EXHIBIT 99.1
NEWS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
| Contact: | Kelly Malson |
| Chief Financial Officer | |
| (864) 298-9800 |
WORLD ACCEPTANCE CORPORATION REPORTS
FOURTH QUARTER RESULTS
GREENVILLE, S.C. (April 29, 2009) - World Acceptance Corporation (NASDAQ: WRLD) today reported excellent financial results for its fourth fiscal quarter and fiscal year ended March 31, 2009.
Net income for the fourth quarter rose 14.7% to $28.0 million compared with $24.4 million for the same quarter of the prior year. Net income per diluted share increased 19.4% from $1.44 in the prior year quarter to $1.72 in the current quarter. The results for the 2009 fourth quarter included an after-tax gain of $2.2 million, or $0.14 per diluted share, arising from the Company’s repurchase of $10 million face value of its 3% convertible subordinated debt.
Total revenues increased to $113.9 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2009, a 12.3% increase over the $101.4 million reported in the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2008. Gross loans outstanding increased 12.0% to $671.2 million at March 31, 2009, compared with $599.5 million at March 31, 2008. The growth in loans was consistent with the Company’s 12.5% increase in loan volume from $371.2 million in the fourth quarter 2008 to $417.8 million in the fourth quarter 2009.
“World Acceptance’s outstanding results for the fourth quarter and fiscal year resulted from increased loan demand, the contribution of new offices opened or acquired, and continuing close management of credit risks during the weakening economy, as well as non-recurring gains from credit transactions,” stated Sandy McLean, CEO. “We used our strong financial position to repurchase part of the convertible debt on favorable terms for the Company. This had a positive impact on our fourth quarter revenues while decreasing interest expense in the near term. We expect the positive benefit of reduced interest expense to be offset by increased cost of debt as we re-negotiate the terms of our revolving credit facility in the first quarter of fiscal 2010.
“We remain focused on monitoring our loan portfolio in light of the difficult economy,” noted Mr. McLean. “Our current level of charge-offs is in line with our expectations and we believe that our allowance for loan losses is adequate based on the current outlook.”
The provision for loan losses rose 26.8% to $14.8 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2009, reflecting a higher level of charge-offs than the Company has experienced in recent quarters. Charge-offs as a percent of average net loans on an annualized basis increased 210 basis points to 15.1% during the quarter from 13.0% during the prior year quarter. This increase was consistent with the rise in charge-off ratio that the Company experienced during the first three quarters of the fiscal year.
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WRLD Reports Fourth Quarter Results
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April 29, 2009
Total general and administrative expenses improved as a percent of total revenues to 45.1% compared with the 47.0% during the fourth quarter of the prior fiscal year. The Company also expanded its office network by opening an additional 21 net new offices during the fourth quarter.
Year-End Results
For the year ended March 31, 2009, net income rose 14.5% to $60.7 million compared with $53.0 million in the prior fiscal year.
Net income per diluted share rose 20.9% to $3.69, compared with $3.05, for the prior year fiscal period.
Total revenues for fiscal 2009 were $393.7 million, a 13.8% increase over the $346.0 million in fiscal 2008. Net charge-offs as a percent of average net loans were 16.7% in fiscal 2009 compared with 14.5% during the prior year.
Key return ratios for the fiscal year included an 11.6% return on average assets and a 23.5% return on average equity.
During the 2009 fiscal year, the Company opened 98 offices, acquired 11 offices and merged or closed 3 offices, leaving a total of 944 offices at March 31, 2009.
About World Acceptance Corporation
World Acceptance Corporation is one of the largest small-loan consumer finance companies, operating 944 offices in 11 states and Mexico. It is also the parent company of ParaData Financial Systems, a provider of computer software solutions for the consumer finance industry.
Fourth Quarter Conference Call
The senior management of World Acceptance Corporation will be discussing these results in its quarterly conference call to be held at 10:00 a.m. Eastern time today. Interested parties may participate in this call by dialing 1-877-718-5092, passcode 4707148. A simulcast of the conference call is also available on the Internet at http://tinyurl.com/c683qu or www.streetevents.com. The call will be available for replay on the Internet for approximately 30 days.
This press release may contain various “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, that represent the Company’s expectations or beliefs concerning future events. Such forward-looking statements are about matters that are inherently subject to risks and uncertainties. Factors that could cause actual results or performance to differ from the expectations expressed or implied in such forward-looking statements include changes in the timing and amount of revenues that may be recognized by the Company, changes in current revenue and expense trends (including trends affecting charge-offs), changes in the Company’s markets and changes in the economy (particular in the markets served by the Company). Such factors are discussed in greater detail in the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. World Acceptance Corporation is not responsible for updating the information contained in this press release beyond the publication date, or for changes made to this document by wire services or Internet services.
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WRLD Reports Fourth Quarter Results
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April 29, 2009
World Acceptance Corporation
Consolidated Statements of Operations
(unaudited and in thousands, except per share amounts)
| Three Months Ended | Year Ended | |||||||||||||||
| March 31, | March 31, | |||||||||||||||
| 2009 | 2008 | 2009 | 2008 | |||||||||||||
| Interest & fees | $ | 90,170 | $ | 82,154 | $ | 331,454 | $ | 292,457 | ||||||||
| Insurance & other | 23,737 | 19,263 | 62,251 | 53,590 | ||||||||||||
| Total revenues | 113,907 | 101,417 | 393,705 | 346,047 | ||||||||||||
| Expenses: | ||||||||||||||||
| Provision for loan losses | 14,822 | 11,685 | 85,476 | 67,542 | ||||||||||||
| General and administrative expenses | ||||||||||||||||
| Personnel | 34,458 | 33,456 | 130,674 | 119,483 | ||||||||||||
| Occupancy & equipment | 6,554 | 5,699 | 25,577 | 21,555 | ||||||||||||
| Data processing | 564 | 578 | 2,307 | 2,112 | ||||||||||||
| Advertising | 2,738 | 1,896 | 13,067 | 12,648 | ||||||||||||
| Intangible amortization | 611 | 630 | 2,455 | 2,505 | ||||||||||||
| Other | 6,406 | 5,369 | 26,136 | 20,916 | ||||||||||||
| 51,331 | 47,628 | 200,216 | 179,219 | |||||||||||||
| Interest expense | 2,373 | 2,963 | 10,389 | 11,569 | ||||||||||||
| Total expenses | 68,526 | 62,276 | 296,081 | 258,330 | ||||||||||||
| Income before taxes | 45,381 | 39,141 | 97,624 | 87,717 | ||||||||||||
| Income taxes | 17,398 | 14,749 | 36,921 | 34,721 | ||||||||||||
| Net income | $ | 27,983 $ | 24,392 | $ | 60,703 | $ | 52,996 | |||||||||
| Diluted earnings per share | $ | 1.72 $ | 1.44 | $ | 3.69 | $ | 3.05 | |||||||||
| Diluted weighted average shares outstanding | 16,293 | 16,956 | 16,464 | 17,375 | ||||||||||||
Consolidated Balance Sheets
(unaudited and in thousands)
| March 31, | March 31, | |||||||
| 2009 | 2008 | |||||||
| ASSETS | ||||||||
| Cash | $ | 6,260 | $ | 7,590 | ||||
| Gross loans receivable | 671,176 | 599,509 | ||||||
| Less: Unearned interest & fees | (172,743 | ) | (154,418 | ) | ||||
| Allowance for loan losses | (38,021 | ) | (33,526 | ) | ||||
| Loans receivable, net | 460,412 | 411,565 | ||||||
| Property and equipment, net | 23,060 | 18,654 | ||||||
| Deferred tax benefit | 16,983 | 22,133 | ||||||
| Goodwill | 5,581 | 5,353 | ||||||
| Intangibles | 8,988 | 9,997 | ||||||
| Other assets | 9,970 | 10,818 | ||||||
| $ | 531,254 | $ | 486,110 | |||||
| LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY | ||||||||
| Liabilities: | ||||||||
| Notes payable | 208,310 | 214,900 | ||||||
| Income tax payable | 11,253 | 18,039 | ||||||
| Accounts payable and accrued expenses | 21,305 | 18,866 | ||||||
| Total liabilities | 240,868 | 251,805 | ||||||
| Shareholders' equity | 290,386 | 234,305 | ||||||
| 531,254 | 486,110 | |||||||
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WRLD Reports Fourth Quarter Results
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April 29,2009
Selected Consolidated Statistics
(dollars in thousands)
| Three Months Ended | Year ended | |||||||||||||||
| March 31, | March 31, | |||||||||||||||
| 2009 | 2008 | 2009 | 2008 | |||||||||||||
| Expenses as a percent of total revenues: | ||||||||||||||||
| Provision for loan losses | 13.0 | % | 11.5 | % | 21.7 | % | 19.5 | % | ||||||||
| General and administrative expenses | 45.1 | % | 47.0 | % | 50.9 | % | 51.8 | % | ||||||||
| Interest expense | 2.1 | % | 2.9 | % | 2.6 | % | 3.3 | % | ||||||||
| Average gross loans receivable | $ | 692,429 | $ | 621,560 | $ | 658,587 | $ | 576,050 | ||||||||
| Average net loans receivable | $ | 512,894 | $ | 460,594 | $ | 486,776 | $ | 426,524 | ||||||||
| Loan volume | $ | 417,769 | $ | 371,200 | $ | 1,935,200 | $ | 1,733,614 | ||||||||
| Net charge-offs as percent of average loans | 15.1 | % | 13.0 | % | 16.7 | % | 14.5 | % | ||||||||
| Return on average assets | 20.3 | % | 19.4 | % | 11.6 | % | 11.4 | % | ||||||||
| Return on average equity | 40.6 | % | 42.2 | % | 23.5 | % | 23.6 | % | ||||||||
| Offices opened (closed) during the period, net | 21 | 7 | 106 | 106 | ||||||||||||
| Offices open at end of period | 944 | 838 | 944 | 838 | ||||||||||||
END