EXHIBIT 99
EZCORP ANNOUNCES HIGHER EARNINGS FOR FISCAL 2004
AUSTIN, TEXAS (DECEMBER 13, 2004) -- EZCORP, Inc. (Nasdaq: EZPW) announced today
an increase in its previously reported results for its fiscal fourth quarter and
fiscal year, which ended September 30, 2004.
During fiscal 2004, the Company withheld payments to a vendor pending a review
of prior expense payments. Based on the findings of this review, the Company
made the decision to not pay $400,000 of withheld payments. Since the condition
existed at September 30, 2004 and was resolved prior to the issuance of the
Company's financial statements, the benefit of not paying these accrued expenses
is recognized in the fiscal 2004 period.
As a result, EZCORP increased its reported net income for the quarter and fiscal
year ended September 30, 2004 to $2,873,000 ($0.22 per share) and $9,123,000
($0.70 per share). In a November 9, 2004 earnings announcement, the Company had
announced net income for the quarter and fiscal year ended September 30, 2004 of
$2,621,000 ($0.20 per share) and $8,871,000 ($0.68 per share).
EZCORP meets the short-term cash needs of the cash and credit constrained
consumer by offering convenient, non-recourse loans collateralized by tangible
personal property, commonly known as pawn loans, and short-term
non-collateralized loans, often referred to as payday loans. The Company also
sells merchandise, primarily collateral forfeited from its pawn lending
operations, to consumers looking for good value. Currently, the Company operates
280 EZPAWN and 151 EZMONEY Payday Loan stores, 118 of which adjoin an EZPAWN
location.
For additional information, contact Dan Tonissen at (512) 314-2289.
EZCORP, INC.
HIGHLIGHTS OF CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS (UNAUDITED)
(in thousands, except per share data and store counts)
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<Table>
<Caption>
THREE MONTHS ENDED SEPTEMBER 30,
--------------------------------
2004 2003
------------ ------------
1 Revenues:
2 Merchandise sales $ 26,721 $ 25,797
3 Jewelry scrapping sales 14,040 8,813
4 Pawn service charges 15,215 14,599
5 Payday loan service charges 7,750 3,739
6 Other revenues 327 277
------------ ------------
7 Total revenues 64,053 53,225
8 Cost of goods sold:
9 Cost of merchandise sales 15,675 15,227
10 Cost of jewelry scrapping sales 11,397 7,167
------------ ------------
11 Total cost of goods sold 27,072 22,394
------------ ------------
12 Net revenues 36,981 30,831
13
14 Operations expense 22,480 20,193
15 Bad debt and other direct expenses on payday loans 3,146 1,510
16 Administrative expense 4,991 4,297
17 Depreciation and amortization 1,874 2,137
------------ ------------
18 Operating income 4,490 2,694
19
20 Interest expense, net 375 472
21 Equity in net income of unconsolidated affiliate (448) (350)
22 Loss on sale of assets 3 144
23 Impairment of investment -- 1,100
------------ ------------
24 Income before income taxes 4,560 1,328
25 Income tax expense 1,687 (3,235)
------------ ------------
26 Income before cumulative effect of adopting a new accounting principle 2,873 4,563
27 Cumulative effect of adopting a new accounting principle, net of tax -- --
------------ ------------
28 Net income $ 2,873 $ 4,563
============ ============
29
30 Income per share, assuming dilution:
31 Income before cumulative effect of adopting a new accounting principle $ 0.22 $ 0.36
32 Cumulative effect of adopting a new accounting principle, net of tax -- --
------------ ------------
33 Net income $ 0.22 $ 0.36
============ ============
34
35 Reconciliation of net income to comparable net income (a non-GAAP measure):
36 Net income, as reported $ 2,873 $ 4,563
37 Add back: Cumulative effect of adopting a new accounting principle, net of tax -- --
38 Add back: Impairment of investment, net of tax benefit -- 715
39 Subtract: Reduction of valuation allowance on deferred tax asset -- (3,700)
------------ ------------
40 Comparable net income (a non-GAAP measure) $ 2,873 $ 1,578
============ ============
41
------------ ------------
42 Comparable net income per share, assuming dilution (a non-GAAP measure) $ 0.22 $ 0.12
============ ============
43
44 Weighted average shares - assuming dilution 13,083 12,694
</Table>
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EZCORP, INC.
HIGHLIGHTS OF CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS (UNAUDITED)
(in thousands, except per share data and store counts)
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
<Table>
<Caption>
YEAR ENDED SEPTEMBER 30,
------------------------------
2004 2003
------------ ------------
1 Revenues:
2 Merchandise sales $ 116,816 $ 113,792
3 Jewelry scrapping sales 26,656 20,799
4 Pawn service charges 59,090 58,175
5 Payday loan service charges 23,874 12,538
6 Other revenues 1,361 1,045
------------ ------------
7 Total revenues 227,797 206,349
8 Cost of goods sold:
9 Cost of merchandise sales 67,682 68,606
10 Cost of jewelry scrapping sales 20,520 17,494
------------ ------------
11 Total cost of goods sold 88,202 86,100
------------ ------------
12 Net revenues 139,595 120,249
13
14 Operations expense 86,862 80,688
15 Bad debt and other direct expenses on payday loans 9,103 4,685
16 Administrative expense 21,845 17,008
17 Depreciation and amortization 7,512 8,775
------------ ------------
18 Operating income 14,273 9,093
19
20 Interest expense, net 1,528 2,006
21 Equity in net income of unconsolidated affiliate (1,739) (1,412)
22 Loss on sale of assets 3 170
23 Impairment of investment -- 1,100
------------ ------------
24 Income before income taxes 14,481 7,229
25 Income tax expense 5,358 (1,170)
------------ ------------
26 Income before cumulative effect of adopting a new accounting principle 9,123 8,399
27 Cumulative effect of adopting a new accounting principle, net of tax -- (8,037)
------------ ------------
28 Net income $ 9,123 $ 362
============ ============
29
30 Income per share, assuming dilution:
31 Income before cumulative effect of adopting a new accounting principle $ 0.70 $ 0.67
32 Cumulative effect of adopting a new accounting principle, net of tax -- (0.64)
------------ ------------
33 Net income $ 0.70 $ 0.03
============ ============
34
35 Reconciliation of net income to comparable net income (a non-GAAP measure):
36 Net income, as reported $ 9,123 $ 362
37 Add back: Cumulative effect of adopting a new accounting principle, net of tax -- 8,037
38 Add back: Impairment of investment, net of tax benefit -- 715
39 Subtract: Reduction of valuation allowance on deferred tax asset -- (3,700)
------------ ------------
40 Comparable net income (a non-GAAP measure) $ 9,123 $ 5,414
============ ============
41
------------ ------------
42 Comparable net income per share, assuming dilution (a non-GAAP measure) $ 0.70 $ 0.43
============ ============
43
44 Weighted average shares - assuming dilution 13,122 12,552
</Table>
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EZCORP, INC.
HIGHLIGHTS OF CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS (UNAUDITED)
(in thousands, except per share data and store counts)
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
<Table>
<Caption>
AS OF SEPTEMBER 30,
2004 2003
------------ ------------
1 Assets:
2 Current assets:
3 Cash and cash equivalents $ 2,506 $ 2,496
4 Pawn loans 49,078 47,955
5 Payday loans 7,292 3,630
6 Pawn service charges receivable, net 8,679 8,990
7 Payday loan service charges receivable, net 1,474 735
8 Inventory, net 30,636 29,755
9 Deferred tax asset 9,711 8,163
10 Federal income taxes receivable -- 328
11 Prepaid expenses and other assets 2,321 1,726
------------ ------------
12 Total current assets 111,697 103,778
13 Investment in unconsolidated affiliates 16,101 14,700
14 Property and equipment, net 25,846 25,369
15 Deferred tax asset, non-current 4,946 4,391
16 Other assets 5,732 5,452
------------ ------------
17 Total assets $ 164,322 $ 153,690
============ ============
18 Liabilities and stockholders' equity:
19 Current liabilities:
20 Accounts payable and other accrued expenses $ 14,947 $ 11,101
21 Customer layaway deposits 1,645 1,792
22 Federal income taxes payable 2,043 --
------------ ------------
23 Total current liabilities 18,635 12,893
24 Long-term debt, less current maturities 25,000 31,000
25 Deferred gains and other long-term liabilities 3,958 4,319
------------ ------------
26 Total long-term liabilities 28,958 35,319
27 Total stockholders' equity 116,729 105,478
------------ ------------
28 Total liabilities and stockholders' equity $ 164,322 $ 153,690
============ ============
29
30 Pawn loan balance per ending pawn store $ 175 $ 171
31 Inventory per ending pawn store $ 109 $ 106
32 Book value per share $ 9.44 $ 8.65
33 Tangible book value per share $ 9.23 $ 8.44
34 Pawn store count - end of period 280 280
35 Mono-line payday loan store count - end of period 125 4
36 Shares outstanding - end of period 12,362 12,188
</Table>
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