Encore Capital Group Inc (ECPG) 2025 Q2 法說會逐字稿

Good day, everyone, and thank you for standing by. Welcome to the Encore Capital Group second-quarter 2025 earnings conference call. (Operator Instructions) Please be advised that today's conference is being recorded.

大家好，感謝大家的耐心等待。歡迎參加 Encore Capital Group 2025 年第二季財報電話會議。（操作人員指示）請注意，今天的會議正在錄音。

I would now like to hand the conference over to your first speaker today, Bruce Thomas, VP of Global Investor Relations for Encore. Bruce, please go ahead.

現在，我謹將會議交給今天的第一位發言人，Encore 全球投資者關係副總裁 Bruce Thomas。布魯斯，請繼續。

Thank you, operator. Good afternoon, and welcome to Encore Capital Group's second-quarter 2025 earnings call. Joining me on the call today are Ashish Masih, our President and Chief Executive Officer; Tomas Hernanz, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer; Ryan Bell, President of Midland Credit Management; and John Young, President of Cabot Credit Management. Ashish and Tomas will make prepared remarks today, and then we'll be happy to take your questions.

謝謝您，接線生。下午好，歡迎參加 Encore Capital Group 2025 年第二季財報電話會議。今天與我一起參加電話會議的有：我們的總裁兼執行長 Ashish Masih；執行副總裁兼財務長 Tomas Hernanz；Midland Credit Management 總裁 Ryan Bell；以及 Cabot Credit Management 總裁 John Young。阿什什和托馬斯今天將發表事先準備好的講話，之後我們將很樂意回答大家的問題。

Unless otherwise noted, comparisons on this conference call will be made between the second quarter of 2025 and the second quarter of 2024. In addition, today's discussion will include forward-looking statements that are based on current expectations and assumptions and are subject to risks and uncertainties. Actual results could differ materially from our expectations.

除非另有說明，本次電話會議中的比較將以 2025 年第二季和 2024 年第二季為準。此外，今天的討論將包含基於當前預期和假設的前瞻性陳述，這些陳述存在風險和不確定性。實際結果可能與我們的預期有重大差異。

Please refer to our SEC filings for a detailed discussion of potential risks and uncertainties. We undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statements. During this call, we will use rounding and abbreviations for the sake of brevity.

有關潛在風險和不確定性的詳細討論，請參閱我們向美國證券交易委員會提交的文件。我們不承擔更新任何前瞻性陳述的義務。為了簡潔起見，本次通話中我們將使用四捨五入和縮寫。

We will also be discussing non-GAAP financial measures. Reconciliations to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures are included in our investor presentation, which is available on the Investors section of our website.

我們也將討論非GAAP財務指標。與最直接可比較的 GAAP 財務指標的調整表已包含在我們的投資者簡報中，該簡報可在我們網站的投資者部分找到。

As a reminder, following the conclusion of this call, a replay of this conference call, along with our prepared remarks will also be available on the Investors section of our website.

再次提醒各位，本次電話會議結束後，本次電話會議的錄音以及我們準備好的發言稿也將發佈在我們網站的投資者關係版塊。

With that, let me turn the call over to Ashish Masih, our President and Chief Executive Officer.

接下來，我將把電話交給我們的總裁兼執行長阿什什·馬西赫。

Thanks, Bruce, and good afternoon, everyone. Thank you for joining us. Encore delivered another strong performance in the second quarter, which is reflected in our financial metrics across the board. Portfolio purchases in Q2 of $367 million were up 32% compared to the second quarter last year. Collections increased 20% to a record $655 million. Estimated remaining collections or ERC, increased 12% to a record $9.4 billion.

謝謝你，布魯斯，大家下午好。感謝您的參與。Encore在第二季再次取得了強勁的業績，這全面體現在我們各項財務指標中。第二季投資組合購買金額為 3.67 億美元，比去年第二季成長 32%。收款金額成長20%，達到創紀錄的6.55億美元。預計剩餘收款額（ERC）成長 12%，達到創紀錄的 94 億美元。

Our record collections performance helped earnings increase sharply with Q2 earnings per share of $2.49, up 86% compared to the second quarter a year ago. Our leverage improved to 2.6 times at the end of Q2 compared to 2.7 times a year ago and was flat compared to Q1 2025 despite significant portfolio purchasing again in the second quarter.

我們創紀錄的收款業績幫助獲利大幅成長，第二季每股收益為 2.49 美元，比去年同期成長 86%。截至第二季末，我們的槓桿率改善至 2.6 倍，而一年前為 2.7 倍，儘管第二季度再次進行了大量的投資組合購買，但與 2025 年第一季相比持平。

Additionally, we continued our share repurchases in Q2, purchasing $15 million of Encore shares in the quarter, bringing our total to $25 million for the first half of the year. Our MCM business in the US continues to deliver very strong results. Empowered by the ongoing favorable supply environment, MCM portfolio purchases in the second quarter were a record $317 million at very attractive returns. MCM also delivered record collections of $490 million in Q2, up 24% compared to Q2 a year ago.

此外，我們在第二季度繼續進行股票回購，本季購買了價值 1,500 萬美元的 Encore 股票，使我們上半年的股票回購總額達到 2,500 萬美元。我們在美國的MCM業務持續取得非常強勁的業績。由於持續有利的供應環境，MCM 在第二季投資組合採購達到創紀錄的 3.17 億美元，並獲得了非常可觀的回報。MCM 在第二季也創下了 4.9 億美元的票房紀錄，比去年同期成長了 24%。

Turning to Europe. Our Cabot business delivered a solid second quarter. Portfolio purchases of $50 million were in line with the historical trend. Cabot's collections of $164 million were up 10% compared to a year ago as reported and were up 4% in constant currency. At this time, I believe it's helpful to remind investors of the critical role we play in the consumer credit ecosystem by assisting in the resolution of unpaid debts. These unpaid debts are an expected and necessary outcome of the lending business model.

轉向歐洲。我們的卡博特業務在第二季度表現穩健。5000萬美元的投資組合收購符合歷史趨勢。據報道，Cabot 的營收為 1.64 億美元，比去年同期成長了 10%；以固定匯率計算，成長了 4%。此時此刻，我認為有必要提醒投資者，我們在消費者信貸生態系統中扮演著至關重要的角色，即協助解決未償債務問題。這些未償債務是貸款業務模式中預期的、不可避免的結果。

Our mission is to create pathways to economic freedom for the consumers we serve by helping them resolve their past due debts. We achieved this by engaging consumers in honest, empathetic and respectful conversations. Our business is to purchase portfolios of nonperforming loans at attractive returns while minimizing funding costs.

我們的使命是透過幫助我們服務的消費者解決逾期債務，為他們創造通往經濟自由的道路。我們透過與消費者進行真誠、富有同理心和尊重的對話來實現這一目標。我們的業務是以具有吸引力的回報購買不良貸款組合，同時最大限度地降低融資成本。

For each portfolio that we own, we strive to exceed our collection expectations while both maintaining an efficient cost structure and ensuring the highest level of compliance and consumer focus. We achieved these objectives through our three-pillar strategy. This strategy enables us to deliver outstanding performance and positions us well to capitalize on future opportunities. We believe this is instrumental for building long-term shareholder value.

對於我們擁有的每一個投資組合，我們都力求超越預期的收款目標，同時保持高效的成本結構，並確保最高的合規性和以客戶為中心的理念。我們透過三大支柱策略實現了這些目標。這項策略使我們能夠取得卓越的業績，並為我們把握未來的機會奠定了良好的基礎。我們認為這對於提升股東長期價值至關重要。

The first pillar of our strategy, market focus, concentrates our efforts on the markets where we can achieve the highest risk-adjusted returns. To that end, we pursue business in countries where the credit markets are large and have consistent flows of purchasing opportunities. We believe the best markets have a strong regulatory framework, have sophisticated sellers who make data available and where we can achieve stable long-term returns. The markets we have chosen share these characteristics.

我們策略的第一個支柱是市場聚焦，它將我們的精力集中在能夠獲得最高風險調整後收益的市場。為此，我們選擇在信貸市場規模龐大且採購機會持續不斷的國家開展業務。我們認為，最好的市場擁有健全的監管框架、成熟的賣家（他們會提供數據），我們可以在這樣的市場中獲得穩定的長期回報。我們選擇的這些市場都具有這些特性。

As a reminder, our largest business, Midland Credit Management, or MCM, is in the United States, where it has been operating for over 25 years and is a leader in the world's most valuable market. Cabot Credit Management has been operating for over 20 years and is one of the largest players in the United Kingdom and continues to build a stronger presence in the European markets of France and Spain.

再次提醒大家，我們最大的業務 Midland Credit Management（簡稱 MCM）位於美國，已在美國營運超過 25 年，是全球最有價值的市場的領導者。Cabot Credit Management 已營運超過 20 年，是英國最大的信貸管理公司之一，並持續在法國和西班牙等歐洲市場建立更強大的影響力。

We recently released the third edition of our economic freedom study, which is a part of our continuing commitment to understand consumers' personal finances in the US and the UK and how they plan to manage past due debt. The detailed report as well as a summary of key findings can be found on our website.

我們最近發布了第三版經濟自由度研究報告，這是我們持續致力於了解美國和英國消費者的個人財務狀況以及他們計劃如何管理逾期債務的一部分。詳細報告及主要調查結果摘要可在我們的網站上找到。

I would now like to highlight Encore's second quarter performance in terms of several key metrics, starting with portfolio purchasing. Encore's global portfolio purchases for the quarter were $367 million, an increase of 32% compared to Q2 2024. This increased level of purchasing will help drive Encore's continued collections growth in 2025 and beyond.

現在我想重點介紹 Encore 第二季在幾個關鍵指標的表現，首先是投資組合購買情況。Encore 本季全球投資組合收購額為 3.67 億美元，較 2024 年第二季成長 32%。購買量的增加將有助於推動 Encore 在 2025 年及以後的收藏品持續成長。

Our concentration of portfolio purchases in the US where we allocated 86% of our deployed capital in the second quarter is a reminder that the flexibility of our global funding structure allows us to direct our capital toward markets with the highest returns.

我們在第二季將 86% 的已部署資本投入美國進行投資組合購買，這提醒我們，我們全球融資結構的靈活性使我們能夠將資本導向回報最高的市場。

Global collections in Q2 were up 20% to a record $655 million. After several years of lower deployments, the past few years of higher portfolio purchases at strong returns, particularly in the US, have led to meaningful growth in collections, which we expect to continue. Our global collections performance year to date through the second quarter compared to our ERC at the end of 2024 was 107%. We believe that our ability to generate significant cash provides us with an important competitive advantage, which is also a key component of our three-pillar strategy.

第二季全球稅收成長20%，達到創紀錄的6.55億美元。在經歷了數年的低迷之後，過去幾年投資組合購買量增加，尤其是在美國，獲得了強勁的回報，這帶來了收款的顯著增長，我們預計這種增長勢頭將會持續下去。截至第二季末，我們的全球收款業績與 2024 年底的預期收款金額相比，達到了 107%。我們相信，我們創造大量現金的能力為我們提供了重要的競爭優勢，這也是我們三大支柱策略的關鍵組成部分。

Similar to the dynamic I mentioned earlier, higher portfolio purchases at strong returns over the past few years have also led to meaningful growth in cash generation. Our cash generation for the second quarter on a trailing 12-month basis was up 23% compared to the same period a year ago.

與我之前提到的動態類似，在過去幾年中，投資組合的大量買入和強勁的回報也帶來了現金流的顯著成長。與去年同期相比，我們第二季過去 12 個月的現金流成長了 23%。

Let's now take a look at our two largest markets, beginning with the US. The US Federal Reserve reports that revolving credit in the US remains near record levels. At the same time, since bottoming out in late 2021, the credit card charge-off rate in the US has increased to its highest level in more than 10 years and remains at an elevated level. The combination of strong lending and elevated charge-off rates continues to drive robust portfolio supply in the US.

現在讓我們來看看我們最大的兩個市場，首先是美國。美國聯邦儲備委員會報告稱，美國的循環信貸仍接近歷史最高水準。同時，自 2021 年底觸底以來，美國的信用卡註銷率已升至 10 多年來的最高水平，並仍處於高位。強勁的貸款和高企的壞帳率共同推動了美國強勁的投資組合供應。

Similarly, US consumer credit card delinquencies, which are a leading indicator of future charge-offs, also remain near multiyear highs. With both lending and the charge-off rate at elevated levels, purchasing conditions in the US market remain highly favorable. We are observing continued strong US market supply and attractive pricing as well.

同樣，作為未來壞帳核銷的領先指標，美國消費者信用卡違約率也仍處於多年來的高點附近。由於貸款率和壞帳率都處於高位，美國市場的購買環境仍然非常有利。我們觀察到美國市場供應持續強勁，價格也頗具吸引力。

Second-quarter delinquency data supports our expectation that 2025 will be another record year of portfolio purchasing by our MCM business in the US. After surging to its highest level ever in 2024, portfolio supply in the US market remains robust. MCM continues to capture significant portions of this opportunity, deploying a record $317 million in Q2 at very strong returns. This was a 34% increase in portfolio purchases compared to Q2 a year ago.

第二季違約數據支持我們的預期，即 2025 年將是我們在美國的 MCM 業務投資組合購買量再創紀錄的一年。2024年，美國市場的投資組合供應量飆升至歷史最高水平，目前依然強勁。MCM 繼續把握這一機遇，第二季投入創紀錄的 3.17 億美元，並獲得了非常強勁的回報。與去年同期相比，投資組合購買量成長了 34%。

In addition to its record portfolio purchases in Q2, our MCM business continues to excel operationally. MCM collections in the second quarter were a record $490 million, an increase of 24% compared to Q2 last year, driven by strong execution in what is typically a seasonally strong first half of the year. Consumer payment behavior in the US remained stable.

除了第二季創紀錄的投資組合收購外，我們的MCM業務在營運方面也持續表現出色。MCM 在第二季度銷售額達到創紀錄的 4.9 億美元，比去年第二季度增長 24%，這主要得益於在通常為季節性旺季的上半年強勁的銷售業績。美國消費者的支付行為維持穩定。

Turning to our business in Europe. Cabot delivered solid performance in the second quarter of 2025. Collections in Q2 were $164 million, up 10% compared to Q2 last year as reported and were up 4% in constant currency. Cabot's portfolio purchases in the first quarter were $50 million, in line with the historical trend. We continue to be selective with Cabot's deployments as the UK market remains impacted by subdued consumer lending and low delinquencies in addition to continued robust competition.

接下來談談我們在歐洲的業務。卡博特在2025年第二季取得了穩健的表現。第二季收款額為 1.64 億美元，按報告顯示比去年第二季成長 10%，以固定匯率計算成長 4%。Cabot 第一季的投資組合收購額為 5,000 萬美元，與歷史趨勢一致。由於英國市場持續受到消費信貸疲軟、違約率低以及競爭激烈的影響，我們將繼續謹慎選擇 Cabot 的部署。

I'd now like to hand the call over to Tomas for a more detailed look at our financial results.

現在我想把電話交給湯瑪斯，讓他更詳細地介紹我們的財務表現。

Thank you, Ashish. Moving to the financial results slide. In the second quarter, we delivered a strong growth in collections and portfolio revenue of 20% and 12%, respectively. The strong collections performance was supported by record levels of US portfolio purchases in recent quarters, a stable consumer behavior, our focus on operational execution and seasonality tailwinds, particularly in the US.

謝謝你，阿什什。接下來是財務業績投影片。第二季度，我們的收款和投資組合收入分別實現了 20% 和 12% 的強勁成長。強勁的收款業績得益於近幾個季度美國投資組合收購額創紀錄的水平、穩定的消費者行為、我們對營運執行的重視以及季節性利好因素，尤其是在美國。

Collection yield was 64.4% in Q2, an improvement of 2.9 percentage points compared to last year. Portfolio revenue increased by 12% to $361 million, supported by 14% growth in average receivable portfolios and a portfolio yield of 35.5%. As a reminder, changes in recoveries is the sum of two numbers.

第二季收款率為 64.4%，比去年同期增加了 2.9 個百分點。投資組合收入成長 12% 至 3.61 億美元，這得益於平均應收帳款組合成長 14% 以及投資組合收益率達到 35.5%。再次提醒，康復人數的變化是兩個數字總和。

First, recoveries above or below forecast is the amount we collected above or below our ERC expectation for the quarter and is also known as cash others or cash funders.

首先，高於或低於預期回收額是指我們本季收到的金額高於或低於 ERC 預期金額，也稱為其他現金或現金資助者。

Second, changes in expected future recoveries is the net present value of changes in the ERC forecast beyond the current quarter. Change in recoveries were $55.6 million for the quarter. Of that total, the vast majority, $52.3 million were recoveries above forecast. Changes in expected future recoveries were $3.3 million. Both of our businesses, MCM in the US and Cabot in Europe were once again net positive contributors to changes in recoveries.

其次，預期未來復甦的變化是當前季度之後 ERC 預測變化的淨現值。本季回收金額變動為 5,560 萬美元。其中，絕大部分（5,230萬美元）是超出預期的回收款項。預期未來回收金額的變動為 330 萬美元。我們在美國的業務 MCM 和在歐洲的 Cabot 這兩家公司再次對經濟復甦的變化做出了淨積極貢獻。

Put differently, we collected $52.3 million more than we forecasted in our ERC, which is incremental cash flow. This is an outstanding result that reflects the effectiveness of our collection platforms and the strength of the consumer. Despite some of the negative news and macro uncertainty in the US, our consumers' payment behavior remains stable. We continue to monitor for any signs of change.

換句話說，我們在 ERC 中預測的金額比實際到帳金額多出 5,230 萬美元，這是一筆額外的現金流。這是一個卓越的成果，體現了我們收款平台的有效性和消費者的強大實力。儘管美國出現了一些負面新聞和宏觀經濟不確定性，但我們消費者的支付行為仍保持穩定。我們將繼續密切關注任何變化跡象。

Debt purchasing revenue increased by 27% to $417 million, and the resulting debt purchasing yield was 41%. Approximately 5.5% was the impact of changes in recoveries. Servicing and other revenues were $25 million, bringing total revenue to $442 million, reflecting growth of 24%. Operating expenses increased by 15% to $291 million compared to 20% growth in collections.

債務購買收入成長了 27%，達到 4.17 億美元，由此產生的債務購買收益率為 41%。約 5.5% 的影響來自回收率的變化。服務和其他收入為 2500 萬美元，使總收入達到 4.42 億美元，成長了 24%。營運支出成長了 15%，達到 2.91 億美元，而收款額成長了 20%。

Operating expenses growth continued to be driven by onboarding of new portfolios resulting from increased purchasing levels in recent quarters. Cash efficiency margin for the quarter improved 1 percentage point to 57.3% compared to 56.2% in Q2 last year.

近幾個季度採購水準提高，導致新投資組合的引入，從而繼續推動營運費用成長。本季現金效率利潤率較去年同期提高 1 個百分點，達到 57.3%，去年第二季為 56.2%。

We expect cash efficiency margin to remain near current levels for the remainder of the year. Interest expense and other income increased by 23% to $73 million, reflecting higher debt balances as well as higher interest rates from bond issuances in 2024. Our tax provision of $19 million implies a corporate tax rate of approximately 25%, which is in line with our previous guidance.

我們預計今年剩餘時間內現金效率利潤率將維持在目前水準附近。利息支出和其他收入成長了 23%，達到 7,300 萬美元，反映出債務餘額增加以及 2024 年債券發行利率上升。我們提列的 1,900 萬美元稅款意味著企業所得稅稅率約為 25%，這與我們先前預期的一致。

Finally, net income increased by 82% to $59 million, resulting in earnings per share for the quarter of $2.49 compared to $1.34 in Q2 last year.

最後，淨收入成長了 82%，達到 5,900 萬美元，使得本季每股收益為 2.49 美元，而去年第二季為 1.34 美元。

To conclude, we delivered a solid quarter through strong operational execution and financial discipline. We believe our balance sheet provides us with very competitive funding costs when compared to our peers. Our funding structure also provides us with financial flexibility and diversified funding sources to compete effectively in this growing supply environment.

總之，我們憑藉著強而有力的營運執行和財務紀律，實現了穩健的季度業績。我們相信，與同業相比，我們的資產負債表能為我們提供極具競爭力的融資成本。我們的融資結構也為我們提供了財務靈活性和多元化的資金來源，使我們能夠在這個不斷增長的供應環境中有效競爭。

Leverage closed at 2.6 times or 0.1 times improvement versus last year and flat versus the previous quarter. During Q2, we increased the size of our RCF by $190 million to $1.485 billion and extended its maturity to 2029. In July, we increased the size of our US facility by $150 million to $450 million and extended its maturity to 2028.

槓桿率收在 2.6 倍，較去年同期改善 0.1 倍，與上一季持平。第二季度，我們將循環信貸額度增加了 1.9 億美元，達到 14.85 億美元，並將到期日延長至 2029 年。7 月，我們將美國工廠的規模擴大了 1.5 億美元，達到 4.5 億美元，並將其竣工期限延長至 2028 年。

The combination of those two transactions improved our liquidity by up to $340 million. As a result of our actions in May and July, we don't have any material maturities until 2028, and we have a strong liquidity to continue to grow our US business in 2025 and beyond.

這兩筆交易加起來使我們的流動性提高了高達 3.4 億美元。由於我們在 5 月和 7 月採取的行動，我們在 2028 年之前沒有任何重大到期債務，並且我們擁有充足的流動資金，可以在 2025 年及以後繼續發展我們的美國業務。

With that, I would like to turn it back over to Ashish.

接下來，我想把麥克風交還給阿什許。

Thanks, Tomas. Now I would like to remind everyone of our key financial objectives and priorities.

謝謝你，托馬斯。現在我想提醒大家我們的主要財務目標和優先事項。

Maintaining a strong and flexible balance sheet, including a strong BB debt rating as well as operating within our target leverage range of 2 to 3 times remain critical objectives. With regard to our capital allocation priorities, buying portfolios, particularly in today's attractive US market, offers the best opportunity to create long-term shareholder value by deploying capital at attractive returns. This is indeed what we are doing as highlighted by our recent purchasing history.

維持穩健靈活的資產負債表，包括維持強勁的BB債務評級，以及在2至3倍的目標槓桿率範圍內運營，仍然是至關重要的目標。就我們的資本配置優先事項而言，購買投資組合，尤其是在當今極具吸引力的美國市場，是利用資本獲得可觀回報，從而創造長期股東價值的最佳機會。正如我們近期的採購記錄所顯示的那樣，這正是我們正在做的。

Next on our capital allocation priority list are share repurchases. We repurchased $15 million of Encore shares in the second quarter, consistent with the framework we've laid out in the past. This brings our total share repurchases to $25 million for the first half of the year.

接下來，我們的資本配置優先事項是股票回購。第二季度，我們回購了價值 1500 萬美元的 Encore 股票，這與我們過去製定的計劃一致。這使得我們上半年的股票回購總額達到 2,500 萬美元。

Before I close, I'd like to summarize where we stand today and how the year is progressing. The US market continues to be very favorable with a robust supply portfolios available for purchase at strong returns. As a result, we continue to allocate the vast majority of our capital to the US market and expect MCM's purchasing to again grow in 2025.

在結束之前，我想總結一下我們目前的處境以及今年的進展。美國市場依然非常有利，擁有充足的供應組合可供購買，並能獲得豐厚的回報。因此，我們將繼續把絕大部分資金投入美國市場，並預計 MCM 的採購量將在 2025 年再次成長。

MCM is also collecting very effectively on these purchases and powering Encore's collections growth. In the European market at Cabot, we are staying disciplined and expect to continue purchasing at a level similar to the first two quarters of 2025. In terms of operations, Cabot continues to deliver stable collections performance.

MCM 也非常有效地收回了這些購買款項，並推動了 Encore 的收藏成長。在歐洲市場，卡博特公司將保持謹慎，預計採購量將繼續保持在與 2025 年前兩季類似的水平。在營運方面，卡博特持續保持穩定的收款表現。

Overall, if you look back at the past several quarters, our actions have led to very strong purchasing and a positive growth trend in collections and cash generation. And I feel really good about our position, how the year is going and expect this momentum to continue. And so, as a result of our strong first half of the year and a positive outlook for the remainder of 2025, we are providing the following guidance on key metrics for the year.

總的來說，回顧過去幾個季度，我們的行動帶來了強勁的採購，並在收款和現金流方面呈現積極的成長趨勢。我對我們目前的處境以及今年的發展勢頭感到非常滿意，並期待這種勢頭能夠繼續下去。因此，由於我們上半年業績強勁，並且對 2025 年剩餘時間持樂觀態度，我們特此提供以下關於本年度關鍵指標的指導意見。

As we originally guided, we anticipate global portfolio purchasing in 2025 to exceed the $1.35 billion of purchases we made in 2024 as MCM is poised to surpass the record level of purchasing of a year ago. However, we are raising our guidance on global collections.

正如我們最初預測的那樣，我們預計 2025 年全球投資組合的購買額將超過 2024 年的 13.5 億美元，因為 MCM 預計將超過一年前的購買記錄。但是，我們正在提高對全球收藏品的指導方針。

We now expect global collections to grow by approximately 15.5% to $2.5 billion. This is an increase from a prior 11% growth expectation. We also continue to expect interest expense of approximately $285 million for the year, and we expect our effective tax rate for the year to be in the mid-20s on a percentage basis. Now we'd be happy to answer any questions that you may have.

我們現在預計全球收藏額將成長約 15.5%，達到 25 億美元。這比之前11%的成長預期有所提高。我們也預計本年度的利息支出約為 2.85 億美元，並且預計本年度的實際稅率（以百分比計）將在 20% 左右。現在我們很樂意回答您可能提出的任何問題。

Operator, please open up the lines for questions.

接線員，請開通提問通道。

(Operator Instructions) Mark Hughes, Truist Securities.

（操作員說明）馬克·休斯，Truist Securities。

Tomas, the guidance for the $285 million for the full year, was there any one-timers in the second quarter that the $74 million is what I'm looking at? Just assuming that if it stayed at that level for the balance of the year, that would come in above your guidance. I just want to make sure I understand if there's any moving parts there.

湯瑪斯，全年業績預期為 2.85 億美元，第二季是否有任何一次性收入導致 7,400 萬美元的損失？假設今年剩餘時間價格一直維持在這個水平，那就會超過您的預期。我只是想確認一下，我是否理解其中是否有任何活動部件。

No, I think it's the $285 million is roughly what we expect to close the year. So, we shouldn't -- we don't anticipate any one-offs there.

不，我認為 2.85 億美元大致是我們預計今年年底的收入。所以，我們不應該——我們預計那裡不會出現任何個別事件。

Okay. Very good. And then the US supply, Ashish, your updated charts on charge-off rates and delinquencies show a little bit of a downtick. What do you think is going to happen in the balance of the year? What do you think that means for supply? I hear your point. It sounds like you're in a very favorable environment now, but how will that trend in the coming periods?

好的。非常好。阿什什，你更新的美國債務核銷率和拖欠率圖表顯示，債務核銷率和拖欠率略有下降。你認為今年剩下的時間會發生什麼事？你認為這對供應意味著什麼？我明白你的意思。聽起來你現在所處的環境非常有利，但未來一段時間的發展趨勢會如何呢？

Yes, Mark, the overall supply kind of if you multiply the two, remains at an elevated level and all the issuers who sell are selling at very strong levels. So, we remain very confident in our purchasing ability. And MCM, as I stated, is expected to surpass its 2024 record in 2025 in terms of total purchasing. So yes, quarter to quarter, there could be ups and downs here and there a little bit.

是的，馬克，總供應量（如果你把這兩個數字乘起來）仍然處於高位，所有發行人都在以非常強勁的力度出售。因此，我們對自身的採購能力依然充滿信心。正如我之前所說，MCM 預計在 2025 年的總採購量將超過 2024 年的記錄。所以，是的，每個季度之間可能會有一些起伏。

But overall, a very favorable environment in terms of supply, in terms of pricing and our ability to compete and win the portfolios we want, given how well we are collecting in MCM and how we liquidate the portfolios as the multiples show. So, for the rest of the year, we feel very good and expect a very strong momentum in purchasing and collecting and expect MCM to exceed its 2024 record on purchasing.

但總體而言，就供應、定價以及我們競爭並贏得我們想要的投資組合的能力而言，這是一個非常有利的環境，因為我們在 MCM 領域的收購情況非常好，而且正如倍數所示，我們清算投資組合的情況也很好。因此，對於今年剩餘的時間，我們感覺非常好，預計購買和收藏將保持強勁勢頭，並預計 MCM 的購買量將超過其 2024 年的記錄。

And then one final question. Do you have the updated collections multiple for the MCM and Cabot in the core paper. I think the Q probably is coming out soon and maybe we'll see it then, but --

最後一個問題。核心論文中是否有MCM和Cabot的最新藏品數量資訊？我認為Q系列可能很快就會發布，到時候我們或許就能看到了，但是--

Yes. So, for 2025 vintage for MCM, the multiple is at 2.3 in the Q. And for Cabot, the multiple is 2.4 for the 2025 vintage.

是的。因此，MCM 2025年份的估值倍數在季度中為2.3倍。而Cabot 2025年份的估值倍數為2.4倍。

Mike Grondahl, Northland.

麥克·格倫達爾，北地。

Collections year-over-year growth at 20% has stepped up nicely. It sounded like you guys were calling out 2 things, recent several quarters of higher purchase levels and just a stable US consumer. Anything else to add to that?

收款額較去年同期成長20%，成長動能良好。聽起來你們好像在指出兩件事：近幾季購買力持續上升，以及美國消費者的消費水準保持穩定。還有什麼要補充的嗎？

I would say, Mike, a couple of things. You highlight the two correct points on stable US consumer as well as purchasing, but also the MCM business operationally is performing really well and driving innovation. So we are seeing kind of more performance improvement in our call center and digital channel. That's more in the early stages of a vintage.

麥克，我想說兩點。您強調了美國消費者和購買力穩定的兩點，而且MCM業務在營運方面也表現得非常好，並推動了創新。因此，我們看到呼叫中心和數位管道的績效都有提高。那更像是葡萄酒釀造初期階段的階段。

So that's where we are seeing and we are seeing really good performance and are confident about that continuing and hence, raising the overall collections guidance for Encore to $2.5 billion, which will be about 15.5% compared to our earlier guidance six months ago of 11%.

所以，我們看到，Encore 的表現確實非常出色，我們有信心繼續保持這種勢頭，因此，我們將 Encore 的整體收款預期上調至 25 億美元，這將比我們六個月前的預期 11% 增長約 15.5%。

Got it. And I think you said global collections were 107% of expectations. Can you break that out for the US and Cabot?

知道了。我想你說過，全球收款額達到了預期的 107%。你能把美國和卡伯特的數據單獨列出來嗎？

Yes. It's in our presentation and slide deck. I think on page 6. So it was 107% globally, 106% for MCM and 111% for Cabot. Now there's some FX or foreign currency issues. In constant currency, global MCM and Cabot were all 106% versus the December 31, 2024 ERC curves.

是的。我們的簡報和投影片裡都有。我想是在第6頁。因此，全球成長率為 107%，MCM 為 106%，Cabot 為 111%。現在出現了一些外匯或外幣問題。以固定匯率計算，全球 MCM 和 Cabot 均比 2024 年 12 月 31 日的 ERC 曲線高出 106%。

Got it. And then the $52 million of, I'll call it, outperformance on collections. Can you break that out between the US and Cabot in dollars?

知道了。然後是 5,200 萬美元的超額收益，我姑且稱之為收款方面的超額收益。你能把美國和卡博特之間的美元匯率分別列出來嗎？

So that we don't have on our disclosures. What I will tell you is out of the $55.6 million total changes in recoveries, about $45 million is MCM. And also in terms of the overall, 95% of that $55.6 million is recoveries above forecast. So you can kind of get a sense of how --

這樣我們就不會在資訊揭露中出現這種情況。我可以告訴你們的是，在總共 5560 萬美元的追回款項中，約有 4500 萬美元是 MCM 的。此外，就整體而言，這 5,560 萬美元中有 95% 是超出預期的回收款項。所以你大概能感受到是怎麼回事--

Real dollars that came in the door.

實實在在的美元收入。

Yes. It's real dollars and $45 million out of the $55.6 million was MCM. All our businesses are performing well, as you can see from the ERC performance versus the December forecast, we are exceeding those forecasts. So hopefully, that gives you a good sense of how both businesses are performing operationally.

是的。這是真金白銀，5560萬美元中有4500萬美元是MCM公司支付的。從 ERC 業績與 12 月預測的對比可以看出，我們所有業務都表現良好，並且超越了這些預測。希望這能讓您對這兩家企業的營運狀況有一個大致的了解。

David Scharf, Citizens Capital Markets.

David Scharf，Citizens Capital Markets。

This is Zach on for David. I wanted to just dig in a little bit on the purchasing environment as kind of mentioned before and see if there's any incremental detail on the competitive dynamics and pricing for both markets?

這裡是紮克替大衛報道。我想稍微深入研究一下之前提到的採購環境，看看這兩個市場的競爭動態和定價方面是否有任何新的細節？

Pretty stable. So in US, supply is good. Pricing is stable and returns, especially given our liquidation are very strong for MCM. So overall, a stable environment. In Europe as well, lending hasn't been growing as we've noted many times, and charge-off rates are at pretty record low, including delinquency rates. So supply is low and not growing much.

相當穩定。所以在美國，供應情況良好。MCM 的價格穩定，考慮到我們的清算，回報非常強勁。整體而言，環境穩定。在歐洲，正如我們多次指出的那樣，貸款也沒有成長，壞帳率（包括拖欠率）都處於歷史低點。因此，供應量低，而且成長緩慢。

And competition levels, while they've improved from two to three years ago, are still higher, relatively higher when you compare it to US. So some of that behavior has changed, and we like that, but it's not fully where we would like it to be. But no real change from last quarter.

雖然競爭水平比兩三年前有所改善，但與美國相比，仍然較高，相對而言更高。所以，有些行為已經發生了改變，我們對此感到高興，但這還不是我們希望達到的程度。但與上季相比沒有實質變化。

Mark Hughes, Truist Securities.

馬克·休斯，Truist Securities。

On the cash provided by operating activities, obviously, there's a lot of ways to look at cash. Cash from operating activities was down a little bit through the six months. I see payables and accrued liabilities were a net negative. Any comments you would make on that? But again, it's just looking at the cash flow statement, cash from operating activities?

關於經營活動產生的現金流量，顯然有許多方法可以分析現金流量。過去六個月，經營活動產生的現金流量略有下降。我看到應付帳款和應計負債淨值為負。您對此有何評論？但話說回來，這只是查看現金流量表，也就是經營活動產生的現金流量嗎？

Yes. So one of the key challenges in that cash flow statement from operations, you have basically -- you're backing out the changes in recoveries, right, so which was a big component of the quarter. So by doing that, you create a negative impact, which is why you are seeing that slightly odd comparison. Once you see the full Q, and we can walk you through it in more detail.

是的。因此，經營活動現金流量表中的一個關鍵挑戰是——你基本上要剔除回收款項的變化，對吧，而回收款項是本季度的一個重要組成部分。所以這樣做會產生負面影響，這就是為什麼你會看到這種略顯奇怪的對比。一旦您看到完整的問題，我們就可以更詳細地為您講解。

(Operator Instructions) I am showing no further questions at this time. I would now like to turn it back to Ashish Masih for closing remarks.

（操作說明）目前我沒有其他問題。現在我謹將發言權交還給阿什什·馬西赫，請他作總結發言。

Well, thanks for taking the time to join us today, and we look forward to providing our third quarter results in November.

感謝您今天抽出時間參加我們的活動，我們期待在11月公佈第三季業績。

Thank you for your participation in today's conference. This does conclude the program. You may now disconnect.

感謝您參加今天的會議。該計劃確實就此結束。您現在可以斷開連線。