Debt Buyer FirstCity Posts Loss in Second Quarter

Debt purchaser FirstCity Financial Corp. (Nasdaq: FCFC) said Monday that it recorded a $6.5 million loss for the second quarter of 2008 but remained active purchasers of consumer debt portfolios.

The Waco, Texas-based company said that the second quarter loss of $6.5 million -- or $0.63 per share -- included $8.5 million of net loss provisions.

FirstCity said that revenues increased slightly in the quarter to $11.49 million from $11.27 million in the second quarter of 2007. For the first six months of 2008, revenues were flat at $21 million.

The company said it was involved in acquiring $36.7 million of portfolio investments with a face value of approximately $92.1 million in the second quarter 2008 -- of which FirstCity's investment share was $33.4 million. FirstCity's global distribution of its second quarter 2008 investments includes $28.4 million in the United States and $5 million in Latin America. FirstCity said it is currently evaluating 26 different transactions representing over $2.7 billion in face value of assets, although there can be no assurance that it will be able to consummate any of these transactions on acceptable terms.