Profiting From Bank Rejects

Article Excerpt

ACCORD FINANCIAL CORP. $7.90 (Toronto symbol ACD; SI Rating: Speculative) (416-961-0007; www.accordfinancial.com; Shares outstanding: 9.4 million; Market cap: $74.3 million) is in the factoring business in Canada and the U.S. Factoring is the purchase of a company’s accounts receivable at a discount. Accord profits by collecting the receivables. Accord can also handle a company’s credit-checking, record-keeping and collections. Most of its customers fail to meet bank lending standards. In Canada, the company focuses on textiles, footwear and other “soft goods” industries. In the U.S. it services a wider range of industries. Besides factoring, Accord and its subsidiaries also offer asset-based lending services. In the three months ended September 30, 2006, Accord’s revenues rose 4.5%, to $7 million from $6.7 million. Earnings rose 45.6%, to $1.5 million or $0.15 a share, from $1 million or $0.10 a share. Cash flow rose 31.6%, to $2.4 million or $0.25 a share, from $1.8 million or $0.18 a share. Accord’s shares yield 2.8%. Accord’s results will improve…