AmeriCredit Corp. on Jan. 16 announced a net loss of $27.6 million, or $0.18 per share, for its second fiscal quarter ended Dec. 31, 2002, versus earnings of $80.6 million, or $0.91 per share, for the same period a year earlier.

This was the first quarter that AmeriCredit structured its securitization transactions as secured financings, which did not require the recognition of gain-on-sale revenue. This net loss also included a $46.6 million pretax impairment of the interest-only receivable from prior securitization transactions.

For the six months ended Dec. 31, 2002, AmeriCredit reported net income of $42.6 million, or $0.36 per share, versus earnings of $159.3 million, or $1.79 per share, for the six months ended Dec. 31, 2001.

Automobile loan purchases were $1.89 billion for the second quarter of fiscal 2003, down 7 percent from loan purchases of $2.04 billion for the second quarter of fiscal 2002. AmeriCredit's managed auto receivables totaled $16.2 billion at Dec. 31, 2002.

Annualized net charge-offs were 5.8 percent of average managed auto receivables for the second quarter of fiscal 2003. This compares to net charge-offs of 5.3 percent last quarter and 4.3 percent for the second quarter of fiscal 2002. Vehicles pending sale at auction totaled 1.4 percent of the portfolio at Dec. 31, 2002, up from 1.1 percent at Sept. 30, 2002. Managed auto receivables more than 60 days delinquent were 4.1 percent of total managed auto receivables at Dec. 31, 2002, compared to 3.8 percent at Dec. 31, 2001.

"We're seeing continued weakness in recovery values on repossessed vehicles and in the overall economy, causing increases in both loss severity and frequency. Therefore, we are projecting that credit losses will rise during the first half of 2003," said AmeriCredit Chief Executive Officer Michael R. Barrington. "We reduced both loan origination volume and operating expenses in the December quarter to align loan growth with available liquidity. We are committed to maintaining this balance going forward."

REGULATION FD

AmeriCredit provides information to investors on its Web site at www.americredit.com including press releases, conference calls, SEC filings and other financial data.

Pursuant to Regulation FD, the Company provides its expectations regarding future business trends to the public via a press release or 8-K filing. The Company anticipates some risks and uncertainties with its guidance as it continues to align loan growth with available liquidity.

"AmeriCredit expects to be profitable in 2003," said AmeriCredit Chief Financial Officer Daniel E. Berce. "We are revising our guidance to take into account possible changes in the scale of our business given the continued weakness in the overall economy and our projected increase in credit losses in 2003."