Profits Level for PRA Group in 2Q as CEO Reaffirms Core Strategic Principles

Profits at PRA Group were down slightly in the second quarter of 2021, compared with the second quarter of last year, but the company is still riding high from its strong first-quarter results, the company announced on Thursday. As well, during a call with financial analysts, the Chief Executive of the company reiterated a series of five “strategic objectives” that the company has developed to guide its future, which others in the industry may want to use as a blueprint.

Overall, the company reported net income of $56 million during the second quarter of 2021, down from $57.9 million during the same period last year. Through the first half of 2021, though, profits were $114.4 million, up from $77 million a year ago.

The company purchased $220 million of loans during the second quarter, up from about $160 million during the first three months of the year.

Along with sharing details of the company’s financial performance, Kevin Stephenson, the chief executive of PRA Group also outlined a series of strategic principles that the company has used to help it grow and expand into a global player in the financial services industry. Those principles are:

• Working to expand both products and market share. “While we have a strong share of the market in the U.S., we are not as large of a player in some of our European countries,” Stephenson said. “Expanding our addressable market to include additional products would help us grow our portfolio and further diversify our revenue streams.”
• Modernizing collections. “We made significant progress since 2018 through the investments in digital and data and this effort will continue as we adapt to and lever the changing way our society communicates.”
• Increasing efficiency. “… this objective permeates every aspect of our company from finance, to IT, to human resources and of course operations.”
• Being a recognized, trusted brand. “When I became CEO, I made a significant push for PRA to become the biggest spokesperson in the industry, particularly with legislators and regulators and to educate them on who PRA is and how we do business. I bolstered our government relations department in a few years back, and I believe we’ve become one of the loudest voices in the nonperforming loan industry in the United States.”
• Fostering a high-performing workforce.”Last year, we provided our employees with the number of benefits aimed at helping them through the pandemic and simply thanking them for continuing to embody PRA’s culture … In addition to providing additional benefits, we have formalized our diversity, equity and inclusion efforts.”