UPDATE 1-Ezcorp Q4 beats Street; outlook above estimates
* Sees FY '10 EPS of $1.65-$1.69 vs est $1.64
* Sees Q1 '10 EPS of $0.41-$0.43
* Q4 EPS $0.42 vs est $0.41
* Revenue up 34 pct
Nov 5 (Reuters) - Pawn and payday lender Ezcorp Inc (EZPW.O) posted fourth-quarter profit that edged past market estimates by a penny as it gained from increased sales of jewelry scrapping and pawn service charges, and it forecast 2010 earnings above Street expectations.
Net income was $20.9 million, or 42 cents a share, compared with $16 million, or 37 cents a share, last year.
Jewelry scrapping sales increased 48 percent to $40 million, while pawn service charges rose 39 percent to $37.2 million.
Total revenue increased 34 percent to $164.8 million.
Analysts expected the company to earn 41 cents a share in the quarter.
Operational expenses grew 31 percent to $54.3 million.
U.S. pawn lenders are seeing a boost in revenue from their pawn operations as more consumers pawn gold for access to quick and easy cash due to higher gold prices. [ID:nBNG340597]
The company also said it expects to earn at least $1.65 a share in 2010 and at least 41 cents a share for the fourth quarter. Both the figures came above analysts' estimates by a penny each.
"In fiscal 2010, we plan to open 40 to 50 Empeno Facil pawn locations in Mexico, 35 to 45 Cash-Max payday loan locations in Canada, and six pawnshops in the United States," the company said.
Shares of the company closed at $13.78 Thursday on Nasdaq. (Reporting by Archana Shankar in Bangalore; Editing by Anil D'Silva)
