World Acceptance Corporation (NASDAQ:WRLD) Q2 2024 Earnings Call Transcript

John Rowan: Okay. And then I think you touched on it before, but I was trying to calculate something while you said it. The seasonality in the loan portfolio, obviously, typically loans go up and in the December quarter, down in the March quarter. But loans also usually typically go up from June to September. So I’m just trying to parse out if the credit tightening and what we’re seeing is what’s a little bit of an abnormal sequential decline here in the September quarter. Like how that affects going forward? Are loans going to go up next quarter and then down in March? Like how should we think about that?

John Calmes: Yes. No, I think we would expect the same seasonality. Typically, the September quarter, we do show some growth, obviously, not to the same level as we show in the December quarter historically. We still expect to see that growth in the December quarter. But yes, the big change versus the history is we are still substantially tighter on new customer originations than we have ever been. We’re still seeing very strong application flow, but we’ve reduced our approval rates substantially.

Chad Prashad: Yes, I think it’s important to point out that during the last quarter, we actually did grow our customer base and number of accounts, but the average balance is lower. So the overall portfolio size is lower. So – and it’s something we’ve mentioned before in rightsizing the loan sizes also helped us increase the overall yield. And it’s important to do that in conjunction with the overall credit quality as well.

John Rowan: Okay. And then just one bigger question. Obviously, you’ve been in the highest tier accrual for next year, just looking the consensus estimates in mind too. I mean, we’re nowhere near before this, we’re nowhere near where you would need to accrue even for the $20.45. John, we’ve talked about in the past, needing to get to a high single-digit or high single digit, maybe low double-digit type charge-off rate. We’re obviously not near there now, although you obviously have improved credit quality. I just – I’m curious about your comment earlier, how you said we have the pieces in place now to reach $20.45 next year. I’m paraphrasing a little bit versus what you said. Obviously, the goals have been changed from the mid-20s to $20.45.

I don’t think that you hit even the lower number with the 16% charge-off rate? I’m just trying to figure out what are the pieces in place that nothing really material needs to change for you to get to $20.45 next year when obviously, the run rate of earnings $2.71, which I mean even includes a big reversal in it. I mean not gigantic, but a big reversal. How do we get there because that run rate is nowhere near $20.45, but yet you’re saying nothing material needs to change for us to get to that number? I’m just – I’m having trouble marrying those comments together.

John Calmes: Yes. So we expect to – we see the credit quality of the portfolio continuing to improve, right? So as we move forward, two things should continue to happen. One, we expect the credit quality absent of any other macro events should continue to improve on the existing portfolio, right? And the loans that – the new customers that we are adding are performing at a much higher level from a credit quality standpoint and have much healthier yields, right? So as we move forward, and it will take – to get to the $20 EPS will take some growth, right, over the next 18 months. And we expect that to happen, right? We expect at some point over the next 18 months, there will be more clarity with where the economy is going and hopefully be able to start losing a little bit, right? But so with that, you’ll have higher – better performance on the new customers at higher yields. And we expect the credit quality of the existing portfolio to continue to trend better.

John Rowan: Okay. I was a little confused just with the comment you said that we kind of have – nothing major needs to change from now to get to there. But it’s not – nothing major needs to change from what we reported this quarter, but we have to continue certain trends. Am I interpreting that correctly?