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Portfolio Recovery Associates Inc., a debt purchaser that mostly buys and collects delinquent credit card portfolios, this week reported net income of $10.1 million for the first quarter ended March 31, a 15.1% decrease from $11.9 million during the same period last year. Revenue totaled $68.2 million, up 6.4% from $64.1 million, according to the Norfolk, Va.-based debt buyer. Cash collections rose 13.2%, to $89.9 million from $79.4 million. The company also reported call-center collections of $50.9 million, a 13.4% increase from $44.9 million, and external legal collections of $17.8 million, down 18.7% from $21.9 million. The debt buyer reported purchased bankruptcy collections of $17.6 million for the quarter, a 63% increase from $10.8 million a year earlier. The company paid $52 million to acquire 87 portfolios from 19 different sellers during the quarter. The face value of the purchased accounts totaled $961 million. "Given the recession and the difficult collections environment it has created, I would characterize Q1 as a solid quarter for PRA," Steven Fredrickson, Portfolio Recovery Associates president and CEO, said Tuesday during a teleconference. "We saw gains in call center and internal legal collections, as well as substantially increased collections from purchased bankrupt accounts. This was all achieved in an economic environment characterized by a lack of available consumer credit and significant job losses."
