Asset Acceptance Capital Corp. Reports Third Quarter 2009 Results

November 2, 2009 4:00 PM EST

Announces amended credit agreement substantially expanding capacity under revised covenants

WARREN, Mich.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Asset Acceptance Capital Corp. (NASDAQ: AACC), a leading purchaser and collector of charged-off consumer debt, today announced results for the quarter ended September 30, 2009.

Highlights from the third quarter include:

    --  Acquired $37.2 million (net of buybacks) in charged-off consumer
        receivable portfolios, with an aggregate value of $1.6 billion, or 2.32%
        of face value;
    --  Cash Collections of $77.8 million;
    --  Operating expenses of 61.8 percent of Cash Collections; and
    --  Expanded borrowing capacity to $84 million with amended credit agreement
        financial covenants.
        Rion Needs


Rion Needs, President and CEO, commented: "Our cash collections during the quarter, particularly on older vintage portfolios, were unfavorably impacted by the ongoing macro-economic landscape that continues to hinder consumers' ability to repay their obligations. We began to execute on our strategy to leverage the attractive pricing conditions for our paper, increasing our purchasing by roughly 80% during the third quarter versus the second quarter of 2009. In addition, we believe that our now expanded capacity under the amended credit facility coupled with the more advantageous pricing environment positions us well to execute on our strategy in the remainder of 2009 and into 2010."

Needs continued, "While the current macro backdrop remains challenging, we are in a position to increase both our operational efficiency, as well as our capacity to positively impact liquidation rates going forward. In the coming months we will be unveiling new technology that will automate several of the key functions of our call center representatives, increasing their efficiency substantially and allowing them to focus their time on accounts that they are most likely to liquidate. Additionally, we have made solid progress in achieving our goal of increasing collection account representative headcount, and signed a third-party agreement with an offshore firm on a per seat basis to expand capacity by 20% by year-end. While the last several quarters have been difficult, we have implemented a number of initiatives and strategies to make us more successful as market conditions improve."

Third Quarter 2009 Review

Asset Acceptance reported cash collections of $77.8 million in the third quarter ended September 30, 2009, versus cash collections of $90.8 million in the year-ago period.

Total revenues were $47.7 million in the third quarter of 2009, compared to total revenues of $58.4 million in the third quarter of 2008. Amortization of purchased receivables in the third quarter of 2009 was 39.0% of total cash collections versus 36.0% of total cash collections in the third quarter of 2008. The Company reported a third quarter of 2009 net impairment charge of $6.8 million on purchased receivables, versus a net impairment charge of $3.1 million in the prior year quarter.

The net loss for the quarter was $1.6 million, or $0.05 per fully diluted share, compared to net income of $3.0 million, or $0.10 per fully diluted share, in the third quarter of 2008. Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization, including purchased receivable amortization ("Adjusted EBITDA"), decreased to $32.6 million in the third quarter of 2009, down 22.8% compared to the year-ago period. Please refer to the table on page four, which reconciles net income according to Generally Accepted Accounting Principles ("GAAP") to Adjusted EBITDA.

During the third quarter of 2009, the Company invested $37.2 million to purchase charged-off consumer debt portfolios with a face value of $1.6 billion, for a blended rate of 2.32% of face value. This compares to the prior-year third quarter, when the Company invested $35.6 million to purchase consumer debt portfolios with a face value of $718.8 million, representing a blended rate of 4.95% of face value. All purchase data is adjusted for buybacks.

In addition to lower cash collections in the quarter, the Company reported lower operating expenses compared to the prior year. Total operating expenses in the quarter were reduced 4.0% to $48.1 million, from $50.1 million in the third quarter of 2008. For the 2009 third quarter, Asset Acceptance reported operating expenses of 61.8% of cash collections, up from 55.2% of cash collections in the prior year quarter.

Nine Months Ended September 30, 2009

For the nine-month period ended September 30, 2009, the Company reported cash collections of $259.2 million compared to cash collections of $286.2 million in the first nine months of 2008.

Total revenues in the first nine months of 2009 were $153.7 million versus $179.2 million in the first nine months of 2008. For the first nine months of 2009, amortization of purchased receivables was 41.0% of total cash collections versus 37.8% of total cash collections in the same period of last year. Net impairments for the first nine months of 2009 totaled $17.1 million, versus $8.4 million for the first nine months of 2008.

Net income in the first nine months of 2009 was $3.8 million, or $0.12 per fully diluted share, compared to net income of $11.9 million, or $0.39 per fully diluted share, in the same period of 2008. For the nine-month period ended September 30, 2009, Adjusted EBITDA declined to $125.1 million, a decrease of 11.8% when compared to the same nine-month period in 2008.

The Company invested $79.1 million to purchase charged-off consumer debt portfolios with a face value of $3.1 billion, for a blended rate of 2.57% during the first nine months of 2009, compared to $122.3 million with a face value of $3.2 billion, for a blended rate of 3.85% in the same period of 2008. All purchase data is adjusted for buybacks.

Amended Credit Agreement

Asset Acceptance also announced the signing of an amendment to its credit facility led by JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. Under the terms of the Credit Agreement, the Company has a five-year $100.0 million revolving credit facility expiring in June 2012 and a six-year $150.0 million term loan facility expiring in June 2013. The amendment loosened two of the more restrictive financial covenants within the agreement and made other changes:

    --  The Leverage ratio has been loosened to 1.5 to 1.0, from 1.125 to 1.0,
        for approximately 2 years. At December 31, 2011, the leverage ratio will
        step down to 1.25 to 1.0 through expiration.
    --  The planned step down of the Total Liabilities to Tangible Net Worth
        ratio on December 31, 2009 from 2.5 to 1.0 to 2.25 to 1.0 has been
        deferred until December 31, 2011.
    --  The Minimum Tangible Net Worth requirement was increased by $5.0
        million.
    --  The LIBOR spread was increased by 100 basis points.
    --  The Company paid fees and other costs of approximately $1.9 million in
        connection with the amendment.

"We are very pleased to announce the amended credit agreement with JPMorgan Chase. Under the amended agreement, our borrowing capacity has more than doubled to $84 million, creating additional flexibility to take advantage of the improved pricing conditions in the remainder of 2009 and into 2010," commented Mark Redman, Senior Vice President and CFO of Asset Acceptance Capital Corp. "We have also made progress with Project Grow and our planned ramp up in paper purchases. We expect to see these initiatives begin to bear fruit, in terms of both productivity and our cost to convert accounts, as we move through the next twelve months."

Reconciliation of GAAP Net (Loss) Income to Adjusted EBITDA (Unaudited)

The Company provided the following table which reconciles GAAP net (loss) income, as reported, to Adjusted EBITDA. The Company indicated that the measure "Adjusted EBITDA" is used in its amended credit agreement's financial covenants. A similar calculation is used for its management bonus program. The Company believes that Adjusted EBITDA, which is generally cash collections less operating expenses (other than non-cash operating expenses, such as depreciation and amortization) represents the Company's cash generation which can be used to purchase receivables, pay down debt, pay income taxes, return to shareholders and for other uses. Adjusted EBITDA, which is a non-GAAP financial measure, should not be considered an alternative to, or more meaningful than, net income prepared on a GAAP basis. Additionally, Adjusted EBITDA as computed by the Company may not be comparable to similar metrics used by others in the industry.


              Three months ended September 30,  Nine months ended September 30,

              2009            2008              2009             2008

Net (loss)    $ (1,641,668 )  $ 3,039,979       $ 3,802,763      $ 11,941,961
income

Add:
interest
income and
expense
(net),        2,314,217       6,227,984         12,729,717       20,348,675
income
taxes,
depreciation
and
amortization

Add:
share-based
and other     312,863         271,289           1,074,093        1,009,187
non-cash
compensation

Add
(subtract):
(gain) loss   100,560         2,280             107,101          (153,277      )
on disposal
of assets

Add:
impairment    1,167,600       --                1,167,600        445,651
of assets

Subtotal      2,253,572       9,541,532         18,881,274       33,592,197

Change to
balance of    30,745,788      32,791,472        106,642,722      108,633,398
purchased
receivables

Non-cash      (403,684     )  (131,376     )    (449,126      )  (447,645      )
revenue

Adjusted      $ 32,595,676    $ 42,201,628      $ 125,074,870    $ 141,777,950
EBITDA

Cash          $ 77,832,357    $ 90,775,528      $ 259,242,871    $ 286,232,552
collections

Other
revenues,     180,328         238,331           694,457          976,153
net

Operating     (48,097,751  )  (50,084,817  )    (140,160,099  )  (149,862,480  )
expenses

Share-based
and other     312,863         271,289           1,074,093        1,009,187
non-cash
compensation

Depreciation
and           1,097,909       1,000,728         2,943,223        2,950,502
amortization

Impairment    1,167,600       --                1,167,600        445,651
of assets

Loss on
disposal of   103,800         2,280             110,341          11,763
equipment

Other income  (1,430       )  (1,711       )    2,384            14,622
(expense)

Adjusted      $ 32,595,676    $ 42,201,628      $ 125,074,870    $ 141,777,950
EBITDA



Third Quarter 2009 Earnings Conference Call

Asset Acceptance Capital Corp. will host a conference call at 5 p.m. Eastern today to discuss these results and current business trends. To listen to a live webcast of the call, please go to the investor section of the Company's web site at www.AssetAcceptance.com. A replay of the webcast will be available until November 2, 2010.

About Asset Acceptance Capital Corp.

For more than 45 years, Asset Acceptance has provided credit originators, such as credit card issuers, consumer finance companies, retail merchants, utilities and others an efficient alternative in recovering defaulted consumer debt. For more information, please visit www.AssetAcceptance.com.

Asset Acceptance Capital Corp. Safe Harbor Statement

This press release contains certain statements, including the Company's plans and expectations regarding its operating strategies, charged-off receivables and costs, which are forward-looking statements and are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements include reference to the Company's presentations and webcasts. These forward-looking statements reflect the Company's views, expectations and beliefs at the time such statements were made with respect to such matters, as well as the Company's future plans, objectives, events, portfolio purchases and pricing, collections and financial results such as revenues, expenses, income, earnings per share, capital expenditures, operating margins, financial position, expected results of operations and other financial items. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions ("Risk Factors") that make the timing, extent, likelihood and degree of occurrence of these matters difficult to predict. Words such as "anticipates," "believes," "estimates," "expects," "intends," "should," "could," "will," variations of such words and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. There are a number of factors, many of which are beyond the Company's control, which could cause actual results and outcomes to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements. Risk Factors include, among others: ability to purchase charged-off consumer receivables at appropriate prices, ability to continue to acquire charged-off receivables in sufficient amounts to operate efficiently and profitably, employee turnover, ability to compete in the marketplace and acquiring charged-off receivables in industries that the Company has little or no experience. These Risk Factors also include, among others, the Risk Factors discussed under "Item 1A Risk Factors" in the Company's most recently filed Annual Report on Form 10-K and in other SEC filings, in each case under a section titled "Risk Factors" or similar headings and those discussions regarding risk factors as well as the discussion of forward-looking statements in such sections are incorporated herein by reference. Other Risk Factors exist, and new Risk Factors emerge from time to time that may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements. Given these risks and uncertainties, investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements as a prediction of actual results. Furthermore, the Company expressly disclaims any obligation to update, amend or clarify forward-looking statements.


Supplemental Financial Data

(Unaudited, Dollars in
Millions, except collections    Q3 '09     Q2 '09    Q1 '09    Q4 '08    Q3 '08
per account representative)

Total revenues                  $ 47.7     $ 49.1    $ 57.0    $ 55.0    $ 58.4

Cash collections                $77.8      $87.3     $ 94.1    $ 83.3    $ 90.8

Operating expenses to cash      61.8%      51.6%     50.0%     55.2%     55.2%
collections

Traditional call center         $ 32.7     $ 36.1    $ 41.0    $ 35.1    $ 38.4
collections

Legal collections               $ 33.1     $ 38.5    $ 38.7    $ 34.9    $ 38.1

Other collections               $ 12.0     $ 12.7    $ 14.4    $ 13.3    $ 14.3

Amortization rate               39.0%      44.1%     39.7%     34.2%     36.0%

Collections on fully amortized  $ 14.9     $ 15.8    $ 18.3    $ 17.7    $ 18.4
portfolios

Core amortization rate (Note    48.2%      53.9%     49.3%     43.4%     45.1%
1)

Investment in purchased         $ 37.2     $ 19.9    $ 22.0    $ 32.0    $ 35.6
receivables (Note 2)

Face value of purchased         $ 1,601.5  $ 726.9   $ 745.3   $ 631.5   $ 718.8
receivables (Note 2)

Average cost of purchased       2.32%      2.74%     2.95%     5.06%     4.95%
receivables (Note 2)

Number of purchased receivable  33         22        31        23        42
portfolios

Collections per account         $ 31,413   $ 38,858  $ 42,940  $ 34,994  $39,866
representative FTE

Average account representative  1,040      929       955       1,003     966
FTE's



Note 1: Core amortization rate is amortization divided by collections on non-fully amortized portfolios.

Note 2: All purchase data is adjusted for buybacks.

The Company provided the following details regarding purchased receivable revenues:


          Three months ended September 30, 2009

Year of                                           Monthly  Net          Zero Basis
          Collections  Revenue      Amortization
Purchase                            Rate (1)      Yield    Impairments  Collections
                                                  (2)

2003 and  $            $11,988,598  N/M           N/M      $ 89,600     $
prior     12,496,014                                                    10,936,289

2004      4,454,762    2,599,509    41.6 %        6.11 %   1,217,600    808,955

2005      4,853,793    3,983,559    17.9          6.50     --           822,205

2006      11,958,118   5,851,551    51.1          3.68     3,771,000    1,535,195

2007      16,308,467   7,463,259    54.2          3.06     1,448,000    659,696

2008      19,246,798   9,313,547    51.6          3.03     260,938      76,087

2009      8,514,405    6,290,230    26.1          4.05     --           32,401

Totals    $            $            39.0          4.84     $6,787,138   $
          77,832,357   47,490,253                                       14,870,828




          Three months ended September 30, 2008

Year of                                           Monthly  Net          Zero Basis
          Collections  Revenue      Amortization
Purchase                            Rate (1)      Yield    Impairments  Collections
                                                  (2)

2002 and  $            $10,470,757  N/M           N/M      $ --         $
prior     11,088,771                                                    10,139,534

2003      8,756,051    8,133,560    7.1  %        34.78 %  (293,200  )  5,392,539

2004      7,477,697    5,214,842    30.3          6.90     1,121,000    857,394

2005      8,067,921    2,718,048    66.3          2.54     1,757,000    12,306

2006      17,983,016   13,561,339   24.6          6.01     12,000       1,909,125

2007      21,783,298   10,476,335   51.9          2.93     488,000      43,414

2008      15,618,774   7,540,551    51.7          2.74     --           --

Totals    $            $            36.0          5.45     $            $
          90,775,528   58,115,432                          3,084,800    18,354,312




          Nine months ended September 30, 2009

Year of                                           Monthly  Net          Zero Basis
          Collections  Revenue      Amortization
Purchase                            Rate (1)      Yield    Impairments  Collections
                                                  (2)

2003 and  $            $            N/M           N/M      $ 502,300    $
prior     44,611,966   41,584,236                                       37,553,786

2004      16,964,303   8,398,595    50.5 %        5.48 %   5,176,200    2,743,240

2005      18,395,436   8,625,423    53.1          3.96     2,745,000    899,247

2006      42,742,909   26,178,624   38.8          4.91     6,268,000    5,143,335

2007      55,618,547   28,594,655   48.6          3.51     1,448,000    2,324,444

2008      66,365,765   29,574,388   55.4          2.84     942,938      254,264

2009      14,543,945   10,093,354   30.6          3.96     --           38,651

Totals    $            $            41.0          5.00     $            $
          259,242,871  153,049,275                         17,082,438   48,956,967




          Nine months ended September 30, 2008

Year of                                           Monthly  Net           Zero Basis
          Collections  Revenue      Amortization
Purchase                            Rate (1)      Yield    Impairments   Collections
                                                  (2)

2002 and  $            $36,759,752  N/M           N/M      $ (550,000 )  $
prior     38,448,367                                                     34,828,065

2003      31,199,446   27,553,337   11.7 %        33.70 %  (1,311,400 )  17,491,792

2004      25,992,434   18,034,090   30.6          7.16     2,808,664     2,651,637

2005      28,762,384   11,025,465   61.7          2.90     4,362,986     56,605

2006      64,213,311   40,767,563   36.5          5.42     2,460,000     5,766,090

2007      73,446,469   32,799,249   55.3          2.73     668,000       78,674

2008      24,170,141   11,107,343   54.0          2.69     --            27,779

Totals    $            $            37.8          5.76     $             $
          286,232,552  178,046,799                         8,438,250     60,900,642



(1)"N/M" indicates that the calculated percentage for aggregated vintage years is not meaningful.

(2) The monthly yield is the weighted-average yield determined by dividing purchased receivable revenues recognized in the period by the average of the beginning monthly carrying values of the purchased receivables for the period presented.


Asset Acceptance Capital Corp.

Consolidated Statements of Operations

(Unaudited)

                  Three months ended September    Nine months ended September
                  30,                             30,

                  2009          2008              2009           2008

Revenues

Purchased         $                               $              $
receivable        47,490,253    $ 58,115,432      153,049,275    178,046,799
revenues, net

Gain on sale of
purchased         3,240         --                3,240          165,040
receivables

Other revenues,   180,328       238,331           694,457        976,153
net

Total revenues    47,673,821    58,353,763        153,746,972    179,187,992

Expenses

Salaries and      19,102,293    21,059,704        57,316,187     63,963,050
benefits

Collections       22,752,371    23,515,621        66,519,664     68,509,742
expense

Occupancy         1,789,286     1,976,845         5,459,528      5,833,162

Administrative    2,084,492     2,529,639         6,643,556      8,148,610

Depreciation and  1,097,909     1,000,728         2,943,223      2,950,502
amortization

Impairment of     1,167,600     --                1,167,600      445,651
assets

Loss on disposal
of equipment and  103,800       2,280             110,341        11,763
other assets

Total operating   48,097,751    50,084,817        140,160,099    149,862,480
expenses

(Loss) income     (423,930   )  8,268,946         13,586,873     29,325,512
from operations

Other income
(expense)

Interest income   10,098        1,766             14,790         31,795

Interest expense  (2,424,753 )  (3,300,691   )    (7,538,717  )  (9,895,351   )

Other             (1,430     )  (1,711       )    2,384          14,622

(Loss) income
before income     (2,840,015 )  4,968,310         6,065,330      19,476,578
taxes

Income tax
(benefit)         (1,198,347 )  1,928,331         2,262,567      7,534,617
expense

Net (loss)        $          )  $ 3,039,979       $ 3,802,763    $ 11,941,961
income            (1,641,668

Weighted-average
number of
shares:

Basic             30,642,866    30,570,423        30,625,842     30,561,653

Diluted           30,642,866    30,614,701        30,659,555     30,595,802

(Loss) earnings
per common share
outstanding:

Basic             $ (0.05    )  $ 0.10            $ 0.12         $ 0.39

Diluted           $ (0.05    )  $ 0.10            $ 0.12         $ 0.39




Asset Acceptance Capital Corp.

Consolidated Statements of Financial Position

(Unaudited)

                                           September 30, 2009  December 31, 2008

ASSETS

Cash                                       $ 5,801,837         $ 6,042,859

Purchased receivables, net                 333,750,279         361,808,502

Income taxes receivable                    3,885,852           3,934,029

Property and equipment, net                12,976,497          12,526,817

Goodwill                                   14,323,071          14,323,071

Intangible assets, net                     1,129,065           2,453,117

Other assets                               4,938,462           7,082,721

Total assets                               $ 376,805,063       $ 408,171,116

LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY

Liabilities:

Accounts payable                           $ 2,571,352         $ 3,388,320

Accrued liabilities                        16,562,531          21,476,207

Income taxes payable                       1,133,852           658,329

Notes payable                              146,197,514         181,550,000

Deferred tax liability, net                67,579,774          64,470,002

Total liabilities                          $ 234,045,023       $ 271,542,858

Stockholders' equity:

Preferred stock, $0.01 par value,
10,000,000 shares authorized, no shares    --                  --
issued and outstanding

Common stock, $0.01 par value,
100,000,000 shares authorized; issued
shares -- 33,198,336 and 33,169,552 at     331,983             331,696
September 30, 2009 and December 31, 2008,
respectively

Additional paid in capital                 147,989,597         146,915,791

Retained earnings                          38,991,077          35,188,314

Accumulated other comprehensive loss, net  (3,325,246    )     (4,664,862    )
of tax

Common stock in treasury; at cost,
2,607,748 and 2,596,521 shares at          (41,227,371   )     (41,142,681   )
September 30, 2009 and December 31, 2008,
respectively

Total stockholders' equity                 142,760,040         136,628,258

Total liabilities and stockholders'        $ 376,805,063       $ 408,171,116
equity




ASSET ACCEPTANCE CAPITAL CORP.

Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows

(Unaudited)

                                                 Nine months ended September 30,

                                                 2009           2008

Cash flows from operating activities

Net income                                       $ 3,802,763    $ 11,941,961

Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash
provided by operating activities:

Depreciation and amortization                    2,943,223      2,950,502

Amortization of deferred financing costs         394,954        403,919

Deferred income taxes                            2,541,292      428,242

Share-based and other non-cash compensation      1,074,093      1,009,187

Net impairment of purchased receivables          17,082,438     8,438,250

Non-cash revenue                                 (449,126    )  (447,645     )

Loss on disposal of equipment and other assets   110,341        11,763

Gain on sale of purchased receivables            (3,240      )  (165,040     )

Impairment of assets                             1,167,600      445,651

Changes in assets and liabilities:

Decrease (increase) in other assets              1,749,305      (905,711     )

(Decrease) increase in accounts payable and      (3,822,548  )  162,763
other accrued liabilities

Increase in net income taxes                     523,700        2,115,480

Net cash provided by operating activities        27,114,795     26,389,322

Cash flows from investing activities

Investment in purchased receivables, net of buy  (78,135,527 )  (120,546,458 )
backs

Principal collected on purchased receivables     89,560,284     100,195,148

Proceeds from the sale of purchased receivables  3,394          167,405

Purchases of property and equipment              (3,350,989  )  (5,109,623   )

Proceeds from sale of property and equipment     4,197          2,515

Net cash provided by (used in) investing         8,081,359      (25,291,013  )
activities

Cash flows from financing activities

Borrowings under notes payable                   24,800,000     91,500,000

Repayments of notes payable                      (60,152,486 )  (93,625,000  )

Purchase of treasury shares                      (84,690     )  --

Payment of deferred financing costs              --             (660,575     )

Repayments of capital lease obligations          --             (15,986      )

Net cash used in financing activities            (35,437,176 )  (2,801,561   )

Net decrease in cash                             (241,022    )  (1,703,252   )

Cash at beginning of period                      6,042,859      10,474,479

Cash at end of period                            $ 5,801,837    $ 8,771,227

Supplemental disclosure of cash flow
information

Cash paid for interest, net of capitalized       $ 7,591,706    $ 9,873,833
interest

Net cash (received) paid for income taxes        (742,067    )  5,020,725

Non-cash investing and financing activities:

Change in fair value of swap liability           (1,908,096  )  191,095

Change in unrealized loss on cash flow hedge     1,339,616      (124,084     )




    Source: Asset Acceptance Capital Corp.


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