Steven Cunningham
Analyst · Stephens. Please go ahead
Thank you, David, and good afternoon, everyone. As David noted in his remarks, we delivered another solid quarter of top and bottom line financial performance as our diversified product offerings, machine learning powered credit risk management capabilities and effective marketing allowed us to meet stronger than expected consumer demand with attractive unit economics. Turning to Enova's first quarter results. Total company revenue for the first quarter rose 6% sequentially and increased 49% from the first quarter of 2021 to $386 million. Revenue was driven by the continued growth of total company combined loan and finance receivables balances, which on an amortized basis were $2.2 billion at the end of the first quarter, up 11% sequentially and 71% higher than the first quarter of 2021. As David noted, total company originations for the first quarter totaled just over $1 billion, nearly flat sequentially and more than double origination during the first quarter of 2021. Originations from new customers remain strong totaling 44% of total originations as our marketing activities remain highly effective. Small business revenue increased 15% sequentially and 75% from the first quarter of the prior year to $133 million. Small business receivables on an amortized basis totaled $1.2 billion at March 31, a 20% sequential increase and 74% higher than the end of the first quarter of 2021. Small business originations increased to $659 million, up 14% sequentially and more than double in the first quarter of 2021. Revenue from our consumer businesses increased 2% sequentially and 37% from the first quarter of 2021 to $249 million. Consumer receivables on an amortized basis ended the first quarter at $963 million, up slightly from December 31 and 69% higher than the first quarter of 2021 as consumer originations more than doubled from the prior year quarter to $382 million. Looking ahead, we expect total company revenue for the second quarter to be slightly higher sequentially. The net revenue margin for the first quarter was 70% and was at the high end of our expected range as credit quality, which is the most significant driver of portfolio fair value remains solid and in line with our expectations. The change in fair value line item included two main components, net charge-offs and changes to the portfolios fair value, resulting from updates to key valuation inputs, including future credit loss expectations, prepayment assumption and the discount rate. I'll discuss both items in more detail. First, the total company ratio of net charge-offs as a percentage of average combined loan and finance receivables for the first quarter was 7.6%, up from 6.7% last quarter, and up from 4.2% in the first quarter of 2021, but still well below the pre-pandemic rate of 16.8% and 15.4% during the first quarters of 2020 and 2019, respectively. As we've noted in previous quarters with originations growing, less-seasoned receivables comprise a larger proportion of our portfolio causing total company credit metrics to trend toward more typical historical levels as newer origination vintages track along their expected loss curves over time. These expectations are key inputs into our unit economics framework that has allowed us to consistently deliver solid margins and strong returns on shareholder equity. Even with nearly $3 billion in originations over the past three quarters, credit metrics for both our small business and consumer portfolios remain favorable to comparable pre-COVID periods as payment performance continues to be in line or better than our expectations. The first quarter net charge-off ratio for small business receivables was 1.9%, up from 80 basis points last quarter, but below the prior year ratio of 2.6% and below pre-pandemic periods as we continue to see strong payment performance across all of our small business products. The consumer net charge-off ratio for the first quarter increased to 14.2% from 13.3% last quarter and 6% in the prior year quarter. With the growth in consumer receivables in recent quarters, especially from new customers, we expected this credit normalization in the consumer portfolio from unsustainably low levels. The consumer net charge-off ratio remains well below the pre-pandemic rates of 18.7% and 16.6% that we reported for the first quarters of 2020 and 2019, respectively. The fair value of the consolidated portfolio as a percentage of principle was 107% at March 31, up from 105% at the end of 2021. The improvement in the fair value of the consolidated portfolio resulted mainly from improvement in our credit outlook, partially offset by an increase in discount rates. The percentage of total portfolio receivables past due 30 days or more was 5.2% at March 31, down slightly from 5.3% at the end of 2021 and lower than the 7.6% ratio at the end of the first quarter a year-ago. In addition to future credit loss expectations, every quarter, we also evaluate discount rates and other key valuation assumptions used in our fair value models. As a result of this analysis for the first quarter, we increased the discount rates used in the fair value calculation by 50 basis point to incorporate observed market information. To summarize, the change in the fair value line item this quarter is driven primarily by relatively low levels of net charge-offs, higher discount rates and credit metrics and modeling at the end of the first quarter that continue to reflect a solid outlook for expected future credit performance for our rapidly growing portfolio. Looking ahead, we expect the net revenue margin for the second quarter of 2022 to range between 63% and 68%. With stable economy with more normalized credit and continued growth in originations, the net revenue margin should range between 55% and 65% as less-seasoned loans become an increasingly larger proportion of the portfolio. Our future net revenue margin expectation and the degree and timing of future normalization in the ratio will depend upon the timing, speed and mix of originations growth. Now turning to expenses. Our operating expenses this quarter reflect higher marketing cost and strong customer demand that drove stronger than expected originations as well as the continued scaling of our fixed costs. Total operating expenses for the first quarter, including marketing were $168 million or 44% of revenue compared to $108 million or 42% of revenue in the first quarter of 2021. Marketing expenses totaled $93 million or 24% of revenue compared to $29 million or 11% of revenue in the first quarter of 2021. The level of marketing spend during the quarter reflects the effectiveness of our marketing programs to capture stronger than expected customer demand, especially from new customers with strong unit economics. As a reminder, under fair value accounting, we recognized marketing expenses in the period they are incurred, instead of deferring a portion and recognizing them over the life of the loan as we did prior to 2020 and as many in the industry still do. Looking forward, we expect marketing expenses as a percentage of revenue to be approximately 20% next quarter, slightly higher during periods of higher seasonal demand later in the year, but will depend upon the growth and originations especially from new customers. Operations and technology expenses for the first quarter totaled $41 million or 11% of revenue compared to $36 million or 14% of revenue in the first quarter of 2021. Given the significant variable component of this expense category, sequential increases in O&T costs should be expected in an environment where originations and receivables are growing and should range between 10% and 12% of revenue. General and administrative expenses for the first quarter totaled $35 million or 9% of revenue compared to $44 million or 17% of revenue in the first quarter of 2021. Excluding a one-time reduction to personnel-related costs, G&A expenses would have totaled approximately 10% of revenue. While there maybe slight variations from quarter-to-quarter, we expect G&A expenses, as a percentage of revenue, to trim below 10%, as we move through 2022 and as these expenses scale with growth. Our stock-based compensation expense is $5.4 million in the first quarter, which compares to $5.8 million in the first quarter of 2021. We expect normalized stock-based compensation expense should approximate $5.5 million per quarter going forward. Our effective tax rate was 23% in the first quarter, which decreased from 27% for the first quarter of 2021. The decrease resulted primarily from increased stock-based compensation deductions. While there maybe slight variations from quarter-to-quarter, we expect our normalized effective tax rate to be in the mid-to-upper 20% range. We recognized adjusted earnings and non-GAAP measure of $58 million or $1.67 per diluted share compared to $1.61 per diluted share last quarter and $2.20 per diluted share in the first quarter of the prior year. The trailing 12-month return on average shareholder equity using adjusted earnings was 24% during the quarter compared to 45% a year-ago. We ended the first quarter with $246 million of cash and marketable securities, including $132 million in unrestricted cash and had an additional $404 million of available capacity or $1.2 billion of committed facilities. Our debt balance at the end of the quarter includes $769 million outstanding under committed facilities. During March, we added $234 million of additional funding capacity across all four of our existing consumer and small business securitization warehouse facilities. The ability to increase the capacity in each of our existing committed facilities at the same attractive terms reflects the strength of our partnerships with our bank lenders as well as the solid credit performance of our portfolio. Our cost of funds for the first quarter was 5.9% versus 8.6% for the first quarter of 2021. And at the end of the first quarter, our marginal cost of funds ranged from 2.5% to 4.5%, depending on the facility utilized. Demonstrating our confidence and the continued strength of our business relative to our current valuation, during the first quarter, we acquired approximately 1.8 million shares at a cost of approximately $74 million. At March 31, we had $72 million remaining under our $100 million share repurchase program. Our solid balance sheet and ample liquidity give us the flexibility to continue to deliver on our commitment to long-term shareholder value through both share repurchases and investments in our business to drive meaningful, sustainable and profitable growth. To summarize our outlook, with continued strong customer demand and meaningful growth in originations and receivables, we expect the net revenue margin to range between 63% and 68% next quarter and to normalize in the range of 55% to 65% over time. In addition, we expect marketing expenses of approximately 20% of revenue next quarter, and to be slightly higher as a percentage of revenue during periods of higher seasonal demand later in the year. We also anticipate continued scaling of our fixed costs with growth. These expectations should lead to adjusted EBITDA margins in the mid-20% range. Adjusted EPS in 2022 should benefit from continued receivables growth, solid EBITDA margin, a lower portfolio cost of funds and a declining share count with quarterly year-over-year increases in adjusted EPS expected to resume in the second half of 2022. The degree and timing of these expected trends and any normalization will depend upon the timing, speed and mix of originations growth. We remain confident that the demonstrated ability of our talented team to adapt to any changes in the operating environment, by leveraging our resilient, direct online-only business model, diversified product offerings, nimble machine learning powered credit risk management capabilities, and our solid balance sheet has us well positioned to continue to drive profitable growth while also effectively managing risk. And with that, we'd be happy to take your questions. Operator?