Search Capital reports financial results for quarter and nine months ended December 31, 1996

Business Wire,  Feb 3, 1997  

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DALLAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 3, 1997--Search Capital Group, Inc. announced today that net income before preferred stock dividends for the nine months ended December 31, 1996 was $1,190,000 compared to an operating loss before preferred stock dividends of $18,021,000 for the same period in 1995. The net available to common stockholders after dividends for the nine month period in 1996 was a loss of $3,268,000, or $0.96 per share, compared to a loss of $18,201,000, or $16.67 per share, for the same period in 1995.

George C. Evans, Search Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer stated, "Results for the first nine months continue to be in line with the reorganization plan projections and reflect the success of the turnaround of Search with a pre- dividend operating profit of about $1.2 million versus a loss of $18 million for the same period last year, which translates into an improvement of $19.2 million." Evans also noted that Search achieved more than an 100% increase in gross receivables during the nine months of 1996 resulting in gross receivables of $74.8 million as of December 31, 1996, compared to $37 million at April 1, 1996.

General and administrative expenses for the nine months ended December 31, 1996 were reduced by $3.9 million, or 29%, to $9.3 million from $13.2 million in 1995. Interest expense was reduced by $4.3 million, to $1.2 million in 1996, from $5.5 million in 1995 as a result of the conversion of debt to equity which was completed in March 1996. Bad debt recovery was $4.6 million for the nine months ended December 31, 1996, compared to a provision for credit losses of $3.2 million in the same period of 1995. The nine month operating results for 1995 also included expenses of $2.9 million for settlement of litigation and $565,000 for reorganization of certain Search subsidiaries.

Search Capital Group, Inc. is a specialized financial services company engaged in the purchasing, financing, and servicing of non-prime automobile installment loans originated by franchised and independent automobile dealers. Search also engages in non-auto consumer finance operations. Search common shares and its 9%/7% convertible preferred shares are traded over the counter bulletin board under the symbols "SCGI" and "SCGIP", respectively. -0-