Encore Capital Reports Solid Quarter and Two New Senior Execs

Encore Capital Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: ECPG), a debt buyer and ARM firm, reported Thursday an increase in collections, total revenue and earnings for the second quarter of 2009.

San Diego-based Encore reported net income of $6.6 million or $0.28 per share in the second quarter of 2009, up slightly from net income of $6.2 million or $0.26 per share in the same period of the prior year.

The company’s total revenues increased 11.4 percent to $78 million in the second quarter. Gross collections surged 20 percent in the quarter to $122.4 million. Collections were up in all channels for Encore, with collection sites accounting for $44.7 million (up 15 percent), legal collections bringing in $61.5 million (up 25 percent) and collection agency outsourcing accounting for $15.5 million (up 55 percent).

Encores’ investment in receivable portfolios in the second quarter was $82 million, to purchase $1.9 billion in face value of debt, compared to $52.5 million, to purchase $1.8 billion in face value of debt in the same period of the prior year. According to a 10-Q filing with the SEC, all of the portfolios purchased in the quarter were comprised of credit card accounts.

Separately, the Encore announced the planned addition of two new senior executives. Ronald E. Naves, Jr. will join the company as Senior Vice President and General Counsel and Ashish Masih will come onboard as Senior Vice President of Corporate Development.

Naves comes to Encore after a distinguished career in the public and private sectors. Most recently, he was the Senior Vice President of Legal Affairs and Litigation at Gemstar-TV Guide International, Inc. Prior to Gemstar, he served in senior corporate positions including Group Counsel at Gateway, Inc. Mr. Naves has an MBA from the Anderson School of Management at UCLA, a JD from Pepperdine University and a BA from the University of Connecticut.

Masih joins Encore from Capital One where he held many senior roles in the Collections and Recoveries areas. Prior to joining Capital One, Mr. Masih was an Associate Principal at McKinsey & Company and a Manager at KPMG Consulting. Ashish has an MBA from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, a Master of Science in Manufacturing Systems Engineering from Lehigh University and a Bachelor’s degree from the Indian Institute of Technology.

Both men will officially join Encore in August.