The opening of two new call centers helped propel collection recovery rates up 16% in 2018 compared with 2017 at PRA Group, the company announced yesterday in sharing its fourth quarter 2018 and full-year financial reports.
Overall, net income for the fourth quarter was $15 million, compared with $89 million in the same quarter of 2017. For the full year, net income was $66 million, compared with $164 million in 2017.
Cash collections in the Americas was $234 million for the fourth quarter, up from $204 million in the same period a year earlier, the company announced. The company spent $491 million in purchasing portfolios in the fourth quarter — $172.5 million of that in the Americas — up from $375 million — $160 million of that in the Americas — in the same period of 2017.
In a conference call held with stock analysts to discuss the earnings, much of the questions focused on PRA’s European efforts and initiatives. Kevin Stevenson, the chief executive officer of PRA Group, did tout the two new call centers — and plans to open a third — in his opening remarks, and how the company is “looking forward” to a proposed debt collection rule from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to “level the playing field across the industry.”
“We look forward to the CFPB issuing a notice of proposed rulemaking,” Stevenson said. “We are in full support of the creation and uniform enforcement of one set of rules in order to level the playing field across the industry. You’re actively working with state and federal legislators and regulators to make sure the rules get written are fair and any unintended consequences will be identified and understood. Our goal is to be consumer-friendly while still enforcing the contracts that we own.”
