Intrum Justitia Reports Big Jump in Revenue and Debt Buying

European accounts receivable management firm Intrum Justitia reported an increase of nearly 10 percent in earnings for the third quarter of 2008.

The Stockholm, Sweden-based debt buyer and collector said that net earnings in the quarter came to $16.5 million, a 9.7 percent increase from the third quarter of 2007. For the year so far, Intrum has reported net earnings of $45.2 million, up 12.5 percent from the same period in 2007.

Revenues leapt 14.2 percent in the third quarter to $117.6 million.

Intrum also reported that it spent $27.6 million on purchased debt in Q3 2008, a 48.4 percent increase from the amount it spent in Q3 2007.

Michael Wolf, president and CEO of Intrum, said in a press release, “We are very pleased with our business model, where CMS (Credit Management Services) for the third consecutive quarter generated growth of around 10 percent and is creating good business opportunities in Purchased Debt.”

The company noted that its traditional collection business, CMS, saw a 11.3 percent increase in the quarter on the strength of growth in Switzerland, Austria, Italy, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, France, Spain and Portugal.