Asta Delays Annual Report for 15 Days

Asta Funding Inc. (Nasdaq: ASFI) reported late Friday that it would delay for 15 calendar days the filing of its fiscal 2007 annual report for the period ending Sept. 30. The Englewood Cliffs, N.J.-based debt purchaser set the deadline of Dec. 29 in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Asta reported the delay occurred because it was busy re-evaluating the value of each of its portfolios following its purchase in February of receivables with $6.9 billion in face value for $300 million ("Asta Funding to Buy $6.9 billion Debt Portfolio," Feb. 12). The portfolio increased Asta’s debt portfolio by more than 100 percent, according to the filing.

Asta said the annual report was also delayed as it worked with an unnamed third-party firm to conduct “asset searches, skiptracing efforts and (in) initiating legal actions against debtors on certain portfolios,” according to the SEC filing.

Asta reported its earnings and earnings per share for fiscal 2007 “will be comparable or somewhat higher” than fiscal 2006 though results may be subject to change. Asta reported net income of $45.7 million, or $3.36 per share, on revenues of $102 million in fiscal 2006.

Asta announced in February that it bought the $6.9 billion portfolio from Great Seneca Financial Corp. The portfolio was made up predominantly of credit card accounts.