EZCORP Reports First Quarter Fiscal 2025 Results Record PLO Drives Strong Increase in Net Income

AUSTIN, Texas, Feb. 05, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- EZCORP, Inc. ( EZPW), a leading provider of pawn transactions in the United States and Latin America, today announced results for its first quarter ended December 31, 2024.

Unless otherwise noted, all amounts in this release are in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) and comparisons shown are to the same period in the prior year.

FIRST QUARTER HIGHLIGHTS

• Pawn loans outstanding (PLO) up 13% to $274.8 million.

• Net income increased 9% to $31.0 million. On an adjusted basis¹, net income increased 14% to $32.6 million.

• Diluted earnings per share increased 11% to $0.40. On an adjusted basis, diluted earnings per share increased 17% to $0.42.

• Adjusted EBITDA increased 12% to $53.0 million.

• Total revenues increased 7% to $320.2 million, while gross profit increased 7% to $185.4 million.

CEO COMMENTARY AND OUTLOOK

Lachie Given, Chief Executive Officer, stated, “Fiscal 2025 is off to a strong start as we build on our momentum from 2024. Customer demand for immediate cash solutions and high quality, cost-effective secondhand goods remains high, as reflected by another quarter of record revenues and PLO. We also continued to drive meaningful improvements to our bottom line and deliver on the operating leverage inherent in our business, with adjusted EBITDA increasing 12% and adjusted diluted EPS increasing 17%.

“Our consistent performance across geographies underscores the strength of our operations and customer-focused strategy. In the U.S., PLO grew 15%, driven by strong loan demand and higher average loan size. In Latin America, PLO rose 19% on a constant currency basis, with revenues up 18%, reflecting robust customer demand for loans and secondhand goods, as well as our outstanding customer service. Our EZ+ Rewards program also continues to perform exceptionally well, which accounted for 77% of all transacting customers. These results demonstrate the momentum we are gaining across markets and the success of our strategic initiatives.”

“We are proud of the solid foundation we have built, which will enable us to continue driving growth both organically and through strategic M&A. Looking ahead, we plan to continue delivering exceptional service to our customers and enhancing value for our shareholders. We remain deeply committed to our core values of People, Pawn and Passion, and believe we are very well-positioned to deliver another record year of performance in fiscal 2025,” concluded Given.

CONSOLIDATED RESULTS

• PLO increased 13% to $274.8 million, up $31.6 million. On a same-store² basis, PLO increased 12% due to increase in average loan size, continued strong pawn demand and improved operational performance.

• Total revenues and gross profit increased 7%, reflecting improved pawn service charge (PSC) revenues as a result of higher average PLO in addition to higher merchandise sales and merchandise sales gross profit.

• PSC increased 10% as a result of higher average PLO.

• Merchandise sales gross margin remains within our target range at 35%, down from 36%. Aged general merchandise was 2.1% of total general merchandise inventory.

• Net inventory increased 21%, due to the increase in PLO and decrease in inventory turnover to 2.7x, from 3.0x.

• Store expenses increased 5% and 3% on a same-store basis.

• General and administrative expenses increased 13%, primarily due to labor (including incentive compensation) and, to a lesser extent, ongoing support costs related to Workday.

• Income before taxes was $41.4 million, up 10% from $37.7 million, and adjusted EBITDA increased 12% to $53.0 million.

• Diluted earnings per share increased 11% to $0.40. On an adjusted basis, diluted earnings per share increased 17% to $0.42.

• Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the quarter was $174.5 million, up from $170.5 million as of September 30, 2024. The increase was primarily due to cash from operating activities, partially offset by increase in earning assets, capital expenditures, taxes paid related to net share settlement of equity awards and share repurchases.
  

SEGMENT RESULTS

U.S. Pawn

• PLO ended the quarter at $220.2 million, up 15% on a total and same-store basis due to increase in average loan size, increased loan demand and improved operational performance.

• Total revenues increased 7% and gross profit increased 9%, reflecting higher PSC and merchandise sales.

• PSC increased 11% as a result of higher average PLO.

• Merchandise sales increased 3%, and gross margin was flat at 37%. Aged general merchandise increased to 2.6%, or $1.2 million of total general merchandise inventory. Excluding our three Max Pawn luxury stores in Las Vegas, aged general merchandise was 1%.

• Net inventory increased 17%, in line with the growth in PLO. Inventory turnover decreased to 2.5x, from 2.7x.

• Store expenses increased 8% (5% on a same-store basis), primarily due to labor costs (including higher health benefits) supporting more store activity, offset by a decrease in expenses related to our loyalty program.

• Segment contribution increased 11% to $52.9 million.

• During the quarter, segment store count remained at 542.

Latin America Pawn

• PLO improved to $54.6 million, up 4% (19% on constant currency basis). On a same-store basis, PLO increased 2% (17% on a constant currency basis) due to improved operational performance and increased loan demand.

• Total revenues were up 7% (18% on constant currency basis), and gross profit increased 4% (14% on a constant currency basis), mainly due to increased PSC and higher merchandise sales.

• PSC increased to $29.2 million, up 7% (17% on a constant currency basis) as a result of higher average PLO.

• Merchandise sales increased 7% (19% on constant currency basis) and merchandise sales gross margin decreased to 30% from 32%. Aged general merchandise decreased to 1.4% from 1.6% of total general merchandise inventory.

• Net inventory increased 35% (57% on a constant currency basis) due to increase in PLO and decrease in inventory turnover to 3.1x, from 3.8x.

• Store expenses were flat (11% increase on a constant currency basis) and on a same-store basis decreased 2% (9% increase on a constant currency basis), primarily due to labor and rent.

• Segment contribution increased 14% to $11.6 million (24% on a constant currency basis). On an adjusted basis, segment contribution was up 22% to $12.5 million.

• During the quarter, segment store count increased by four de novo stores to 741.
  

FORM 10-Q

EZCORP’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended December 31, 2024 has been filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The report is available in the Investor Relations section of the Company’s website at http://investors.ezcorp.com. EZCORP shareholders may obtain a paper copy of the report, free of charge, by sending a request to the investor relations contact below.

CONFERENCE CALL
EZCORP will host a conference call on Thursday, February 6, 2025, at 8:00 am Central Time to discuss First Quarter Fiscal 2025 results. Analysts and institutional investors may participate on the conference call by registering online at https://register.vevent.com/register/BI86f9072cf4c447ae86954e0a22daa957. Once registered you will receive the dial-in details with a unique PIN to join the call. The conference call will be webcast simultaneously to the public through this link: http://investors.ezcorp.com. A replay of the conference call will be available online at http://investors.ezcorp.com shortly after the end of the call.

ABOUT EZCORP

Formed in 1989, EZCORP has grown into a leading provider of pawn transactions in the United States and Latin America. We also sell pre-owned and recycled merchandise, primarily collateral forfeited from pawn lending operations and merchandise purchased from customers. We are dedicated to satisfying the short-term cash needs of consumers who are both cash and credit constrained, focusing on an industry-leading customer experience. EZCORP is traded on NASDAQ under the symbol EZPW and is a member of the S&P 1000 Index and Nasdaq Composite Index.

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FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS

This announcement contains certain forward-looking statements regarding the Company’s strategy, initiatives and expected performance. These statements are based on the Company’s current expectations as to the outcome and timing of future events. All statements, other than statements of historical facts, including all statements regarding the Company's strategy, initiatives and future performance, that address activities or results that the Company plans, expects, believes, projects, estimates or anticipates, will, should or may occur in the future, including future financial or operating results, are forward-looking statements. Actual results for future periods may differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements due to a number of uncertainties and other factors, including operating risks, liquidity risks, legislative or regulatory developments, market factors, current or future litigation and risks associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. For a discussion of these and other factors affecting the Company’s business and prospects, see the Company’s annual, quarterly and other reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise forward-looking statements to reflect changed assumptions, the occurrence of unanticipated events or changes to future operating results over time.

Contact:
Email: [email protected]
Phone: (512) 314-2220

Note: Percentages are calculated from the underlying numbers in thousands and, as a result, may not agree to the percentages calculated from numbers in millions. Numbers may not foot or cross foot due to rounding.
¹“Adjusted” basis, which is a non-GAAP measure, excludes certain items. “Constant currency” basis, which is a non-GAAP measure, excludes the impact of foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations. For additional information about these calculations, as well as a reconciliation to the most comparable GAAP financial measures, see “Non-GAAP Financial Information” at the end of this release.
²“Same-store” basis, which is a financial measure, includes stores open the entirety of the comparable periods.

Non-GAAP Financial Information (Unaudited)

In addition to the financial information prepared in conformity with accounting U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”), we provide certain other non-GAAP financial information on a constant currency (“constant currency”) and adjusted basis. We use constant currency results to evaluate our Latin America Pawn operations, which are denominated primarily in Mexican pesos, Guatemalan quetzales and other Latin American currencies. We believe that presentation of constant currency and adjusted results is meaningful and useful in understanding the activities and business metrics of our operations and reflects an additional way of viewing aspects of our business that, when viewed with GAAP results, provides a more complete understanding of factors and trends affecting our business. We provide non-GAAP financial information for informational purposes and to enhance understanding of our GAAP consolidated financial statements. We use this non-GAAP financial information primarily to evaluate and compare operating results across accounting periods.

Readers should consider the information in addition to, but not instead of or superior to, our financial statements prepared in accordance with GAAP. This non-GAAP financial information may be determined or calculated differently by other companies, limiting the usefulness of those measures for comparative purposes.

Constant currency results reported herein are calculated by translating consolidated balance sheet and consolidated statement of operations items denominated in local currency to U.S. dollars using the exchange rate from the prior-year comparable period, as opposed to the current period, in order to exclude the effects of foreign currency rate fluctuations. In addition, we have an equity method investment that is denominated in Australian dollars and is translated into U.S. dollars. We used the end-of-period rate for balance sheet items and the average closing daily exchange rate on a monthly basis during the appropriate period for statement of operations items. The end-of-period and approximate average exchange rates for each applicable currency as compared to U.S. dollars as of and for the three months ended December 31, 2024 and 2023 were as follows:

Our statement of operations constant currency results reflect the monthly exchange rate fluctuations and so are not directly calculable from the above rates. Constant currency results, where presented, also exclude the foreign currency gain or loss.

Miscellaneous Non-GAAP Financial Measures