CONN Q2 2018 10-Q

Conns Inc (CONN) SEC Quarterly Report (10-Q) for Q3 2018

CONN Q2 2018 10-Q

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION 

Washington, D.C.  20549 

FORM 10-Q

(Mark One) 

x

QUARTERLY REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the quarterly period ended July 31, 2018

 or

o

TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the transition period from to .

Commission File Number 001-34956

CONN'S, INC.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Delaware

06-1672840

(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization)

(I.R.S. Employer Identification Number)

2445 Technology Forest Blvd., Suite 800, The Woodlands, TX

77381

(Address of principal executive offices)

(Zip Code)

Registrant's telephone number, including area code:   (936) 230-5899

Not Applicable

(Former name, former address and former fiscal year, if changed since last report)


Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (l) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes  ý   No o

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Web site, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files).  Yes  ý   No o

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of "large accelerated filer," "accelerated filer," "smaller reporting company," and "emerging growth company" in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

Large accelerated filer

o

Accelerated filer

ý

Non-accelerated filer

o

(Do not check if a smaller reporting company)

Smaller reporting company

o

Emerging growth company

o

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act  o

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Act).  Yes  o   No ý

Indicate the number of shares outstanding of each of the issuer's classes of common stock, as of August 28, 2018 : 

Class

Outstanding

Common stock, $0.01 par value per share

31,685,279


Table of Contents


CONN'S, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES


FORM 10-Q

FOR THE FISCAL QUARTER ENDED JULY 31, 2018


TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page No.

PART I.

FINANCIAL INFORMATION

Item 1.

Financial Statements

Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets

1

Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations

2

Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows

3

Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements

4

Item 2.

Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

29

Item 3.

Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk

45

Item 4.

Controls and Procedures

46

PART II.

OTHER INFORMATION

Item 1.

Legal Proceedings

46

Item 1A.

Risk Factors

46

Item 2.

Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities and Use of Proceeds

46

Item 3.

Defaults Upon Senior Securities

46

Item 4.

Mine Safety Disclosures

47

Item 5.

Other Information

47

Item 6.

Exhibits

48

Exhibit Index

48

Signature

49

This Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q includes our trademarks such as "Conn's," "Conn's HomePlus," "YES Money," "YE$ Money," and our logos, which are protected under applicable intellectual property laws and are the property of Conn's, Inc. This report also contains trademarks, service marks, trade names and copyrights of other companies, which are the property of their respective owners. Solely for convenience, trademarks and trade names referred to in this Quarterly Report may appear without the ® or TM symbols, but such references are not intended to indicate, in any way, that we will not assert, to the fullest extent under applicable law, our rights or the rights of the applicable licensor to these trademarks and trade names.

References to "we," "our," "us," "the Company," "Conn's" or "CONN" refer to Conn's, Inc. and, as apparent from the context, its consolidated bankruptcy-remote variable-interest entities ("VIEs"), and its wholly-owned subsidiaries.



Table of Contents


PART I.

FINANCIAL INFORMATION

ITEM 1.

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

CONN'S, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

(unaudited and dollars in thousands, except per share amounts)

July 31,
2018


January 31,
2018

Assets

Current assets:

Cash and cash equivalents

$

4,435



$

9,286


Restricted cash (includes VIE balance of $50,107 and $85,322, respectively)

51,657



86,872


Customer accounts receivable, net of allowances (includes VIE balance of $270,627 and $459,708, respectively)

622,009



636,825


Other accounts receivable

87,797



71,186


Inventories

195,728



211,894


Income taxes receivable

704



32,362


Prepaid expenses and other current assets

13,831



31,592


Total current assets

976,161



1,080,017


Long-term portion of customer accounts receivable, net of allowances (includes VIE balance of $220,014 and $455,002, respectively)

647,494



650,608


Property and equipment, net

142,631



143,152


Deferred income taxes

23,086



21,565


Other assets

7,129



5,457


Total assets

$

1,796,501



$

1,900,799


Liabilities and Stockholders' Equity



Current liabilities:



Current maturities of capital lease obligations

$

1,149


$

907


Accounts payable

85,001


71,617


Accrued compensation and related expenses

17,365


21,366


Accrued expenses

72,556


44,807


Income taxes payable

3,149


2,939


Deferred revenues and other credits

22,763


22,475


Total current liabilities

201,983



164,111


Deferred rent

85,255



87,003


Long-term debt and capital lease obligations (includes VIE balance of $429,363 and $787,979, respectively)

916,081



1,090,105


Other long-term liabilities

23,535



24,512


Total liabilities

1,226,854



1,365,731


Commitments and contingencies





Stockholders' equity:



Preferred stock ($0.01 par value, 1,000,000 shares authorized; none issued or outstanding)

-


-


Common stock ($0.01 par value, 100,000,000 shares authorized; 31,694,414 and 31,435,775 shares issued, respectively)

317


314


Additional paid-in capital

104,964


101,087


Retained earnings

464,366


433,667


Total stockholders' equity

569,647



535,068


Total liabilities and stockholders' equity

$

1,796,501



$

1,900,799


See notes to condensed consolidated financial statements.


1

Table of Contents


CONN'S, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS

(unaudited and in thousands, except per share amounts)

Three Months Ended 
 July 31,

Six Months Ended 
 July 31,

2018

2017

2018

2017

Revenues:

Product sales

$

267,179


$

259,593


$

516,493


$

510,955


Repair service agreement commissions

25,662


23,519


48,525


48,215


Service revenues

3,472


3,301


7,051


6,528


Total net sales

296,313


286,413


572,069



565,698


Finance charges and other revenues

88,307


80,234


170,938



156,775


Total revenues

384,620


366,647


743,007



722,473


Costs and expenses:



Cost of goods sold

173,627


172,306


340,216


344,256


Selling, general and administrative expense

120,690


111,632


235,568


218,169


Provision for bad debts

50,751


49,449


94,907


105,379


Charges and credits

300


4,068


300


5,295


Total costs and expenses

345,368


337,455


670,991


673,099


Operating income

39,252


29,192


72,016


49,374


Interest expense

15,566


20,039


32,386


44,047


Loss on extinguishment of debt

1,367


2,097


1,773


2,446


Income before income taxes

22,319


7,056


37,857


2,881


Provision for income taxes

5,308


2,783


8,114


1,188


Net income

$

17,011


$

4,273


$

29,743


$

1,693


Income per share:



Basic

$

0.54


$

0.14


$

0.94


$

0.05


Diluted

$

0.53


$

0.14


$

0.92


$

0.05


Weighted average common shares outstanding:



Basic

31,652,017


31,093,746


31,597,225


31,033,880


Diluted

32,242,463


31,434,501


32,210,759


31,292,305


See notes to condensed consolidated financial statements.


2

Table of Contents


CONN'S, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS

(unaudited and in thousands)

Six Months Ended July 31,

2018

2017

Cash flows from operating activities:

Net income

$

29,743


$

1,693


Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash from operating activities:



Depreciation

15,434


15,356


Amortization of debt issuance costs

6,382


11,024


Provision for bad debts and uncollectible interest

118,765


125,491


Stock-based compensation expense

5,562


4,188


Charges, net of credits, for store and facility closures and relocations

-


388


Deferred income tax benefit

(1,776

)

(992

)

Gain on sale/disposal of property and equipment

(402

)

(371

)

Tenant improvement allowances received from landlords

4,362


1,997


Change in operating assets and liabilities:



Customer accounts receivable

(100,331

)

(53,563

)

Other accounts receivables

(14,679

)

8,537


Inventories

16,167


(31,912

)

Other assets

17,761


127


Accounts payable

11,091


(3,060

)

Accrued expenses

22,910


13,792


Income taxes

31,868


(383

)

Deferred rent, revenues and other credits

(7,205

)

(1,771

)

Net cash provided by operating activities

155,652


90,541


Cash flows from investing activities:



Purchase of property and equipment

(12,166

)

(6,135

)

Net cash used in investing activities

(12,166

)

(6,135

)

Cash flows from financing activities:



Proceeds from issuance of asset-backed notes

-


469,814


Payments on asset-backed notes

(481,883

)

(583,299

)

Borrowings from Revolving Credit Facility

839,236


844,941


Payments on Revolving Credit Facility

(655,036

)

(822,441

)

Borrowings from warehouse facility

173,286


-


Payments on warehouse facility

(52,226

)

-


Payments for debt issuance costs and amendment fees

(3,539

)

(7,595

)

Proceeds from stock issued under employee benefit plans

834


1,905


Tax payments associated with equity-based compensation transactions

(2,516

)

(298

)

Payments from extinguishment of debt

(1,177

)

-


Other

(531

)

(243

)

Net cash used in financing activities

(183,552

)

(97,216

)

Net change in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash

(40,066

)

(12,810

)

Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash, beginning of period

96,158


134,264


Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash, end of period

$

56,092


$

121,454


Non-cash investing and financing activities:

Capital lease asset additions and related obligations

$

508


$

3,196


Property and equipment purchases not yet paid

$

4,363


$

2,796


Supplemental cash flow data:

Cash interest paid

$

25,505


$

33,817


Cash income taxes paid (refunded), net

$

(21,969

)

$

2,563


See notes to condensed consolidated financial statements.


3

Table of Contents


CONN'S, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

NOTES TO CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

1.     Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

Business . Conn's, Inc., a Delaware corporation, is a holding company with no independent assets or operations other than its investments in its subsidiaries. References to "we," "our," "us," "the Company," "Conn's" or "CONN" refer to Conn's, Inc. and, as apparent from the context, its consolidated bankruptcy-remote variable interest entities ("VIEs") and its wholly owned subsidiaries. Conn's is a leading specialty retailer that offers a broad selection of quality, branded durable consumer goods and related services in addition to proprietary credit solutions for its core credit-constrained consumers. We operate an integrated and scalable business through our retail stores and website. Our complementary product offerings include furniture and mattresses, home appliances, consumer electronics and home office products from leading global brands across a wide range of price points. Our credit offering provides financing solutions to a large, under-served population of credit-constrained consumers who typically have limited credit alternatives.

We operate two reportable segments: retail and credit. Our retail stores bear the "Conn's HomePlus" name with all of our stores providing the same products and services to a common customer group. Our stores follow the same procedures and methods in managing their operations. Our retail business and credit business are operated independently from each other. The credit segment is dedicated to providing short- and medium-term financing to our retail customers. The retail segment is not involved in credit approval decisions. Our management evaluates performance and allocates resources based on the operating results of the retail and credit segments.

Basis of Presentation. The accompanying unaudited, Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements of Conn's, Inc. and its wholly-owned subsidiaries, including the VIEs, have been prepared by management in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States of America ( " GAAP") and prevailing industry practice for interim financial information and with the instructions to Form 10-Q and Article 10 of Regulation S-X. Accordingly, we do not include all of the information and footnotes required by GAAP for complete financial statements. The accompanying financial statements reflect all adjustments that are, in the opinion of management, necessary for a fair presentation of the results for the interim periods presented. All such adjustments are of a normal recurring nature. The condensed consolidated financial position, results of operations and cash flows for these interim periods are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected in future periods. The balance sheet at January 31, 2018 has been derived from the audited financial statements at that date. The financial statements should be read in conjunction with the audited consolidated financial statements and the notes thereto included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended January 31, 2018 (the "2018 Form 10-K"), filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") on April 5, 2018.

Fiscal Year. Our fiscal year ends on January 31. References to a fiscal year refer to the calendar year in which the fiscal year ends.

Principles of Consolidation . The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of Conn's, Inc. and its wholly-owned subsidiaries. All material intercompany transactions and balances have been eliminated in consolidation. 

Variable Interest Entities. VIEs are consolidated if the Company is the primary beneficiary. The primary beneficiary of a VIE is the party that has (i) the power to direct the activities that most significantly impact the performance of the VIE and (ii) the obligation to absorb losses or the right to receive benefits that could potentially be significant to the VIE.

We securitize customer accounts receivables by transferring the receivables to various bankruptcy-remote VIEs. We retain the servicing of the securitized portfolio and have a variable interest in each corresponding VIE by holding the residual equity. We have determined that we are the primary beneficiary of each respective VIE because (i) our servicing responsibilities for the securitized portfolio give us the power to direct the activities that most significantly impact the performance of the VIE and (ii) our variable interest in the VIE gives us the obligation to absorb losses and the right to receive residual returns that potentially could be significant. As a result, we consolidate the respective VIEs within our consolidated financial statements.

Refer to Note 5, Debt and Capital Lease Obligations , and Note 7, Variable Interest Entities , for additional information.

Use of Estimates . The preparation of financial statements in accordance with GAAP requires management to make informed judgments and estimates that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses, and the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities. Changes in facts and circumstances or additional information may result in revised estimates, and actual results may differ, even significantly, from these estimates. Management evaluates its estimates and related assumptions regularly, including those related to the allowance for doubtful accounts and allowances for no-interest option credit programs, which are particularly sensitive given the size of our customer portfolio balance.

Cash and Cash Equivalents . As of July 31, 2018 , cash and cash equivalents included cash and credit card deposits in transit. As of January 31, 2018 , cash and cash equivalents included cash, credit card deposits in transit, and highly liquid debt instruments purchased with a maturity of three months or less. Cash and cash equivalents included credit card deposits in transit of $2.2 million and $2.0 million as of July 31, 2018 and January 31, 2018 , respectively. 


4

CONN'S, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS



Restricted Cash. The restricted cash balance as of July 31, 2018 and January 31, 2018 includes $38.3 million and $58.1 million , respectively, of cash we collected as servicer on the securitized receivables that was subsequently remitted to the VIEs and $11.8 million and $27.2 million , respectively, of cash held by the VIEs as additional collateral for the asset-backed notes.

Customer Accounts Receivable. Customer accounts receivable reported in the Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheet includes total receivables managed, including both those transferred to the VIEs and those not transferred to the VIEs. Customer accounts receivable are recognized at the time the customer takes possession of the product. Based on contractual terms, we record the amount of principal and accrued interest on customer receivables that is expected to be collected within the next twelve months in current assets with the remaining balance in long-term assets on the Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheet. Customer accounts receivable includes the net of unamortized deferred fees charged to customers and origination costs. Customer receivables are considered delinquent if a payment has not been received on the scheduled due date. Accounts that are delinquent more than 209 days as of the end of a month are charged-off against the allowance for doubtful accounts along with interest accrued subsequent to the last payment.

In an effort to mitigate losses on our accounts receivable, we may make loan modifications to a borrower experiencing financial difficulty. In our role as servicer, we may also make modifications to loans held by the VIEs. The loan modifications are intended to maximize net cash flow after expenses and avoid the need to repossess collateral or exercise legal remedies available to us. We may extend or "re-age" a portion of our customer accounts, which involves modifying the payment terms to defer a portion of the cash payments due. Our re-aging of customer accounts does not change the interest rate or the total principal amount due from the customer and typically does not reduce the monthly contractual payments. To a much lesser extent, we may provide the customer the ability to re-age their obligation by refinancing the account, which does not change the interest rate or the total principal amount due from the customer but does reduce the monthly contractual payments and extend the term. We consider accounts that have been re-aged in excess of three months or refinanced as Troubled Debt Restructurings ("TDR" or "Restructured Accounts").

Interest Income on Customer Accounts Receivable . Interest income, which includes interest income and amortization of deferred fees and origination costs, is recorded using the interest method and is reflected in finance charges and other revenues. Typically, interest income is recorded until the customer account is paid off or charged-off, and we provide an allowance for estimated uncollectible interest. Any contractual interest income received from customers in excess of the interest income calculated using the interest method is recorded as deferred revenue on our balance sheets. At July 31, 2018 and January 31, 2018 , there was $12.0 million and $12.5 million , respectively, of deferred interest included in deferred revenues and other credits and other long-term liabilities. The deferred interest will ultimately be brought into income as the accounts pay off or charge-off.

We offer a 12 month no -interest option program. If the customer is delinquent in making a scheduled monthly payment or does not repay the principal in full by the end of the no-interest option program period (grace periods are provided), the account does not qualify for the no-interest provision and none of the interest earned is waived. Interest income is recognized based on estimated accrued interest earned to date on all no -interest option finance programs with an offsetting reserve for those customers expected to satisfy the requirements of the program based on our historical experience.

We recognize interest income on TDR accounts using the interest income method, which requires reporting interest income equal to the increase in the net carrying amount of the loan attributable to the passage of time. Cash proceeds and other adjustments are applied to the net carrying amount such that it equals the present value of expected future cash flows.

We typically only place accounts in non-accrual status when legally required. Payments received on non-accrual loans will be applied to principal and reduce the balance of the loan. At July 31, 2018 , customer receivables carried in non-accrual status were $17.4 million , of which $11.6 million were in bankruptcy status and less than 60 days past due. At January 31, 2018 , customer receivables carried in non-accrual status were $16.9 million , of which $14.5 million were in bankruptcy status and less than 60 days past due. At July 31, 2018 and January 31, 2018 , customer receivables that were past due 90 days or more and still accruing interest totaled $96.7 million and $109.7 million , respectively.

Allowance for Doubtful Accounts. The determination of the amount of the allowance for bad debts is, by nature, highly complex and subjective. Future events that are inherently uncertain could result in material changes to the level of the allowance for bad debts. General economic conditions, changes to state or federal regulations and a variety of other factors that affect the ability of borrowers to service their debts or our ability to collect will impact the future performance of the portfolio.   

We establish an allowance for doubtful accounts, including estimated uncollectible interest, to cover probable and estimable losses on our customer accounts receivable resulting from the failure of customers to make contractual payments. Our customer portfolio balance consists of a large number of relatively small, homogeneous accounts. None of our accounts are large enough to warrant individual evaluation for impairment.

We record an allowance for doubtful accounts on our non-TDR customer accounts receivable that we expect to charge-off over the next 12 months based on historical gross charge-off rates over the last 24 months. We incorporate an adjustment to historical gross charge-off rates for a scaled factor of the year-over-year change in six month average first payment default rates and the year-over-year change in the balance of customer accounts receivable that are 60 days or more past due.  In addition to adjusted


5

CONN'S, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS



historical gross charge-off rates, estimates of post-charge-off recoveries, including cash payments from customers, amounts realized from the repossession of the products financed, sales tax recoveries from taxing jurisdictions, and payments received under credit insurance policies are also considered.               

Qualitative adjustments are made to the allowance for bad debts when, based on management's judgment, there are internal or external factors impacting probable incurred losses not taken into account by the quantitative calculations. These qualitative considerations are based on the following factors: changes in lending policies and procedures, changes in economic and business conditions, changes in the nature and volume of the portfolio, changes in lending management, changes in credit quality statistics, changes in concentrations of credit, and other internal or external factor changes. We utilize an economic qualitative adjustment based on changes in unemployment rates if current unemployment rates in our markets are worse than they were on average over the last 24 months.  We also qualitatively limit the impact of changes in first payment default rates and changes in delinquency when those changes result in a decrease to the allowance for bad debts based on a measure of the dispersion of historical charge-off rates. At July 31, 2018, we utilized a qualitative factor related to changes in the nature of the portfolio.

We determine allowances for those accounts that are TDR based on the discounted present value of cash flows expected to be collected over the life of those accounts based primarily on the performance of TDR loans over the last 24 months. The cash flows are discounted based on the weighted-average effective interest rate of the TDR accounts. The excess of the carrying amount over the discounted cash flow amount is recorded as an allowance for loss on those accounts.

Debt Issuance Costs. Costs that are direct and incremental to debt issuance are deferred and amortized to interest expense using the effective interest method over the expected life of the debt. All other costs related to debt issuance are expensed as incurred. We present debt issuance costs associated with long-term debt as a reduction of the carrying amount of the debt. Unamortized costs related to the Revolving Credit Facility, as defined in Note 5, Debt and Capital Lease Obligations , are included in other assets on our Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheet and were $7.0 million and $5.2 million as of July 31, 2018 and January 31, 2018 , respectively.

Income Taxes. For the six months ended July 31, 2018 and 2017, we utilized the estimated annual effective tax rate based on our estimated fiscal year 2019 and 2018 pre-tax income, respectively, in determining income tax expense.

Provision for income taxes for interim periods is based on an estimated annual income tax rate, adjusted for discrete tax items. As a result, our interim effective tax rates may vary significantly from the statutory tax rate and the annual effective tax rate.

On December 22, 2017, H.R. 1, originally known as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (the "Tax Act"), was signed into law. Among the significant changes to the U.S. Internal Revenue Code, the Tax Act lowered the U.S. federal corporate income tax rate ("Federal Tax Rate") from 35% to 21% effective January 1, 2018. For the three months ended January 31, 2018, we calculated our best estimate of the impact of the Tax Act in our fiscal year 2018 provision for income taxes in accordance with our understanding of the Tax Act and available guidance as of that date.

We continue to analyze additional information and guidance related to the Tax Act as supplemental legislation, regulatory guidance and evolving technical interpretations become available. We will continue to refine such amounts within the measurement period as provided by Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 118 and expect to complete our analysis no later than the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2019.

For the six months ended July 31, 2018 and 2017, the effective tax rate was 21.4% and 41.2% , respectively. The primary factors affecting our effective tax rate for the six months ended July 31, 2018 were a decrease in the Federal Tax Rate as a result of the Tax Act, an increase in pre-tax earnings, and excess tax benefits related to the vesting of equity compensation.

Stock-based Compensation.

Stock-based compensation expense is recorded, net of estimated forfeitures, for share-based compensation awards over the requisite service period using the straight-line method. An adjustment is made to compensation cost for any difference between the estimated forfeitures and the actual forfeitures related to the awards. For equity-classified share-based compensation awards, expense is recognized based on the grant-date fair value. For stock option grants, we use the Black-Scholes model to determine fair value. For grants of restricted stock units, the fair value of the grant is the market value of our stock at the date of issuance.


6

CONN'S, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS



The following table sets forth the restricted stock unit awards ("RSUs"), performance stock awards ("PSUs") and stock options granted during the three and six months ended July 31, 2018 and 2017 : 

Three Months Ended 
 July 31,

Six Months Ended 
 July 31,

2018

2017

2018

2017

RSUs (1)

69,478


318,806


149,889


643,293


PSUs (2)

-


72,012


-


501,012


Stock Options (3)

-


-


620,166


-


Total stock awards granted

69,478


390,818


770,055


1,144,305


Aggregate grant date fair value (in thousands)

$

1,673


$

6,785


$

17,184


$

14,546


(1) The RSUs issued during the three and six months ended July 31, 2018 and 2017 are scheduled to vest ratably over periods of three to four years from the date of grant.

(2) The PSUs issued during the three and six months ended July 31, 2017 will vest, if at all, upon the certification, after fiscal year 2020, by the compensation committee of the satisfaction of the annual and cumulative Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization performance conditions over the three fiscal years commencing with fiscal year 2018.

(3) The weighted-average assumptions for the option awards granted during the six months ended July 31, 2018 included expected volatility of  68.0% , an expected term of  6.5  years and risk-free interest rate of  2.67% .  No  dividend yield was included in the weighted-average assumptions for the option awards granted during the six months ended July 31, 2018 .

For the three months ended July 31, 2018 and 2017, stock-based compensation expense was $3.1 million and $2.6 million , respectively. For the six months ended July 31, 2018 and 2017, stock-based compensation expense was $5.6 million and $4.2 million , respectively.

Earnings per Share . Basic earnings per share is calculated by dividing net income by the weighted-average number of common shares outstanding during the period. Diluted earnings per share includes the dilutive effects of any stock options, RSUs and PSUs, which is calculated using the treasury-stock method. The following table sets forth the shares outstanding for the earnings per share calculations: 

Three Months Ended 
 July 31,

Six Months Ended 
 July 31,

2018

2017

2018

2017

Weighted-average common shares outstanding - Basic

31,652,017


31,093,746


31,597,225


31,033,880


Dilutive effect of stock options, RSUs and PSUs

590,446


340,755


613,534


258,425


Weighted-average common shares outstanding - Diluted

32,242,463


31,434,501


32,210,759


31,292,305


For the three months ended July 31, 2018 and 2017 , the weighted-average number of stock options, RSUs and PSUs not included in the calculation due to their anti-dilutive effect was 624,291 and 386,130 , respectively. For the six months ended July 31, 2018 and 2017 , the weighted-average number of stock options, RSUs and PSUs not included in the calculation due to their anti-dilutive effect was 497,224 and 546,102 , respectively.

Fair Value of Financial Instruments . Fair value is defined as the price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. Assets and liabilities recorded at fair value are categorized using defined hierarchical levels related to subjectivity associated with the inputs to fair value measurements as follows:  

Level 1 – Inputs represent unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities.

Level 2 – Inputs other than quoted prices included within Level 1 that are observable for the asset or liability, either directly or indirectly (for example, quoted market prices for similar assets or liabilities in active markets or quoted market prices for identical assets or liabilities in markets not considered to be active, inputs other than quoted prices that are observable for the asset or liability, or market-corroborated inputs).

Level 3 – Inputs that are not observable from objective sources such as our internally developed assumptions used in pricing an asset or liability (for example, an estimate of future cash flows used in our internally developed present value of future cash flows model that underlies the fair-value measurement).


7

CONN'S, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS



In determining fair value, we use observable market data when available, or models that incorporate observable market data. When we are required to measure fair value and there is not a market-observable price for the asset or liability or for a similar asset or liability, we use the cost or income approach depending on the quality of information available to support management's assumptions. The cost approach is based on management's best estimate of the current asset replacement cost. The income approach is based on management's best assumptions regarding expectations of future net cash flows and discounts the expected cash flows using a commensurate risk-adjusted discount rate. Such evaluations involve significant judgment, and the results are based on expected future events or conditions such as sales prices, economic and regulatory climates, and other factors, most of which are often outside of management's control. However, we believe assumptions used reflect a market participant's view of long-term prices, costs, and other factors and are consistent with assumptions used in our business plans and investment decisions.

In arriving at fair-value estimates, we use relevant observable inputs available for the valuation technique employed. If a fair-value measurement reflects inputs at multiple levels within the hierarchy, the fair-value measurement is characterized based on the lowest level of input that is significant to the fair-value measurement.

The fair value of cash and cash equivalents, restricted cash and accounts payable approximate their carrying amounts because of the short maturity of these instruments. The fair value of customer accounts receivables, determined using a Level 3 discounted cash flow analysis, approximates their carrying amount, which includes the allowance for doubtful accounts. The fair value of our Revolving Credit Facility approximates carrying value based on the current borrowing rate for similar types of borrowing arrangements. At July 31, 2018 , the fair value of the Senior Notes outstanding, which was determined using Level 1 inputs, was $227.9 million as compared to the carrying value of $227.0 million , excluding the impact of the related discount. At July 31, 2018 , the fair value of the asset-backed notes approximates their carrying value and was determined using Level 2 inputs based on inactive trading activity.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements Adopted. In May 2014, the FASB issued ASU 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers , which provides a single comprehensive accounting standard for revenue recognition for contracts with customers and supersedes current guidance. Upon adoption of ASU 2014-09, entities are required to recognize revenue using the following comprehensive model: (1) identify contracts with customers, (2) identify the performance obligations in such contracts, (3) determine transaction price, (4) allocate the transaction price to the performance obligations, and (5) recognize revenue as each performance obligation is satisfied. The FASB also issued ASU 2016-08, Revenue from Contracts with Customers: Principal versus Agent Considerations (Reporting Revenue Gross versus Net); ASU 2016-10, Revenue from Contracts with Customers: Identifying Performance Obligations and Licensing ; ASU 2016-11, Rescission of SEC Guidance Because of Accounting Standards Updates 2014-09 and 2014-16 Pursuant to Staff Announcements at the March 3, 2016 EITF Meeting ; and ASU 2016-12, Revenue from Contracts with Customers: Narrow-Scope Improvements and Practical Expedients, all of which were issued to improve and clarify the guidance in ASU 2014-09. Effective February 1, 2018, the Company adopted these ASUs using the modified retrospective method applied to those contracts that were not completed as of February 1, 2018, with no restatement of comparative periods. Results for reporting periods beginning after February 1, 2018 are presented under ASC Topic 606, while prior period amounts are not adjusted and continue to be reported in accordance with the Company's historic accounting policies under ASC Topic 605. We recognized a net after-tax cumulative effect adjustment to retained earnings of $1.0 million as of the date of adoption. The details of our current revenue recognition policy, as well as the change due to ASC Topic 606, are described below.

Revenue Recognition

.

The Company has the following material revenue streams: the sale of products (e.g. appliances, electronics) including delivery; the sale of third party warranty and insurance programs, including retrospective income; service income; interest income generated from the financing of point of sale transactions; and volume rebate incentives received from a third party financer. Interest income related to our customer accounts receivable balance and loan origination costs (including sales commissions) meet the scope exception of ASC 606 and are therefore not impacted by the adoption of this standard. For our twelve month no-interest option program, as a practical expedient acceptable under ASC 606, we do not adjust for the time value of money.

Sale of Products Including Delivery : The Company has a single performance obligation associated with these contracts: the delivery of the product to the customer, at which point control transfers. Revenue for the sale of products is recognized at the time of delivery, net of any adjustments for sales incentives such as discounts, coupons, rebates or other free products or services. Sales financed through third-party no-interest option programs typically require us to pay a fee to the third party on each completed sale, which is recorded as a reduction of net sales in the retail segment. 

Sale of Third Party Warranty and Insurance Programs, Including Retrospective Income: We sell repair service agreements ("RSA") and credit insurance contracts on behalf of unrelated third-parties. The Company has a single performance obligation associated with these contracts: the delivery of the product to the customer, at which point control transfers. Commissions related to these contracts are recognized in revenue upon delivery of the product. We also may serve as the administrator of the RSAs sold and defer 5% of the revenue received from the sale of RSAs as compensation for this performance obligation as 5% represents the estimated stand-alone sales price to serve as the administrator. The deferred RSA administration fee is recorded in income ratably over the life of the RSA contract sold. Retrospective income on


8

CONN'S, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS



RSA contracts is recognized upon delivery of the product based on an estimate of claims and is adjusted throughout the life of the contracts as actual claims materialize. Retrospective income on insurance contracts is recognized when earned as that is the point at which we no longer believe a significant reversal of income is probable as the consideration is highly susceptible to factors outside of our influence.

Service Income: The Company has a single performance obligation associated with these contracts: the servicing of the RSA claims. Service revenues are recognized at the time service is provided to the customer.

Volume Rebate Incentive: As part of our agreement with our third-party provider of no-interest option programs, we may receive a volume rebate incentive based on the total dollar value of sales made under our third-party provider. The Company has a single performance obligations associated with this contract: the delivery of the product to the customer, at which point control transfers. Revenue for the volume rebate incentive is recognized upon delivery of the product to the customer based on the projected total annual dollar value of sales to be made under our third-party provider.

ASC 606 requires disaggregation of revenue recognized from contracts with customers to depict how the nature, amount, timing and uncertainty of revenue is affected by economic factors. The Company concluded that the disaggregated discrete financial information presented in Note 8, Segment Reporting , and Note 4, Finance Charges and Other Revenues , reviewed by our chief operating decision maker in evaluating the financial performance of our operating segments adequately addresses the disaggregation of revenue requirements of ASC 606.

Deferred Revenue. Deferred revenue related to contracts with customers as defined by ASC 606 consists of deferred customer deposits and deferred RSA administration fees. During the three and six months ended July 31, 2018 , we recognized $1.5 million and $1.8 million , respectively, of revenue for customer deposits as of the beginning of those periods. During the three and six months ended July 31, 2018 , we recognized $1.4 million and $2.7 million respectively, of revenue for RSA administrative fees deferred as of the beginning of those periods.

Changes in Revenue Recognition Due to ASC 606. The adoption of ASC 606 resulted in a change to our accounting policy related to retrospective income on RSAs. We participate in profit sharing agreements with the underwriters of our RSA products, payment from which is contingent upon the actual performance of the portfolio of the RSAs sold. Prior to the adoption of ASC 606, we recognized this revenue and related receivable as the amount due to us at each reporting date based on the performance of the portfolio through such date. The Company concluded that this retrospective income represents variable consideration under ASC 606 for which the Company's performance obligation is satisfied when the RSA is sold to the customer. Under ASC 606, an estimate of variable consideration, subject to constraints, is to be included in the transaction price and recognized when or as the performance obligation is satisfied. As a result of the adoption of ASC 606, the Company changed its accounting policy related to retrospective income on RSAs to record an estimate of retrospective income when the RSA is sold, subject to constraints in the estimate. The Company's estimate of the amount of variable consideration is recorded as a contract asset, representing a conditional right to payment, and is included within other accounts receivable in the Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheet. The estimated contract asset will be reassessed at the end of each reporting period, with changes thereto recorded as adjustments to revenue.

The cumulative effect of the changes made to the Company's Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheet as a result of the adoption of ASC 606 were as follows (in thousands):

Impact of Adoption of ASC 606

(in thousands)

Balance at January 31, 2018

Adjustments due to ASC 606

Balance at February 1, 2018

Assets

   Other Accounts Receivable

$

71,186


$

1,210


$

72,396


   Deferred Income Taxes

21,565


(254

)

21,311


Stockholder's Equity

$

535,068


$

956


$

536,024


The adoption of ASC 606 did not have a material impact on the consolidated financial statements for the three and six months ended July 31, 2018 and no comparative financial statements are presented.

Internal Controls. As a result of the adoption of ASC 606 we evaluated our internal control framework, and there have been no changes in our internal controls over financial reporting that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal controls over financial reporting. 



9

CONN'S, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS



In November 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-18, Statement of Cash Flows (Topic 230): Restricted Cash (a consensus of the FASB Emerging Issues Task Force) . ASU 2016-18 requires that the statement of cash flows provides the change in the total of cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash or restricted cash equivalents. We hold restricted cash related to our asset backed security transactions and lending license requirements. Effective February 1, 2018, the Company adopted the ASU which resulted in us no longer presenting the changes in restricted cash balances as a component of cash flows from financing activities but instead include the balances of both current and long-term restricted cash with cash and cash equivalents in total cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash for the beginning and end of the periods presented. The total cash flow impact for the six months ended July 31, 2017 was an increase in the cash used in financing activities of $24.3 million . The balances of cash and cash equivalents and restricted cash are separately presented within the Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheet as of July 31, 2018 and January 31, 2018.

In August 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-15, Statement of Cash Flows (Topic 230): Classification of Certain Cash Receipts and Cash Payments (a consensus of the Emerging Issues Task Force) . ASU 2016-15 clarifies guidance on the classification of certain cash receipts and payments in the statement of cash flows to reduce diversity in practice. Among other things, debt prepayment or debt extinguishment costs will be presented as cash outflows for financing activities on the statement of cash flow. Effective February 1, 2018, the Company adopted the ASU, which resulted in us no longer presenting the change in debt extinguishment costs as a component of cash flows from operating activities but instead include the change as a component of cash flows from financing activities. The adoption of this ASU resulted in the classification of $1.2 million in payments on extinguishment of debt as a cash outflow from financing activities for the six months ended July 31, 2018. There was no impact for the six months ended July 31, 2017.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements Yet To Be Adopted.

In February 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842), which will change how lessees account for leases. For most leases, a liability will be recorded on the balance sheet based on the present value of future lease obligations with a corresponding right-of-use asset. Primarily for those leases currently classified by us as operating leases, we will recognize a single lease cost on a straight line basis based on the combined amortization of the lease obligation and the right-of-use asset. Other leases will be required to be accounted for as financing arrangements similar to how we currently account for capital leases. On transition, we will recognize a cumulative-effect adjustment to the retained earnings on the opening balance sheet in the period of adoption using a modified retrospective approach. The final standard will become effective for us beginning in the first quarter of fiscal year 2020. Based on our preliminary assessment, we believe the adoption of this ASU will have a material impact on our financial statements as we will be required to report additional leases on our Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheet. We are the lessee under various lease agreements for our retail stores and equipment that are currently accounted for as operating leases as discussed in Note 8, Leases, of our audited Consolidated Financial Statements included in our 2018 Form 10-K.

In June 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-13, Financial Instruments-Credit Losses (Topic 326): Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments . ASU 2016-13 requires that financial assets measured at amortized cost be presented at the net amount expected to be collected through an allowance for credit losses that is deducted from the amortized cost basis. The allowance for credit losses should reflect management's current estimate of credit losses that are expected to occur over the remaining life of a financial asset. The standard will become effective for us in the first quarter of fiscal year 2021 and early adoption is permitted beginning in the first quarter of fiscal year 2020. We have formed a cross-functional working group comprised of individuals from various functional areas including credit, finance, accounting, and information technology. While we are currently evaluating the likely impact the adoption of this ASU will have on our consolidated financial statements, the adoption of ASU 2016-13 is likely to result in a material increase in the allowance for loan losses as a result of changing from an "incurred loss" model, which encompasses allowances for current known and inherent losses within the portfolio, to an "expected loss" model, which encompasses allowances for losses expected to be incurred over the life of the portfolio.


10

CONN'S, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS



2.    Customer Accounts Receivable

Customer accounts receivable consisted of the following:

Total Outstanding Balance

Customer Accounts Receivable

60 Days Past Due (1)

Re-aged (1) (2)

(in thousands)

July 31,
2018

January 31,
2018

July 31,
2018

January 31,
2018

July 31,
2018

January 31,
2018

Customer accounts receivable

$

1,338,498


$

1,374,269


$

94,722


$

114,120


$

196,964


$

217,952


Restructured accounts

169,863


153,593


41,499


37,687


169,863


153,593


Total customer portfolio balance

$

1,508,361


$

1,527,862


$

136,221


$

151,807


$

366,827


$

371,545


Allowance for uncollectible accounts

(203,609

)

(203,572

)

Allowances for no-interest option credit programs

(19,060

)

(20,960

)

Deferred fees and origination costs, net

(16,189

)

(15,897

)

Total customer accounts receivable, net

1,269,503


1,287,433


Short-term portion of customer accounts receivable, net

(622,009

)

(636,825

)

Long-term portion of customer accounts receivable, net

$

647,494


$

650,608


Securitized receivables held by the VIEs

$

592,279


$

1,085,385


$

70,148


$

124,627


$

228,234


$

300,348


Receivables not held by the VIEs

916,082


442,477


66,073


27,180


138,593


71,197


Total customer portfolio balance

$

1,508,361


$

1,527,862


$

136,221


$

151,807


$

366,827


$

371,545


(1)

Due to the fact that an account can become past due after having been re-aged, accounts could be represented as both past due and re-aged. As of July 31, 2018 and January 31, 2018 , the amounts included within both 60 days past due and re-aged was $82.9 million and $80.8 million , respectively. As of July 31, 2018 and January 31, 2018 , the total customer portfolio balance past due one day or greater was $400.3 million and $401.0 million , respectively. These amounts include the 60 days past due balances shown.

(2)

The re-aged receivables balance as of July 31, 2018 and January 31, 2018 includes $41.6 million and $62.0 million in first time re-ages related to customers within FEMA-designated Hurricane Harvey disaster areas.

The following presents the activity in the allowance for doubtful accounts and uncollectible interest for customer receivables: 

Six Months Ended July 31, 2018

Six Months Ended July 31, 2017

(in thousands)

Customer

Accounts

Receivable

Restructured

Accounts

Total

Customer

Accounts

Receivable

Restructured

Accounts

Total

Allowance at beginning of period

$

148,856


$

54,716


$

203,572


$

158,992


$

51,183


$

210,175


Provision (1)

85,117


33,146


118,263


92,285


33,208


125,493


Principal charge-offs (2)

(82,124

)

(25,264

)

(107,388

)

(92,251

)

(26,159

)

(118,410

)

Interest charge-offs

(16,161

)

(4,972

)

(21,133

)

(14,911

)

(4,228

)

(19,139

)

Recoveries (2)

7,873


2,422


10,295


3,534


1,002


4,536


Allowance at end of period

$

143,561


$

60,048


$

203,609


$

147,649


$

55,006


$

202,655


Average total customer portfolio balance

$

1,340,360


$

162,951


$

1,503,311


$

1,356,569


$

139,106


$

1,495,675


(1)

Includes provision for uncollectible interest, which is included in finance charges and other revenues.

(2)

Charge-offs include the principal amount of losses (excluding accrued and unpaid interest). Recoveries include principal collections of previously charged-off balances. Net charge-offs are calculated as the net of principal charge-offs and recoveries.


11

CONN'S, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS



3.     Charges and Credits

Charges and credits consisted of the following:

Three Months Ended 
 July 31,

Six Months Ended 
 July 31,

(in thousands)

2018

2017

2018

2017

Facility closure costs

$

-


$

122


$

-


$

1,349


Securities-related regulatory matter and other legal fees

300


34


300


34


Employee severance

-


1,317


-


1,317


Indirect tax audit reserve

-


2,595


-


2,595


$

300


$

4,068


$

300


$

5,295


During the three and six months ended July 31, 2018 , we recorded a contingency reserve related to a regulatory matter. During the three months ended July 31, 2017 , we primarily incurred severance costs related to a change in the executive management team and a charge related to an increase in our indirect tax audit reserve. During the six months ended July 31, 2017, we primarily incurred exit costs associated with reducing the square footage of a distribution center, severance costs related to a change in the executive management team, and a charge related to an increase in our indirect tax audit reserve.

4.     Finance Charges and Other Revenues

Finance charges and other revenues consisted of the following:

Three Months Ended 
 July 31,

Six Months Ended 
 July 31,

(in thousands)

2018

2017

2018

2017

Interest income and fees

$

80,435


$

69,490


$

156,781


$

136,621


Insurance income

7,774


10,652


14,045


19,982


Other revenues

98


92


112


172


$

88,307


$

80,234


$

170,938


$

156,775


Interest income and fees and insurance income are derived from the credit segment operations, whereas other revenues are derived from the retail segment operations. Insurance income is comprised of sales commissions from third-party insurance companies that are recognized when coverage is sold and retrospective income paid by the insurance carrier if insurance claims are less than earned premiums.

During the three months ended July 31, 2018 and 2017, interest income and fees reflected provisions for uncollectible interest of $12.4 million and $10.5 million , respectively. The amount included in interest income and fees related to TDR accounts for the three months ended July 31, 2018 and 2017 are $6.5 million and $4.6 million , respectively. During the six months ended July 31, 2018 and 2017, interest income and fees reflected provisions for uncollectible interest of $23.9 million and $20.5 million , respectively. The amount included in interest income and fees related to TDR accounts for the six months ended July 31, 2018 and 2017 are $12.3 million and $9.1 million , respectively. Insurance income decreased over both the three month and six month periods primarily due to a decrease in retrospective income as a result of higher claim volumes related to Hurricane Harvey.


12

CONN'S, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS



5.     Debt and Capital Lease Obligations

Debt and capital lease obligations consisted of the following:

(in thousands)

July 31,
2018

January 31,
2018

Revolving Credit Facility

$

261,200


$

77,000


Senior Notes

227,000


227,000


2016-B VIE Asset-backed Class B Notes

-


73,589


2017-A VIE Asset-backed Class A Notes

-


59,794


2017-A VIE Asset-backed Class B Notes

-


106,270


2017-A VIE Asset-backed Class C Notes

-


50,340


2017-B VIE Asset-backed Class A Notes

99,595


292,663


2017-B VIE Asset-backed Class B Notes

132,180


132,180


2017-B VIE Asset-backed Class C Notes

78,640


78,640


Warehouse Notes

121,060


-


Capital lease obligations

4,927


4,949


Total debt and capital lease obligations

924,602


1,102,425


Less:

Discount on debt

(2,247

)

(2,527

)

Deferred debt issuance costs

(5,125

)

(8,886

)

Current maturities of capital lease obligations

(1,149

)

(907

)

Long-term debt and capital lease obligations

$

916,081


$

1,090,105


Senior Notes. On July 1, 2014, we issued $250.0 million of the unsecured Senior Notes due July 2022 bearing interest at 7.25% (the "Senior Notes"), pursuant to an indenture dated July 1, 2014 (the "Indenture"), among Conn's, Inc., its subsidiary guarantors (the "Guarantors") and U.S. Bank National Association, as trustee. The effective interest rate of the Senior Notes after giving effect to the discount and issuance costs is 7.8% .

The Indenture restricts the Company's and certain of its subsidiaries' ability to: (i) incur indebtedness; (ii) pay dividends or make other distributions in respect of, or repurchase or redeem, our capital stock ("restricted payments"); (iii) prepay, redeem or repurchase debt that is junior in right of payment to the notes; (iv) make loans and certain investments; (v) sell assets; (vi) incur liens; (vii) enter into transactions with affiliates; and (viii) consolidate, merge or sell all or substantially all of our assets. These covenants are subject to a number of important exceptions and qualifications. Specifically, limitations on restricted payments are only effective if one or more of the following occurred: (1) a default were to exist under the Indenture, (2) we could not satisfy a debt incurrence test, and (3) the aggregate amount of restricted payments were to exceed an amount tied to consolidated net income. These limitations, however, are subject to two exceptions: (1) an exception that permits the payment of up to $375.0 million in restricted payments, and (2) an exception that permits restricted payments regardless of dollar amount so long as, after giving pro forma effect to the dividends and other restricted payments, we would have had a leverage ratio, as defined under the Indenture, of less than or equal to 2.50 to 1.0 . As a result of these exceptions, as of July 31, 2018 , $200.5 million would have been free from the distribution restriction. During any time when the Senior Notes are rated investment grade by either of Moody's Investors Service, Inc. or Standard & Poor's Ratings Services and no default (as defined in the Indenture) has occurred and is continuing, many of such covenants will be suspended and we will cease to be subject to such covenants during such period. Events of default under the Indenture include customary events, such as a cross-acceleration provision in the event that we fail to make payment of other indebtedness prior to the expiration of any applicable grace period or upon acceleration of indebtedness prior to its stated maturity date in an amount exceeding $25.0 million , as well as in the event a judgment is entered against us in excess of $25.0 million that is not discharged, bonded or insured.

Asset-backed Notes. During fiscal years 2018 and 2017 we securitized customer accounts receivables by transferring the receivables to various bankruptcy-remote VIEs. In turn, the VIEs issued asset-backed notes secured by the transferred customer accounts receivables and restricted cash held by the VIEs.

Under the terms of the securitization transactions, all cash collections and other cash proceeds of the customer receivables go first to the servicer and the holders of issued notes, and then to us as the holder of non-issued notes and residual equity. We retain the servicing of the securitized portfolios and receive a monthly fee of 4.75% (annualized) based on the outstanding balance of the securitized receivables. In addition, we, rather than the VIEs, retain all credit insurance income together with certain recoveries


13

CONN'S, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS



related to credit insurance and repair service agreements on charge-offs of the securitized receivables, which are reflected as a reduction to net charge-offs on a consolidated basis.

The asset-backed notes were offered and sold to qualified institutional buyers pursuant to the exemptions from registration provided by Rule 144A under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended. If an event of default were to occur under the indenture that governs the respective asset-backed notes, the payment of the outstanding amounts may be accelerated, in which event the cash proceeds of the receivables that otherwise might be released to the residual equity holder would instead be directed entirely toward repayment of the asset-backed notes, or if the receivables are liquidated, all liquidation proceeds could be directed solely to repayment of the asset-backed notes as governed by the respective terms of the asset-backed notes. The holders of the asset-backed notes have no recourse to assets outside of the VIEs. Events of default include, but are not limited to, failure to make required payments on the asset-backed notes or specified bankruptcy-related events.

The asset-backed notes consist of the following:

Asset-Backed Notes

Original Principal Amount

Original Net Proceeds (1)

Current Principal Amount

Issuance Date

Maturity Date

Fixed Interest Rate

Effective Interest Rate (2)

2017-B Class A Notes

$

361,400


$

358,945


$

99,595


12/20/2017

7/15/2020

2.73%

5.14%

2017-B Class B Notes

132,180


131,281


132,180


12/20/2017

4/15/2021

4.52%

5.23%

2017-B Class C Notes

78,640


77,843


78,640


12/20/2017

11/15/2022

5.95%

6.35%

Warehouse Notes

121,060


118,972


121,060


7/16/2018

1/15/2020

Index + 2.50% (3)

7.62%

Total

$

693,280


$

687,041


$

431,475


(1)

After giving effect to debt issuance costs and restricted cash held by the VIEs.

(2)

For the six months ended July 31, 2018, and inclusive of retrospective adjustments to deferred debt issuance costs based on changes in timing of actual and expected cash flows.

(3)

The rate on the Warehouse Notes is defined as the applicable index plus a 2.50% fixed margin.

On February 15, 2018, affiliates of the Company closed on a $52.2 million financing under a receivables warehouse financing transaction entered into on February 6, 2018 (the "Warehouse Notes"). The net proceeds of the Warehouse Notes were used to prepay in full the Series 2016-B Class B Notes (the "2016-B Redeemed Notes") that were still outstanding as of February 15, 2018.

On February 15, 2018, the Company completed the redemption of the 2016-B Redeemed Notes at an aggregate redemption price of $73.6 million (which was equal to the entire outstanding principal of, plus accrued interest and the call premiums on, the 2016-B Redeemed Notes). The net funds used to call the notes was $50.3 million, which is equal to the redemption price less adjustments of $23.3 million for funds held in reserve and collection accounts in accordance with the terms of the applicable indenture governing the 2016-B Redeemed Notes. The difference between the net proceeds of the Warehouse Notes and the carrying value of the 2016-B Redeemed Notes at redemption was used to fund fees, expenses and a reserve account related to the Warehouse facility. In connection with the early redemption of the 2016-B Redeemed Notes, we wrote-off $0.4 million as a loss on extinguishment of debt.

On July 16, 2018, affiliates of the Company closed on $121.1 million of additional financing under a receivables warehouse financing transaction entered into on July 9, 2018 (the "Additional Funding"). The net proceeds of the Additional Funding were used to prepay in full the Series 2017-A Class B and C Notes (the "2017-A Redeemed Notes") that were still outstanding as of July 16, 2018.

On July 16, 2018, the Company completed the redemption of the 2017-A Redeemed Notes at an aggregate redemption price of $127.2 million (which was equal to the entire outstanding principal of, plus accrued interest and the call premiums on the 2017-A Redeemed Notes). The net funds used to call the notes was $119.0 million, which is equal to the redemption price less adjustments of $8.2 million for funds held in reserve and collection accounts in accordance with the terms of the applicable indenture governing the 2017-A Redeemed Notes. The difference between the net proceeds of the Additional Funding and the carrying value of the 2017-A Redeemed Notes at redemption was used to fund fees, expenses and a reserve account related to the warehouse facility. In connection with the early redemption of the 2017-A Redeemed Notes, we wrote-off $1.2 million as a loss on extinguishment of debt.



14

CONN'S, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS



Revolving Credit Facility. On May 23, 2018, Conn's, Inc. and certain of its subsidiaries (the "Borrowers") entered into a Fourth Amendment to the Fourth Amended and Restated Loan and Security Agreement, dated as of October 30, 2015, with certain lenders, which provides for a $650.0 million asset-based revolving credit facility (the "Revolving Credit Facility") under which credit availability is subject to a borrowing base.

The Fourth Amendment, among other things, (a) extends the maturity date of the credit facility to May 23, 2022; (b) provides for a reduction in the aggregate commitments from $750 million to $650 million; (c) amends the method by which the applicable margin is calculated to be based on the total leverage ratio (ratio of total liabilities less the sum of qualified cash and ABS qualified cash to tangible net worth), with the applicable margin ranging from 2.50% to 3.25% for LIBOR loans and from 1.50% to 2.25% for base rate loans; (d) eliminates a $10 million availability block in calculating the borrowing base; (e) increases the maximum accounts receivable advance rate from 75% to 80%; (f) decreases the maximum unused line fee by 25 basis points, from 75 basis points to 50 basis points; (g) eliminates the cash recovery covenant; (h) modifies the maximum inventory component of the borrowing base from $175 million to 33.33% of revolving loan commitments in effect; (i) modifies the interest coverage covenant such that the minimum interest coverage on a trailing two quarter basis is 1.5x and the minimum interest coverage during any single quarter is 1.0x; (j) increases the maximum capital expenditures from $75 million to $100 million during any period of four consecutive fiscal quarters; and (k) modifies the ability of the Company to effect future securitizations of its customer receivables portfolio, including adding the ability of the Company to enter into revolving ABS transactions.

Subsequent to the adoption of the Fourth Amendment, loans under the Revolving Credit Facility bear interest, at our option, at a rate equal to LIBOR plus the applicable margin based on facility availability which specified a margin ranging from 2.50% to 3.25% per annum (depending on quarterly average net availability under the borrowing base) or the alternate base rate plus a margin ranging from 1.50% to 2.25% per annum (depending on quarterly average net availability under the borrowing base). The alternate base rate is the greatest of the prime rate announced by Bank of America, N.A., the federal funds rate plus 0.5%, or LIBOR for a 30-day interest period plus 1.0%. As of July 31, 2018, we also paid an unused fee on the portion of the commitments that was available for future borrowings or letters of credit at a rate ranging from 0.25% to 0.50% per annum, depending on the average outstanding balance and letters of credit of the Revolving Credit Facility in the immediately preceding quarter. The weighted-average interest rate on borrowings outstanding and including unused line fees under the Revolving Credit Facility was 6.5% for the six months ended July 31, 2018 .

The Revolving Credit Facility provides funding based on a borrowing base calculation that includes customer accounts receivable and inventory, and provides for a $40.0 million sub-facility for letters of credit to support obligations incurred in the ordinary course of business. The obligations under the Revolving Credit Facility are secured by substantially all assets of the Company, excluding the assets of the VIEs. As of July 31, 2018 , we had immediately available borrowing capacity of $366.6 million under our Revolving Credit Facility, net of standby letters of credit issued of $2.8 million . We also had $19.4 million that may become available under our Revolving Credit Facility if we grow the balance of eligible customer receivables and total eligible inventory balances.

The Revolving Credit Facility places restrictions on our ability to incur additional indebtedness, grant liens on assets, make distributions on equity interests, dispose of assets, make loans, pay other indebtedness, engage in mergers, and other matters. The Revolving Credit Facility restricts our ability to make dividends and distributions unless no event of default exists and a liquidity test is satisfied. Subsidiaries of the Company may pay dividends and make distributions to the Company and other obligors under the Revolving Credit Facility without restriction. As of July 31, 2018 , we were restricted from making distributions, including repayments of the Senior Notes or other distributions, in excess of $212.3 million as a result of the Revolving Credit Facility distribution restrictions. The Revolving Credit Facility contains customary default provisions, which, if triggered, could result in acceleration of all amounts outstanding under the Revolving Credit Facility.


15

CONN'S, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS



Debt Covenants. We were in compliance with the debt covenants of our Revolving Credit Facility at July 31, 2018 . A summary of the significant financial covenants that govern our Revolving Credit Facility compared to our actual compliance status at July 31, 2018 is presented below: 

Actual

Required

Minimum/

Maximum

Interest Coverage Ratio for the quarter must equal or exceed (minimum)

3.75:1.00

1.00:1.00

Interest Coverage Ratio for the trailing two quarters must equal or exceed (minimum)

3.36:1.00

1.50:1.00

Leverage Ratio must not exceed (maximum)

2.07:1.00

4.00:1.00

ABS Excluded Leverage Ratio must not exceed (maximum)

1.40:1.00

2.00:1.00

Capital Expenditures, net, must not exceed (maximum)

$13.5 million

$100.0 million

All capitalized terms in the above table are defined by the Revolving Credit Facility and may or may not agree directly to the financial statement captions in this document. The covenants are calculated quarterly, except for capital expenditures, which is calculated for a period of four consecutive fiscal quarters, as of the end of each fiscal quarter.

6.     Contingencies

Securities Class Action Litigation. We and two of our former executive officers are defendants in a consolidated securities class action lawsuit pending in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas (the "Court"), captioned In re Conn's Inc. Securities Litigation, Cause No. 14-CV-00548 (the "Consolidated Securities Action"). The Consolidated Securities Action started as three separate purported securities class action lawsuits filed between March 5, 2014 and May 5, 2014 in the Court that were consolidated into the Consolidated Securities Action on June 3, 2014. The plaintiffs in the Consolidated Securities Action allege that the defendants made false and misleading statements or failed to disclose material adverse facts about our business, operations, and prospects. They allege violations of sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder and seek to certify a class of all persons and entities that purchased or otherwise acquired Conn's common stock or call options, or sold or wrote Conn's put options between April 3, 2013 and December 9, 2014. The complaint does not specify the amount of damages sought.

On June 30, 2015, the Court held a hearing on the defendants' motion to dismiss plaintiffs' complaint. At the hearing, the Court dismissed Brian Taylor, a former executive officer, and certain other aspects of the complaint. The Court ordered the plaintiffs to further amend their complaint in accordance with its ruling, and the plaintiffs filed their Fourth Consolidated Amended Complaint on July 21, 2015. The remaining defendants filed a motion to dismiss on August 28, 2015. The defendant's motion to dismiss was fully briefed and the Court held a hearing on defendants' motion on March 25, 2016 and on May 5, 2016, the Court issued a ruling that dismissed 78 of 91 alleged misstatements. The parties have submitted their respective briefs in support of, and in opposition to, class certification, and also engaged in discovery pursuant to the Court's scheduling order. In late June 2017, the Court granted the plaintiffs' motion for class certification, and shortly thereafter, Defendants filed a petition for permission to appeal to the United States Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals (the "Fifth Circuit"). The Fifth Circuit granted leave to appeal on August 21, 2017.

On June 14, 2018, the parties filed a motion for preliminary approval of a settlement for the Consolidated Securities Action. The Court granted preliminary approval of the settlement terms and stayed the Consolidated Securities Action on June 28, 2018.  As a result of the Court's preliminary approval, the settlement amount of $22.5 million was reflected as a liability in accrued expenses on the Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheet with an offsetting receivable from our insurance carriers of $22.5 million reflected in other accounts receivable on the Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheet as of the three months ended July 31, 2018. The settlement will be funded solely by proceeds from our insurance carriers. As part of the settlement, we-along with the other executive officer defendants-have denied and continue to deny any wrongdoing giving rise to any liability or violation of the law, including the U.S. securities laws, as well as each and every one of the claims alleged by plaintiffs in the Consolidated Securities Action. On July 13, 2018, the claims administrator for the settlement began sending court-approved notices of settlement and proof of claim forms to the class members. Class members must submit requests for exclusion from the class, objections to the settlement, or enter an appearance in the final settlement approval hearing by September 20, 2018.  The Court has scheduled a final settlement approval hearing on October 11, 2018. As a result of this pending settlement, the Fifth Circuit ordered that the appeal on the class certification ruling be held in abeyance until September 10, 2018.  

On April 2, 2018, MicroCapital Fund, LP, MicroCapital Fund Ltd, and MicroCapital LLC filed a lawsuit (the "MicroCapital Lawsuit") against us and certain of our former executive officers in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas, Cause No. 4:18-CV-01020 (the "MicroCapital Action").  The plaintiffs in this action allege that the defendants made false and misleading statements or failed to disclose material facts about our credit and underwriting practices, accounting and internal controls.  Plaintiffs allege violations of sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5


16

CONN'S, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS



promulgated thereunder, Texas and Connecticut common law fraud, and Texas common law negligent misrepresentation against all defendants; as well as section 20A of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934; and Connecticut common law negligent misrepresentation against certain defendants arising from plaintiffs' purchase of Conn's, Inc. securities between April 3, 2013 and February 20, 2014.  The complaint does not specify the amount of damages sought.

On April 27, 2018, the plaintiffs in the MicroCapital Action filed a motion for a ruling that discovery can proceed and a request for a Rule 16 conference. We filed a response in opposition, as well as a cross-motion to stay this action in its entirety on May 18, 2018. On July 10, 2018, the court granted our cross-motion to stay this action pending final approval of settlement in the Consolidated Securities Action.

We intend to vigorously defend our interests in the MicroCapital Action. It is not possible at this time to predict the timing or outcome of this litigation, and we cannot reasonably estimate the possible loss or range of possible loss from these claims.

Derivative Litigation. On December 1, 2014, an alleged shareholder, purportedly on behalf of the Company, filed a derivative shareholder lawsuit against us and certain of our current and former directors and former executive officers in the Court, captioned as Robert Hack, derivatively on behalf of Conn's, Inc., v. Theodore M. Wright (former executive officer and former director), Bob L. Martin, Jon E.M. Jacoby (former director), Kelly M. Malson, Douglas H. Martin, David Schofman, Scott L. Thompson (former director), Brian Taylor (former executive officer) and Michael J. Poppe (former executive officer) and Conn's, Inc., Case No. 4:14-cv-03442 (the "Original Derivative Action"). The complaint asserts claims for breach of fiduciary duty, unjust enrichment, gross mismanagement, and insider trading based on substantially similar factual allegations as those asserted in the Consolidated Securities Action. The plaintiff seeks unspecified damages against these persons and does not request any damages from us. Setting forth substantially similar claims against the same defendants, on February 25, 2015, an additional federal derivative action, captioned 95250 Canada LTEE, derivatively on Behalf of Conn's, Inc. v. Wright et al., Cause No. 4:15-cv-00521, was filed in the Court, which has been consolidated with the Original Derivative Action.

The Court previously approved a stipulation among the parties to stay the action pending resolution of the motion for class certification in the Consolidated Securities Action. The Court has agreed to continue to the stay through the final settlement approval hearing in the Consolidated Securities Action on October 11, 2018, and set a deadline of November 1, 2018, for defendants to respond to the complaint. 

Another derivative action was filed on January 27, 2015, captioned as Richard A. Dohn v. Wright, et al., Cause No. 2015-04405, in the 281st Judicial District Court, Harris County, Texas. This action makes substantially similar allegations to the Original Derivative Action against the same defendants. On September 14, 2017, the court entered an order extending the stay until September 7, 2018.

Prior to filing a lawsuit, an alleged shareholder, Robert J. Casey II ("Casey"), submitted a demand under Delaware law, which our Board of Directors refused. On May 19, 2016, Casey, purportedly on behalf of the Company, filed a lawsuit against us and certain of our current and former directors and former executive officers in the 55th Judicial District Court, Harris County, Texas, captioned as Casey, derivatively on behalf of Conn's, Inc., v. Theodore M. Wright (former executive officer and former director), Michael J. Poppe (former executive officer), Brian Taylor (former executive officer), Bob L. Martin, Jon E.M. Jacoby (former director), Kelly M. Malson, Douglas H. Martin, David Schofman, Scott L. Thompson (former director) and William E. Saunders Jr., and Conn's, Inc., Cause No. 2016-33135. The complaint asserts claims for breach of fiduciary duties and unjust enrichment based on substantially similar factual allegations as those asserted in the Original Derivative Action. The complaint does not specify the amount of damages sought. Pursuant to the parties' agreement, this action is stayed pending the resolution of the Consolidated Securities Action.

Other than Casey, none of the plaintiffs in the other derivative actions made a demand on our Board of Directors prior to filing their respective lawsuits. The defendants in the derivative actions intend to vigorously defend against these claims. It is not possible at this time to predict the timing or outcome of any of this litigation, and we cannot reasonably estimate the possible loss or range of possible loss from these claims.

Regulatory Matters. We are continuing to cooperate with the SEC's investigation of our underwriting policies and bad debt provisions, which began in November 2014.  The investigation is a non-public, fact-finding inquiry, and the SEC has stated that the investigation does not mean that any violations of law have occurred.

In addition, we are involved in other routine litigation and claims incidental to our business from time to time which, individually or in the aggregate, are not expected to have a material adverse effect on us. As required, we accrue estimates of the probable costs for the resolution of these matters. These estimates have been developed in consultation with counsel and are based upon an analysis of potential results, assuming a combination of litigation and settlement strategies. However, the results of these proceedings cannot be predicted with certainty, and changes in facts and circumstances could impact our estimate of reserves for litigation. The Company believes that any probable and reasonably estimable loss associated with the foregoing has been adequately reflected in the accompanying financial statements.


17

CONN'S, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS



7.     Variable Interest Entities

From time to time, we have securitized customer accounts receivables by transferring the receivables to various bankruptcy-remote VIEs. Under the terms of the respective securitization transactions, all cash collections and other cash proceeds of the customer receivables go first to the servicer and the holders of the asset-backed notes, and then to the residual equity holder. We retain the servicing of the securitized portfolio and receive a monthly fee of 4.75% (annualized) based on the outstanding balance of the securitized receivables, and we currently hold all of the residual equity. In addition, we, rather than the VIEs, will retain certain credit insurance income together with certain recoveries related to credit insurance and repair service agreements on charge-offs of the securitized receivables, which will continue to be reflected as a reduction of net charge-offs on a consolidated basis for as long as we consolidate the VIEs.

We consolidate VIEs when we determine that we are the primary beneficiary of these VIEs, we have the power to direct the activities that most significantly impact the performance of the VIEs and our obligation to absorb losses and the right to receive residual returns are significant.

The following table presents the assets and liabilities held by the VIEs (for legal purposes, the assets and liabilities of the VIEs will remain distinct from Conn's, Inc.):

(in thousands)

July 31,
2018

January 31,
2018

Assets:

Restricted cash

$

50,107


$

85,322


Due from Conn's, Inc., net

4,528


15,212


Customer accounts receivable:

Customer accounts receivable

496,586


987,418


Restructured accounts

95,693


97,967


Allowance for uncollectible accounts

(88,589

)

(143,115

)

Allowances for no-interest option credit programs

(8,442

)

(18,228

)

Deferred fees and origination costs

(4,607

)

(9,332

)

Total customer accounts receivable, net

490,641


914,710


Total assets

$

545,276


$

1,015,244


Liabilities:

Accrued expenses

$

3,425


$

6,723


Other liabilities

6,111


10,639


Long-term debt:

2016-B Class B Notes

-


73,589


2017-A Class A Notes

-


59,794


2017-A Class B Notes

-


106,270


2017-A Class C Notes

-


50,340


2017-B Class A Notes

99,595


292,663


2017-B Class B Notes

132,180


132,180


2017-B Class C Notes

78,640


78,640


Warehouse Notes

121,060


-


431,475


793,476


Less: deferred debt issuance costs

(2,112

)

(5,497

)

Total long-term debt

429,363


787,979


Total liabilities

$

438,899


$

805,341


The assets of the VIEs serve as collateral for the obligations of the VIEs. The holders of the asset-backed notes have no recourse to assets outside of the respective VIEs.


18

CONN'S, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS



8. Segment Reporting

Operating segments are defined as components of an enterprise that engage in business activities and for which discrete financial information is available that is evaluated on a regular basis by the chief operating decision maker to make decisions about how to allocate resources and assess performance. We are a leading specialty retailer and offer a broad selection of quality, branded durable consumer goods and related services in addition to a proprietary credit solution for our core credit-constrained consumers. We have two operating segments: (i) retail and (ii) credit. Our operating segments complement one another. The retail segment operates primarily through our stores and website in the retail furniture and mattresses, home appliances, consumer electronics and home office products business. Our retail segment product offerings include furniture and mattresses, home appliances, consumer electronics and home office products from leading global brands across a wide range of price points. Our credit segment offers affordable financing solutions to a large, under-served population of credit-constrained consumers who typically have limited credit alternatives. Our operating segments provide customers the opportunity to comparison shop across brands with confidence in our competitive prices as well as affordable monthly payment options, next day delivery and installation in the majority of our markets, and product repair service. The operating segments follow the same accounting policies used in our condensed consolidated financial statements.

We evaluate a segment's performance based upon operating income before taxes. Selling, general and administrative expenses include the direct expenses of the retail and credit operations, allocated corporate overhead expenses, and a charge to the credit segment to reimburse the retail segment for expenses it incurs related to occupancy, personnel, advertising and other direct costs of the retail segment, which benefit the credit operations by sourcing credit customers and collecting payments. The reimbursement received by the retail segment from the credit segment is estimated using an annual rate of 2.5% times the average portfolio balance for each applicable period.

As of July 31, 2018 , we operated retail stores in 14 states with no operations outside of the United States. No single customer accounts for more than 10% of our total revenues.


19

CONN'S, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS



Financial information by segment is presented in the following tables:

Three Months Ended July 31, 2018

Three Months Ended July 31, 2017

(in thousands)

Retail

Credit

Total

Retail

Credit

Total

Revenues:

Furniture and mattress

$

97,066


$

-


$

97,066


$

95,297


$

-


$

95,297


Home appliance

91,471


-


91,471


89,085


-


89,085


Consumer electronic

55,654


-


55,654


52,946


-


52,946


Home office

19,289


-


19,289


17,862


-


17,862


Other

3,699


-


3,699


4,403


-


4,403


Product sales

267,179


-


267,179


259,593


-


259,593


Repair service agreement commissions

25,662


-


25,662


23,519


-


23,519


Service revenues

3,472


-


3,472


3,301


-


3,301


Total net sales

296,313


-


296,313


286,413


-


286,413


Finance charges and other revenues

98


88,209


88,307


92


80,142


80,234


Total revenues

296,411


88,209


384,620


286,505


80,142


366,647


Costs and expenses:

Cost of goods sold

173,627


-


173,627


172,306


-


172,306


Selling, general and administrative expense (1)

83,003


37,687


120,690


78,667


32,965


111,632


Provision for bad debts

243


50,508


50,751


165


49,284


49,449


Charges and credits

300


-


300


4,068


-


4,068


Total costs and expense

257,173


88,195


345,368


255,206


82,249


337,455


Operating income (loss)

39,238


14


39,252


31,299


(2,107

)

29,192


Interest expense

-


15,566


15,566


-


20,039


20,039


Loss on extinguishment of debt

-


1,367


1,367


-


2,097


2,097


Income (loss) before income taxes

$

39,238


$

(16,919

)

$

22,319


$

31,299


$

(24,243

)

$

7,056




20

CONN'S, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS



Six Months Ended July 31, 2018

Six Months Ended July 31, 2017

(in thousands)

Retail

Credit

Total

Retail

Credit

Total

Revenues:

Furniture and mattress

$

194,086


$

-


$

194,086


$

189,740


$

-


$

189,740


Home appliance

169,494


-


169,494


169,207


-


169,207


Consumer electronic

107,956


-


107,956


108,699


-


108,699


Home office

37,599


-


37,599


34,650


-


34,650


Other

7,358


-


7,358


8,659


-


8,659


Product sales

516,493


-


516,493


510,955


-


510,955


Repair service agreement commissions

48,525


-


48,525


48,215


-


48,215


Service revenues

7,051


-


7,051


6,528


-


6,528


Total net sales

572,069


-


572,069


565,698


-


565,698


Finance charges and other revenues

112


170,826


170,938


172


156,603


156,775


Total revenues

572,181


170,826


743,007


565,870


156,603


722,473


Costs and expenses:







Cost of goods sold

340,216


-


340,216


344,256


-


344,256


Selling, general and administrative expense (1)

160,755


74,813


235,568


152,614


65,555


218,169


Provision for bad debts

503


94,404


94,907


395


104,984


105,379


Charges and credits

300


-


300


5,295


-


5,295


Total costs and expense

501,774


169,217


670,991


502,560


170,539


673,099


Operating income (loss)

70,407


1,609


72,016


63,310


(13,936

)

49,374


Interest expense

-


32,386


32,386


-


44,047


44,047


Loss on extinguishment of debt

-


1,773


1,773


-


2,446


2,446


Income (loss) before income taxes

$

70,407


$

(32,550

)

$

37,857


$

63,310


$

(60,429

)

$

2,881


(1)

For the three months ended July 31, 2018 and 2017 , the amount of corporate overhead allocated to each segment reflected in selling, general and administrative expense was $9.3 million and $7.7 million , respectively. For the three months ended July 31, 2018 and 2017 , the amount of reimbursement made to the retail segment by the credit segment was $9.4 million and $9.2 million , respectively. For the six months ended July 31, 2018  and 2017 , the amount of corporate overhead allocated to each segment reflected in selling, general and administrative expense was $ 17.6 million  and  $14.2 million , respectively. For the  six months ended July 31, 2018  and 2017 , the amount of reimbursement made to the retail segment by the credit segment was $ 18.8 million  and $18.7 million respectively.

9.

Guarantor Financial Information

Conn's, Inc. is a holding company with no independent assets or operations other than its investments in its subsidiaries. The Senior Notes, which were issued by Conn's, Inc., are fully and unconditionally guaranteed on a joint and several senior unsecured basis by the Guarantors. As of July 31, 2018 and January 31, 2018 the direct or indirect subsidiaries of Conn's, Inc. that were not Guarantors (the "Non-Guarantor Subsidiaries") were the VIEs and minor subsidiaries. There are no restrictions under the Indenture on the ability of any of the Guarantors to transfer funds to Conn's, Inc. in the form of dividends or distributions.

The following financial information presents the Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheet, Condensed Consolidated Statement of Operations, and Condensed Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows for Conn's, Inc. (the issuer of the Senior Notes), the Guarantors, and the Non-Guarantor Subsidiaries, together with certain eliminations. Investments in subsidiaries are accounted for by the parent company using the equity method for purposes of this presentation. Results of operations of subsidiaries are therefore reflected in the parent company's investment accounts and operations. The consolidated financial information includes financial data for:

(i) Conn's, Inc. (on a parent-only basis),

(ii) Guarantors,

(iii) Non-Guarantor Subsidiaries, and


21

CONN'S, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS



(iv) the parent company and the subsidiaries on a consolidated basis at July 31, 2018 and January 31, 2018 (after the elimination of intercompany balances and transactions). Condensed Consolidated Net Income is the same as Condensed Consolidated Comprehensive Income for the periods presented.

Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheet as of July 31, 2018 :

(in thousands)

Conn's, Inc.

Guarantors

Non-guarantor Subsidiaries

Eliminations

Consolidated

Assets

Current assets:

Cash and cash equivalents

$

-


$

4,435


$

-


$

-


$

4,435


Restricted cash

-


1,550


50,107


-


51,657


Customer accounts receivable, net of allowances

-


351,382


270,627


-


622,009


Other accounts receivable

-


87,797


-


-


87,797


Inventories

-


195,728


-


-


195,728


Other current assets

-


16,961


4,528


(6,954

)

14,535


Total current assets

-


657,853


325,262


(6,954

)

976,161


Investment in and advances to subsidiaries

768,987


106,377


-


(875,364

)

-


Long-term portion of customer accounts receivable, net of allowances

-


427,480


220,014


-


647,494


Property and equipment, net

-


142,631


-


-


142,631


Deferred income taxes

23,086


-


-


-


23,086


Other assets

-


7,129


-


-


7,129


Total assets

$

792,073


$

1,341,470


$

545,276


$

(882,318

)

$

1,796,501


Liabilities and Stockholders' Equity

Current liabilities:

Current maturities of capital lease obligations

$

-


$

1,149


$

-


$

-


$

1,149


Accounts payable

-


85,001


-


-


85,001


Accrued expenses

686


91,385


3,425


(2,426

)

93,070


Other current liabilities

-


24,585


2,706


(4,528

)

22,763


Total current liabilities

686


202,120


6,131


(6,954

)

201,983


Deferred rent

-


85,255


-


-


85,255


Long-term debt and capital lease obligations

221,740


264,978


429,363


-


916,081


Other long-term liabilities

-


20,130


3,405


-


23,535


Total liabilities

222,426


572,483


438,899


(6,954

)

1,226,854


Total stockholders' equity

569,647


768,987


106,377


(875,364

)

569,647


Total liabilities and stockholders' equity

$

792,073


$

1,341,470


$

545,276


$

(882,318

)

$

1,796,501


Deferred income taxes related to tax attributes of the Guarantor Subsidiaries and Non-Guarantor Subsidiaries are reflected under Conn's, Inc.



22

CONN'S, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS



Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheet as of January 31, 2018 :

(in thousands)

Conn's, Inc.

Guarantors

Non-guarantor Subsidiaries

Eliminations

Consolidated

Assets

Current assets:

Cash and cash equivalents

$

-


$

9,286


$

-


$

-


$

9,286


Restricted cash

-


1,550


85,322


-


86,872


Customer accounts receivable, net of allowances

-


177,117


459,708


-


636,825


Other accounts receivable

-


71,186


-


-


71,186


Inventories

-


211,894


-


-


211,894


Other current assets

-


68,621


15,212


(19,879

)

63,954


Total current assets

-


539,654


560,242


(19,879

)

1,080,017


Investment in and advances to subsidiaries

735,272


209,903


-


(945,175

)

-


Long-term portion of customer accounts receivable, net of allowances

-


195,606


455,002


-


650,608


Property and equipment, net

-


143,152


-


-


143,152


Deferred income taxes

21,565


-


-


-


21,565


Other assets

-


5,457


-


-


5,457


Total assets

$

756,837


$

1,093,772


$

1,015,244


$

(965,054

)

$

1,900,799


Liabilities and Stockholders' Equity

Current liabilities:

Current maturities of capital lease obligations

$

-


$

907


$

-


$

-


$

907


Accounts payable

-


71,617


-


-


71,617


Accrued expenses

686


66,370


6,723


(4,667

)

69,112


Other current liabilities

-


32,685


5,002


(15,212

)

22,475


Total current liabilities

686


171,579


11,725


(19,879

)

164,111


Deferred rent

-


87,003


-


-


87,003


Long-term debt and capital lease obligations

221,083


81,043


787,979


-


1,090,105


Other long-term liabilities

-


18,875


5,637


-


24,512


Total liabilities

221,769


358,500


805,341


(19,879

)

1,365,731


Total stockholders' equity

535,068


735,272


209,903


(945,175

)

535,068


Total liabilities and stockholders' equity

$

756,837


$

1,093,772


$

1,015,244


$

(965,054

)

$

1,900,799


Deferred income taxes related to tax attributes of the Guarantor Subsidiaries and Non-Guarantor Subsidiaries are reflected under Conn's, Inc.



23

CONN'S, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS



Condensed Consolidated Statement of Operations for the Three Months Ended July 31, 2018 :

(in thousands)

Conn's, Inc.

Guarantors

Non-guarantor Subsidiaries

Eliminations

Consolidated

Revenues:

Total net sales

$

-


$

296,313


$

-


$

-


$

296,313


Finance charges and other revenues

-


56,653


31,654


-


88,307


Servicing fee revenue

-


3,035


-


(3,035

)

-


Total revenues

-


356,001


31,654


(3,035

)

384,620


Costs and expenses:






Cost of goods sold

-


173,627


-


-


173,627


Selling, general and administrative expense

-


115,515


8,210


(3,035

)

120,690


Provision for bad debts

-


29,868


20,883


-


50,751


Charges and credits

-


300


-


-


300


Total costs and expenses

-


319,310


29,093


(3,035

)

345,368


Operating income

-


36,691


2,561


-


39,252


Interest expense

4,448


3,733


7,385


-


15,566


Loss on extinguishment of debt

-


142


1,225


-


1,367


Income (loss) before income taxes

(4,448

)

32,816


(6,049

)

-


22,319


Provision (benefit) for income taxes

(1,058

)

7,805


(1,439

)

-


5,308


Net income (loss)

(3,390

)

25,011


(4,610

)

-


17,011


Income (loss) from consolidated subsidiaries

20,401


(4,610

)

-


(15,791

)

-


Consolidated net income (loss)

$

17,011


$

20,401


$

(4,610

)

$

(15,791

)

$

17,011


Condensed Consolidated Statement of Operations for the Three Months Ended July 31, 2017 :

(in thousands)

Conn's, Inc.

Guarantors

Non-guarantor Subsidiaries

Eliminations

Consolidated

Revenues:

Total net sales

$

-


$

286,413


$

-


$

-


$

286,413


Finance charges and other revenues

-


40,279


39,955


-


80,234


Servicing fee revenue

-


12,648


-


(12,648

)

-


Total revenues

-


339,340


39,955


(12,648

)

366,647


Costs and expenses:






Cost of goods sold

-


172,306


-


-


172,306


Selling, general and administrative expense

-


111,455


12,825


(12,648

)

111,632


Provision for bad debts

-


25,418


24,031


-


49,449


Charges and credits

-


4,068


-


-


4,068


Total costs and expenses

-


313,247


36,856


(12,648

)

337,455


Operating income

-


26,093


3,099


-


29,192


Interest expense

4,443


743


14,853


-


20,039


Loss on extinguishment of debt

-


-


2,097


-


2,097


Income (loss) before income taxes

(4,443

)

25,350


(13,851

)

-


7,056


Provision (benefit) for income taxes

(1,752

)

9,998


(5,463

)

-


2,783


Net income (loss)

(2,691

)

15,352


(8,388

)

-


4,273


Income (loss) from consolidated subsidiaries

6,964


(8,388

)

-


1,424


-


Consolidated net income (loss)

$

4,273


$

6,964


$

(8,388

)

$

1,424


$

4,273



24

CONN'S, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS



Condensed Consolidated Statement of Operations for the Six Months Ended July 31, 2018 :

(in thousands)

Conn's, Inc.

Guarantors

Non-guarantor Subsidiaries

Eliminations

Consolidated

Revenues:

Total net sales

$

-


$

572,069


$

-


$

-


$

572,069


Finance charges and other revenues

-


102,308


68,630


-


170,938


Servicing fee revenue

-


19,781


-


(19,781

)

-


Total revenues

-


694,158


68,630


(19,781

)

743,007


Costs and expenses:






Cost of goods sold

-


340,216


-


-


340,216


Selling, general and administrative expense

-


235,308


20,041


(19,781

)

235,568


Provision for bad debts

-


36,876


58,031


-


94,907


Charges and credits

-


300


-


-


300


Total costs and expenses

-


612,700


78,072


(19,781

)

670,991


Operating income (loss)

-


81,458


(9,442

)

-


72,016


Interest expense

8,891


6,766


16,729


-


32,386


Loss on extinguishment of debt

-


142


1,631


-


1,773


Income (loss) before income taxes

(8,891

)

74,550


(27,802

)

-


37,857


Provision (benefit) for income taxes

(1,906

)

15,979


(5,959

)

-


8,114


Net income (loss)

(6,985

)

58,571


(21,843

)

-


29,743


Income (loss) from consolidated subsidiaries

36,728


(21,843

)

-


(14,885

)

-


Consolidated net income (loss)

$

29,743


$

36,728


$

(21,843

)

$

(14,885

)

$

29,743


Condensed Consolidated Statement of Operations for the Six Months Ended July 31, 2017 :

(in thousands)

Conn's, Inc.

Guarantors

Non-guarantor Subsidiaries

Eliminations

Consolidated

Revenues:

Total net sales

$

-


$

565,698


$

-


$

-


$

565,698


Finance charges and other revenues

-


77,077


79,698


-


156,775


Servicing fee revenue

-


27,832


-


(27,832

)

-


Total revenues

-


670,607


79,698


(27,832

)

722,473


Costs and expenses:






Cost of goods sold

-


344,256


-


-


344,256


Selling, general and administrative expense

-


217,688


28,313


(27,832

)

218,169


Provision for bad debts

-


19,985


85,394


-


105,379


Charges and credits

-


5,295


-


-


5,295


Total costs and expenses

-


587,224


113,707


(27,832

)

673,099


Operating income (loss)

-


83,383


(34,009

)

-


49,374


Interest expense

8,886


2,521


32,640


-


44,047


Loss on extinguishment of debt

-


349


2,097


-


2,446


Income (loss) before income taxes

(8,886

)

80,513


(68,746

)

-


2,881


Provision (benefit) for income taxes

(3,664

)

33,200


(28,348

)

-


1,188


Net income (loss)

(5,222

)

47,313


(40,398

)

-


1,693


Income (loss) from consolidated subsidiaries

6,915


(40,398

)

-


33,483


-


Consolidated net income (loss)

$

1,693


$

6,915


$

(40,398

)

$

33,483


$

1,693



25

CONN'S, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS





Condensed Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows for the Six Months Ended July 31, 2018 :

(in thousands)

Conn's, Inc.

Guarantors

Non-guarantor Subsidiaries

Eliminations

Consolidated

Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities

$

(834

)

$

(33

)

$

156,519


$

-


$

155,652


Cash flows from investing activities:






Purchase of customer accounts

   receivables

-


-


(170,144

)

170,144


-


Sale of customer accounts receivables

-


-


170,144


(170,144

)

-


Purchase of property and equipment

-


(12,166

)

-


-


(12,166

)

Net cash used in investing activities

-


(12,166

)

-


-


(12,166

)

Cash flows from financing activities:






Payments on asset-backed notes

-


(169,803

)

(312,080

)

-


(481,883

)

Borrowings from Revolving Credit

   Facility

-


839,236


-


-


839,236


Payments on Revolving Credit Facility

-


(655,036

)

-


-


(655,036

)

Borrowings from warehouse facility

-


-


173,286


-


173,286


Payments of debt issuance costs and amendment fees

-


(2,825

)

(714

)

-


(3,539

)

Payments on warehouse facility

-


-


(52,226

)

-


(52,226

)

Proceeds from stock issued under employee benefit plans

834


-


-


-


834


Tax payments associated with equity-

   based compensation transactions

-


(2,516

)

-


-


(2,516

)

Payments from extinguishment of debt

-


(1,177

)

-


-


(1,177

)

Other

-


(531

)

-


-


(531

)

Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities

834


7,348


(191,734

)

-


(183,552

)

Net change in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash

-


(4,851

)

(35,215

)

-


(40,066

)

Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash, beginning of period

-


10,836


85,322


-


96,158


Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash, end of period

$

-


$

5,985


$

50,107


$

-


$

56,092



26

CONN'S, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS



Condensed Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows for the Six Months Ended July 31, 2017 :

(in thousands)

Conn's, Inc.

Guarantors

Non-guarantor Subsidiaries

Eliminations

Consolidated

Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities

$

(1,905

)

$

(388,785

)

$

481,231


$

-


$

90,541


Cash flows from investing activities:






Purchase of customer accounts

   receivables

-


-


(466,056

)

466,056


-


Sale of customer accounts receivables

-


466,056


-


(466,056

)

-


Purchase of property and equipment

-


(6,135

)

-


-


(6,135

)

Net cash provided by (used in) investing activities

-


459,921


(466,056

)

-


(6,135

)

Cash flows from financing activities:






Proceeds from issuance of asset-backed

   notes

-


-


469,814


-


469,814


Payments on asset-backed notes

-


(78,779

)

(504,520

)

-


(583,299

)

Borrowings from Revolving Credit

   Facility

-


844,941


-


-


844,941


Payments on Revolving Credit Facility

-


(822,441

)

-


-


(822,441

)

Payments of debt issuance costs and amendment fees

-


(2,864

)

(4,731

)

-


(7,595

)

Proceeds from stock issued under employee benefit plans

1,905


-


-


-


1,905


Tax payments associated with equity-based compensation transactions

-


(298

)

-


-


(298

)

Other

-


(243

)

-


-


(243

)

Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities

1,905


(59,684

)

(39,437

)

-


(97,216

)

Net change in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash

-


11,452


(24,262

)

-


(12,810

)

Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash, beginning of period

-


23,566


110,698


-


134,264


Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash, end of period

$

-


$

35,018


$

86,436


$

-


$

121,454




27

CONN'S, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS



10.     Subsequent Events

On August 15, 2018, an affiliate of the Company ("the Issuer") completed the issuance and sale of asset-backed notes at a face amount of $358.3 million secured by the transferred customer accounts receivables and restricted cash held by a VIE, which resulted in net proceeds to us of $355.7 million , net of transaction costs and restricted cash held by the VIE. Net proceeds from the offering were used to repay indebtedness under the Company's asset-based credit facility and for other general corporate purposes. The asset-backed notes mature on January 17, 2023 and consist of the Issuer's 3.25% $219.2 million Asset Backed Fixed Rate Notes, Class A, Series 2018-A, 4.65% $69.6 million Asset Backed Fixed Rate Notes, Class B, Series 2018-A, and 6.02% $69.6 Asset Backed Fixed Rate Notes, Class C, Series 2018-A.



28

CONN'S, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS




ITEM 2.

MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS  

Forward-Looking Statements

This report contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws, including but not limited to, the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, that involve risks and uncertainties. Such forward-looking statements include information concerning our future financial performance, business strategy, plans, goals and objectives. Statements containing the words "anticipate," "believe," "could," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "may," "plan," "project," "should," "predict," "will," "potential," or the negative of such terms or other similar expressions are generally forward-looking in nature and not historical facts. Such forward-looking statements are based on our current expectations. We can give no assurance that such statements will prove to be correct, and actual results may differ materially. A wide variety of potential risks, uncertainties, and other factors could materially affect our ability to achieve the results either expressed or implied by our forward-looking statements including, but not limited to: general economic conditions impacting our customers or potential customers; our ability to execute periodic securitizations of future originated customer loans on favorable terms; our ability to continue existing customer financing programs or to offer new customer financing programs; changes in the delinquency status of our credit portfolio; unfavorable developments in ongoing litigation; increased regulatory oversight; higher than anticipated net charge-offs in the credit portfolio; the success of our planned opening of new stores; technological and market developments and sales trends for our major product offerings; our ability to manage effectively the selection of our major product offerings; our ability to protect against cyber-attacks or data security breaches and to protect the integrity and security of individually identifiable data of our customers and employees; our ability to fund our operations, capital expenditures, debt repayment and expansion from cash flows from operations, borrowings from our revolving credit facility, and proceeds from accessing debt or equity markets; and other risks detailed in Part I, Item 1A, Risk Factors, in our 2018 Form 10-K, Part II, Item 1A, Risk Factors, in this Form 10-Q and other reports filed with the SEC. If one or more of these or other risks or uncertainties materialize (or the consequences of such a development changes), or should our underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual outcomes may vary materially from those reflected in our forward-looking statements. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this report. We disclaim any intention or obligation to update publicly or revise such statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, or to provide periodic updates or guidance. All forward-looking statements attributable to us, or to persons acting on our behalf, are expressly qualified in their entirety by these cautionary statements.

The Company makes available in the investor relations section of its website at ir.conns.com updated monthly reports to the holders of its asset-backed notes. This information reflects the performance of the securitized portfolio only, in contrast to the financial statements contained herein, which reflect the performance of all of the Company's outstanding receivables, including those originated subsequent to those included in the securitized portfolio. The website and the information contained on our website is not incorporated in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q or any other document filed with the SEC.

Overview

We encourage you to read this Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations in conjunction with the accompanying consolidated financial statements and related notes. Our fiscal year ends on January 31. References to a fiscal year refer to the calendar year in which the fiscal year ends.

Executive Summary

Total revenues were $384.6 million for the three months ended July 31, 2018 compared to $366.6 million for the three months ended July 31, 2017 , an increase of $18.0 million or 4.9% . Retail revenues were $296.4 million for the three months ended July 31, 2018 compared to $286.5 million for the three months ended July 31, 2017 , an increase of $9.9 million or 3.5% . The increase in retail revenue was primarily driven by an increase in same store sales of 0.3% and by new store growth. Credit revenues were $88.2 million for the three months ended July 31, 2018 compared $80.1 million for the three months ended July 31, 2017 , an increase of $8.1 million or 10.1% . The increase in credit revenue resulted from the origination of our higher-yielding direct loan product, which resulted in an increase in the portfolio yield rate to 21.3% from 18.7% , and by a 1.5% increase in the average balance of the customer receivable portfolio.

Retail gross margin for the three months ended July 31, 2018 was 41.4% , an increase of 160 basis points from the 39.8% reported for the three months ended July 31, 2017 . The increase in retail gross margin was driven by improved product margins in almost all product categories.

Selling, general and administrative expense ("SG&A") for the three months ended July 31, 2018 was $120.7 million compared to $111.6 million for the three months ended July 31, 2017 , an increase of $9.1 million , or 8.1% . The SG&A increase in the retail segment was primarily due to an increase in new store occupancy costs, an increase in compensation cost and an increase in the corporate overhead allocation, offset by a decrease in advertising expense. The SG&A increase in the credit segment was primarily due to an increase in compensation costs, third-party legal expenses related to bankruptcy collection efforts and an increase in the


29

Table of Contents


corporate overhead allocation. The increase in the corporate overhead allocation made to each of the segments was driven by investments we are making in information technology, other personnel to support long-term performance improvement initiatives and an increase in accrued compensation.

The provision for bad debts increased to $50.8 million for the three months ended July 31, 2018 from $49.4 million for the three months ended July 31, 2017 , an increase of $1.3 million . The change reflects a greater decrease in the allowance for bad debts during the three months ended July 31, 2017 as compared to the three months ended July 31, 2018, partially offset by a year-over-year reduction in the net charge-offs of $3.0 million . The greater decrease in the allowance for bad debts was primarily driven by the inclusion of changes in first payment default rates and changes in delinquency balances to our allowance for bad debts framework made during the three months ended July 31, 2017.

Interest expense decreased to $15.6 million for the three months ended July 31, 2018 , compared to $20.0 million for the three months ended July 31, 2017 , primarily reflecting a decrease in our cost of borrowing as a result of lower pricing on our securitization transactions coupled with a lower average outstanding balance of debt.

Net income for the three months ended July 31, 2018 was $17.0 million or $0.53 per diluted share, which included net pre-tax charges of $1.7 million , or $0.04 per diluted share, related to the loss on extinguishment of debt from the retirement of our Series 2017-A Class B and C Notes (the " 2017-A Redeemed Notes " ) and a contingency reserve related to a regulatory matter. This compares to net income for the three months ended July 31, 2017 of $4.3 million , or $0.14 per diluted share, which included net pre-tax charges of $6.2 million, or $0.12 per diluted share, primarily related to executive management severance costs, an increase in our indirect tax audit reserve, and the loss on extinguishment of debt related to the early redemption of our Series 2015-A Class B Notes (the " 2015-A Redeemed Notes " ).

Company Initiatives

In the second quarter of fiscal year 2019, we maintained our focus on enhancing our credit platform to support the pursuit of our long-term growth objectives.  Our credit segment continued to improve, reflecting the higher yield we earn on our direct loan product, more sophisticated underwriting, which has led to lower delinquency rates and losses, and better execution and performance in the capital markets, which has led to lower cost of funds.  We continue to see the benefit in our credit operations from the structural changes we have made to increase yield, reduce losses and improve overall credit performance.  Retail operating margins remained strong, demonstrating our differentiated business model, improved product mix, and emphasis on disciplined cost management.  We delivered the following financial and operational results in the second quarter of fiscal year 2019:

Recorded our first quarter of positive same store sales in three years;

Posted our sixth consecutive quarter of profitability, driven by a 35% increase in operating income compared to the second quarter of fiscal year 2018;

Delivered record second quarter retail gross margin of 41.4% , an increase of 160 basis points compared to 39.8% in the second quarter of fiscal year 2018, driven primarily by improved product margins and continued focus on increasing efficiencies;

Delivered record quarterly yield on our customer receivables portfolio of 21.3% as a result of the continued seasoning of loans originated under our higher-yielding direct loan program;

Reduced, year-over-year, the balance of accounts 60 days past due as a percentage of the customer receivables portfolio to 9.0% at July 31, 2018 from 10.4% at July 31, 2017 ; and

Realized a reduction in interest expense as a result of our deleveraging efforts combined with the continued successful execution of our asset-backed securitization program, which led to a 22% reduction in interest expense compared to the second quarter of fiscal year 2018.

Successfully renegotiated the terms under our Revolving Credit Facility, including reducing the aggregate commitment from $750 million to $650 million, decreasing the maximum unused fee by 25 basis points and extending the maturity of the facility from three to four years.

We believe that we have laid the foundation to execute our long-term growth strategy and prudently manage financial and operational risk while maximizing shareholder value. We have identified the following strategic priorities for fiscal year 2019:

Increase net income by improving performance across our core operational and financial metrics: same store sales, retail margin, portfolio yield, charge-off rate, and interest expense;

Open seven to nine new stores in our current geographic footprint to leverage our existing infrastructure, two of which were successfully opened in the first half of fiscal year 2019;

Increase interest income on our loan portfolio by continuing to originate higher-yielding loans;


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Table of Contents


Continue to refine and enhance our underwriting platform;

Reduce our interest expense despite a rising rate environment;

Optimize our mix of quality, branded products and gain efficiencies in our warehouse, delivery and transportation operations to increase our retail gross margin;

Continue to grow our lease-to-own sales; and

Maintain disciplined oversight of our selling, general and administrative expenses.

Outlook

The broad appeal of the Conn's value proposition to our geographically diverse core demographic, unit economics of our business and current retail real estate market conditions provide us ample opportunity for continued expansion. Our brand recognition and long history in our core markets give us the opportunity to further penetrate our existing footprint, particularly as we leverage existing marketing spend, logistics infrastructure, and service footprint. There are also many markets in the United States with demographic characteristics similar to those in our existing footprint, which provides substantial opportunities for future growth. We plan to continue to improve our operating results by leveraging our existing infrastructure and seeking to continually optimize the efficiency of our marketing, merchandising, distribution and credit operations. As we expand in existing markets and penetrate new markets, we expect to increase our purchase volumes, achieve distribution efficiencies and strengthen our relationships with our key vendors. Over time, we also expect our increased store base and higher net sales to further leverage our existing corporate and regional infrastructure.

Results of Operations 

The following tables present certain financial and other information, on a consolidated basis: 

Consolidated:

Three Months Ended 
 July 31,

Six Months Ended

July 31,

(in thousands)

2018

2017

Change

2018

2017

Change

Revenues:

Total net sales

$

296,313


$

286,413


$

9,900


$

572,069


$

565,698


$

6,371


Finance charges and other revenues

88,307


80,234


8,073


170,938


156,775


14,163


Total revenues

384,620


366,647


17,973


743,007


722,473


20,534


Costs and expenses:





Cost of goods sold

173,627


172,306


1,321


340,216


344,256


(4,040

)

Selling, general and administrative expense

120,690


111,632


9,058


235,568


218,169


17,399


Provision for bad debts

50,751


49,449


1,302


94,907


105,379


(10,472

)

Charges and credits

300


4,068


(3,768

)

300


5,295


(4,995

)

Total costs and expenses

345,368


337,455


7,913


670,991


673,099


(2,108

)

Operating income

39,252


29,192


10,060


72,016


49,374


22,642


Interest expense

15,566


20,039


(4,473

)

32,386


44,047


(11,661

)

Loss on extinguishment of debt

1,367


2,097


(730

)

1,773


2,446


(673

)

Income before income taxes

22,319


7,056


15,263


37,857


2,881


34,976


Provision for income taxes

5,308


2,783


2,525


8,114


1,188


6,926


Net income

$

17,011


$

4,273


$

12,738


$

29,743


$

1,693


$

28,050



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Table of Contents


Supplementary Operating Segment Information

Operating segments are defined as components of an enterprise that engage in business activities and for which discrete financial information is available that is evaluated on a regular basis by the chief operating decision maker to make decisions about how to allocate resources and assess performance. We are a leading specialty retailer and offer a broad selection of quality, branded durable consumer goods and related services in addition to a proprietary credit solution for our core credit-constrained consumers. We have two operating segments: (i) retail and (ii) credit. Our operating segments complement one another. The retail segment operates primarily through our stores and website and its product offerings include furniture and mattresses, home appliances, consumer electronics and home office products from leading global brands across a wide range of price points. Our credit segment offers affordable financing solutions to a large, under-served population of credit-constrained consumers who typically have limited credit alternatives. Our operating segments provide customers the opportunity to comparison shop across brands with confidence in our competitive prices as well as affordable monthly payment options, next day delivery and installation in the majority of our markets, and product repair service. We believe our large, attractively merchandised retail stores and credit solutions offer a distinctive value proposition compared to other retailers that target our core customer demographic. The operating segments follow the same accounting policies used in our Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements.

We evaluate a segment's performance based upon operating income before taxes. Selling, general and administrative expense includes the direct expenses of the retail and credit operations, allocated corporate overhead expenses, and a charge to the credit segment to reimburse the retail segment for expenses it incurs related to occupancy, personnel, advertising and other direct costs of the retail segment which benefit the credit operations by sourcing credit customers and collecting payments. The reimbursement received by the retail segment from the credit segment is estimated using an annual rate of 2.5% multiplied by the average portfolio balance for each applicable period.

The following tables represent total revenues, costs and expenses, operating income (loss) and income (loss) before taxes attributable to these operating segments for the periods indicated:

Retail Segment:

Three Months Ended 
 July 31,

Six Months Ended 
 July 31,

(in thousands)

2018

2017

Change

2018

2017

Change

Revenues:












Product sales

$

267,179


$

259,593


$

7,586


$

516,493


$

510,955


$

5,538


Repair service agreement commissions

25,662


23,519


2,143


48,525


48,215


310


Service revenues

3,472


3,301


171


7,051


6,528


523


Total net sales

296,313


286,413


9,900


572,069


565,698


6,371


Other revenues

98


92


6


112


172


(60

)

Total revenues

296,411


286,505


9,906


572,181


565,870


6,311


Costs and expenses:





Cost of goods sold

173,627


172,306


1,321


340,216


344,256


(4,040

)

Selling, general and administrative expense (1)

83,003


78,667


4,336


160,755


152,614


8,141


Provision for bad debts

243


165


78


503


395


108


Charges and credits

300


4,068


(3,768

)

300


5,295


(4,995

)

Total costs and expenses

257,173


255,206


1,967


501,774


502,560


(786

)

Operating income

$

39,238


$

31,299


$

7,939


$

70,407


$

63,310


$

7,097


Number of stores:

Beginning of period

118


115


116


113


Opened

-


1


2


3


End of period

118


116


118


116



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Table of Contents


Credit Segment:

Three Months Ended 
 July 31,

Six Months Ended 
 July 31,

(in thousands)

2018

2017

Change

2018

2017

Change

Revenues:

Finance charges and other revenues

$

88,209


$

80,142


$

8,067


$

170,826


$

156,603


$

14,223


Costs and expenses:







Selling, general and administrative expense (1)

37,687


32,965


4,722


74,813


65,555


9,258


Provision for bad debts

50,508


49,284


1,224


94,404


104,984


(10,580

)

Total cost and expenses

88,195


82,249


5,946


169,217


170,539


(1,322

)

Operating income (loss)

14


(2,107

)

2,121


1,609


(13,936

)

15,545


Interest expense

15,566


20,039


(4,473

)

32,386


44,047


(11,661

)

Loss on extinguishment of debt

1,367


2,097


(730

)

1,773


2,446


(673

)

Loss before income taxes

$

(16,919

)

$

(24,243

)

$

7,324


$

(32,550

)

$

(60,429

)

$

27,879


(1)

For the three months ended July 31, 2018 and 2017 , the amount of corporate overhead allocated to each segment reflected in selling, general and administrative expense was $9.3 million and $7.7 million , respectively. For the three months ended July 31, 2018 and 2017 , the amount of reimbursements made to the retail segment by the credit segment were $9.4 million and $9.2 million , respectively. For the six months ended July 31, 2018 and 2017 , the amount of corporate overhead allocated to each segment reflected in selling, general and administrative expense was $ 17.6 million and $14.2 million , respectively. For the six months ended July 31, 2018 and 2017 , the amount of reimbursement made to the retail segment by the credit segment was $ 18.8 million and $18.7 million , respectively.

Three Months Ended July 31, 2018 Compared to Three Months Ended July 31, 2017

Revenues

The following table provides an analysis of retail net sales by product category in each period, including repair service agreement commissions and service revenues, expressed both in dollar amounts and as a percent of total net sales:

Three Months Ended July 31,




%


Same Store

(dollars in thousands)

2018


% of Total


2017


% of Total


Change


Change


% Change

Furniture and mattress (1)

$

97,066



32.8

%


$

95,297



33.3

%


$

1,769



1.9

 %


(2.3

)%

Home appliance

91,471



30.9



89,085



31.1



2,386



2.7



0.4


Consumer electronics (1)

55,654



18.8



52,946



18.5



2,708



5.1



5.3


Home office (1)

19,289



6.5



17,862



6.2



1,427



8.0



8.5


Other

3,699



1.2



4,403



1.5



(704

)


(16.0

)


(18.2

)

Product sales

267,179



90.2



259,593



90.6



7,586



2.9



0.6


Repair service agreement commissions (2)

25,662



8.6



23,519



8.2



2,143



9.1



(1.9

)

Service revenues

3,472



1.2



3,301



1.2



171



5.2




Total net sales

$

296,313



100.0

%


$

286,413



100.0

%


$

9,900



3.5

 %


0.3

 %

(1)

During the three months ended July 31, 2017, we reclassified certain products from the consumer electronics and home office product categories into the furniture and mattress product category. Net sales of these products reflected in the consumer electronics and home office product categories for the three months ended July 31, 2017 were $2.6 million and $0.8 million, respectively. The change in same store sales reflects the current product classification for both periods presented.

(2)

The total change in sales of repair service agreement commissions includes retrospective commissions, which are not reflected in the change in same store sales.

The following provides a summary of the same store sales performance of our product categories during the three months ended July 31, 2018 as compared to the three months ended July 31, 2017 :

Furniture unit volume decreased 4.3%, partially offset by a 2.5% increase in average selling price;

Mattress unit volume decreased 13.8%, partially offset by a 11.8% increase in average selling price;

Home appliance average selling price increased 7.4%, partially offset by a 6.5% decrease in unit volume;


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Table of Contents


Consumer electronic unit volume increased 2.2% and average sales price increased 3.0%; and

Home office unit volume increased 13.7%, partially offset by a 4.5% decrease in average selling price.

The following table provides the change of the components of finance charges and other revenues:

Three Months Ended 
 July 31,

(in thousands)

2018

2017

Change

Interest income and fees

$

80,435


$

69,490


$

10,945


Insurance income

7,774


10,652


(2,878

)

Other revenues

98


92


6


Finance charges and other revenues

$

88,307


$

80,234


$

8,073


The increase in interest income and fees was due to a yield rate of 21.3% during the three months ended July 31, 2018 , 260 basis points higher than the three months ended July 31, 2017 , and by an increase of 1.5% in the average balance of the customer receivable portfolio. The increase in the yield rate resulted from the origination of our higher-yielding direct loan product. Insurance income decreased over the prior year period primarily due to a decrease in retrospective income as a result of higher claim volumes related to Hurricane Harvey.

The following table provides key portfolio performance information: 

Three Months Ended 
 July 31,

(dollars in thousands)

2018

2017

Change

Interest income and fees

$

80,435


$

69,490


$

10,945


Net charge-offs

(51,642

)

(54,626

)

2,984


Interest expense

(15,566

)

(20,039

)

4,473


Net portfolio income (loss)

$

13,227


$

(5,175

)

$

18,402


Average portfolio balance

$

1,497,635


$

1,475,822


$

21,813


Interest income and fee yield (annualized)

21.3

%

18.7

%

Net charge-off % (annualized)

13.8

%

14.8

%

Retail Gross Margin

Three Months Ended 
 July 31,

(dollars in thousands)

2018

2017

Change

Retail total net sales

$

296,313


$

286,413


$

9,900


Cost of goods sold

173,627


172,306


1,321


Retail gross margin

$

122,686


$

114,107


$

8,579


Retail gross margin percentage

41.4

%

39.8

%

The increase in retail gross margin was driven by improved product margins in almost all product categories.

Selling, General and Administrative Expense

Three Months Ended 
 July 31,

(dollars in thousands)

2018

2017

Change

Selling, general and administrative expense:

Retail segment

$

83,003


$

78,667


$

4,336


Credit segment

37,687


32,965


4,722


Selling, general and administrative expense - Consolidated

$

120,690


$

111,632


$

9,058


Selling, general and administrative expense as a percent of total revenues

31.4

%

30.4

%



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Table of Contents


The SG&A increase in the retail segment was primarily due to an increase in new store occupancy costs, an increase in compensation costs and an increase in the corporate overhead allocation, offset by a decrease in advertising expense. The SG&A increase in the credit segment was primarily due to an increase in compensation costs, third-party legal expenses related to bankruptcy collection efforts, and an increase in the corporate overhead allocation. As a percent of average total customer portfolio balance (annualized), SG&A for the credit segment in the three months ended July 31, 2018 increased 120 basis points as compared to the three months ended July 31, 2017 . The increase in the corporate overhead allocation made to each of the segments was driven by investments we are making in information technology, other personnel to support long-term performance improvement initiatives and an increase in accrued compensation.

Provision for Bad Debts

Three Months Ended 
 July 31,

(dollars in thousands)

2018

2017

Change

Provision for bad debts:

Retail segment

$

243


$

165


$

78


Credit segment

50,508


49,284


1,224


Provision for bad debts - Consolidated

$

50,751


$

49,449


$

1,302


Provision for bad debts - Credit segment, as a percent of average portfolio balance (annualized)

13.5

%

13.4

%


The provision for bad debts increased to $50.8 million for the three months ended July 31, 2018 from $49.4 million for the three months ended July 31, 2017 , an increase of $1.3 million . The change reflects a greater decrease in the allowance for bad debts during the three months ended July 31, 2017 as compared to the three months ended July 31, 2018, partially offset by a year-over-year reduction in net charge-offs of $3.0 million . The greater decrease in the allowance for bad debts was primarily driven by the inclusion of changes in first payment default rates and changes in delinquency balances to our allowance for bad debts framework made during the three months ended July 31, 2017.

Charges and Credits

Three Months Ended 
 July 31,

(in thousands)

2018

2017

Change

Store and facility closure costs

$

-


$

122


$

(122

)

Securities-related regulatory matter and other legal fees

300


34


266


Employee severance

-


1,317


(1,317

)

Indirect tax audit reserve

-


2,595


(2,595

)

$

300


$

4,068


$

(3,768

)

During the three months ended July 31, 2018 , we incurred costs associated with a contingency reserve related to a regulatory matter. During the three months ended July 31, 2017 , we primarily incurred charges related to severance costs due to a change in our executive management team and a charge related to an increase to our indirect tax audit reserve.

Interest Expense

For the three months ended July 31, 2018 , net interest expense decreased by $4.5 million from the prior year comparative period primarily reflecting a decrease in our cost of borrowing as a result of lower pricing on our securitization transactions coupled with a lower average outstanding balance of debt.

Loss on Extinguishment of Debt

During the three months ended July 31, 2018 , we recorded a $1.4 million loss on extinguishment of debt related to the early retirement of our 2017-A Redeemed Notes and call premiums. During the three months ended July 31, 2017 , we wrote-off $2.1 million of debt issuance costs related to the early retirement of our 2015-A Redeemed Notes.


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Table of Contents


Provision for Income Taxes

Three Months Ended 
 July 31,

(dollars in thousands)

2018

2017

Change

Provision for income taxes

$

5,308


$

2,783


$

2,525


Effective tax rate

23.8

%

39.4

%


The increase in income tax expense for the three months ended July 31, 2018 compared to the three months ended July 31, 2017 was primarily driven by an increase in taxable income offset by a decrease in our effective tax rate pursuant to H.R. 1, originally known as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act ( " The Tax Act ") , which reduced the federal statutory income tax rate from 35% to 21%.

Six Months Ended July 31, 2018 Compared to Six Months Ended July 31, 2017

Revenues

The following table provides an analysis of retail net sales by product category in each period, including repair service agreement commissions and service revenues, expressed both in dollar amounts and as a percent of total net sales:

Six Months Ended July 31,

%

Same Store

(dollars in thousands)

2018

% of Total

2017

% of Total

Change

Change

% Change

Furniture and mattress (1)

$

194,086


33.9

%

$

189,740


33.5

%

$

4,346


2.3

 %

(2.6

)%

Home appliance

169,494


29.6


169,207


29.9


287


0.2


(1.8

)

Consumer electronics (1)

107,956


18.9


108,699


19.2


(743

)

(0.7

)

0.3


Home office (1)

37,599


6.6


34,650


6.1


2,949


8.5


10.6


Other

7,358


1.3


8,659


1.6


(1,301

)

(15.0

)

(17.8

)

Product sales

516,493


90.3


510,955


90.3


5,538


1.1


(1.1

)

Repair service agreement commissions (2)

48,525


8.5


48,215


8.5


310


0.6


(4.4

)

Service revenues

7,051


1.2


6,528


1.2


523


8.0




Total net sales

$

572,069


100.0

%

$

565,698


100.0

%

$

6,371


1.1

 %

(1.5

)%

(1)

During the three months ended July 31, 2017, we reclassified certain products from the consumer electronics and home office product categories into the furniture and mattress product category. Net sales of these products reflected in the consumer electronics and home office product categories for the six months ended July 31, 2017 were $5.4 million and $1.6 million, respectively. The change in same store sales reflects the current product classification for both periods presented.

(2)

The total change in sales of repair service agreement commissions includes retrospective commissions, which are not reflected in the change in same store sales.

The following provides a summary of the same store sales performance of our product categories during the six months ended July 31, 2018 as compared to the six months ended July 31, 2017 :

Furniture unit volume decreased 7.2%, partially offset by a 4.4% increase in average selling price;

Mattress unit volume decreased 10.7%, partially offset by a 10.5% increase in average selling price;

Home appliance unit volume decreased 6.3%, partially offset by a 4.8% increase in average selling price;

Consumer electronic average selling price increased 1.5%, partially offset by a 1.2% decrease in unit volume; and

Home office unit volume increased 25.9%, partially offset by a 12.2% decrease in average selling price.


36

Table of Contents


The following table provides the change of the components of finance charges and other revenues:

Six Months Ended July 31,

(in thousands)

2018

2017

Change

Interest income and fees

$

156,781


$

136,621


$

20,160


Insurance income

14,045


19,982


(5,937

)

Other revenues

112


172


(60

)

Finance charges and other revenues

$

170,938


$

156,775


$

14,163


The increase in interest income and fees was due to a yield rate of 21.0% during the six months ended July 31, 2018 , 260 basis points higher than the six months ended July 31, 2017 , and by an increase of 0.5% in the average balance of the customer receivable portfolio. The increase in the yield rate resulted from the origination of our higher-yielding direct loan product. Insurance income decreased over the prior year period primarily due to a decrease in retrospective income as a result of higher claim volumes related to Hurricane Harvey.

The following table provides key portfolio performance information: 

Six Months Ended July 31,

(dollars in thousands)

2018

2017

Change

Interest income and fees

$

156,781


$

136,621


$

20,160


Net charge-offs

(97,093

)

(113,874

)

16,781


Interest expense

(32,386

)

(44,047

)

11,661


Net portfolio income (loss)

$

27,302


$

(21,300

)

$

48,602


Average portfolio balance

$

1,503,311


$

1,495,675


$

7,636


Interest income and fee yield (annualized)

21.0

%

18.4

%

Net charge-off % (annualized)

12.9

%

15.2

%

Retail Gross Margin

Six Months Ended July 31,

(dollars in thousands)

2018

2017

Change

Retail total net sales

$

572,069


$

565,698


$

6,371


Cost of goods sold

340,216


344,256


(4,040

)

Retail gross margin

$

231,853


$

221,442


$

10,411


Retail gross margin percentage

40.5

%

39.1

%

The increase in retail gross margin was driven by improved product margins in almost all product categories.

Selling, General and Administrative Expense

Six Months Ended July 31,

(dollars in thousands)

2018

2017

Change

Selling, general and administrative expense:

Retail segment

$

160,755


$

152,614


$

8,141


Credit segment

74,813


65,555


9,258


Selling, general and administrative expense - Consolidated

$

235,568


$

218,169


$

17,399


Selling, general and administrative expense as a percent of total revenues

31.7

%

30.2

%


The SG&A increase in the retail segment was primarily due to an increase in new store occupancy costs, an increase in compensation costs and an increase in the corporate overhead allocation, partially offset by a decrease in advertising expense. The SG&A increase


37

Table of Contents


in the credit segment was primarily due to an increase in compensation costs, third-party legal expenses related to bankruptcy collection efforts, and an increase in the corporate overhead allocation. As a percent of average total customer portfolio balance (annualized), SG&A for the credit segment in the six months ended July 31, 2018 increased 120 basis points as compared to the six months ended July 31, 2017 . The increase in the corporate overhead allocation made to each of the segments was driven by investments we are making in information technology, other personnel to support long-term performance improvement initiatives and an increase in accrued compensation.

Provision for Bad Debts

Six Months Ended July 31,

(dollars in thousands)

2018

2017

Change

Provision for bad debts:

Retail segment

$

503


$

395


$

108


Credit segment

94,404


104,984


(10,580

)

Provision for bad debts - Consolidated

$

94,907


$

105,379


$

(10,472

)

Provision for bad debts - Credit segment, as a percent of average portfolio balance (annualized)

12.6

%

14.0

%


The provision for bad debts decreased to $94.9 million for the six months ended July 31, 2018 from $105.4 million for the six months ended July 31, 2017 , a decrease of $10.5 million . The decrease was driven by a year-over-year reduction in net charge-offs of $16.8 million , partially offset by a greater decrease in the allowance for bad debts during the six months ended July 31, 2017 as compared to the six months ended July 31, 2018 . The greater decrease in the allowance for bad debts was primarily driven by the inclusion of changes in first payment default rates and changes in delinquency balances to our allowance for bad debts framework made during the six months ended July 31, 2017.

Charges and Credits

Six Months Ended July 31,

(in thousands)

2018

2017

Change

Store and facility closure costs

$

-


$

1,349


$

(1,349

)

Securities-related regulatory matter and other legal fees

300


34


266


Employee severance

-


1,317


(1,317

)

Indirect tax audit reserve

-


2,595


(2,595

)

$

300


$

5,295


$

(4,995

)

During the six months ended July 31, 2018 , we incurred costs associated with a contingency reserve related to a regulatory matter. During the six months ended July 31, 2017 , we primarily incurred exit costs associated with reducing the square footage of a distribution center, charges for severance and transition costs due to changes in our executive management team and an increase to our indirect tax audit reserve. 

Interest Expense

For the six months ended July 31, 2018 , net interest expense decreased by $11.7 million from the prior year comparative period primarily reflecting a decrease in our cost of borrowing as a result of lower pricing on our securitization transactions coupled with a lower average outstanding balance of debt.

Loss on Extinguishment of Debt

During the six months ended July 31, 2018 , we recorded a $1.7 million loss on extinguishment of debt primarily related to the early retirement of our 2016-B Redeemed Notes and 2017-A Redeemed Notes. During the six months ended July 31, 2017 , we wrote-off $2.4 million of debt issuance costs related to an amendment to our Revolving Credit Facility for lenders that did not continue to participate and the early retirement of our 2015-A Redeemed Notes.


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Provision for Income Taxes

Six Months Ended July 31,

(dollars in thousands)

2018

2017

Change

Provision for income taxes

$

8,114


$

1,188


$

6,926


Effective tax rate

21.4

%

41.2

%


The increase in income tax expense for the six months ended July 31, 2018 compared to the six months ended July 31, 2017 was primarily driven by an increase in taxable income offset by a decrease in our effective tax rate pursuant to The Tax Act, which reduced the federal statutory income tax rate from 35% to 21%, and a $0.8 million tax benefit related to the vesting of equity compensation.

Customer Receivable Portfolio

We provide in-house financing to individual consumers on a short- and medium-term basis (contractual terms generally range from 12 to 36 months) for the purchase of durable products for the home. A significant portion of our customer credit portfolio is due from customers that are considered higher-risk, subprime borrowers. Our financing is executed using contracts that require fixed monthly payments over fixed terms. We maintain a secured interest in the product financed. If a payment is delayed, missed or paid only in part, the account becomes delinquent. Our collection personnel attempt to contact a customer once their account becomes delinquent. Our loan contracts generally reflect an interest rate between 18% and 30%. During the third quarter of fiscal year 2017, we implemented our direct consumer loan program across all Texas locations. During the first quarter of fiscal year 2018, we implemented our direct consumer loan program in all Louisiana locations. During the third quarter of fiscal year 2018, we implemented our direct consumer loan program in all Tennessee and Oklahoma locations. The states of Texas, Louisiana, Tennessee and Oklahoma represented approximately 78% of our originations during the six months ended July 31, 2018 , which, under our previous offerings, had a maximum equivalent interest rate of approximately 21%, compared to an interest rate of up to 27% in Oklahoma and up to 30% in Texas, Louisiana and Tennessee under our new direct consumer loan programs. In states where regulations do not generally limit the interest rate charged, we increased our rates in the third quarter of fiscal year 2017 to 29.99%. These states represented 10% of our originations during the six months ended July 31, 2018 .

We offer customers a 12-month no-interest option finance program. If the customer is delinquent in making a scheduled monthly payment or does not repay the principal in full by the end of the no-interest option program period (grace periods are provided), the account does not qualify for the no-interest provision and none of the interest earned is waived.

We regularly extend or "re-age" a portion of our delinquent customer accounts as a part of our normal collection procedures to protect our investment. Generally, extensions are granted to customers who have experienced a financial difficulty (such as the temporary loss of employment), which is subsequently resolved, and when the customer indicates a willingness and ability to resume making monthly payments. These re-ages involve modifying the payment terms to defer a portion of the cash payments currently required of the debtor to help the debtor improve his or her financial condition and eventually be able to pay the account balance. Our re-aging of customer accounts does not change the interest rate or the total principal amount due from the customer and typically does not reduce the monthly contractual payments. We may also charge the customer an extension fee, which approximates the interest owed for the time period the contract was past due. Our re-age programs consist of extensions and two payment updates, which include unilateral extensions to customers who make two full payments in three calendar months in certain states. Re-ages are not granted to debtors who demonstrate a lack of intent or ability to service the obligation or have reached our limits for account re-aging. To a much lesser extent, we may provide the customer the ability to re-age their obligation by refinancing the account, which does not change the interest rate or the total principal amount due from the customer but does reduce the monthly contractual payments and extends the term. Under these options, as with extensions, the customer must resolve the reason for delinquency and show a willingness and ability to resume making contractual monthly payments.


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The following tables present, for comparison purposes, information about our managed portfolio (information reflects on a combined basis the securitized receivables transferred to the VIEs and receivables not transferred to the VIEs): 


As of July 31,


2018


2017

Weighted average credit score of outstanding balances (1)

594



589


Average outstanding customer balance

$

2,503



$

2,375


Balances 60+ days past due as a percentage of total customer portfolio balance (2)

9.0

%


10.4

%

Re-aged balance as a percentage of total customer portfolio balance (2)(3)

24.3

%


16.0

%

Account balances re-aged more than six months (in thousands)

$

84,148



$

75,694


Allowance for bad debts as a percentage of total customer portfolio balance

13.5

%


13.7

%

Percent of total customer portfolio balance represented by no-interest option receivables

20.9

%


24.1

%


Three Months Ended 
 July 31,


Six Months Ended 
 July 31,


2018


2017


2018


2017

Total applications processed

295,564



297,587



579,050



587,914


Weighted average origination credit score of sales financed (1)

610



609



609



608


Percent of total applications approved and utilized

31.4

%


32.8

%


30.9

%


32.1

%

Average down payment

2.6

%


3.0

%


2.8

%


3.3

%

Average income of credit customer at origination

$

43,700



$

42,300



$

43,700



$

42,200


Percent of retail sales paid for by:








In-house financing, including down payment received

70.5

%


72.6

%


70.3

%


71.6

%

Third-party financing

16.4

%


17.2

%


15.7

%


16.2

%

Third-party lease-to-own option

6.4

%


3.8

%


6.9

%


5.7

%


93.3

%


93.6

%


92.9

%


93.5

%

(1)

Credit scores exclude non-scored accounts.

(2)

Accounts that become delinquent after being re-aged are included in both the delinquency and re-aged amounts.

(3)

The re-aged balance as a percentage of total customer portfolio as of July 31, 2018 includes $41.6 million , or 2.8% , in first time re-ages related to customers affected by Hurricane Harvey within FEMA-designated disaster areas.

Our customer portfolio balance and related allowance for uncollectible accounts are segregated between customer accounts receivable and restructured accounts. Customer accounts receivable include all accounts for which the payment term has not been cumulatively extended over three months or refinanced. Restructured accounts include all accounts for which payment term has been re-aged in excess of three months or refinanced.

For customer accounts receivable (excluding restructured accounts), the allowance for uncollectible accounts as a percentage of the outstanding portfolio balance decreased to 10.7% as of July 31, 2018 from 11.0% as of July 31, 2017 . The percentage of non-restructured accounts greater than 60 days past due decreased 130 basis points over the prior year period to 7.1% as of July 31, 2018 from 8.4% as of July 31, 2017 .

For restructured accounts, the allowance for uncollectible accounts as a percentage of the portfolio balance was 35.4% as of July 31, 2018 as compared to 38.6% as of July 31, 2017 . This 320 basis point decrease reflects the impact of improved delinquency rates.

The percent of bad debt charge-offs, net of recoveries, to average portfolio balance was 13.8% for the three months ended July 31, 2018 as compared to 14.8% for the three months ended July 31, 2017 . The decrease was primarily due to the seasoning of loans originated with tighter underwriting standards and improvements in recoveries due to enhancements in our collections program.

As of July 31, 2018 and 2017 , balances under no-interest programs included within customer receivables were $315.1 million and $356.6 million , respectively.


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Liquidity and Capital Resources

We require liquidity and capital resources to finance our operations and future growth as we add new stores and markets to our operations, which in turn requires additional working capital for increased customer receivables and inventory. We generally finance our operations through a combination of cash flow generated from operations, the use of our Revolving Credit Facility, and through periodic securitizations of originated customer receivables. We plan to execute periodic securitizations of future originated customer receivables.

We believe, based on our current projections, that we have sufficient sources of liquidity to fund our operations, store expansion and renovation activities, and capital expenditures for at least the next 12 months.

Operating cash flows.  For the six months ended July 31, 2018 , net cash provided by operating activities was $155.7 million compared to $90.5 million for the six months ended July 31, 2017 . The increase in net cash provided by operating activities was primarily driven by an increase in cash provided by working capital due to the collection of an income tax receivable and an increase in net income when adjusted for non-cash activity.

Investing cash flows.  For the six months ended July 31, 2018 , net cash used in investing activities was $12.2 million compared to $6.1 million for the six months ended July 31, 2017 . The change was primarily the result of higher capital expenditures due to investments in new stores and technology investments we are making to support long-term growth.

Financing cash flows.   For the six months ended July 31, 2018 , net cash used in financing activities was $183.6 million compared to $97.2 million for the six months ended July 31, 2017 . During the six months ended July 31, 2018 , the issuance of additional funding under the Warehouse Notes resulted in net proceeds of $169.7 million , net of transaction costs and restricted cash. The proceeds from the multiple fundings of the Warehouse Notes were used to early retire our Series 2016-B Class B Notes (the "2016-B Redeemed Notes") and our Series 2017-A Class B and C Notes (the "2017-A Redeemed Notes"). Cash collections from the securitized receivables were used to make payments on the asset-backed notes of approximately $534.1 million during the six months ended July 31, 2018 compared to approximately $583.3 million in the comparable prior year period. During the six months ended July 31, 2018 , net borrowings under our Revolving Credit Facility were $184.2 million compared to $22.5 million for the six months ended July 31, 2017 . During the six months ended July 31, 2017 , the 2017-A VIE issued asset-backed notes resulting in net proceeds to us of approximately $456.7 million , net of transaction costs and restricted cash held by the 2017-A VIE, which were used to pay down the entire balance on our Revolving Credit Facility and for other general corporate purposes.

Senior Notes. On July 1, 2014, we issued $250.0 million of the unsecured Senior Notes due July 2022 bearing interest at 7.25% , pursuant to an indenture dated July 1, 2014 (the "Indenture"), among Conn's, Inc., its subsidiary guarantors (the "Guarantors") and U.S. Bank National Association, as trustee. The effective interest rate of the Senior Notes after giving effect to the discount and issuance costs is 7.8% .

The Indenture restricts the Company's and certain of its subsidiaries' ability to: (i) incur indebtedness; (ii) pay dividends or make other distributions in respect of, or repurchase or redeem, our capital stock ("restricted payments"); (iii) prepay, redeem or repurchase debt that is junior in right of payment to the notes; (iv) make loans and certain investments; (v) sell assets; (vi) incur liens; (vii) enter into transactions with affiliates; and (viii) consolidate, merge or sell all or substantially all of our assets. These covenants are subject to a number of important exceptions and qualifications. Specifically, limitations on restricted payments are only effective if one or more of the following occurred: (1) a default were to exist under the Indenture, (2) we could not satisfy a debt incurrence test, and (3) the aggregate amount of restricted payments were to exceed an amount tied to consolidated net income. These limitations, however, are subject to two exceptions: (1) an exception that permits the payment of up to $375.0 million in restricted payments, and (2) an exception that permits restricted payments regardless of dollar amount so long as, after giving pro forma effect to the dividends and other restricted payments, we would have had a leverage ratio, as defined under the Indenture, of less than or equal to 2.50 to 1.0. As a result of these exceptions, as of July 31, 2018 , $200.5 million would have been free from the distribution restriction. During any time when the Senior Notes are rated investment grade by either of Moody's Investors Service, Inc. or Standard & Poor's Ratings Services and no default (as defined in the Indenture) has occurred and is continuing, many of such covenants will be suspended and we will cease to be subject to such covenants during such period. Events of default under the Indenture include customary events, such as a cross-acceleration provision in the event that we fail to make payment of other indebtedness prior to the expiration of any applicable grace period or upon acceleration of indebtedness prior to its stated maturity date in an amount exceeding $25.0 million , as well as in the event a judgment is entered against us in excess of $25.0 million that is not discharged, bonded or insured.

Asset-backed Notes. During fiscal years 2018 and 2017 we securitized customer accounts receivables by transferring the receivables to various bankruptcy-remote VIEs. In turn, the VIEs issued asset-backed notes secured by the transferred customer accounts receivables and restricted cash held by the VIEs.

Under the terms of the securitization transactions, all cash collections and other cash proceeds of the customer receivables go first to the servicer and the holders of issued notes, and then to us as the holder of non-issued notes and residual equity. We retain the servicing of the securitized portfolios and receive a monthly fee of 4.75% (annualized) based on the outstanding balance of the


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securitized receivables. In addition, we, rather than the VIEs, retain all credit insurance income together with certain recoveries related to credit insurance and repair service agreements on charge-offs of the securitized receivables, which are reflected as a reduction to net charge-offs on a consolidated basis.

The asset-backed notes were offered and sold to qualified institutional buyers pursuant to the exemptions from registration provided by Rule 144A under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended. If an event of default were to occur under the indenture that governs the respective asset-backed notes, the payment of the outstanding amounts may be accelerated, in which event the cash proceeds of the receivables that otherwise might be released to the residual equity holder would instead be directed entirely toward repayment of the asset-backed notes, or if the receivables are liquidated, all liquidation proceeds could be directed solely to repayment of the asset-backed notes as governed by the respective terms of the asset-backed notes. The holders of the asset-backed notes have no recourse to assets outside of the VIEs. Events of default include, but are not limited to, failure to make required payments on the asset-backed notes or specified bankruptcy-related events.

The asset-backed notes consist of the following:

Asset-Backed Notes

Original Principal Amount

Original Net Proceeds (1)

Current Principal Amount

Issuance Date

Maturity Date

Fixed Interest Rate

Effective Interest Rate (2)

2017-B Class A Notes

$

361,400


$

358,945


$

99,595


12/20/2017

7/15/2020

2.73%

5.14%

2017-B Class B Notes

132,180


131,281


132,180


12/20/2017

4/15/2021

4.52%

5.23%

2017-B Class C Notes

78,640


77,843


78,640


12/20/2017

11/15/2022

5.95%

6.35%

Warehouse Notes

121,060


118,972


121,060


7/16/2018

1/15/2020

Index + 2.50% (3)

7.62%

Total

$

693,280


$

687,041


$

431,475


(1)

After giving effect to debt issuance costs and restricted cash held by the VIEs.

(2)

For the six months ended July 31, 2018, and inclusive of retrospective adjustments to deferred debt issuance costs based on changes in timing of actual and expected cash flows.

(3)

The rate on the Warehouse Notes is defined as the applicable index plus a 2.50% fixed margin.

On February 15, 2018, affiliates of the Company closed on a $52.2 million financing under a receivables warehouse financing transaction entered into on February 6, 2018 (the "Warehouse Notes"). The net proceeds of the Warehouse Notes were used to prepay in full the 2016-B Redeemed Notes that were still outstanding as of February 15, 2018.

On February 15, 2018, the Company completed the redemption of the 2016-B Redeemed Notes at an aggregate redemption price of $73.6 million (which was equal to the entire outstanding principal of, plus accrued interest and the call premiums on, the 2016-B Redeemed Notes). The net funds used to call the notes was $50.3 million, which is equal to the redemption price less adjustments of $23.3 million for funds held in reserve and collection accounts in accordance with the terms of the applicable indenture governing the 2016-B Redeemed Notes. The difference between the net proceeds of the Warehouse Notes and the carrying value of the 2016-B Redeemed Notes at redemption was used to fund fees, expenses and a reserve account related to the Warehouse facility. In connection with the early redemption of the 2016-B Redeemed Notes, we wrote-off $0.4 million as a loss on extinguishment of debt.

On July 16, 2018, affiliates of the Company closed on $121.1 million of additional financing under a receivables warehouse financing transaction entered into on July 9, 2018 (the "Additional Funding"). The net proceeds of the Additional Funding were used to prepay in full the Series 2017-A Class B and C Notes (the "2017-A Redeemed Notes") that were still outstanding as of July 16, 2018.

On July 16, 2018, the Company completed the redemption of the 2017-A Redeemed Notes at an aggregate redemption price of $127.2 million (which was equal to the entire outstanding principal of, plus accrued interest and the call premiums on the 2017-A Redeemed Notes). The net funds used to call the notes was $119.0 million, which is equal to the redemption price less adjustments of $8.2 million for funds held in reserve and collection accounts in accordance with the terms of the applicable indenture governing the 2017-A Redeemed Notes. The difference between the net proceeds of the Additional Funding and the carrying value of the 2017-A Redeemed Notes at redemption was used to fund fees, expenses and a reserve account related to the warehouse facility. In connection with the early redemption of the 2017-A Redeemed Notes, we wrote-off $1.2 million as a loss on extinguishment of debt.

See "Item 1. Financial Statements-Note 10" for more information on our Subsequent Event related to our asset-backed notes.


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Table of Contents


Revolving Credit Facility. On May 23, 2018, Conn's, Inc. and certain of its subsidiaries (the "Borrowers") entered into a Fourth Amendment to the Fourth Amended and Restated Loan and Security Agreement, dated as of October 30, 2015, with certain lenders, which provides for a $650.0 million asset-based revolving credit facility (the "Revolving Credit Facility") under which credit availability is subject to a borrowing base.

The Fourth Amendment, among other things, (a) extends the maturity date of the credit facility to May 23, 2022; (b) provides for a reduction in the aggregate commitments from $750 million to $650 million; (c) amends the method by which the applicable margin is calculated to be based on the total leverage ratio (ratio of total liabilities less the sum of qualified cash and ABS qualified cash to tangible net worth), with the applicable margin ranging from 2.50% to 3.25% for LIBOR loans and from 1.50% to 2.25% for base rate loans; (d) eliminates a $10 million availability block in calculating the borrowing base; (e) increases the maximum accounts receivable advance rate from 75% to 80%; (f) decreases the maximum unused line fee by 25 basis points, from 75 basis points to 50 basis points; (g) eliminates the cash recovery covenant; (h) modifies the maximum inventory component of the borrowing base from $175 million to 33.33% of revolving loan commitments in effect; (i) modifies the interest coverage covenant such that the minimum interest coverage on a trailing two quarter basis is 1.5x and the minimum interest coverage during any single quarter is 1.0x; (j) increases the maximum capital expenditures from $75 million to $100 million during any period of four consecutive fiscal quarters; and (k) modifies the ability of the Company to effect future securitizations of its customer receivables portfolio, including adding the ability of the Company to enter into revolving ABS transactions.


Subsequent to the adoption of the Fourth Amendment, loans under the Revolving Credit Facility bear interest, at our option, at a rate equal to LIBOR plus the applicable margin based on facility availability which specified a margin ranging from 2.50% to 3.25% per annum (depending on quarterly average net availability under the borrowing base) or the alternate base rate plus a margin ranging from 1.50% to 2.25% per annum (depending on quarterly average net availability under the borrowing base). The alternate base rate is the greatest of the prime rate announced by Bank of America, N.A., the federal funds rate plus 0.5%, or LIBOR for a 30-day interest period plus 1.0%. As of July 31, 2018, we also paid an unused fee on the portion of the commitments that was available for future borrowings or letters of credit at a rate ranging from 0.25% to 0.50% per annum, depending on the average outstanding balance and letters of credit of the Revolving Credit Facility in the immediately preceding quarter. The weighted-average interest rate on borrowings outstanding and including unused line fees under the Revolving Credit Facility was 6.5% for the six months ended July 31, 2018 .

The Revolving Credit Facility provides funding based on a borrowing base calculation that includes customer accounts receivable and inventory, and provides for a $40.0 million sub-facility for letters of credit to support obligations incurred in the ordinary course of business. The obligations under the Revolving Credit Facility are secured by substantially all assets of the Company, excluding the assets of the VIEs. As of July 31, 2018 , we had immediately available borrowing capacity of $366.6 million under our Revolving Credit Facility, net of standby letters of credit issued of $2.8 million . We also had $19.4 million that may become available under our Revolving Credit Facility if we grow the balance of eligible customer receivables and our total eligible inventory balances.

The Revolving Credit Facility places restrictions on our ability to incur additional indebtedness, grant liens on assets, make distributions on equity interests, dispose of assets, make loans, pay other indebtedness, engage in mergers, and other matters. The Revolving Credit Facility restricts our ability to make dividends and distributions unless no event of default exists and a liquidity test is satisfied. Subsidiaries of the Company may pay dividends and make distributions to the Company and other obligors under the Revolving Credit Facility without restriction. As of July 31, 2018 , we were restricted from making distributions, including repayments of the Senior Notes or other distributions, in excess of $212.3 million as a result of the Revolving Credit Facility distribution restrictions. The Revolving Credit Facility contains customary default provisions, which, if triggered, could result in acceleration of all amounts outstanding under the Revolving Credit Facility.


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Table of Contents


Debt Covenants. We were in compliance with our debt covenants at July 31, 2018 . A summary of the significant financial covenants that govern our Revolving Credit Facility, as amended, compared to our actual compliance status at July 31, 2018 is presented below: 

Actual

Required

Minimum/

Maximum

Interest Coverage Ratio must equal or exceed minimum

3.75:1.00

1.00:1.00

Leverage Ratio must not exceed maximum

2.07:1.00

4.00:1.00

ABS Excluded Leverage Ratio must not exceed maximum

1.40:1.00

2.00:1.00

Capital Expenditures, net, must not exceed maximum

$13.5 million

$100.0 million

All capitalized terms in the above table are defined by the Revolving Credit Facility, as amended, and may or may not agree directly to the financial statement captions in this document. The covenants are calculated quarterly, except for the Capital Expenditures, which is calculated for a period of four consecutive fiscal quarters, as of the end of each fiscal quarter.

Capital Expenditures.  We lease the majority of our stores under operating leases, and our plans for future store locations anticipate operating leases under existing GAAP, but do not exclude store ownership. Our capital expenditures for future new store projects should primarily be for our tenant improvements to the property leased (including any new distribution centers and cross-dock facilities), the cost of which is estimated to be between $1.5 million and $2.0 million per store (before tenant improvement allowances), and for our existing store remodels, estimated to range between $0.3 million and $1.5 million per store remodel (before tenant improvement allowances), depending on store size. In the event we purchase existing properties, our capital expenditures will depend on the particular property and whether it is improved when purchased. We are continuously reviewing new relationships and funding sources and alternatives for new stores, which may include "sale-leaseback" or direct "purchase-lease" programs, as well as other funding sources for our purchase and construction of those projects. If we do not purchase the real property for new stores, our direct cash needs should include only our capital expenditures for tenant improvements to leased properties and our remodel programs for existing stores. We opened two new stores during the first half of fiscal year 2019, and currently plan to open a total of seven to nine new stores during fiscal year 2019. Additionally, we plan to upgrade several of our facilities and continue to enhance our IT systems during fiscal year 2019. Our anticipated capital expenditures for the remainder of fiscal year 2019 are between $23 million and $27 million.

Cash Flow

We periodically evaluate our liquidity requirements, capital needs and availability of resources in view of inventory levels, expansion plans, debt service requirements and other operating cash needs. To meet our short- and long-term liquidity requirements, including payment of operating expenses and repayment of debt, we rely primarily on cash from operations. As of July 31, 2018 , beyond cash generated from operations we had (i) immediately available borrowing capacity of $366.6 million under our Revolving Credit Facility, (ii) $19.4 million that may become available under our Revolving Credit Facility if we grow the balance of eligible customer receivables and our total eligible inventory balances and (iii) $4.4 million of cash on hand. However, we have in the past sought to raise additional capital.

We expect that, for the next 12 months, cash generated from operations, proceeds from potential accounts receivable securitizations and our Revolving Credit Facility will be sufficient to provide us the ability to fund our operations, provide the increased working capital necessary to support our strategy and fund planned capital expenditures discussed above in Capital expenditures .

We may repurchase or otherwise retire our debt and take other steps to reduce our debt or otherwise improve our financial position. These actions could include open market debt repurchases, negotiated repurchases, other retirements of outstanding debt and opportunistic refinancing of debt. The amount of debt that may be repurchased or otherwise retired, if any, will depend on market conditions, the Company's cash position, compliance with debt covenant and restrictions and other considerations.


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Table of Contents


Off-Balance Sheet Liabilities and Other Contractual Obligations

We do not have any off-balance sheet arrangements as defined by Item 303(a)(4) of Regulation S-K. The following table presents a summary of our minimum contractual commitments and obligations as of July 31, 2018 : 

Payments due by period

(in thousands)

Total

Less Than 1

Year

1-3

Years

3-5

Years

More Than

5 Years

Debt, including estimated interest payments (1) :

Revolving Credit Facility (1)

$

308,517


$

12,407


$

24,814


$

271,296


$

-


Senior Notes

292,154


16,458


32,915


242,781


-


2017-B Class A Notes (2)

104,921


2,719


102,202


-


-


2017-B Class B Notes (2)

148,369


5,975


142,394


-


-


2017-B Class C Notes (2)

98,741


4,679


9,358


84,704


-


Warehouse Notes (1)

130,350


6,362


123,988


-


-


Capital lease obligations

7,187


1,219


1,221


917


3,830


Operating leases:






Real estate

443,632


62,772


123,194


115,215


142,451


Equipment

3,021


1,179


1,425


417


-


Contractual commitments (3)

84,127


78,507


5,494


126


-


Total

$

1,621,019


$

192,277


$

567,005


$

715,456


$

146,281


(1)

Estimated interest payments are based on the outstanding balance as of July 31, 2018 and the interest rate in effect at that time.

(2)

The payments due by period for the Senior Notes and asset-backed notes were based on their respective maturity dates and their respective fixed annual interest rate. Actual principal and interest payments on the asset-backed notes will reflect actual proceeds from the securitized customer accounts receivables.

(3)

Contractual commitments primarily includes commitments to purchase inventory of $64.4 million .


Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates

The preparation of financial statements and related disclosures in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States requires us to make estimates that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses, and the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities. Certain accounting policies are considered "critical accounting policies" because they are particularly dependent on estimates made by us about matters that are inherently uncertain and could have a material impact to our consolidated financial statements. We base our estimates on historical experience and on other assumptions that we believe are reasonable. As a result, actual results could differ because of the use of estimates. The description of critical accounting policies is included in our 2018 Form 10-K.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

The information related to recent accounting pronouncements as set forth in Note 1, Summary of Significant Accounting Policies , of the Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements in Part I, Item 1, of this quarterly report on Form 10-Q is incorporated herein by reference.

ITEM 3.  

QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK

The market risk inherent in our financial instruments represents the potential loss arising from adverse changes in interest rates. We have not been materially impacted by fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates, as substantially all of our business is transacted in, and is expected to continue to be transacted in, U.S. dollars or U.S. dollar-based currencies. Our Senior Notes and asset-backed notes bear interest at a fixed rate and would not be affected by interest rate changes.

Loans under the Revolving Credit Facility bear interest, at our option, at a rate of LIBOR plus a margin ranging from 2.50% to 3.25% per annum (depending on quarterly average net availability under the borrowing base) or the alternate base rate plus a margin ranging from 1.50% to 2.25% per annum (depending on quarterly average net availability under the borrowing base). The alternate base rate is a rate per annum equal to the greatest of the prime rate announced by Bank of America, N.A., the federal


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funds rate plus 0.5%, or LIBOR for a 30-day interest period plus 1.0%. Accordingly, changes in our quarterly average net availability under the borrowing base and LIBOR or the alternate base rate will affect the interest rate on, and therefore our costs under, the Revolving Credit Facility. As of July 31, 2018 , the balance outstanding under our Revolving Credit Facility was $261.2 million. A 100 basis point increase in interest rates on the Revolving Credit Facility would increase our borrowing costs by $2.6 million over a 12-month period, based on the balance outstanding at July 31, 2018 .

ITEM 4.  

CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES 

Based on management's evaluation (with the participation of our Chief Executive Officer ("CEO") and our Chief Financial Officer ("CFO")), as of the end of the period covered by this report, our CEO and CFO have concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "Exchange Act")), are effective to ensure that information required to be disclosed by us in reports that we file or submit under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized, and reported within the time periods specified in SEC rules and forms, and is accumulated and communicated to management, including our principal executive officer and principal financial officer, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure. 

For the quarter ended July 31, 2018 , there have been no changes in our internal controls over financial reporting (as defined in Rule 13a-15(f) under the Exchange Act) that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal controls over financial reporting. 

PART II.

OTHER INFORMATION 

ITEM 1.  

LEGAL PROCEEDINGS 

The information set forth in Note 6, Contingencies , of the Consolidated Financial Statements in Part I, Item 1, of this quarterly report on Form 10-Q is incorporated herein by reference. 

ITEM 1A.

RISK FACTORS

Other than with respect to the amendment and restatement of the risk factor included below, as of the date of the filing, there have been no material changes to the risk factors previously disclosed in Part I, Item 1A, of our 2018 Form 10-K. The risks described in our 2018 Form 10-K and in this quarterly report are not the only risks we face. Additional risks and uncertainties not currently known to us or that we currently deem to be immaterial also may materially adversely affect our business, financial condition or future results.

Our corporate actions may be substantially controlled by our principal stockholders and affiliated entities.  A large proportion of our outstanding common stock is beneficially owned by a small group of principal stockholders and their affiliates, including Stephens Inc., Stephens Group, PAR Capital Management, Inc., and Anchorage Capital Group, LLC ("Anchorage"). Large holders, such as these, may be able to affect matters requiring approval by Company stockholders, including the election of directors and the approval of mergers or other business combination transactions. Additionally, we have granted a waiver of the applicability of the provisions of Section 203 of the DGCL to Anchorage such that Anchorage may increase its position in our common stock up to 20% of the outstanding shares without being subject to Section 203's restrictions on business combinations. The concentration of ownership of our shares of common stock by the relatively small number of investors and hedge funds may:

Have significant influence in determining the outcome of any matter submitted to stockholders for approval, including the election of directors, mergers, consolidations, and the sale of all or substantially of our assets or other significant corporate actions;

Delay or deter a change of control of the Company;

Deprive stockholders of an opportunity to receive a premium for their shares as part of a sale of the Company; and

Affect the market price volatility and liquidity of our shares of common stock.

The interests of these investors and their respective affiliates may differ from or be adverse to the interests of our other stockholders. If any of these investors sells a substantial number of shares in the public market, the market price of our shares could fall. The perception among the public that these sales will occur could also contribute to a decline in the market price of the shares.

ITEM 2.

UNREGISTERED SALES OF EQUITY SECURITIES AND USE OF PROCEEDS

None.

ITEM 3.

DEFAULTS UPON SENIOR SECURITIES 

None. 


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ITEM 4.

MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURE 

Not applicable.

ITEM 5.  

OTHER INFORMATION

None. 


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ITEM 6.

EXHIBITS 

The exhibits filed as part of this report are as follows (exhibits incorporated by reference are set forth with the name of the registrant, the type of report and registration number or last date of the period for which it was filed, and the exhibit number in such filing):

Exhibit

Number

Description of Document

3.1

Certificate of Incorporation of Conn's, Inc. (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 3.1 to Conn's, Inc. registration statement on Form S-1 (File No. 333-109046) as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on September 23, 2003)

3.1.1

Certificate of Amendment to the Certificate of Incorporation of Conn's, Inc. dated June 3, 2004 (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 3.1.1 to Form 10-Q for the quarterly period ended April 30, 2004 (File No. 000-50421) as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on June 7, 2004)

3.1.2

Certificate of Amendment to the Certificate of Incorporation of Conn's, Inc. dated May 30, 2012 (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 3.1.2 to Form 10-Q for the quarterly period ended April 30, 2012 (File No. 001-34956) as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on June 5, 2012)

3.1.3

Certificate of Correction to the Certificate of Amendment to Conn's, Inc. Certificate of Incorporation (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 3.1.3 to Form 10-K for the annual period ended January 31, 2014 (File No. 001-34956) as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 27, 2014)

3.1.4

Certificate of Amendment to the Certificate of Incorporation of Conn's, Inc. as filed on May 29, 2014 (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 3.1.4 to Conn's, Inc. Form 10-Q for the quarterly period ended April 30, 2014 (File No. 001-34956) as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on June 2, 2014)

3.2

Amended and Restated Bylaws of Conn's, Inc. effective as of December 3, 2013 (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 3.2 to Form 10-Q for the quarterly period ended October 31, 2013 (File No. 001-34956) as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on December 6, 2013)

4.1

Specimen of certificate for shares of Conn's, Inc.'s common stock (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 4.1 to registration statement on Form S-1 (File No. 333-109046) as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on October 29, 2003)

10.1

Fourth Amended and Restated Loan and Security Agreement, dated May 23, 2018, by and among the Company, as parent and guarantor, Conn Appliances, Inc., Conn Credit I, LP and Conn Credit Corporation, Inc., as borrowers, certain banks and financial institutions named therein, as lenders, and Bank of America N.A., in its capacity as agent for lenders (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to Form 8-K (File No. 001-34956) as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on May 24, 2018)

10.2*

Letter Agreement, dated as of June 6, 2018, by and between Conn's Inc. and Anchorage Capital Group, L.L.C.

11.1

Statement re: computation of earnings per share (incorporated by reference to Note 1 to the condensed consolidated financial statements included in this Form 10-Q)

31.1

Rule 13a-14(a)/15d-14(a) Certification (Chief Executive Officer) (filed herewith)

31.2

Rule 13a-14(d)/15d-14(d) Certification (Chief Financial Officer) (filed herewith)

32.1

Section 1350 Certification (Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer) (furnished herewith)

101

The following financial information from our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the second quarter of fiscal year 2019, filed with the SEC on September 4, 2018, formatted in Extensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL): (i) the consolidated balance sheets at July 31, 2018 and January 31, 2018, (ii) the consolidated statements of operations for the three and six months ended July 31, 2018 and 2017, (iii) the consolidated statements of cash flows for the six months ended July 31, 2018 and 2017 and (iv) the notes to consolidated financial statements.


*Filed herewith


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SIGNATURE

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned thereunto duly authorized. 

CONN'S, INC.

Date:

September 4, 2018

By:

/s/ Lee A. Wright

Lee A. Wright

Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

(Principal Financial Officer and duly authorized to sign this report on behalf of the registrant)


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