THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, February 15, 1995 TAG: 9502150423
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: D3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY TOM SHEAN, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Short : 41 lines
TFC Enterprises Inc., Norfolk-based parent of The Finance Company, said Tuesday that its fourth-quarter net income jumped 78 percent because of a greater volume of business and higher net interest income.
TFC, whose subsidiary specializes in financing auto sales to high-risk borrowers, also reported that it earned $7.23 million, or 64 cents a share, for the full year. In 1993, the company lost $1.74 million.
TFC's shares skidded 1 3/4, or 29 percent, in heavy trading Tuesday to close at 6. The company's fourth-quarter earnings were lower than the 18 cents a share that had been projected in the investment community.
TFC's stock began trading in the NASDAQ National Market System after an initial public offering in late December 1993.
For the three months ended Dec. 31, TFC reported net income of $1.9 million, or 17 cents per common share. That was up from $1.07 million in the year-earlier quarter when its shares were not yet trading publicly.
The company's net interest income - the difference between its cost of funds and the yield on its loans - was higher partly because the volume of finance contracts for the fourth quarter jumped 63 percent from the year-earlier quarter to $64.75 million, said Charles M. Johnston, TFC's chief financial officer.
In addition, the $50 million of proceeds from its initial public offering in late 1993 helped reduce TFC's cost of funds, Johnston said. The company's net interest income for the fourth quarter rose 33 percent to $7.15 million from $5.39 million in the October-December quarter of 1993.
Operating expenses of $4.89 million for the recent quarter were up 24 percent from the year-earlier period because of the greater volume of business, Johnston said.
For the full year, TFC's contracts totaled $222.18 million, a 43 percent increase from $155.2 million for all of 1993. by CNB