WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Pawn shops operator Cash America International, Inc. (CSH) on Tuesday lowered its earnings outlook for fiscal year 2011 and said it expects revenue growth to exceed 25 percent for the fourth quarter. For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2011, the Forth Worth, Texas-based company now expects earnings of $4.25 per share, down from the prior expected range of $4.28 to $4.48 per share. On average, 10 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expect the company to report earnings of $4.41 per share for the year. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items. However, the new guidance represents a 16 percent increase over fiscal 2010 earnings of $3.67 per share. Cash America said it had not updated its prior full-year earnings outlook that was provided in July due to the filing of a registration statement with the SEC regarding a proposed initial public offering of Enova common stock by the company and Enova International Inc., the company's e-commerce unit. Cash America expects revenue growth for the fourth quarter to exceed 25 percent compared to the prior-year period. Analysts expect the company to report revenues of $428.15 million for the quarter. The company noted that the revenue growth represents the largest year-over-year quarterly increase during 2011, reflecting growth in asset balances of both pawn and consumer loans, as well as a significant increase in revenue from the disposition of merchandise during the quarter. The company said it experienced increases in demand from non-U.S. customers for both its short-term loan products and its longer-term installment loan products offered through its online channel, leading to a significant increase in asset balances and a commensurate increase in loan loss provision during the quarter. However, profitability for the fourth quarter was impacted by the requirement to establish a reserve for loan losses, and higher than expected store level operating costs during the holiday selling period. The company also incurred a variety of one-time and unusual operating expenses during the fourth quarter associated with the proposed Enova initial public offering and other expense items from the closing of an acquisition. While revenue associated with all online consumer loans increased over 40 percent during the fourth quarter, the requirement to immediately set up a reserve for loan losses and absorb all all marketing and customer acquisition costs constrained marginal profitability gains. As of December 31, 2011, Cash America operated 1,084 total locations offering specialty financial services to consumers, which include 784 lending locations operating in 23 states in the U.S. Cash America will announce its fourth-quarter results on Thursday, January 26, 2012. CSH closed Tuesday's trading at $44.10, down $0.47 or 1.05 percent on a volume of 432,042 shares.
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