• GAAP net income of $31 million
  
• GAAP EPS of $1.22
• Global collections of $458 million
• Portfolio purchases of $233 million

SAN DIEGO, Nov. 02, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --  Encore Capital Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: ECPG), an international specialty finance company, today reported consolidated financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2022.

“Our performance in recent years and the disciplined execution of our strategy has put us in a position of strength to navigate the evolving macroeconomic environment that we and many companies face today,” said Ashish Masih, President and Chief Executive Officer. “This environment impacted Encore’s performance in the third quarter, which reflected an expected lower level of collections, resulting from lower global portfolio purchasing in recent quarters and normalizing U.S. consumer behavior, while our European results were affected by the weakening of the British pound and the Euro. At the same time, as anticipated, we are now entering the growth part of the portfolio supply cycle in the U.S., with lending steadily growing and charge-off rates beginning to rise above the pandemic lows. Consequently, MCM portfolio purchases in the U.S. in the third quarter were up 73% compared to Q3 last year and Encore’s global purchases in the quarter were the largest since Q4 2019.”

“In Europe, Cabot’s third quarter results indicated a decline in collections and portfolio purchases as reported, but when adjusted for the impact of the weakening British pound and Euro, both collections and purchases were flat when compared to the year ago quarter.”

“I am truly excited about Encore’s strong position as we have the required operational capacity and ample liquidity to capitalize on the growing portfolio purchasing opportunities in the marketplace. We're also as committed as ever to the critical role we play in the credit ecosystem and to help consumers regain their financial freedom," said Masih.

Financial Highlights for the Third Quarter of 2022:

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(1)   Includes U.S. purchases of $176.6 million and $102.3 million, and Europe purchases of $56.1 million and $65.8 million in Q3 2022 and Q3 2021, respectively.

(2)   This is a non-GAAP metric. See Supplemental Financial Information for a definition and calculation of LTM Pre-Tax ROIC (Return on Invested Capital).

(3)   This is a non-GAAP metric that we define as the ratio of Net Debt at period end to (Adjusted EBITDA plus collections applied to principal balance for the preceding twelve months). See Supplemental Financial Information for a definition of Net Debt and Adjusted EBITDA and a reconciliation of Net Debt to total debt and Adjusted EBITDA to net income.

Conference Call and Webcast

Encore will host a conference call and slide presentation today, November 2, 2022, at 2:00 p.m. Pacific / 5:00 p.m. Eastern time, to present and discuss third quarter results.

Members of the public are invited to access the live webcast via the Internet by logging in on the Investor Relations page of Encore's website at www.encorecapital.com. To access the live conference call by telephone, please pre-register using this link. Registrants will receive confirmation with dial-in details.

For those who cannot listen to the live broadcast, a replay of the webcast will be available on the Company's website shortly after the call concludes.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

This news release includes certain financial measures that exclude the impact of certain items and therefore have not been calculated in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”). The Company has included information concerning adjusted EBITDA because management utilizes this information 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 Pre-Tax ROIC as management uses this measure to monitor and evaluate operating performance relative to our invested capital and because the Company believes it is a useful measure for investors to evaluate effective use of capital. The Company has included Net Debt and Leverage Ratio as management uses these measures to monitor and evaluate its ability to incur and service debt. Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted Income from Operations (used in Pre-Tax ROIC), Net Debt and Leverage Ratio have not been prepared in accordance with GAAP. These non-GAAP financial measures should not be considered as alternatives to, or more meaningful than, net income and net income per share as indicators of the Company’s operating performance or liquidity. Further, these non-GAAP financial measures, as presented by the Company, may not be comparable to similarly titled measures reported by other companies. The Company has attached to this news release a reconciliation of these non-GAAP financial measures to their most directly comparable GAAP financial measures.

About Encore Capital Group, Inc.

Encore Capital Group is an international specialty finance company that provides debt recovery solutions and other related services for consumers across a broad range of financial assets. Through its subsidiaries around the globe, Encore purchases portfolios of consumer receivables from major banks, credit unions, and utility providers.

Encore partners with individuals as they repay their debt obligations, helping them on the road to financial recovery and ultimately improving their economic well-being. Encore is the first and only company of its kind to operate with a Consumer Bill of Rights that provides industry-leading commitments to consumers. Headquartered in San Diego, Encore is a publicly traded NASDAQ Global Select company (ticker symbol: ECPG) and a component stock of the Russell 2000, the S&P Small Cap 600 and the Wilshire 4500. More information about the company can be found at http://www.encorecapital.com.

Forward Looking Statements

The statements in this press release that are not historical facts, including, most importantly, those statements preceded by, or that include, the words “will,” “may,” “believe,” “projects,” “expects,” “anticipates” or the negation thereof, or similar expressions, constitute “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (the “Reform Act”). These statements may include, but are not limited to, statements regarding our future operating results, performance, liquidity, ability to access capital markets, business plans or prospects. For all “forward-looking statements,” the Company claims the protection of the safe harbor for forward-looking statements contained in the Reform Act. Such forward-looking statements involve risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause actual results, performance or achievements of the Company and its subsidiaries to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. These risks, uncertainties and other factors are discussed in the reports filed by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the most recent reports on Forms 10-K and 10-Q, each as it may be amended from time to time. The Company disclaims any intent or obligation to update these forward-looking statements.

Contact:

Bruce Thomas
Encore Capital Group, Inc.
Vice President, Global Investor Relations
(858) 309-6442
bruce.thomas@encorecapital.com

SOURCE: Encore Capital Group, Inc.

FINANCIAL TABLES FOLLOW

ENCORE CAPITAL GROUP, INC.
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Financial Condition
(In Thousands, Except Par Value Amounts)
(Unaudited)

The following table presents certain assets and liabilities of consolidated variable interest entities (“VIEs”) included in the condensed consolidated statements of financial condition above. Most assets in the table below include those assets that can only be used to settle obligations of consolidated VIEs. The liabilities exclude amounts where creditors or beneficial interest holders have recourse to the general credit of the Company.

ENCORE CAPITAL GROUP, INC.
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income
(In Thousands, Except Per Share Amounts)
(Unaudited)

ENCORE CAPITAL GROUP, INC.
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows
(Unaudited, In Thousands)

ENCORE CAPITAL GROUP, INC.
Supplemental Financial Information
Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Metrics

Adjusted EBITDA

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(1)   Amount represents acquisition, integration and restructuring related expenses. We adjust for this amount because we believe these expenses are not indicative of ongoing operations; therefore, adjusting for these expenses enhances comparability to prior periods, anticipated future periods, and our competitors’ results.
(2)   Amount represents (a) gross collections from receivable portfolios less (b) debt purchasing revenue, plus (c) proceeds applied to basis from sales of real estate owned (“REO”) assets and related activities. A reconciliation of “collections applied to investment in receivable portfolios, net” to “collections applied to principal balance” is available in the Form 10-Q for the period ending September 30, 2022.

Pre-Tax Return on Invested Capital (“ROIC”)

ROIC is calculated as last twelve months adjusted income from operations, divided by our average invested capital. Adjusted income from operations excludes acquisition, integration and restructuring related expenses, amortization of certain acquired intangible assets and other charges or gains that are not indicative of ongoing operations. Average invested capital is defined as the aggregate of average Net Debt (defined below) and average GAAP equity and is calculated as the sum of current and prior period ending amounts divided by two.

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(1)   We believe these amounts are not indicative of ongoing operations; therefore, adjusting for them enhances comparability to prior periods, anticipated future periods, and our competitors’ results.

(2)   We have acquired intangible assets, such as trade names and customer relationships, as a result of our acquisition of debt solution service providers. These intangible assets are valued at the time of the acquisition and amortized over their estimated lives. We believe that amortization of acquisition-related intangible assets, especially the amortization of an acquired company’s trade names and customer relationships, is the result of pre-acquisition activities. In addition, the amortization of these acquired intangibles is a non-cash static expense that is not affected by operations during any reporting period.

Net Debt

Net Debt is GAAP borrowings adjusted for debt issuance costs and debt discounts, cash and cash equivalents and client cash. Net Debt is a measure commonly used by lenders to our industry to represent the net borrowings of market participants, and is also used regularly by lenders and others as the numerator in industry leverage calculations.

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(1)   Client cash is cash that was collected on behalf of, and remains payable to, third party clients.