Payday Loan Company Reports Slight Drop In Profits; New Payday Advance Locations Announced
By J.J. CameronPayday Loan Writer
QC Holdings Inc., recently announced its first-quarter profits and news was not idea. The company, which provides cash loans from 549 branches in 25 states, pointed to higher costs on the company's 18 new branches as a factor for the slight decline in profits.
Numbers fell to $2.5 million (or 12 cents per share) from $3.6 million (or 15 cents per share) a year ago.The company reported a 15 percent increase in revenue to $38.4 million from $33.5 million, primarily from the increase in quarter-to-quarter unit branch count. The results missed the expectations of Wall Street analysts, who predicted 13 cents per share on revenue of $41 million, according to a Thomson Financial poll.
The decline in income was from higher costs during the current quarter to accommodate the large number of newer instant payday loan branches, the company said. During the first quarter, the company opened 18 new branches and closed one.
Looking ahead, the company said a challenging operating environment in Illinois - which includes new payday loan legislation - will reduce the company's profit by about $1.5 million to $2 million in each of the year's remaining quarters.
