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Encore Capital Group, a debt buyer that purchases and collects delinquent credit cards, today reported $97.8 million in gross collections for the third quarter ended Sept. 30, a 14% increase from $85.6 million in the same period a year ago. Encore invested $66.1 million during the quarter to purchase a face value of $1.8 billion in debt, for a blended rate of 3.7% of face value. The San Diego-based company did not itemize credit card purchase totals. Revenue from receivable portfolios totaled $62.6 million, a 5% increase from $59.4 million a year ago. In 2007, according to research conducted by Collections & Credit Risk – a CardLine sister publication – 90% of the receivables Encore bought consisted of charged-off credit card accounts compared with 46% that did in 2006. The company reported third-quarter net income of $7.3 million, which compares with a net loss of $800,000 a year ago. Revenues were up 4%, to $70 million from $67.2 million. Encore is the nation's fourth-largest debt buyer based on 2007 revenues.
