Asta Funding Reports Record Second Quarter, First Half Results; Net Income Rises 348%, Revenues Up 223%.Business Editors ENGLEWOOD Englewood (ĕng`gəlw  d).1 City (1990 pop. 29,387), Arapahoe co., N central Colo., on the South Platte River, a residential and industrial suburb of Denver; inc. 1903. CLIFFS, NJ--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 2, 2000 Asta Funding, Inc. (NASDAQ NASDAQ in full National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations U.S. market for over-the-counter securities. Established in 1971 by the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD), NASDAQ is an automated quotation system that reports on : ASFI ASFI Army Single Face to Industry ASFI Accès Sans Fil à Internet (French: wireless internet access) ASFI American Spaceframe Fabricators International ASFI Association Suisse des Femmes Ingénieures ), an emerging leader in the distressed consumer receivables Receivables An asset designation applicable to all debts, unsettled transactions or other monetary obligations owed to a company by its debtors or customers. Receivables are recorded by a company's accountants and reported on the balance sheet, and they and include all debts owed liquidation The collection of assets belonging to a debtor to be applied to the discharge of his or her outstanding debts. A type of proceeding pursuant to federal Bankruptcy business, today reported record results for its second fiscal quarter and six months ended March 31, 2000. Net income for the second quarter of fiscal 2000 rose 348 percent to $1,363,000, or $0.33 cents per diluted di·lute tr.v. di·lut·ed, di·lut·ing, di·lutes 1. To make thinner or less concentrated by adding a liquid such as water. 2. To lessen the force, strength, purity, or brilliance of, especially by admixture. share, from $304,000, or $0.08 per diluted share, for the same prior year period. Revenues for the second quarter were $5,321,000, an increase of 223 percent over revenues of $1,648,000 for the same prior year quarter. Net income for the first six months of fiscal 2000 reached a record $2,574,000, or $0.64 per diluted share, from $359,000, or $0.09 per diluted share, for the same prior year period. Revenues for the six months were $8,457,000, a 197 percent increase over revenues of $2,893,000 for the same prior year period. The increase in revenues and earnings for the second quarter and first half was the result of efficient collections on Asta's portfolio of charged-off Mastercard MasterCard Worldwide (NYSE: MA) is a mutinational corporation based in Purchase, NY in the United States. Throughout the world, its principal business is to process payments between the banks of merchants and the banks of purchasers that use its "Mastercard" branded debit- and and Visa receivables. Gary Gary, city (1990 pop. 116,646), Lake co., NW Ind., a port of entry on Lake Michigan; inc. 1909. Gary was founded by the U.S. Steel Corporation, which purchased the land in 1905 and landscaped it for a city. Stern Stern German weekly newsmagazine. Founded in 1948, it quickly became known for its outstanding photography and its blend of light and serious material. The magazine's lively treatment of many topics helped it achieve wide popularity in the 20th century. , president and CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. of Asta Funding, said, "I am very pleased with the excellent performance of our credit card receivables business and the ability to leverage our efficient operating cost structure. Profitability increased significantly as general and administrative expenses dropped to 21 percent of revenues from 43 percent of revenues in the same prior year period. Based on the collection business already on our books, we are confident that our second half performance will equal or exceed our strong first half. Asta will continue to seek to expand its portfolio of distressed consumer receivables as well as examine other opportunities to diversify diversify To acquire a variety of assets that do not tend to change in value at the same time. To diversify a securities portfolio is to purchase different types of securities in different companies in unrelated industries. our operations. "The company's balance sheet is in excellent shape with cash on hand, as of March 31, 2000, of more than $4 million, up from $780,000 at the end of the prior year. With the substantial increase in cash flow during the first six months, we repaid more than $11 million in notes payable," Stern added. About Asta Funding, Inc. Headquartered in Englewood Cliffs, NJ, Asta Funding, Inc., is an emerging industry leader in the distressed consumer receivables liquidation business. The company generates revenues and earnings primarily through the purchase and collection of consumer credit card receivables, which were charged off by issuing banks Issuing bank Bank that issues a letter of credit. for non-payments. For more information, please visit the company's web site at www.astafunding.com. Except for historical information contained herein, the matters set forth in this news release are forward-looking statements forward-looking statement A projected financial statement based on management expectations. A forward-looking statement involves risks with regard to the accuracy of assumptions underlying the projections. . Although Asta Funding, Inc. believes the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are based upon reasonable assumptions; there can be no assurance that its expectations will be realized. Forward-looking statements involve certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from Asta Funding, Inc.'s expectations. Factors that could contribute to such differences include those identified in Asta Funding, Inc.'s 10-KSB for the fiscal year ended September September: see month. 30, 1999, and those described from time to time in Asta Funding, Inc.'s other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, news releases and other communications.
Asta Funding, Inc. and Subsidiaries
Consolidated Statements of Operations
(Unaudited)
For the Three Months Ended
3/31/00 3/31/99
------- -------
Revenues:
Interest $5,302,000 $1,575,000
Servicing fees 19,000 67,000
Other Income -- 6,000
---------- ----------
5,321,000 1,648,000
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Expenses:
General and administrative 933,000 620,000
Provision for credit losses
and repurchases 1,980,000 215,000
Interest 135,000 306,000
---------- ----------
3,048,000 1,141,000
---------- ----------
Income before income taxes 2,273,000 507,000
Income tax expense 910,000 203,000
---------- ----------
Net income $1,363,000 $ 304,000
========== ==========
Net income per share - Basic $ 0.35 $ 0.08
---------- ----------
- Diluted $ 0.33 $ 0.08
---------- ----------
Weighted average number of shares
Outstanding - Basic 3,954,000 3,945,000
---------- ----------
- Diluted 4,109,000 3,945,000
---------- ----------
For the Six Months Ended
3/31/00 3/31/99
------- -------
Revenues:
Interest $8,411,000 $2,760,000
Servicing fees 46,000 110,000
Other Income -- 23,000
---------- ----------
8,457,000 2,893,000
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Expenses:
General and administrative 1,808,000 1,246,000
Provision for credit losses
and repurchases 2,035,000 465,000
Interest 324,000 584,000
---------- ----------
4,167,000 2,295,000
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Income before income taxes 4,290,000 598,000
Income tax expense 1,716,000 239,000
---------- ----------
Net income $2,574,000 $ 359,000
========== ==========
Net income per share - Basic $ 0.65 $ 0.09
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- Diluted $ 0.64 $ 0.09
---------- ----------
Weighted average number of shares
Outstanding - Basic 3,945,000 3,945,000
---------- ----------
- Diluted 4,044,000 3,945,000
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