As the finance company closed the year with a 16.2-percent jump in active dealers, Credit Acceptance Corp. watched its unit and dollar volumes rise by double figures during the fourth quarter as well, to leave the operation with a healthy gain in consolidated net income for 2013.

Credit Acceptance reported unit and dollar volumes increased 12.6 percent and 11.3 percent as the company originated 46,677 contracts during Q4. For the year, the company originated 202,250 loans, up from 190,023 in 2012.

The company's active dealer level finished 2013 at 6,394 stores, up from 5,319 dealerships a year earlier.

"There's a wide variety of dealerships that would work on our program that works at — very small and independent dealers and some of the largest franchise dealers in the country. We're not targeting one group or the other, and the increases we're seeing are really across all groups," Credit Acceptance chief executive officer Brett Roberts said last week when the company conducted a conference call to discuss its results.

As far as the bottom line, Credit Acceptance indicated consolidated net income for Q4 came in at $65.9 million or $2.80 per diluted share, up from $59.9 million or $2.40 per diluted share during the same period last year.

For all of 2013, the company's consolidated net income totaled $253.1 million or $10.54 per diluted share, compared to $219.7 million or $8.58 per diluted share Credit Acceptance generated in 2012.

Credit Acceptance also mentioned its increase in adjusted average capital of 17.6 percent due to growth in its loan portfolio derived primarily as a result of growth in new consumer loan assignments in recent years, which resulted in the dollar volume of new consumer loan assignments exceeding the principal collected on its loan portfolio. 

"The growth in new consumer loan assignments in recent years was the result of an increase in active dealers, partially offset by a decline in volume per active dealer," executives said.

The company went on to pointed out its increase in its cost of capital of 20 basis points arrived primarily due to an increase in the average 30-year Treasury rate, which is used in the average cost of equity calculation, partially offset by a decline in the average cost of debt resulting from the change in mix of its outstanding debt.

Elsewhere, Credit Acceptance acknowledged that a full-year decrease of 60 basis points in its adjusted return on capital came primarily as a result of two factors:

—A decline in the yield on its loan portfolio decreased the adjusted return on capital by 120 basis points due to higher advance rates on new consumer loan assignments.

—An increase in other income increased the adjusted return on capital by 40 basis points primarily due to an increase in global positioning systems with starter interrupt devices fee income resulting from an increase in the fee earned per unit and an increase in vehicle service contract profit sharing income as a result of a new profit sharing arrangement entered into with a third-party provider during 2012.

After looking at all of the numbers, Credit Acceptance chief financial officer and chief accounting officer Kenneth Booth said, "I would say that we continue to be satisfied with the performance. We continue to grow net income, earnings per share, economic profit. We're growing the business in a challenging economic environment, so I'd say we're satisfied with the year."