EDMONTON – The Cash Store Financial Services Inc. (TSX:CSF) says it recorded a net loss of $22.3 million in its fourth quarter ended Sept. 30, or $1.29 per diluted share.
That compares to a modest gain of $249,000, or a penny per diluted share, in the same period last year.
The Edmonton-based payday lender also says loan volume was down in the quarter to $199.8 million compared to $207.2 million in the corresponding quarter a year ago.
Total revenue was $48.3 million in the three-month period compared to $50.8 million last year and the company’s loan fees increased to $39.5 million $38.4 million.
“We have made significant strides in improving our branch operating margins this year and that bodes very well for the future of the company,” said Cash Store CEO Gordon Reykdal.
“We are looking to grow our online operations, make operational improvements, continue to refine our lines of credit, grow revenues from other financial products, all the while further reducing our corporate overhead costs.”
Cash Store Financial operates 510 branches across Canada and 27 in the United Kingdom.
They act primarily as lenders and brokers of short-term advances and other financial services to income earning consumers who may not be able to obtain them from traditional banks.
