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Dec. 28, 2009 – Finance Digest

Assets of finance company being purchased

Sparta Commercial Services is in the process of acquiring the assets of a Denver-based consumer finance company, a press release announced.
The assets include a portfolio of motorcycle loans in excess of $14 million, the press release said.
The acquisition is still subject to a sales agreement but Sparta, a New York-based national financial services company, said it expects the transaction to be closed by Jan. 31.
The ultimate purchase price of the acquisition is subject to adjustment at closing based on the value and performance of the portfolio to be acquired.

KTM reports sales reduction in its fiscal year
KTM Powersports finished its fiscal year with a nearly 25 percent decrease in sales, with its North American sales off even more, the company said in its annual report.
KTM’s North American sales declined 39 percent to $130 million, although the company did see market share gains in its supermoto, dual sport and sportbike sectors. The U.S. industry has been off more than 40 percent in 2009, according to Motorcycle Industry Council data.
In reaction to the market changes, KTM Powersports CEO Stefan Pierer said the company reduced its expenses, including cutting 455 jobs, and decreased dealer inventories. The latter year-end reduction totaled more than 7,800 vehicles.
Overall, KTM said it sold more than 64,000 vehicles in its recent fiscal year. More than half of those were in its off-road sector. KTM said its motocross sales dropped nearly 19 percent to 11,138 motorcycles and its Enduro section bikes sales decreased by nearly 36 percent to 27,784 motorcycles.
As well as sales decreases in North America, KTM also registered declines in Europe. Sales there dropped to $438 million, a 24 percent decrease. KTM also said that although the sales of its relatively new sport cars increased, “the originally planned business model for serial production of the X-Bow became unfeasible,” Pierer said. “We altered the business model and integrated the marketing and distribution activities” into the company’s sport motorcycle division. KTM?announced that its joint venture with Indian OEM?Bajaj continues to progress and vehicles from that partnership are expected to be available in the fall of 2010.

Universal Technical reports improved Quarter results
Universal Technical Institute reported net income of $7.6 million for this year’s fourth quarter — a significant improvement over net income of $600,000 for the fourth quarter of last year. The company’s fiscal year ended Sept. 30.
Net income for the year was $11.7 million compared with $8.2 million for the year ended Sept. 30, 2008.
“The positive momentum we have created throughout the year culminated in the fourth quarter with record level student enrollment of 18,800 students and a return to double-digit operating margins. This solid performance provides a great beginning for 2010 with 2,300 more students in school than a year ago,” Kimberly McWaters, president and CEO, said in a company release.
The increase in net revenues resulted from an increase in average undergraduate full-time student enrollment, higher tuition prices and a decrease in tuition discounts.

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