Portfolio Recovery's earnings drop 2% as revenue rises

Portfolio Recovery Associates Inc., which buys pools of defaulted consumer debt and tries to collect it, said its third-quarter net income slipped 2 percent partly because of higher depreciation and amortization of its debt portfolios.

The Norfolk-based company earned $11.46 million for the July-through-September quarter, compared with $11.7 million in the year-earlier period. Earnings per diluted share were flat at 75 cents. Portfolio said revenues rose 26 percent from last year's third quarter, to a record $68.59 million.

The company also said that its fee-for-service businesses, including those that track down unpaid taxes and fees for municipalities, now account for 23 percent of its revenue.