UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 8-K

CURRENT REPORT
Pursuant to Section 13 OR 15(d) of The Securities Exchange Act of 1934

EZCORP, Inc.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Delaware		0-19424		74-2540145
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation)		(Commission File Number)		(IRS Employer Identification No.)

1901 Capital Parkway, Austin, Texas		78746
(Address of principal executive offices)		(Zip Code)

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (512) 314-3400

Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions:

o		Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425)
o		Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12)
o		Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))
o		Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))

 

 

Item 2.02 — Results of Operations and Financial Condition.

On April 22, 2010, EZCORP, Inc. issued a press release announcing its results of operations and financial condition for the second fiscal quarter and six month period ended March 31, 2010 and increasing annual earnings guidance. A copy of that press release is attached as Exhibit 99.1.

The information set forth under this Item 2.02, including Exhibit 99.1, shall not be deemed “filed” for purposes of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 or otherwise subject to the liabilities of that section, and shall not be deemed to be incorporated by reference in any filing made by EZCORP under the Securities Act of 1933 or the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.

Item 9.01 Financial Statements and Exhibits.

(d) Exhibits.

	99.1			Press Release, dated April 22, 2010, announcing EZCORP, Inc.’s results of operations and financial condition for the second fiscal quarter and six month period ended March 31, 2010 and increasing annual earnings guidance

SIGNATURE

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.

EXHIBIT INDEX

Exhibit
No.				Description of Exhibit
	99.1			Press Release, dated April 22, 2010, announcing EZCORP, Inc.’s results of operations and financial condition for the second fiscal quarter and six month period ended March 31, 2010 and increasing annual earnings guidance

EXHIBIT 99.1

EZCORP REPORTS 30% EARNINGS GROWTH AND INCREASES
ANNUAL GUIDANCE

AUSTIN, Texas (April 22, 2010) — EZCORP, Inc. (Nasdaq: EZPW), a leading pawn store operator and provider of specialty consumer financial services, today announced results for its second fiscal quarter ended March 31, 2010.

EZCORP’s net income for the quarter increased 30% to $23.8 million ($0.48 per share) compared to $18.3 million ($0.37 per share) for the second quarter of fiscal 2009. Total revenues for the quarter increased 13% over the prior year period to $176.6 million compared to $156.3 million for the second quarter of 2009.

Consolidated operating income improved 23% to $34.1 million (31% of net revenues) from $27.7 million (29% of net revenues) in the prior year quarter. The Company’s U.S. Pawn operations had an improvement in store level operating income of $8.0 million; the EZMONEY operations improved $3.3 million; and the Empeño Fácil Mexico Pawn segment improved $0.1 million. Offsetting these increases in store level operating income was higher administrative costs and depreciation and a small loss on disposal of assets.

EZCORP’s net income for the six-month period ended March 31, 2010 increased 49% to $49.5 million ($1.00 per share) compared to $33.1 million ($0.71 per share) for the prior year six-month period. Operating income for the six months improved 47% to $73.0 million (33% of net revenues) compared to $49.7 million (29% of net revenues) for the prior year six-month period.

Commenting on these results, Chief Executive Officer, Joe Rotunda, stated, “This was another outstanding quarter for EZCORP, our 31^st consecutive quarter of year over year earnings growth, and clearly demonstrates our ability to consistently enhance earnings and shareholder value. Coupled with this strong financial performance is our expanding worldwide presence, as seen through our continued store growth in Mexico and Canada, as well as our strategic affiliations with Albemarle & Bond in the United Kingdom and Cash Converters in Australia.”

“During the quarter, we saw strong and accelerating demand for our loan products. Our results demonstrate how EZCORP’s expanded assortment of cash solutions provides a lower-cost, more convenient alternative to products offered by traditional financial institutions. With strong ending loan portfolios, the Company is well positioned for a solid fiscal year. We remain on track to open 40 to 50 Empeño Fácil pawn locations in Mexico and 35 to 45 CASHMAX payday loan stores in Canada, as well as six domestic pawn stores by fiscal year-end,” Rotunda added.

“For the June quarter, we expect earnings per share of approximately $0.39, compared to $0.29 for the same period a year ago. For our 2010 fiscal year ending September 30^th, given our continued strong growth and outlook, we are raising our earnings guidance to approximately $1.91 per share, compared to $1.42 per share for fiscal 2009,” Rotunda concluded.

You are invited to listen to a conference call discussing these results on April 22, 2010 at 3:30 pm Central Time. The conference call can be accessed over the Internet or replayed at your convenience at the following address.

http://www.videonewswire.com/event.asp?id=68063

ABOUT EZCORP

EZCORP is a leading pawn store operator and provider of specialty consumer financial services. It provides collateralized non-recourse loans, commonly known as pawn loans, and a variety of short-term consumer loans, including payday loans, installment loans and auto title loans, or fee-based credit services to customers seeking loans. At its pawn stores, the Company also sells second-hand merchandise, primarily collateral forfeited from its pawn lending operations.

At March 31, 2010, EZCORP operated 450 pawn stores in the U.S. and Mexico and 482 short-term consumer loan stores in the U.S. and Canada. The Company also has significant investments in Albemarle & Bond Holdings PLC (ABM.L), one of the U.K.’s largest pawnbroking businesses with over 120 stores, and Cash Converters International Limited (CCV.L and CCV.AUS), which franchises and operates a worldwide network of over 500 financial services and second-hand retail stores.

Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This announcement contains certain forward-looking statements regarding the Company’s expected operating and financial performance for future periods, including new store expansion and expected future earnings. These statements are based on the Company’s current expectations. Actual results for future periods may differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements due to a number of uncertainties and other factors, including changing market conditions in the overall economy and the industry, consumer demand for the Company’s services and merchandise, actions of third parties who offer services and products in the Company’s locations and changes in the regulatory environment. For a discussion of these and other factors affecting the Company’s business and prospects, see the Company’s annual, quarterly and other reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

For additional information, contact Brad Wolfe at (512) 314-2289.

EZCORP, Inc.

		Three Months Ended March 31,								Increase				Percent
		2010				2009				(Decrease)				Change
Revenues:
Merchandise sales		$	63,083			$	61,056			$	2,027				3.3
Jewelry scrapping sales			36,228				27,957				8,271				29.6
Pawn service charges			38,306				33,516				4,790				14.3
Signature loan fees			31,642				31,594				48				0.2
Auto title loan fees			3,956				415				3,541				853.3
Other			3,369				1,728				1,641				95.0
Total revenues			176,584				156,266				20,318				13.0
Cost of goods sold:
Cost of merchandise sales			39,081				38,125				956				2.5
Cost of jewelry scrapping sales			23,081				18,301				4,780				26.1
Total cost of goods sold			62,162				56,426				5,736				10.2
Bad debt:
Signature loan bad debt			4,397				5,072				(675	)			(13.3	)
Auto title loan bad debt			320				42				278				661.9
Total bad debt			4,717				5,114				(397	)			(7.8	)
Net revenue			109,705				94,726				14,979				15.8
Operations expense			58,205				54,628				3,577				6.5
Administrative expense			13,483				9,794				3,689				37.7
Depreciation and amortization			3,573				3,151				422				13.4
(Gain) / Loss on sale/disposal of assets			356				(537	)			893				(166.3	)
Operating income			34,088				27,690				6,398				23.1
Interest income			(8	)			(72	)			64				(88.9	)
Interest expense			395				471				(76	)			(16.1	)
Equity in net income of unconsolidated affiliates			(3,306	)			(1,371	)			(1,935	)			141.1
Other			12				2				10				500.0
Income before income taxes			36,995				28,660				8,335				29.1
Income tax expense			13,222				10,340				2,882				27.9
Net income		$	23,773			$	18,320			$	5,453				29.8
Net income per share, diluted		$	0.48			$	0.37			$	0.11				29.0
Weighted average shares, diluted			49,558				49,272

										Amount or
										Percentage Point (ppt)
OTHER DATA:										Increase (Decrease)
Gross margin on merchandise sales (lines (2-10)/2)			38.0	%			37.6	%			0.4	ppts
Gross margin on jewelry scrapping sales (lines (3-11)/3)			36.3	%			34.5	%			1.8	ppts
Gross margin on total sales (lines ((2+3)-12)/(2+3))			37.4	%			36.6	%			0.8	ppts
Signature loan bad debt as percent of fees (lines 14/5)			13.9	%			16.1	%			(2.2	) ppts
Auto title loan bad debt as percent of fees (lines 15/6)			8.1	%			10.1	%			(2.0	) ppts
Annualized inventory turnover			4.2				3.8				0.4
Operating income margin (lines 23/17)			31.1	%			29.2	%			1.9	ppts

EZCORP, Inc.

		Six Months Ended March 31,								Increase				Percent
		2010				2009				(Decrease)				Change
Revenues:
Merchandise sales		$	125,559			$	105,851			$	19,708				18.6
Jewelry scrapping sales			73,670				47,742				25,928				54.3
Pawn service charges			79,103				59,897				19,206				32.1
Signature loan fees			70,320				67,594				2,726				4.0
Auto title loan fees			7,058				636				6,422				1009.7
Other			5,625				3,161				2,464				78.0
Total revenues			361,335				284,881				76,454				26.8
Cost of goods sold:
Cost of merchandise sales			78,346				65,291				13,055				20.0
Cost of jewelry scrapping sales			46,386				31,560				14,826				47.0
Total cost of goods sold			124,732				96,851				27,881				28.8
Bad debt:
Signature loan bad debt			13,187				14,556				(1,369	)			(9.4	)
Auto title loan bad debt			780				49				731				1491.8
Total bad debt			13,967				14,605				(638	)			(4.4	)
Net revenue			222,636				173,425				49,211				28.4
Operations expense			116,386				98,122				18,264				18.6
Administrative expense			25,780				20,205				5,575				27.6
Depreciation and amortization			6,929				6,217				712				11.5
(Gain) / Loss on sale/disposal of assets			567				(821	)			1,388				(169.1	)
Operating income			72,974				49,702				23,272				46.8
Interest income			(16	)			(198	)			182				(91.9	)
Interest expense			760				636				124				19.5
Equity in net income of unconsolidated affiliates			(4,589	)			(2,312	)			(2,277	)			98.5
Other			(3	)			27				(30	)			(111.1	)
Income before income taxes			76,822				51,549				25,273				49.0
Income tax expense			27,342				18,401				8,941				48.6
Net income		$	49,480			$	33,148			$	16,332				49.3
Net income per share, diluted		$	1.00			$	0.71			$	0.29				41.6
Weighted average shares, diluted			49,486				46,939

										Amount or
										Percentage Point (ppt)
OTHER DATA:										Increase (Decrease)
Gross margin on merchandise sales (lines (2-10)/2)			37.6	%			38.3	%			(0.7	) ppts
Gross margin on jewelry scrapping sales (lines (3-11)/3)			37.0	%			33.9	%			3.1	ppts
Gross margin on total sales (lines ((2+3)-12)/(2+3))			37.4	%			36.9	%			0.5	ppts
Signature loan bad debt as percent of fees (lines 14/5)			18.8	%			21.5	%			(2.7	) ppts
Auto title loan bad debt as percent of fees (lines 15/6)			11.1	%			7.7	%			3.4	ppts
Annualized inventory turnover			3.9				3.6				0.3
Operating income margin (lines 23/17)			32.8	%			28.7	%			4.1	ppts

EZCORP, Inc.
Highlights of Consolidated Balance Sheets (Unaudited)
(in thousands, except per share data and store counts)

		March 31,
		2010				2009
Assets:
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents		$	51,192			$	55,244
Pawn loans			89,040				79,359
Signature loans, net			7,287				6,420
Auto title loans, net			1,939				874
Pawn service charges receivable, net			16,353				14,551
Signature loan fees receivable, net			4,607				4,417
Auto title loan fees receivable, net			850				72
Inventory, net			56,403				56,025
Deferred tax asset			15,673				15,826
Federal income taxes receivable			13,414				495
Prepaid expenses and other assets			15,625				13,574
Total current assets			272,383				246,857
Investments in unconsolidated affiliates			90,854				34,725
Property and equipment, net			54,044				48,206
Deferred tax asset, non-current			5,318				8,452
Goodwill			101,456				99,008
Other assets, net			22,223				17,533
Total assets		$	546,278			$	454,781
Liabilities and stockholders’ equity:
Current liabilities:
Current maturities of long-term debt		$	10,000			$	10,000
Accounts payable and other accrued expenses			38,592				30,457
Customer layaway deposits			4,487				4,345
Total current liabilities			53,079				44,802
Long-term debt, less current maturities			20,000				30,000
Deferred gains and other long-term liabilities			2,735				3,462
Total stockholders’ equity			470,464				376,517
Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity		$	546,278			$	454,781
Pawn loan balance per ending pawn store		$	198			$	191
Inventory per ending pawn store		$	125			$	135
Book value per share		$	9.57			$	7.75
Tangible book value per share		$	7.18			$	5.38
Pawn store count — end of period			450				416
Signature loan store count — end of period			482				482
Shares outstanding — end of period			49,163				48,597

EZCORP, Inc.
Operating Segment Results (Unaudited)
(in thousands, except store counts and percents)

		U.S. Pawn				Empeño				EZMONEY
		Operations				Fácil				Operations				Consolidated
Three months ended March 31, 2010:
Revenues:
Sales		$	94,364			$	4,895			$	52			$	99,311
Pawn service charges			36,256				2,050				—				38,306
Signature loan fees			434				—				31,208				31,642
Auto title loan fees			427				—				3,529				3,956
Other			3,243				126				—				3,369
Total revenues			134,724				7,071				34,789				176,584
Cost of goods sold			58,541				3,597				24				62,162
Signature loan bad debt			101				—				4,296				4,397
Auto title loan bad debt			52				—				268				320
Net revenues			76,030				3,474				30,201				109,705
Operations expense			39,912				2,573				15,720				58,205
Store operating income		$	36,118			$	901			$	14,481			$	51,500
Gross margin on total sales (lines (2-9)/2)			38.0	%			26.5	%			53.8	%			37.4	%
Annualized inventory turnover			4.1				5.2				N/A				4.2
Signature loan bad debt as percent of fees (lines 10/4)			23.3	%			N/A				13.8	%			13.9	%
Auto title loan bad debt as percent of fees (lines 11/5)			12.2	%			N/A				7.6	%			8.1	%
Operating income margin (lines 15/12)			47.5	%			25.9	%			47.9	%			46.9	%
Pawn store count — end of period			371				79				—				450
Signature loan store count — end of period			6				—				476				482
Three months ended March 31, 2009:
Revenues:
Sales		$	86,809			$	2,204			$	—			$	89,013
Pawn service charges			32,265				1,251				—				33,516
Signature loan fees			557				—				31,037				31,594
Auto title loan fees			351				—				64				415
Other			1,728				—				—				1,728
Total revenues			121,710				3,455				31,101				156,266
Cost of goods sold			55,071				1,355				—				56,426
Signature loan bad debt			108				—				4,964				5,072
Auto title loan bad debt			36				—				6				42
Net revenues			66,495				2,100				26,131				94,726
Operations expense			38,369				1,297				14,962				54,628
Store operating income		$	28,126			$	803			$	11,169			$	40,098
Gross margin on total sales (lines (28-35)/28)			36.6	%			38.5	%			N/A				36.6	%
Annualized inventory turnover			3.8				2.1				N/A				3.8
Signature loan bad debt as percent of fees (lines 36/30)			19.4	%			N/A				16.0	%			16.1	%
Auto title loan bad debt as percent of fees (lines 37/31)			10.3	%			N/A				9.4	%			10.1	%
Operating income margin (lines 41/38)			42.3	%			38.2	%			42.7	%			42.3	%
Pawn store count — end of period			371				45				—				416
Signature loan store count — end of period			6				—				476				482

EZCORP, Inc.
Operating Segment Results (Unaudited)
(in thousands, except store counts and percents)

		U.S. Pawn				Empeño				EZMONEY
		Operations				Fácil				Operations				Consolidated
Six months ended March 31, 2010:
Revenues:
Sales		$	190,398			$	8,767			$	64			$	199,229
Pawn service charges			75,197				3,906				—				79,103
Signature loan fees			987				—				69,333				70,320
Auto title loan fees			902				—				6,156				7,058
Other			5,410				215				—				5,625
Total revenues			272,894				12,888				75,553				361,335
Cost of goods sold			118,271				6,430				31				124,732
Signature loan bad debt			287				—				12,900				13,187
Auto title loan bad debt			122				—				658				780
Net revenues			154,214				6,458				61,964				222,636
Operations expense			80,111				4,737				31,538				116,386
Store operating income		$	74,103			$	1,721			$	30,426			$	106,250
Gross margin on total sales (lines (2-9)/2)			37.9	%			26.7	%			51.6	%			37.4	%
Annualized inventory turnover			3.9				4.5				N/A				3.9
Signature loan bad debt as percent of fees (lines 10/4)			29.1	%			N/A				18.6	%			18.8	%
Auto title loan bad debt as percent of fees (lines 11/5)			13.5	%			N/A				10.7	%			11.1	%
Operating income margin (lines 15/12)			48.1	%			26.6	%			49.1	%			47.7	%
Pawn store count — end of period			371				79				—				450
Signature loan store count — end of period			6				—				476				482
Six months ended March 31, 2009:
Revenues:
Sales		$	148,975			$	4,618			$	—			$	153,593
Pawn service charges			57,149				2,748				—				59,897
Signature loan fees			1,243				—				66,351				67,594
Auto title loan fees			561				—				75				636
Other			3,160				1				—				3,161
Total revenues			211,088				7,367				66,426				284,881
Cost of goods sold			94,010				2,841				—				96,851
Signature loan bad debt			344				—				14,212				14,556
Auto title loan bad debt			42				—				7				49
Net revenues			116,692				4,526				52,207				173,425
Operations expense			65,045				2,583				30,494				98,122
Store operating income		$	51,647			$	1,943			$	21,713			$	75,303
Gross margin on total sales (lines (28-35)/28)			36.9	%			38.5	%			N/A				36.9	%
Annualized inventory turnover			3.7				2.1				N/A				3.6
Signature loan bad debt as percent of fees (lines 36/30)			27.7	%			N/A				21.4	%			21.5	%
Auto title loan bad debt as percent of fees (lines 37/31)			7.5	%			N/A				9.3	%			7.7	%
Operating income margin (lines 41/38)			44.3	%			42.9	%			41.6	%			43.4	%
Pawn store count — end of period			371				45				—				416
Signature loan store count — end of period			6				—				476				482