EasyHome leasing revenue continues to shrink

MISSISSAUGA, Ontario – Canadian consumers appear to be shying away from the ‘lease-to-own’ option when it comes to buying furniture, appliances and consumer electronics, at least that’s what the latest financial performance figures from EasyHome seem to suggest even as GoEasy, its parent company, continues to set record levels of both revenue and earnings.

For the three months ending June 30, 2023, GoEasy reported total revenue of $302.9 million, a 20.4% increase from the $251.7 million reported for the same period last year.

Net income was $55.6 million or $3.26 per share, compared to $38.3 million or $2.32 per share – a rocket-fueled gain of 40.5% on a per share basis.

The company noted revenue from its consumer loans segment – EasyFinancial – was up 23.7% on a year-over-year basis to $264.8 million for the second quarter of 2023.

Revenue from EasyHome, meanwhile, was up 1.7% to $38.2 million. However, revenue generated by its core merchandising leasing business fell 3.4% to just over $25.0 million. The gains came from EasyHome’s own expanding consumer loan activities.

For the six months also ending June 30, 2023, GoEasy revenue totaled $590.2 million, up 22.0% from $483.8 million for the comparable period of 2022.

Net income was $107.0 million or $6.27 per share, compared with $64.4 million or $3.86 per share – a 62.4% leap on a per share basis.

EasyFinancial’s revenue contribution was up 25.7% for the first half of 2023, climbing to $513.7 million from last year’s $408.7 million.

EasyHome revenue for the period was $76.5 million, up 1.9% from $75.1 million for the prior year. Once again, revenue generated by its core merchandise leasing function fell 4.2% to $50.6 million from $52.8 million as revenue from its own consumer loan activities climbed 22.1% to $16.9 million.

During the first six months of 2023, GoEasy closed ten EasyHome corporate stores across the country, including two during the second quarter, bringing the network down to 144, including 34 franchises. The company said it was shrinking the store count as part of an effort to “optimize profitability.”

The company said the number of active lease agreements had fallen 4.5% between June 30, 2022, and June 30, 2023, to 70,330 although the monthly payments were up 3.7% to $107.47. GoEasy also reported the product mix remained stable with furniture accounting for 42.3% of lease agreements followed by electronics at 32.4%. Appliances accounted for 14.7% of lease agreements while computers took up the rest.

EasyHome, which was founded in 1990 and remains Canada’s largest furniture and appliance leasing merchant, saw its overall contribution to GoEasy’s revenue fall from 11.6% in the first half of 2022 to 9.1% as of June 30, 2023.

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