Page 1

encore CAPITAL GROUP Better Solutions . Better Life . Encore Capital Group Announces First Quarter 2021 Financial Results Record collections of $ 606 million GAAP net income of $ 95 million GAAP EPS of $ 2.97 Leverage reduction continued , down to 2.1x from 2.6x a year ago Share repurchases of $ 20M in Q1 2021 SAN DIEGO , May 5 , 2021 Encore Capital Group , Inc. ( NASDAQ : ECPG ) , an international specialty finance company , today reported consolidated financial results for the first quarter ended March 31 , 2021 . " The first quarter for Encore was a period of strong operational and financial performance as we continued to execute on our strategy , further improved our balance sheet and remained focused on our capital allocation priorities , " said Ashish Masih , President and Chief Executive Officer . " In recent quarters consumers have increasingly initiated contact with us , resulting in a higher level of inbound call traffic and more frequent online digital interactions . This consumer behavior accelerated in the first quarter , driving record collections , significant incremental cash generation and strong earnings resulting in increased operating leverage . " " Portfolio purchases were down in the first quarter when compared to a year ago as a result of subdued market supply and our disciplined approach to purchasing . We continue to selectively deploy capital at attractive returns , which we believe are the best in the industry . We expect our improved collections effectiveness and cost efficiency will also continue to drive strong returns through the credit cycle . " " After generating significant excess capital in recent quarters and reducing our leverage to the low end of our target range , we repurchased $ 20 million of Encore shares in the first quarter and have increased our repurchase authorization to a $ 300 million multi - year program . Going forward , we will continue to allocate capital using our stated priorities and any future share repurchases are subject to maintaining our strong balance sheet , liquidity , and the continuation of our strong financial performance , " said Masih . In March , the company repaid $ 161 million of its maturing convertible notes using existing liquidity and has reduced convertible debt by approximately $ 250 million over the last 12 months .