Despite its challenges, financially 2021 was one of the most successful years in PRA’s history. We set new records for cash collections, revenue, cash efficiency, and net income. Cash collections grew to $2.1 billion (a 3% increase), and we achieved revenue of $1.1 billion (a 3% increase). We improved cash efficiency to 65.3% (an increase from 64.5%) and generated $183.2 million in net income (an increase of 23%). Additionally, our balance sheet remained in excellent shape: During 2021, we strengthened our balance sheet ending the year below our targeted leverage with $1.4 billion available for portfolio acquisitions.
Our 2021 investment in nonperforming loan portfolios was strong. Although we were faced with a challenging environment, we invested more dollars in 2021 than we did in 2020. As consumers worked to pay off their debts, banks experienced a decline in outstanding loan balances along with substantially lower delinquency rates. This decline resulted in fewer portfolios available to purchase. Despite the difficult supply environment and increasing competition for this limited supply, we were able to purchase portfolios in most of our markets and expand our presence in Northern Europe and South America. Throughout the year we continued to foster strong relationships with sellers and further improve our already skilled pricing models, putting us in a solid position as consumer spending and supply levels begin to return to more normal levels.
We set new records for cash collections, revenue, cash efficiency, and net income.
2021 Financial Results
2021 Annual Report