirements for capital expenditures or contractual commitments;
• they do not include changes in, or cash requirements for, working capital needs;
• they do not include the interest expense, or the cash requirements necessary to service interest or principal payments on debt;
• depreciation and amortization are non-cash expense items reported in the statements of cash flows; and
• other companies in our industry may calculate these measures differently, limiting their usefulness as comparative measures.

We calculate Adjusted Earnings per Share utilizing diluted shares outstanding at quarter-end. If we record a loss under U.S. GAAP, shares outstanding utilized to calculate Diluted Loss per Share are equivalent to basic shares outstanding. Shares outstanding utilized to calculate Adjusted Earnings per Share reflect the number of diluted shares we would have reported if reporting net income under U.S. GAAP. If we record an Adjusted Loss per Share, shares outstanding utilized to calculate Diluted Loss per Share are equivalent to basic shares outstanding.

As noted above, Gross Combined Loans Receivable includes loans originated by third-party lenders through CSO programs which are not included in the consolidated financial statements but from which we earn revenue and for which we provide a guarantee to the lender. Management believes this analysis provides investors with important information needed to evaluate overall lending performance.

We believe investors use the non-GAAP measures we present to analyze operating performance and to evaluate our ability to incur and service debt and the capacity for making capital expenditures. Adjusted EBITDA is also useful to investors to help assess our estimated enterprise value.

Table 10 - Reconciliation of Net Income and Diluted Earnings per Share to Adjusted Net Income and Adjusted Diluted Earnings per Share, non-GAAP measures