Easyhome Reports Another Bad Quarter for Leasing Business

May 23, 2024

In what has become a familiar refrain, Easyhome continued to lose ground in its core home goods leasing business during the first quarter of the year, while its parent company, Goeasy, proceeded to set record highs in both revenue and earnings as a provider of sub-prime consumer lending products.

For the first three months of 2024, Goeasy recorded revenue of $357.1 million, up 24.3 per cent from $287.3 million year-over-year.

Net income was $58.9 million or $3.40 per share, compared to $51.4 million or $3.01 per share — an uptick of 13 per cent on a per share basis.

Easyfinancial, the publicly traded company’s financial services arm, generated revenue of $318.1 million, as the value of its total consumer loans receivable exceeded $3.85 billion for the first time.

Easyhome revenue for the first quarter totalled $39.1 million, an increase of 1.9 per cent from $38.3 million in Q1 2023.

The increase was driven by growth in Easyhome’s own sub-prime lending business, which generated $8.2 million in interest income during the period, up 24 per cent on a year-over-year basis. EasyHome’s own loan portfolio is valued at $107 million.

However, revenue from its core leasing business fell 3.2 per cent in the first quarter to $24.7 million, compared with last year’s $25.6 million.

“The Easyhome leasing business is a mature business that has experienced a gradual decline in sales volume, as consumer demand has shifted to alternate forms of financing purchases of everyday household items,” the company told shareholders in its report to them.

The company also reported the number of lease agreements in effect at the end of March was down 5.1 per cent to 68,270, although the average monthly lease payment climbed a slight 0.5 per cent to $108.05.

Furniture remains Easyhome’s largest revenue generator, accounting for 43 per cent of each month’s potential leasing revenue, followed by electronics and appliances at 32 per cent and 14 per cent, respectively. Computers account for the balance.