Portfolio Recovery Q1 Earnings Up; Announces Repurchase and Special Dividend

Portfolio Recovery Associates, Inc., a company that purchases and manages portfolios of defaulted consumer receivables and provides a broad range of accounts receivable management services, reported net income of $12.9 million, or $0.80 per diluted share, for the quarter ended March 31, 2007. 

Separately, Portfolio Recovery Associates' Board of Directors has authorized a special cash dividend to shareholders of $1.00 per share as well as a one million share stock repurchase program. (details below)

The Company's first-quarter 2007 earnings represent growth of 20% from net income of $10.7 million, or $0.67 per diluted share, in the same period a year earlier.

Total revenue increased 19% to $54.0 million in the first quarter of 2007, up from $45.3 million in the year-earlier period. Total revenue consists of cash collections reduced by amounts applied to principal on the Company's owned debt portfolios plus commissions from its fee-for-service businesses. During the first quarter of 2007, the Company applied 32.5% of cash collections to reduce the carrying basis of its owned debt portfolios. This included a $365,000 net allowance charge against various pools of finance receivables accounts.