The beleaguered subprime auto lender Santander Consumer USA is once again restating its financial results dating to 2013.
Santander Consumer said Friday that it identified errors in its financial statements for 2013, 2014 and 2015, as well as the first quarter of 2016.
If that sounds familiar, it should; the company had already restated its 2013 to 2015 results back in March. At the time, the company was facing questions from the Securities and Exchange Commission about changes to the way it determined set-asides for bad credit.
The latest restatements are primarily related to errors found in three areas, the company said.
First, Santander Consumer made errors related to its allowance for credit losses. There were also mistakes connected with how the firm calculates the impairment for loans classified as troubled debt restructurings. Also problematic was the firm's methodology for accreting auto dealer discounts, subvention payments from automakers and capitalized origination costs.
"Since the identification of errors in our financial reporting, we have been completely focused on ensuring we correct everything as quickly and transparently as possible — engaging with our regulators, completing a rigorous review of our financial statements, and updating shareholders regularly," Jason Kulas, the company's chief executive officer, said in a press release.
Even after Friday's announcement, Santander Consumer's accounting issues do not appear be fully resolved. The Fort Worth, Texas-based firm said that it expects to report the existence of additional, previously unreported material weaknesses in internal control over financial reporting. And the company announced that it will likely delay its third-quarter earnings call, which is currently scheduled for Oct. 26.
The company's Friday press release did include some positive news for shareholders. Santander Consumer released preliminary and unaudited results for the second quarter of 2016 — the firm had twice delayed its earnings report amid the ongoing accounting problems — which exceeded the expectations of analysts.
Between April and June, the company reported net income of $283 million, or 78 cents per share, which beat the consensus view of analysts by 10 cents. In addition, the firm's net income for the first quarter of 2016 rose from $200 million to $209 million as a result of the restatement.
At the same time, the company's auto originations fell by 26% from the second quarter of 2015 to $5.4 billion. Santander Consumer said the decline was due to the company remaining disciplined in its underwriting standards in a competitive subprime auto lending market.
The percentage of the company's retail installment contracts that were 31 days or more delinquent was 13.2%, up from 11.0% during the same period a year earlier.
Michael Tarkan, an analyst at Compass Point Research & Trading, said in a research note that he remains concerned about slowing growth and weakening credit at Santander Consumer, despite the firm's better than expected second-quarter earnings. He reiterated his neutral rating on the company's stock.
Investors, though, seemed to have a more positive outlook. Santander Consumer's stock climbed 9.8% Friday, to close at $11.97. Its shares are still down 25% for the year, however.
The company's latest announcements came one week after Santander Consumer announced that its deputy chief financial officer, Jennifer Davis, will resign at the end of the year.
The company, which held an initial public offering in 2014, is majority-owned by Santander Holdings USA, a subsidiary of Banco Santander of Spain.
