IRVINE, Calif. — Consumer Portfolio Services pointed to the
human capital the subprime lender added to ramp up its workforce going into the
first quarter as part of the reason for a "good start to the year."

This week, CPS reported earnings of $3.8 million or $0.12
per diluted share for its first quarter that ended March 31. This amount
compares to net income of $512,000 or $0.02 per diluted share in the first
quarter of last year.

Officials noted last year's quarter did not include a tax
expense.

CPS' first-quarter revenues totaled $54.6 million, an
increase of $10.1 million or 23 percent compared to the year-ago period when the
company generated $44.5 million.

Management calculated its total operating expenses for Q1
came in at $48.1 million, an increase of $4.1 million or 9.2 percent compared
to last year's first quarter total of $44.0 million.

The company's pretax income for the first quarter was $6.5
million compared to pretax income of $512,000 in the first quarter of last year.

During the first quarter, CPS said it purchased $180.1
million of new contracts compared to $150.8 million during the previous quarter
and $119.9 million during the year-ago quarter.

The company's managed receivables totaled $968.5 million as
of March 31, an increase from $897.6 million as of Dec. 31 and $781.8 million
as of the close of last year's first quarter.

CPS chairman and chief executive officer Charles Bradley Jr.
explained how the company enjoyed that "good start to the year" when he and
other executives conducted a conference call with investment analysts earlier
this week.

Bradley indicated CPS bolstered its staff of marketing
representatives to the current level of 75 by adding more personnel last
summer. He explained how six months of training and learning about their
particular markets pushed CPS to enhanced performance.

"One of the things we mentioned last year was hiring a lot
during the spring and summer and then getting those people trained. When they
hit the growth period during the first six months of the year, they would be
well positioned to do well during that time," Bradley said.

"It has paid off rather well in that they're now experienced
and doing a really good job of growing and achieving the growth we're looking
for this year because they had six months of seasoning as we came into the
growth season," he continued.

Bradley noted that CPS intends to add another 25 to 30
representatives this summer, a move that would continue to push the company
toward the highest level of sales personnel it's ever had at 125.

Operating and Performance Data

Bradley highlighted how another personnel decision CPS made
will be beneficial.

The company reported that its allowance for finance credit
losses as percent of financed receivables ticked up to 2.90 percent in the
first quarter, up from 2.03 percent a year ago.

CPS also noted its 30-day delinquencies moved higher in Q1,
too, rising to 2.59 percent from 2.13 percent. The company's repossession
inventory also moved up to 1.57 percent from 1.38 percent.

As those metrics behave, Bradley insisted CPS is prepared to
handle more in these areas because it retained its four collection branches
with their staffs – even as the company's business performance contracted
during the recession.

"We're now in a terrific position in terms of having lots
well seasoned collectors and middle managers in those branches," Bradley said. "As
we expand and grow and we need to hire more collectors, we're going to have a
very seasoned management team to train those new people. We should have rather
seamless growth in the collection infrastructure in order to handle the growth
of the overall portfolio.

"I'm not sure those other companies can say that," he added.
"It's certainly something we planned on and should pay big dividends as we grow
this year and into the following years."

CPS' Enhanced Relationship With www.OnlineBKmanager.com

In other company news, CPS announced it is enhancing its
relationship with www.OnlineBKmanager.com to expand the bankruptcy market to dealers
throughout the United States.

The companies explained this collaboration is designed to
provide dealers with the cleanest and freshest bankruptcy leads available.  Dealers also can receive substantial package
discounts on www.OnlineBKmanager.com services with this program. 

For nearly 18 years, www.OnlineBKmanager.com has been one of
the leaders in bankruptcy marketing and developed one of the first bankruptcy
selling tools designed specifically for the subprime market. The site's lender partner
program is intended to pair dealers with lenders that focus on bankruptcy consumers,
increasing the potential for more gross profit. 

Tim Tucker, a Ford dealer in Cincinnati, manages a
successful subprime financing department with this program offered through CPS
and www.OnlineBKmanager.com.

"Our department receives additional sales and gross profit
with the BK Combo program," Tucker said. 
"We capture the sales through our www.OnlineBKmanager.com system, and
then quickly fund the deals with CPS. The BK buyer gets a quality vehicle and
works with a lender that reports to the major credit bureaus.  It's a win-win."

Performances like Tucker described is what officials from
CPS and www.OnlineBKmanager.com
intend for the program.

"CPS has very ambitious growth goals for 2013-2014," CPS vice
president of marketing John Harton said. "Pairing up with the successful BK
lead provider, www.OnlineBKmanager.com, will help our dealers maximize their
advertising dollars in a way that results in a target-rich environment for
CPS. 

"It has always been our objective to help our dealer partners
increase their sales," Harton continued. "We feel this collaboration is a
natural fit.  CPS is very excited to be
offering what we call the ‘BK Combo' (CPS and www.OnlineBKmanager.com) and look
forward to the added value that this combination will bring to our dealers.

Robert Davies, president of www.OnlineBKmanager.com sees
this partnership as an opportunity to assist dealers on a national level and
meet growth objectives for 2013. 

"We currently provide our BK marketing program to dealers in
all 50 states. This new relationship with CPS will allow us to add national
coverage to our lender partner program and help reach our growth expectations
for this fiscal year," Davies said.

"The auto Dealer works directly with CPS and
www.OnlineBKmanager.com reps to customize a program to fit their needs in order
to maximize dealer gross profit," Davies went on to say.

The BK Combo program is available now to qualified
dealers. Contact your CPS representative
at (800) 304-6812 or Christine Follett, vice president with
www.OnlineBKmanager.com at (888) 739-1468 for more details.

Nick Zulovich can be reached at nzulovich@subprimenews.com. Continue the conversation with SubPrime Auto Finance News on LinkedIn and Twitter.