Business
Encore Capital Group Announces Fourth Quarter and Full-Year 2019 Financial Results
Encore delivers new records for collections, revenues, ERC and earnings for the yearRecord GAAP EPS from continuing operations of $5.33 in 2019, up 31%Record
About this update from Encore Capital Group Inc
[{"type":"text","content":"Encore delivers new records for collections, revenues, ERC and earnings for the yearRecord GAAP EPS from continuing operations of $5.33 in 2019, up 31%Record Economic EPS from continuing operations of $5.95 in 2019, up 19%2019 global deployments of $1.00 billion, including a record $682 million in the U.S. SAN DIEGO, Feb. 26, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Encore Capital Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: ECPG), an international specialty finance company, today reported consolidated financial results for the fourth quarter and full year ended December 31, 2019.\n “2019 was a terrific year for Encore in which we delivered record results in nearly every important aspect of our business,” said Ashish Masih, Encore’s President and Chief Executive Officer. “We set new highs for global collections, revenues, ERC and earnings. We also made significant progress on a number of our strategic priorities, which include concentrating on the valuable U.S. and U.K. markets, where we have our highest risk-adjusted returns, innovating to continually enhance our competitive advantages, and strengthening our balance sheet while delivering strong results.” “In the U.S., we improved our operating leverage by growing collections to a record level while reducing our collection costs through our operational innovation and increased productivity. At the same time, we capitalized on the favorable purchasing environment in the U.S. through record deployments at the highest purchase multiples we have seen since 2013.” “In Europe, our returns for portfolios purchased in 2019 were up between 150 and 200 basis points compared to 2018. We continue to reduce our debt leverage as planned, while maintaining our ERC. We also set a new record for collections in Europe.” “In the fourth quarter we continued our year of strong performance, delivering solid GAAP earnings. In addition, adjusted earnings were up 8% compared to the same quarter a year ago.” “We feel very optimistic as we begin 2020. We expect to generate new records for collections, revenues, ERC, and earnings in 2020 while further reducing our debt leverage,” said Masih. Financial Highlights for the Full Year of 2019: Estimated remaining collections (ERC) increased $569 million compared to the prior year, to $7.73 billion. Portfolio purchases for the full year were $1.00 billion, including $682 million in the U.S. and $307 ...