AUSTIN, Texas, July 24 /PRNewswire/ --
EZCORP, Inc. (Nasdaq: EZPW) announced today results for its third fiscal 2001 quarter and the nine month period, which ended June 30, 2001.
For the three months ended June 30, 2001, EZCORP is reporting operating income before depreciation and amortization of $3.3 million compared to $0.7 million in the prior year period, an increase of $2.6 million. For the third quarter, the Company is reporting a net loss of $0.4 million ($0.04 per share) compared to a net loss of $2.2 million ($0.18 per share) for the same period a year ago. Total revenues for the three-month period increased to $43.1 million from $42.2 million.
For the nine months ended June 30, 2001, operating income before depreciation and amortization increased 90% to $14.6 million compared to $7.7 million for the prior year. Net income for the nine months is $0.6 million ($0.05 per share) compared to net loss of $2.2 million ($0.18 per share) before the $14.3 million charge for the cumulative effect of the accounting change adopted at the start of the 2000 fiscal year.
Commenting on these results, Joseph L. Rotunda, President and Chief Executive Officer, said, "We are pleased with the progress we have made in our core business. At quarter end, we have grown our pawn loans outstanding beyond last year's consolidated total with 47 less stores. We have recorded same store sales growth of 4% for the quarter, the strongest performance of the fiscal year. Our inventory turnover is 2.2 times for the quarter compared to 1.6 times last year. Our expenses continue to be well managed and reflect increasing levels of efficiency. Also, we have strengthened our organization during this period with the addition of two executives. Matt Campbell, formerly Chief Operating Officer of Spin Cycle, joined the Company as Vice President of Human Resources. Mike Record joined the Company as a Regional Director of Operations. Mike is a seasoned industry veteran with senior level experience at Cash America and Pawn Mart."
Mr. Rotunda went on to add, "During the quarter we continued the roll out of our short-term loan product, commonly referred to as payday loans. We are approximately six months behind in rolling out this product but now offer it in 212 locations. As a result of the rollout delay, short-term loans contributed minimally to earnings during the quarter and will not produce the anticipated significant benefit our next fiscal year."
Concluding, Mr. Rotunda stated, "Our biggest challenge and priority is to refinance our debt facility and establish a long-term partnership with the appropriate financial institutions. We plan to have this completed prior to the end of the calendar year."
EZCORP offers consumers convenient, non-recourse loans collateralized by tangible personal property, and short-term non-collateralized loans, often referred to as payday loans. A secondary, but related, business activity is the selling of previously owned merchandise consisting primarily of forfeited collateral. At June 30, 2001, the Company operated 289 stores in twelve states.
