Aktiv Kapital Swings Back to Profit in 2007

Norwegian debt collector Aktiv Kapital announced recently results for its fourth quarter and full-year 2007. The Oslo, Norway-based ARM company cracked the $300 million annual revenue barrier and swung to a profit after losing nearly $60 million in 2006.

For the year, Aktiv reported operating revenues of $305 million, up nearly 8 percent from 2006. The company posted a profit before tax of $92.2 million compared to the $59.8 million it lost in 2006.

Aktiv also said it made debt purchases last year totaling $223.5 million. In the fourth quarter alone, Aktiv spent $97 million on portfolio purchases of about 1.1 million accounts in the United Kingdom, Spain, Germany, Austria, Canada and the Scandinavian countries.

Results in the fourth quarter were marked by a 1.3 percent rise in revenue to $73.6 million. Aktiv reported profit before tax of $11.7 million compared to a loss of $25 million in the fourth quarter of 2006.

In a press release detailing the financial results, the company said that soaring payrolls held back earnings in the fourth quarter. Expansion in Spain, Canada and Germany drove operating expenses higher.

Commenting on the outlook for 2008, the company said that it is in the process of renegotiating its revolving credit facility to free up capital for portfolio purchases. Aktiv anticipates investing more than $300 million in portfolio purchases in 2008 as “business conditions will increase the availability of portfolios in total and improve our opportunity to select preferred portfolios,” the company said.

The Aktiv Kapital group of companies has more than 1,200 employees in Austria, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Mexico, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. The group specializes in delinquent consumer credit portfolio acquisition and collection.