Asta Funding Announces First Quarter Financial Results
biz.yahoo.com
Monday February 11, 9:28 am ET
ENGLEWOOD CLIFFS, N.J., Feb. 11 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Asta Funding, Inc., (Nasdaq: ASFI), a company that acquires, manages, collects and services portfolios of distressed consumer receivables for its own account, today reported results for its fiscal first quarter, the three months ended December 31, 2007.
Total revenue for the first quarter ended December 31, 2007 was $34.2 million, a 33.4% increase compared to total revenue of $25.6 million for the first quarter ended December 31, 2006. Finance income for the first quarter ended December 31, 2007, was $34.1 million, an increase of 36.9% compared to finance income of $24.9 million for the quarter ended December 31, 2006. Net income for the three months ended December 31, 2007, rose 17.6% to $13.3, or $0.90 per diluted share, compared to $11.3, or $0.77 per diluted share, in the first quarter of the prior year.
Gary Stern, Chief Executive Officer, said, "I am pleased with our first quarter results, which was aided by revenue recognized from fully amortized portfolios (zero basis revenue) of approximately $11.0 million as compared to approximately $5.0 million in the same period a year ago. Our cash collections slowed during the quarter due to a challenging economic environment. Net cash collections from consumer receivables acquired for liquidation was $50.1 million for the first quarter, up 19.6% from $41.9 million in the prior year's quarter. Cash collections represented by account sales were $7.8 million for the first quarter, or 13.5% of net cash collections in the quarter, down from $17.1 million (or 29.0% of net cash collections) in the first quarter of fiscal 2007. Total collections were $57.9 million for the first quarter, down from $59.0 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2007."
Mr. Stern continued, "Asta's portfolio purchases for the quarter amounted to approximately $1.1 billion of face value receivables for a purchase price of $37.5 million, consisting primarily of credit card portfolios. The purchases include $8.6 million invested in a portfolio purchased from a major financial institution located in South America. Asta will continue to pursue portfolios as long as pricing meets our strict purchasing criteria. We continue to review portfolio opportunities and believe that there will be enough supply to support future purchases at opportunistic prices. Our business structure remains solid and our stockholders' equity continues to expand, with the book value rising 27.5% to $18.00 per share at the end of the first quarter, up from a book value of $14.12 per share the same time last year."
Mr. Stern concluded, "In the near term we believe collections in general will continue to be challenging. That being said, we are optimistic about future purchasing opportunities. Although the quarter's success was highlighted by additional income recognized from fully amortized portfolios, in our opinion this does show the vitality of our past purchases". |
