NICHOLAS FINANCIAL INC - Quarter Report: 2019 December (Form 10-Q)

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UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, DC 20549

FORM 10-Q

FOR THE QUARTERLY PERIOD ENDED December 31, 2019

FOR THE TRANSITION PERIOD FROM                      TO                      .

Commission file number: 0-26680

NICHOLAS FINANCIAL, INC.

(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in its Charter) 

(727) 726-0763

(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 and 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter periods that the Registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.     Yes  ☒    No  ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the Registrant has submitted electronically, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the Registrant was required to submit such files).     Yes  ☒    No  ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐

Indicate by checkmark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act) Yes   ☐    No   ☒

As of February 12, 2020, approximately 12.6 million shares, no par value, of the Registrant were outstanding (of which 4.7 million shares were held by the Registrant’s principal operating subsidiary and pursuant to applicable law, not entitled to vote and 7.9 million shares were entitled to vote).

NICHOLAS FINANCIAL, INC.

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FORM 10-Q

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PART I. FINANCIAL INFORMATION

Nicholas Financial, Inc. and Subsidiaries

Consolidated Balance Sheets

(In thousands)

See Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements.

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Nicholas Financial, Inc. and Subsidiaries

Consolidated Statements of Income (Loss)

(Unaudited)

(In thousands, except per share amounts)

See Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements.

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Nicholas Financial, Inc. and Subsidiaries

Consolidated Statements of Shareholders’ Equity

(Unaudited)

(In thousands)

See Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements.

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Nicholas Financial, Inc. and Subsidiaries

Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows

(Unaudited)

(In thousands)

See Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements.

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Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements

1. Basis of Presentation

Nicholas Financial, Inc. (“Nicholas Financial – Canada”) is a Canadian holding company incorporated under the laws of British Columbia with several wholly-owned United States subsidiaries, including Nicholas Financial, Inc., a Florida corporation (“NFI”). The accompanying consolidated balance sheet as of March 31, 2019, which has been derived from audited financial statements, and the accompanying unaudited interim consolidated financial statements of Nicholas Financial – Canada, and its wholly-owned subsidiaries (collectively, the “Company”), have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (“U.S. GAAP”) for interim financial information, with the instructions to Form 10-Q pursuant to the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and with Article 8 of Regulation S-X thereunder. Accordingly, they do not include all of the information and notes to the consolidated financial statements required by U.S. GAAP for complete consolidated financial statements, although the Company believes that the disclosures made are adequate to ensure the information is not misleading. In the opinion of management, all adjustments (consisting of normal recurring accruals) considered necessary for a fair presentation have been included. Operating results for interim periods are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for the year ending March 31, 2020. It is suggested that these consolidated financial statements be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes thereto included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended March 31, 2019 as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on June 28, 2019. The March 31, 2019 consolidated balance sheet included herein has been derived from the March 31, 2019 audited consolidated balance sheet included in the aforementioned Form 10-K.

The preparation of consolidated financial statements in conformity with U.S. GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the consolidated financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates. Material estimates that are particularly susceptible to significant change relate to the determination of the allowance for credit losses on finance receivables and fair value of the assets and liabilities for business combination.

2. Revenue Recognition

Finance receivables consist of automobile finance installment contracts (“Contracts”) and direct consumer loans (“Direct Loans”). Interest income on finance receivables is recognized using the interest method. Accrual of interest income on finance receivables is suspended when a loan is contractually delinquent for 61 days or more, or the collateral is repossessed, whichever is earlier. The Company reverses the accrual of interest income when the loan is contractually delinquent 61 days or more.

As of February 2019, Chapter 13 bankruptcy accounts are charged-off at the time the bankruptcy status is confirmed on the account. Chapter 13 bankruptcy accounts, for which the corresponding bankruptcy plan has not been confirmed by the relevant court as of December 31, 2019 are accounted for under the cost-recovery method. Interest income on Chapter 13 bankruptcy accounts does not resume until all principal amounts are recovered.

A dealer discount represents the difference between the finance receivable of a Contract, and the amount of money the Company actually pays for the Contract. The discount negotiated by the Company is a function of the lender, the wholesale value of the vehicle and competition in any given market. In making decisions regarding the purchase of a particular Contract the Company considers the following factors related to the borrower: place and length of residence; current and prior job status; history in making installment payments for automobiles; current income; and credit history. In addition, the Company examines its prior experience with Contracts purchased from the dealer, and the value of the automobile in relation to the purchase price and the term of the Contract.

The entire amount of discount is amortized as an adjustment to yield using the interest method over the life of the loan. The average dealer discount associated with new volume for the three months ended December 31, 2019 and 2018 was 7.6% and 8.1% and 7.9% and 8.3% for the nine months ended December 31, 2019 and 2018, respectively, in relation to the total amount financed.

Unearned insurance and fee commissions consist primarily of commissions received from the sale of ancillary products. These products include automobile warranties, roadside assistance programs, accident and health insurance, credit life insurance, involuntary unemployment insurance coverage, and forced placed automobile insurance. These commissions are amortized over the life of the contract using the interest method.

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3. Earnings Per Share

The Company has granted stock compensation awards with nonforfeitable dividend rights which are considered participating securities. Earnings per share is calculated using the two-class method, as such awards are more dilutive under this method than the treasury stock method. Basic earnings per share is calculated by dividing net income allocated to common shareholders by the weighted average number of common shares outstanding during the period, which excludes the participating securities. Diluted earnings per share includes the dilutive effect of additional potential common shares from stock compensation awards. Earnings per share have been computed based on the following weighted average number of common shares outstanding:

Diluted earnings per share do not include the effect of certain stock options as their impact would be anti-dilutive. For the three months ended December 31, 2019 and 2018, potential shares of common stock from stock options totaling 62,400 and 35,000, respectively, were not included in the diluted earnings per share calculation because their effect is anti-dilutive. For the nine months ended December 31, 2019 and 2018, potential shares of common stock from stock options totaling 62,400 and 68,600, respectively, were not included in the diluted earnings per share calculation because their effect is anti-dilutive.

4. Finance Receivables

Finance Receivables Portfolio

Finance receivables consist of Contracts and Direct Loans and are detailed as follows:

During the quarter ended December 31, 2019, the Company completed a bulk asset purchase of $1.1 million of Contract loans.

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Contracts and Direct Loans each comprise a portfolio segment. The following tables present selected information on the entire portfolio of the Company:

The Company purchases Contracts from automobile dealers at a negotiated price that is less than the original principal amount being financed by the purchaser of the automobile. The Contracts are predominantly for used vehicles. As of December 31, 2019, the average model year of vehicles collateralizing the portfolio was a 2011 vehicle.

Direct Loans are typically for amounts ranging from $500 to $11,000 and are generally secured by a lien on an automobile, watercraft or other permissible tangible personal property. The majority of Direct Loans are originated with current or former customers under the Company’s automobile financing program. The typical Direct Loan represents a better credit risk than the typical Contract due to the customer’s prior payment history with the Company; however, the underlying collateral is “typically” less valuable. In deciding whether to make a loan, the Company considers the individual’s credit history, job stability, income, and impressions created during a personal interview with a Company loan officer. Additionally, because most of the Direct Loans made by the Company to date have been made to current or former customers, the payment history of the borrower is a significant factor in making the loan decision. As of December 31, 2019, loans made by the Company pursuant to its Direct Loan program constituted approximately 5.4% of the aggregate principal amount of the Company’s loan portfolio. Changes in the allowance for credit losses for both Contracts and Direct Loans were driven primarily by consideration the composition of the portfolio, current economic conditions, the estimated net realizable value of the underlying collateral, historical loan loss experience, delinquency, non-performing assets, and bankrupt accounts when determining management’s estimate of probable credit losses and adequacy of the allowance for credit losses. If the allowance for credit losses is determined to be inadequate, then an additional charge to the provision would be recorded to maintain adequate reserves based on management’s evaluation of the risk inherent in the loan portfolio. Additionally, credit loss trends over several reporting periods are utilized in estimating future losses and overall portfolio performance. Conversely, the Company could identify abnormalities in the composition of the portfolio, which would indicate the calculation is overstated and management judgement may be required to determine the allowance of credit losses for both Contracts and Direct Loans.

Each portfolio segment consists of smaller balance homogeneous loans which are collectively evaluated for impairment.

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Allowance for Credit Losses

The following table sets forth a reconciliation of the changes in the allowance for credit losses on Contracts and Direct Loans for the three months ended December 31, 2019 and 2018:

During the first quarter of the fiscal year ending March 31, 2019, the Company began using the trailing six-month charge-offs, annualized, to calculate the allowance for credit losses. Additionally, the Company completed bulk sales of charge-off accounts, which included $1.5 million of bankruptcy accounts and $0.1 million of non-performing accounts. These bulk sales impacted the provision for credit losses, charge-off, and recoveries amounts for the three and nine months ended for December 31, 2019, respectively. The Company’s allowance for credit losses also incorporates recent trends such as delinquency, non-performing assets, and bankruptcy. The Company believes that this approach reflects the current trends of incurred losses within the portfolio and better aligns the allowance for credit losses with the portfolio’s performance indicators.

The following table is an assessment of the credit quality by creditworthiness:

A performing account is defined as an account that is less than 61 days past due. The Company defines an automobile contract as delinquent when more than 10% of a payment contractually due by a certain date has not been paid by the immediately following due date, which date may have been extended within limits specified in the servicing agreements or as a result of a deferral. The period of delinquency is based on the number of days payments are contractually past due, as extended where applicable.

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In certain circumstances, the Company will grant obligors one-month payment extensions. The only modification of terms in those circumstances is to advance the obligor’s next due date by one month and extend the maturity date of the receivable. There are no other concessions, such as a reduction in interest rate, or forgiveness of principal or of accrued interest. Accordingly, the Company considers such extensions to be insignificant delays in payments rather than troubled debt restructurings.

A non-performing account is defined as an account that is contractually delinquent for 61 days or more or is a Chapter 13 bankruptcy account for which the corresponding bankruptcy plan has not been confirmed by the relevant court. Once the account is deemed non-performing, the accrual of interest income is suspended. As of February 2019, the Company changed the charge-off policy from 181 days contractually delinquent to 121 days contractually delinquent. Also, as of February 2019, once Chapter 13 bankruptcy plans are confirmed by the relevant court, the corresponding accounts are charged off.

In the event an account is dismissed from bankruptcy, the Company will decide, based on several factors, to begin repossession proceedings or to allow the customer to begin making regularly scheduled payments.

The Company does consider Chapter 13 bankruptcy accounts, for which the corresponding bankruptcy plan has not been confirmed as of the period end to be troubled debt restructurings and included in the Company’s allowance for credit losses is a specific reserve of approximately $774,000 for these accounts as of December 31, 2018. Based on declining balances of the bankruptcy accounts and the overall portfolio, the Company determined that no additional reserves for bankruptcy accounts was warranted as of December 31, 2019.

The following tables present certain information regarding the delinquency rates experienced by the Company with respect to Contracts and Direct Loans, excluding Chapter 13 bankruptcy accounts:

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5. Goodwill and Intangibles

On April 30, 2019, the Company completed an acquisition of three branches, representing substantially all of the assets, of ML Credit Group, LLC (d/b/a Metrolina Credit Company) (“Metrolina”). Two acquired branches are located in the state of North Carolina and one branch is located in South Carolina. Based on its evaluation of the agreement, the Company accounted for the acquisition as a business combination. In conjunction with the acquisition, the Company allocated the purchase price, tangible assets, and intangible assets among the acquired branches based on the fair values of their respective acquired assets. As of December 31, 2019, the accounting related to this acquisition is preliminary. The final determination of the fair value of the customer lists and goodwill will be completed within the twelve-month measurement period from the date of the acquisition as required by FASB ASC Topic 805-10-25. The Company recorded the following goodwill and intangibles in its preliminary accounting for this acquisition.

For the measurement period adjustment, for three months ended as of December 31, 2019, the Company reduced an insignificant amount of liabilities related to the purchase of Metrolina with a corresponding reduction to goodwill. For the nine months ended as of December 31, 2019, the Company incurred approximately $278,000 in expenses related to the purchase of the Metrolina assets.

6. Credit Facility

Senior Secured Credit Facility

On March 29, 2019, NF Funding I, wholly-owned, special purpose financing subsidiary of NFI entered into a senior secured credit facility (the “Credit Facility”) pursuant to a credit agreement with Ares Agent Services, L.P., as administrative agent and collateral agent, and the lenders that are party thereto (the “Credit Agreement”). The Company’s prior credit facility was paid off in connection with this Credit Facility.

Pursuant to the Credit Agreement, the lenders have agreed to extend to NF Funding I a line of credit of up to $175,000,000, which will be used to purchase motor vehicle retail installment sale contracts from NFI on a revolving basis pursuant to a related receivables purchase agreement between NF Funding I and NFI (the “Receivables Purchase Agreement”). Under the terms of the Receivables Purchase Agreement, NFI will sell to NF Funding I the receivables under the installment sale contracts. NFI will continue to service the motor vehicle retail installment sale contracts transferred to NF Funding I pursuant to a related servicing agreement (the “Servicing Agreement”).

The availability of funds under the Credit Facility is generally limited to 82.5% of the value of non-delinquent receivables, and outstanding advances under the Credit Facility will accrue interest at a rate of LIBOR plus 3.75%. The commitment period for advances under the Credit Facility is three years. At the end of the commitment period, the outstanding balance would be paid off over a four-year amortization period.

In connection with the Credit Facility, NFI has guaranteed NF Funding I ’s obligations under the Credit Agreement up to 10% of the highest aggregate principal amount outstanding under the Credit Agreement at any time pursuant to a limited guaranty. The Company is also obligated to cover any losses of the lender parties resulting from certain “bad acts” of the Company or its subsidiaries, such as fraud, misappropriation of funds or unpermitted disposition of the assets.

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Pursuant to a related security agreement (the “Security Agreement”), NF Funding I granted a security interest in substantially all of its assets as collateral for its obligations under the Credit Facility. In addition, NFI pledged the equity interests of NF Funding I, as additional collateral.

The Credit Agreement and the other loan documents contain customary events of default and negative covenants, including but not limited to those governing indebtedness, liens, fundamental changes, investments, and sales of receivables. If an event of default occurs, the lenders could increase borrowing costs, restrict NF Funding I ’s ability to obtain additional advances under the Credit Facility, accelerate all amounts outstanding under the Credit Facility, enforce their interest against collateral pledged under the Credit Facility or enforce their rights under the Company’s guarantees.

Once sold to NF Funding I, the assets described above are separate and distinct from the Company’s own assets and will not be available to the Company’s creditors should the Company become insolvent, although they will be presented on a consolidated basis on the Company’s balance sheet.

Future maturities of debt as of December 31, 2019 are as follows:

Prior Line of Credit

Prior to March 29, 2019, the Company utilized a line of credit facility (the “Line of Credit”) ranging from $140 million to $225 million during fiscal years 2019 and 2018.  On March 29, 2019 the Company paid-off in full the Line of Credit in connection with the new Credit Facility.  Pledged as collateral for this Line of Credit were all the assets of the Company.

The credit agreement for the Line of Credit required compliance with certain financial ratios and covenants and satisfaction of specified financial tests, including maintenance of asset quality and performance tests. The Company’s operating results in prior years provided indicators that the Company may not have been able to continue to comply with certain of the required financial ratios, covenants and financial tests prior to the maturity date of the Line of Credit in the absence of amendments to the corresponding credit agreement or waivers. On November 2, 2018, the Company entered into a Waiver and Amendment No. 9 (“Amendment No. 9”) to the credit agreement governing the Line of Credit. Among other things, Amendment No. 9 waived compliance with the minimum interest coverage ratio and minimum loss reserve requirements for the measurement period ending August 31, 2018. On February 12, 2019, the Company entered into a Waiver and Amendment No. 10 (Amendment No. 10) to the credit agreement. Among other things, Amendment No. 10:

Note 7. Income Taxes

The Company recorded an income tax expense of approximately $229,000 for the three months ended December 31, 2019 compared to income tax benefit of approximately $376,000 for the three months ended December 31, 2018. The Company’s effective tax rate increased to 42.4% for the three months ended December 31, 2019 from 29.4% for the three months ended December 31, 2018. The Company recorded an income tax expense of approximately $527,000 for the nine months ended December 31, 2019 compared to income tax expense of approximately $293,000 for the nine months ended December 31, 2018. The Company’s effective tax rate increased to 31.1% for the nine months ended December 31, 2019 from 21.1% for the nine months ended December 31, 2018. The changes in the effective tax rate was attributed to discrete items, primarily related to state apportionment rates, for the three months ended and for the nine months ended, December 31, 2019, respectively.

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Note 8. Leases

The Company adopted a new lease accounting standard in April 2019. See Note 11, “Summary of Significant Accounting Policies,” for an overview of the transition to this standard.

The Company maintains lease agreements related to its branch network and for its corporate headquarters. The branch lease agreements range from one to five years and generally contain options to extend from one to three years. The corporate headquarters lease agreement expires in April 2020 and the Company is in the process of negotiating a new lease agreement. All of the Company’s lease agreements are considered operating leases. None of the Company’s lease payments are dependent on a rate or index that may change after the commencement date, other than the passage of time.

The Company’s lease liability was $2.2 million as of December 31, 2019. This liability is based on the present value of the remaining minimum rental payments using a discount rate that is determined based on the Company’s incremental borrowing rate on its senior revolving credit facility. The lease asset was $2.2 million as of December 31, 2019. This asset includes right-of-use assets equaling the lease liability, net of prepaid rent and deferred rents that existed as of the adoption of the new lease standard.

The Company has made several policy elections related to lease assets and liabilities. The Company elected to utilize the package of transition practical expedients, which includes not reassessing the following at adoption: (i) whether existing contracts contained leases, (ii) the existing classification of leases as operating or financing, or (iii) the initial direct costs of leases. In addition, the Company did not use hindsight to determine the lease term or include options to extend for leases existing at the transition date.

The Company had elected the practical expedient of combining lease and non-lease components for its real estate leases in calculating the present value of the fixed payments without having to perform an allocation between the types of lease components. Future minimum lease payments under non-cancellable operating leases in effect as of December 31, 2019, are as follows:

The following table reports information about the Company’s lease cost for the three months ended December 31, 2019 (in thousands):

The following table reports information about the Company’s lease cost for the nine months ended December 31, 2019 (in thousands):

The following table reports other information about the Company’s leases for the three months ended December 31, 2019 (dollar amounts in thousands):

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The following table reports other information about the Company’s leases for the nine months ended December 31, 2019 (dollar amounts in thousands):

9. Fair Value Disclosures

The Company measures specific assets and liabilities at fair value, which is an exit price, representing the price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. When applicable, the Company utilizes market data or assumptions that market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability under a three-tier fair value hierarchy, which prioritizes the inputs used in measuring fair value. These tiers include: Level 1, defined as observable inputs such as quoted prices in active markets; Level 2, defined as inputs other than quoted prices in active markets that are either directly or indirectly observable; and Level 3, defined as unobservable inputs about which little or no market data exists, therefore requiring an entity to develop its own assumptions.

The Company’s financial instruments consist of cash, finance receivables, repossessed assets, and the Credit Facility. For each of these financial instruments, the carrying value approximates fair value.  

Finance receivables, net, approximates fair value based on the price paid to acquire Contracts. The price paid reflects competitive market interest rates and purchase discounts for the Company’s chosen credit grade in the economic environment. This market is highly liquid as the Company acquires individual loans on a daily basis from dealers.

The initial terms of the Contracts generally range from 12 to 72 months. Beginning in December 2017, the maximum initial term of a Contract was reduced to 60 months. The initial terms of the Direct Loans generally range from 12 to 60 months. If liquidated outside of the normal course of business, the amount received may not be the carrying value.

Repossessed assets are valued at the lower of the finance receivable balance prior to repossession or the estimated net realizable value of the repossessed asset. The Company estimates the net realizable value using the projected cash value upon liquidation plus insurance claims outstanding, if any.

Based on current market conditions, any new or renewed credit facility would be expected to contain pricing that approximates the Company’s current Credit Facility. Based on these market conditions, the fair value of the Credit Facility as of December 31, 2019 was estimated to be equal to the book value. The interest rate for the Credit Facility is a variable rate based on LIBOR pricing options.