Dollar Financial looking to increase cash, make overseas acquisitions

By Jennifer Lanning Drey

Portland, Ore., Aug. 27 - Dollar Financial Corp. plans to maintain its near-term strategy of increasing cash holdings in light of the current economic environment while at the same time reviewing its pipeline of international acquisition candidates for attractively priced opportunities, Randy Underwood, chief financial officer of the company, said Thursday during its fourth-quarter conference call.

The company continues to maintain $75 million of excess cash available to fund additional growth and acquisition opportunities, or alternatively, pay down indebtedness, he said.

"We believe our strong cash flow from operations and solid liquidity will enable us to take advantage of additional global business development and expansion opportunities, both in existing and prospective new markets as we move through fiscal 2010 and beyond," Jeffrey Weiss, chief executive officer of Dollar Financial, said during the call.

At the June 30 end of fiscal year 2009, the company had $75.0 million available under its U.S.-based credit facility, C$28.5 million undrawn on its Canadian credit facility and £5.0 million available on its U.K.-based credit facility.

The company had cash and cash equivalents of $209.71 million at June 30.

Overseas expansion

Dollar Financials plans for 2010 include significantly expanding its global store base and extending other geographic platforms such as expanding into additional provinces in Poland and possibly other countries, Underwood said.

The company recently announced its expansion into the Polish market through the acquisition of an established consumer-lending business.

Dollar Financial also aggressively expanded its U.K. business during fiscal 2009.

The company posted consolidated consumer-lending revenue, on a constant currency basis, of $74.9 million, which reflected a 2.8% decrease from revenues posted in the same quarter of fiscal 2008.

At the same time, consumer-lending revenue in the United Kingdom increased by more than 34%.

The company said increasing unemployment negatively impacted consumer lending volumes in the United States and Canada.

Dollar Financial is a Berwyn, Pa.-based provider of financial services to "under-banked" customers.

© 2015 Prospect News.
All content on this website is protected by copyright law in the U.S. and elsewhere. For the use of the person downloading only.
Redistribution and copying are prohibited by law without written permission in advance from Prospect News.
Redistribution or copying includes e-mailing, printing multiple copies or any other form of reproduction.