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AmeriCredit Posts 25 Million Plus Second Quarter Loss
Today the Fort Worth Texas-based lender reported a net loss for the quarter ending December 31 of 2008 while stating it will now concentrate on collections from its loan portfolio.
Loss an improvement over estimates
Here at Auto Credit Express, we can see that today’s announcement highlights the fact that Fort Worth–based AmeriCredit, that specializes in subprime auto financing, continues to be battered by current economic conditions.
Although the lender “battened down the hatches”, so to speak, last year, it continues to bleed red ink as it is caught between the forces of a restrictive lending market (borrowing to fund loans) and the rising percentage of delinquencies and asset depreciation in its own loan portfolio.
It’s interesting to note that even with today’s announcement, the stock price actually rose, as the actual net loss of $0.21 per share beat the average analyst estimate of -$0.24 per share.
Company to concentrate on collections from its current portfolio
With originations for the fourth quarter of 2008 down over 80% from the fourth quarter of 2007, the company is currently, in the words of CEO Dan Berce,”focused on maximizing cash collections from our loan portfolio and diligently managing the business to preserve capital and liquidity.”
Here is the press release:
FORT WORTH, Texas – AMERICREDIT CORP. (NYSE: ACF - News) today announced a net loss of $25.6 million, or $0.21 per share, for its fiscal second quarter ended December 31, 2008, compared to a loss of $19.1 million, or $0.17 per share, for the same period a year earlier. For the six months ended December 31, 2008, AmeriCredit reported a net loss of $27.2 million, or $0.23 per share, versus earnings of $42.7 million, or $0.35 per share, for the six months ended December 31, 2007.
The allowance for loan losses as a percentage of finance receivables increased to 7.1% at December 31, 2008, from 6.8% at September 30, 2008 and 5.6% at December 31, 2007.
Originations were $320.8 million for the quarter ended December 31, 2008, compared to $1.8 billion for the same quarter last fiscal year. Originations for the six months ended December 31, 2008, were $900.1 million, compared to $4.2 billion for the same period a year earlier. Finance receivables totaled $13.0 billion at December 31, 2008, compared to $16.4 billion at December 31, 2007.
Annualized net charge-offs totaled 9.5% of average finance receivables for the quarter ended December 31, 2008, compared to 6.9% for the quarter ended December 31, 2007. For the six months ended December 31, 2008, annualized net charge-offs were 8.3%, compared to 6.2% for the same period last year.
Finance receivables 31-to-60 days delinquent were 7.8% of the portfolio at December 31, 2008, compared to 6.8% at December 31, 2007. Accounts more than 60 days delinquent were 4.2% of the portfolio at December 31, 2008, compared to 3.0% a year ago.
The Company had total liquidity of $375.7 million at December 31, 2008, consisting of $166.7 million of unrestricted cash and approximately $209.0 million of available borrowing capacity on unpledged eligible receivables.
“Over the past year, the recessionary environment has accelerated, including increasing job losses, falling consumer confidence, a decline in demand for new and used vehicles, and the scarcity and high cost of funding and capital. We do not expect improvement in the macroeconomic outlook in 2009. As such, we are focused on maximizing cash collections from our loan portfolio and diligently managing the business to preserve capital and liquidity,” said AmeriCredit President and Chief Executive Officer Dan Berce.
AmeriCredit will host a conference call for analysts and investors today at 5:30 p.m. Eastern time. For a live Internet broadcast of this conference call, please go to the Company’s Web site to register, download and install any necessary audio software. For those who cannot listen to the live broadcast, a replay will be available shortly after the call.
The Bottom Line
As AmeriCredit has scheduled a conference to discuss the results of the last quarter at 5:30 EST today, we’re unable to report any comments that Mr. Berce might have at this time. Suffice it to say, however, that the company will probably cut back further on loan originations as it seeks to ride out the current storm. As it concentrates on its collections operations, dealers can expect to see fewer loan approvals from the lender for at least the next quarter – if not further, depending on economic conditions.