8-K

UNITED STATESSECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 8-K

CURRENT REPORT
Pursuant to Section 13 OR 15(d) of The Securities Exchange Act of 1934

Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported) May 9, 2017

WORLD ACCEPTANCE CORPORATION

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

South Carolina	0-19599	57-0425114
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation)	(Commission File Number)	(IRS Employer Identification No.)

108 Frederick Street, Greenville, South Carolina	29607
(Address of principal executive offices)	(Zip Code)

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code (864) 298-9800

n/a

(Former name or former address, if changed since last report.)

Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions:

⃞ Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425)

⃞ Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12)

⃞ Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))

⃞ Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))

Item 2.02    Results of Operations and Financial Condition; and

Item 7.01    Regulation FD Disclosure.

On May 9, 2017, World Acceptance Corporation ("WRLD") issued a press release announcing financial information for its fourth quarter and year ended March 31, 2017.  The press release is attached as Exhibit 99.1 to this Form 8-K and is furnished to, but not filed with, the Commission.

On May 9, 2017, World Acceptance Corporation senior management held a conference call to discuss the results of its fourth quarter and year ended March 31, 2017.  Prepared remarks for the conference call by the Chief Executive Officer of WRLD is attached hereto as Exhibit 99.2 to this Form 8-K and is furnished to, but not filed with, the Commission.

Item 9.01    Financial Statements and Exhibits.

(d)	Exhibits.
	Exhibit Number	Description of Exhibit
	99.1	Press release issued May 9, 2017
	99.2	Prepared remarks by Chief Executive Officer for May 9, 2017 conference call

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.

			WORLD ACCEPTANCE CORPORATION
			(Registrant)
Date:	May 9, 2017
		By:	/s/ John Calmes
			John Calmes
			Chief Financial Officer

EXHIBIT INDEX

Exhibit	Description
99.1	Press Release dated May 9, 2017
99.2	Prepared remarks by Chief Executive Officer for May 9, 2017 conference call

EX-99.1

Exhibit 99.1

World Acceptance Corporation Reports Fourth Quarter

GREENVILLE, S.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 9, 2017--World Acceptance Corporation (NASDAQ: WRLD) today reported financial results for its fourth fiscal quarter and twelve months ended March 31, 2017.

Net income for the fourth quarter increased 6.8% to $31.9 million compared to $29.8 million for the same quarter of the prior year. Net income per diluted share increased 6.4% to $3.64 in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2017 compared to $3.42 in the prior year quarter.

Total revenues increased to $144.6 million for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2017, a 0.3% increase from the $144.1 million reported for the fourth quarter last year. Revenues from the 1,258 offices open throughout both quarterly periods increased by 1.3%. Interest and fee income decreased 1.6%, from $121.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2016 to $119.5 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2017 primarily due to a decrease in average earning loans and an unfavorable move in exchange rates. Insurance and other income increased by 10.6% to $25.1 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2017 compared with $22.7 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2016. The increase in other income was primarily due to an increase in tax preparation revenue of $2.7 million. The tax preparation business benefited from an interest and fee free tax advance loan offering to qualifying customers. This was offset by a $276,000 decrease in insurance revenue.

Accounts in the US that were 61 days or more past due increased to 5.0% on a recency basis and to 7.0% on a contractual basis at March 31, 2017, compared to 4.4% and 6.5%, respectively, at March 31, 2016. On a consolidated basis, accounts that were 61 days or more past due increased to 5.5% on a recency basis and to 7.8% on a contractual basis at March 31, 2017, compared to 4.7% and 7.1%, respectively, at March 31, 2016. As a result of the higher delinquencies, our allowance to net loans increased from 9.0% at March 31, 2016, to 9.4% at March 31, 2017.

As previously disclosed, the Company ceased all in-person collection visits effective December 18, 2015. During the fourth quarter of fiscal 2016, the Company experienced higher than normal delinquencies in January and February as well as higher than normal charge-offs, especially in the month of March, as accounts became more than 90 days past due. We continue to see elevated net charge-offs and delinquencies compared to historical levels, however we have seen an improvement in net charge-offs during the fourth quarter of fiscal 2017 compared to 2016. The provision for the quarter decreased $3.7 million when comparing the fourth quarter of fiscal 2017 to the fourth quarter of fiscal 2016. This is primarily due to a decrease in net charge-offs. Net charge-offs as a percentage of average net loans on an annualized basis decreased from 18.9% to 15.4% when comparing the two quarters. The prior year net charge-off rate benefited from the monthly sale of accounts previously charged-off totaling approximately $0.5 million. Consolidated net charge-offs excluding the impact of the charge-off sale were down $7.5 million when comparing the two fiscal quarters. The portion of the provision related to a change in loans outstanding decreased $1.7 million quarter over quarter due to gross loans outstanding decreasing $105.2 million in the fourth quarter of 2017 versus $152.2 million in the fourth quarter of 2016. Accounts 90 days past due in the US, which are fully reserved, decreased by $5.7 million in the current quarter versus $9.4 million the same quarter last year, which resulted in a $3.7 million increase in the provision.

General and administrative expenses amounted to $70.0 million in the fourth fiscal quarter, a 5.2% increase over the $66.6 million in the same quarter of the prior fiscal year. As a percentage of revenues, G&A expenses increased from 46.2% during the fourth quarter of fiscal 2016 to 48.4% during the current quarter. G&A expenses per average open office increased by 6.6% when comparing the two fiscal quarters. G&A expense increased primarily due to an increase in personnel costs. Share based compensation increased $1.7 million during the quarter due to the release of expense previously accrued for the Group B performance based restricted stock awards in the fourth quarter of 2016. During the prior year quarter, the Company determined that the earnings per share target of $13.00 per share was not achievable during the measurement period which ended on March 31, 2017. Subsequently, the Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors, amended the awards allowing 25% of the Group B awards to vest for certain officers. The amendment resulted in a net $1.7 million reduction of compensation expense in the prior year quarter. The officers were required to forfeit their remaining Group B shares as a part of the amendment.

Interest expense for the fourth quarter decreased $1.8 million compared to the fourth quarter of the prior year due to a 21.6% decrease in the average debt outstanding. The Company has reduced its outstanding debt by $79.5 million as of March 31, 2017, compared to March 31, 2016. This is a result of not repurchasing shares during the fiscal quarter as well as a decrease in loans outstanding.

The Company’s fourth quarter effective income tax rate decreased to 34.6% compared with 35.5% in the prior year’s fourth quarter. Our effective tax rate benefitted from the settlement of a state tax matter subsequent to year end.

Gross loans decreased to $1.06 billion as of March 31, 2017, a 0.7% decrease from the $1.07 billion of loans outstanding as of March 31, 2016. Gross loans in the US decreased 2.2%, and gross loans in Mexico increased 13.7% in US dollars. Gross loans in Mexico increased 23.5% in Mexican pesos. Gross loans in the US benefited from the acquisition of 14 branches and $18.9 million in gross loans during the quarter. The gross loan balance for the acquired branches was $18.3 million as of March 31, 2017. Without the acquisition, consolidated gross loans would have decreased 2.4% compared to prior year. Our unique borrowers in the US decreased by 62,039 or 7.8% during the fourth quarter of 2017. This is compared to a decrease of 88,172 or 10.8% in the fourth quarter of 2016 and a decrease of 73,180 or 8.6% in the fourth quarter of 2015. Year to date we have increased our unique customers in the US by 7,631 or 1.0%, compared to a decrease of 45,867 or 5.9% in fiscal 2016 and decrease of 11,914 or 1.5% in fiscal 2015.

Other key return ratios for the fourth quarter included an 8.8% return on average assets and a return on average equity of 17.8% (both on a trailing 12-month basis).

We remain optimistic about our Mexican operations. We have approximately 160,000 accounts and approximately $116.5 million in gross loans outstanding in Mexico. This represents a 13.7% increase in loan balances in US dollars over last year, and an increase of 23.5% in Mexican pesos over March 31, 2016. Annualized Mexican net charge-offs as a percent of average net loans decreased from 12.2% in fiscal 2016 to 10.0% during the current fiscal year. Additionally, our Mexican 61+ day delinquencies were 10.1% and 14.0% on a recency and contractual basis, respectively, as of March 31, 2017, a change from 7.3% and 12.3%, respectively, as of March 31, 2016. Excluding intercompany charges of $0.5 million in fiscal 2017 and $2.7 million in fiscal 2016, fiscal 2017 Mexican pretax earnings amounted to $8.5 million, a 3.6% increase from the $8.2 million in pretax earnings during fiscal 2016.

Fiscal Year Results

For fiscal 2017, net income decreased 15.8% to $73.6 million compared with $87.4 million for the year ended March 31, 2016. Fully diluted net income per share decreased 16.6% to $8.38 in fiscal 2017 compared with $10.05 for fiscal 2016.

Total revenues for fiscal 2017 declined 4.6% to $531.7 million compared with $557.5 million during fiscal 2016. Net charge-offs as a percent of average net loans increased from 14.8% during fiscal 2016 to 15.7% for fiscal 2017. Similar to the quarter, revenues were impacted by a decrease in average earning loans during the year. Net charge-offs for fiscal 2017 were negatively impacted by the cessation of in-person visits as discussed above.

Other Matters

As previously disclosed, on August 7, 2015, the Company received a letter from the CFPB’s Enforcement Office notifying the Company that, in accordance with the CFPB’s discretionary Notice and Opportunity to Respond and Advise (“NORA”) process, the staff of CFPB’s Enforcement Office is considering recommending that the CFPB take legal action against the Company (the “NORA Letter”). The NORA Letter states that the staff of the CFPB’s Enforcement Office expects to allege that the Company violated the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010, 12 U.S.C. §5536. The NORA Letter confirms that the Company has the opportunity to make a NORA submission, which is a written statement setting forth any reasons of law or policy why the Company believes the CFPB should not take legal action against it. Following the CFPB’s NORA Letter, the Company made NORA submissions to the CFPB’s Enforcement Office. The Company understands that a NORA Letter is intended to ensure that potential subjects of enforcement actions have the opportunity to present their positions to the CFPB before an enforcement action is recommended or commenced. The Company continues to believe its historical and current business practices are lawful.

About World Acceptance Corporation

World Acceptance Corporation is one of the largest small-loan consumer finance companies, operating 1,327 offices in 15 states and Mexico. It is also the parent company of ParaData Financial Systems, a provider of computer software solutions for the consumer finance industry.

Fourth Quarter Conference Call

The senior management of World Acceptance Corporation will be discussing these results in its quarterly conference call to be held at 10:00 a.m. Eastern time today. A simulcast of the conference call will be available on the Internet at https://www.webcaster4.com/Webcast/Page/1118/20663. The call will be available for replay on the Internet for approximately 30 days.

This press release may contain various “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, that represent the Company’s expectations or beliefs concerning future events. Statements other than those of historical fact, as well as those identified by the words “anticipate,” “estimate,” ”intend,” “plan,” “expect,” ”project,” “believe,” “may,” “will,” “should,” “would,” “could” and any variation of the foregoing and similar expressions are forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements are about matters that are inherently subject to risks and uncertainties. Factors that could cause actual results or performance to differ from the expectations expressed or implied in such forward-looking statements include the following: recently enacted, proposed or future legislation and the manner in which it is implemented; the nature and scope of regulatory authority, particularly discretionary authority, that may be exercised by regulators, including, but not limited to, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (the “CFPB”), having jurisdiction over the Company’s business or consumer financial transactions generically; the unpredictable nature of regulatory proceedings and litigation; any determinations, findings, claims or actions made or taken by the CFPB, other regulators or third parties that assert or establish that the Company’s lending practices or other aspects of its business violate applicable laws or regulations, which may or may not be in connection with or resulting from the previously disclosed civil investigative demand (CID) or the notice and opportunity to respond and advise (NORA) letter from the CFPB; the impact of changes in accounting rules and regulations, or their interpretation or application, which could materially and adversely affect the Company’s reported financial statements or necessitate material delays or changes in the issuance of the Company’s audited financial statements; the Company's assessment of its internal control over financial reporting, and the timing and effectiveness of the Company's efforts to remediate any reported material weakness in its internal control over financial reporting; changes in interest rates; risks related to expansion and foreign operations; risks inherent in making loans, including repayment risks and value of collateral; the timing and amount of revenues that may be recognized by the Company; changes in current revenue and expense trends (including trends affecting delinquencies and charge-offs); the potential impact of limitations in the Company’s amended revolving credit facility; and changes in the Company’s markets and general changes in the economy (particularly in the markets served by the Company). These and other factors are discussed in greater detail in Part I, Item 1A, “Risk Factors” in the Company’s most recent annual report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2016 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) and the Company’s other reports filed with, or furnished to, the SEC from time to time. World Acceptance Corporation does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements it makes. The Company is also not responsible for updating the information contained in this press release beyond the publication date, or for changes made to this document by wire services or Internet services.

World Acceptance Corporation
Consolidated Statements of Operations
(unaudited and in thousands, except per share amounts)
				Three Months Ended			Twelve Months Ended
				March 31,			March 31,
				2017		2016	2017	2016
Interest & fees			$	119,478		121,461	468,759	495,133
Insurance & other				25,093		22,682	62,975	62,343
	Total revenues			144,571		144,143	531,734	557,476
Expenses:
	Provision for loan losses			20,702		24,373	128,572	123,598
	General and administrative expenses
		Personnel		47,167		43,989	171,958	169,573
		Occupancy & equipment		10,787		11,492	42,438	44,461
		Advertising		2,932		2,322	17,866	16,863
		Intangible amortization		107		121	490	529
		Other		9,027		8,631	34,909	37,714
				70,020		66,555	267,661	269,140
	Interest expense			5,125		6,959	21,504	26,849
		Total expenses		95,847		97,887	417,737	419,587
Income before taxes				48,724		46,256	113,997	137,889
Income taxes				16,873		16,431	40,397	50,493
Net income			$	31,851		29,825	73,600	87,396
Diluted earnings per share			$	3.64		3.42	8.38	10.05
Diluted weighted average shares outstanding				8,754		8,708	8,778	8,692
Consolidated Balance Sheets
(unaudited and in thousands)
						March 31,	March 31,	March 31,
						2017	2016	2015
		ASSETS
Cash					$	15,200	12,377	38,339
Gross loans receivable						1,059,804	1,066,964	1,110,145
	Less: Unearned interest & fees					(291,908)	(290,659)	(297,402)
	Allowance for loan losses					(72,195)	(69,566)	(70,438)
		Loans receivable, net				695,701	706,739	742,305
Property and equipment, net						24,184	25,297	25,907
Deferred income taxes, net						39,025	38,131	37,345
Goodwill						6,067	6,121	6,121
Intangibles, net						6,614	2,917	3,364
Other assets, net						13,797	14,637	12,750
					$	800,588	806,219	866,131
		LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY
Liabilities:
	Notes payable					295,136	374,685	501,150
	Income tax payable					12,519	8,259	18,204
	Accounts payable and accrued expenses					31,869	31,373	31,209
		Total liabilities				339,524	414,317	550,563
Shareholders' equity						461,064	391,902	315,568
					$	800,588	806,219	866,131

Selected Consolidated Statistics
(dollars in thousands)
		Three Months Ended						Twelve Months Ended
		March 31,						March 31,
		2017			2016			2017			2016
Expenses as a percent of total revenues:
	Provision for loan losses		14.3	%		16.9	%		24.2	%		22.2	%
	General and administrative expenses		48.4	%		46.2	%		50.3	%		48.3	%
	Interest expense		3.5	%		4.8	%		4.0	%		4.8	%
Average gross loans receivable		$	1,121,434			1,145,503		$	1,100,700			1,147,956
Average net loans receivable		$	813,985			834,048		$	796,642			834,964
Loan volume		$	517,644		$	504,409		$	2,507,840		$	2,621,413
Net charge-offs as percent of average loans			15.4	%		18.9	%		15.7	%		14.8	%
Return on average assets (trailing 12 months)			8.8	%		10.0	%		8.8	%		10.0	%
Return on average equity (trailing 12 months)			17.8	%		24.0	%		17.8	%		24.0	%
Offices opened (closed) during the period, net			4			(11	)		(12	)		19
Offices open at end of period			1,327			1,339			1,327			1,339

CONTACT:
World Acceptance Corporation
John L. Calmes Jr., 864-298-9800
Chief Financial Officer

EX-99.2

Exhibit 99.2

Q4 FY2017EARNINGS CALL SCRIPT
Please find following a summary of our operational results for this past quarter, Q4 FY2017 as well as for the full year FY2017. The purpose of these notes is to add more detail to the standard press release that we issue each quarter. We intend to dedicate the Earnings Call time to answer any specific questions that anyone may have on our results or performance year-to-date.

OVERALL
We followed a strong Q3 (with results on key growth metrics generally above Q3 FY2016) with a strong Q4. Revenue this quarter increased by 0.3% over Q4 FY2016, despite our starting gross loans being lower by 4.4% than in Q4 FY2016. Furthermore, same store growth (meaning stores open both years) in our US business was positive for the full year in terms of accounts and unique customers, representing the first time in several years that we did not shrink on these metrics.

Net income was also up in Q4 FY2017 – an increase of 6.8% versus Q4 FY2016. This represents the first time in seven quarters that we have experienced an increase in net income (compared to same quarter previous year) and can be attributed in large part to an improvement in loan quality and a decrease in our provision. Our net charge-offs as a percentage of average net loans decreased from 18.9% to 15.4%. This lead to a reduction in our provision of $3.7 million.

Our operating statistics in terms of growth and quality of accounts for Q4 FY2017 continued the trend seen in Q3, again showing a solid improvement over the same quarter a year ago. For Q4 FY2017, we were again able to increase the number of new and returning customers that we added to our base compared to the same quarter a year ago. We consider this a very positive sign towards the future growth potential of the company. Furthermore, we have consistently improved new borrower and former borrower solicitation and have a solid plan for continued improvement in FY2018.

Revenue for the full year declined 4.6% and net income declined 15.8%. This is not surprising as we started FY2017 with gross loans that were 3.9% below gross loans at the beginning of FY2016. However, for the full year, we not only grew in both unique customers and in accounts, but this growth is the first time since before 2014 that our company grew on these metrics. We consider this a very significant achievement.

Total dollar delinquency in the US (which is balances over 30 days past due), has reduced versus last fiscal year when comparing every month in this most recent quarter on a recency basis; and charge-off levels are also lower than a year ago, although still more elevated than in recent years.

We continue to be pleased with our decision to end field calls in December 2015. Unlike some of our competitors who have now returned to field calling having previously stopped it around the same time, we have no plans to return to this collection method. The rise in the dollar value of charge-offs is only marginally above the cost savings we have experienced through the elimination of field calls. We continue to believe the resulting reduction in personnel and mileage expenses combined with the ability for great associates to be promoted to branch manager without a required stage in collecting first, will increase the strength of our associate base and further improve branch performance, thus creating a more cohesive office environment.

1

LOAN PORTFOLIO PERFORMANCE
Account performance
As we have explained before, we believe that the number of unique customers that we have is a critical measure of future growth (as long as underwriting criteria has not deteriorated). The total number of unique customers in the US of 737,000 at the end of the quarter is 61,000 below our peak of around 797,000 unique customers as of March 31 for the last five years. However, the number of unique customers we lost this quarter was 20% lower than in Q4 FY2016. (Our last quarter of the fiscal year is always higher in paybacks than in new loan originations due to our customers receiving their tax refunds.)

We are very pleased to see that our runoff rate in the latest quarter has been lower not just than the same quarter in FY2016. This fiscal year, for the first time since before 2014, we have actually added unique customers (including the acquisition, which added 8,088 customers).

Furthermore, we have brought in these new customers at lower loan sizes than in the past, which we expect to result in lower charge-offs for this customer group as well as an increased opportunity to offer higher loan amounts as the payment performance merits.

Looking at same-store account growth, we are up 0.6%, with 496 (45%) of our full-year-operated branches managing to grow their accounts. Therefore, we are very pleased with our account growth performance this quarter and full fiscal year.

Gross loan performance
This quarter we continued the trend of Q3 by improving on our performance versus the same quarter FY2016. For the US and Mexico combined, our gross loans contracted by 31% less than in Q4 FY2016; for the full year, our gross loans are down 0.7%. We are particularly pleased about this small reduction, when new originations have been made at smaller dollar values than in the past.

Looking at same-store gross loan growth in the US, we are down 2.4%. However, 429 (38%) of our full-year-operated branches were able to grow their gross loans this fiscal year. Of course, since our gross loans in the US began Q4 FY2017 at lower levels than a year earlier (5.3% smaller), it is not surprising that, in spite of shrinking our gross loans less this quarter than Q4 FY2016, we are still not at previous levels, and so our interest and fee income as well as insurance income are not as high as a year ago.

Credit quality of customer base
We have continued to reduce our lending to lower credit score customers; the average credit score of our customer base continues to rise as our current customers improve their scores and new customers that we bring in have higher scores than in the past. The average credit score for Q4 originations (just like in Q3) are up in all categories (new borrowers, former borrowers and refinancings) compared to a year ago, and are now at the highest average credit score levels that we’ve seen in the last four years. We expect these higher credit scores to lead to lower future charge-offs for this tranche of customers – certainly lower than charge-offs would have been without moving more strongly into these higher credit quality segments.

2

Refinancing
Refinances in January and February increased from the equivalent months a year earlier in number and percent of ledger for the US, having been much lower than year-over-year in preceding months. For the full year, refinancing as a percent of ledger is down slightly at 16.3% versus 16.5% in FY2016.

Delinquencies and charge-offs
When we stopped field calling abruptly in December 2015, we did see a subsequent increase in charge-offs, as mentioned in previous Earnings Calls, which has caused us to have a heightened focus on improving recoveries and reducing delinquencies.

From December through February, we have experienced a trend of lower total delinquencies each month year-on-year in the US, especially in the 30-day contractual bucket. We expect this to have a positive effect on future charge-offs, as we have fewer delinquencies in the pipeline that could potentially become charged off in the future if not rehabilitated. Furthermore, the continued improvement in credit scores of our current customer base should also have a positive effect on reducing future charge-offs. In fact, our charge-offs this past March were down considerably from last March, and they are also trending better in April (both as a percent of ledger and as a total value).

We created the new position of Director of Recoveries, tasked with implementing centralized and consistent collections strategy to maximize each stage of the recoveries process. In April, we hired a very experienced leader to fill this position.

We have also improved on all our usual metrics of repayment performance versus a year earlier as well as our recoveries activities, both in frequency and in the variety of offerings we present to our charged-off and very delinquent customers.

GROWTH STRATEGIES
Live checks program:We completed five tests in four states in FY2017, where previously our company had no experience in this channel. We have been improving our response rate and reducing our risk with each test. Through this channel, we have brought back approximately 17,000 former customers to World.

Direct Mail:Our direct mail loan volume had been decreasing every year since 2011. This year, we not only brought in more direct mail customers than in FY2016, but we are now bringing in more customers through direct mail than at any time since 2012. We attribute this to our world-class Data Analytics and Marketing teams who have strengthened both our customer selection and marketing materials.

Texting:The percentage of our customers signed up to receive text messages is at the highest level in our company’s history.

3

New Branches:
This quarter, we continued our focus on improving efficiency by closing branches where historical nor future profitability would be achieved. Many times, these were branches that had been opened in close proximity to each other in the same small town, each with a small number of accounts, and so merging to make one larger profitable branch made infinitely more sense. Thus this “rationalization” meant we closed 13 branches in Q4, bringing the total to 44 branches this fiscal year, significantly more than in years past, where we generally did not close branches at all. For example, from 2010-2014, we only closed 12 branches; in FY2015, when we began to allow branch closures, we closed 18 branches, followed by 15 in FY2016. We expect that in FY2018, the number of closures will be very significantly reduced.

For new branches, we are using much more data than in the past to determine optimal locations to open branches (and thus avoid the need for closure a few years down the road). Furthermore, Q4 is not traditionally a time when we open branches, it being right after our growth season. This Q4 we opened three new branches. This fiscal year we only opened 10 new branches (mostly in states where our presence is newer), compared to 29 the previous year, and many more in the several years prior to that. In FY2018, we expect once again to return to growing net branch numbers both in our long-standing and newer states, and indeed, already have many new locations selected as possessing high potential for our business.

We are excited by our acquisition in Georgia that brings us 14 new branches and $18.9 million in gross loans. Given the regulatory difficulty of obtaining branch licenses in Georgia, which therefore limits the ability to grow, this acquisition gives us branches in locations we could not otherwise obtain and thus gives us a new customer base on which to expand. We also believe this is a good signal to the industry that after several years without any acquisition over $5 million in gross loans, we are actively considering additions that strengthen our business in current markets or possibly in new ones.

We continue our migration to one single brand name so as to maximize brand value, name recognition and marketing spend. We bought the trademark for World Finance in Oklahoma this fiscal year and are now also migrating those branches (when moved or remodeled) from the World Acceptance brand name. Currently, 1061 out of our 1169 US branches are under the World Finance name.

All of our US branches are also now working successfully under our new extended hours, including Saturday.

In the US and Mexico, we currently have 1,327 open branches, only down by 1% from FY2016.

United Motor Club:
UMC, a product that offers roadside coverage and other value-added services to motorists and is not connected to our loan products, is a small but profitable component of our business. In FY2017, we changed our operating system to make it easier for our branch associates to offer UMC appropriately to our customers and, as a result, we have seen revenues in Q4 (as already in Q3) above the same quarter of FY2016. This quarter, revenues were up 23.8% versus the same quarter a year ago. UMC revenue for the full year at $2.5 million was flat compared to FY2016.

4

OTHER PERFORMANCE DETAILS
Tax Preparation:
In FY2016, we had an excellent year in our tax preparation business, with the introduction of an advance product which better met our customers’ needs and increased the number of tax preparations by 13% compared to FY2015. This fiscal year, we improved on our marketing of the offering, and experienced another increase, this time over 15% in the number of tax filings we prepared. This growth over two years equates to more than 29%; the number of tax filings we prepared in FY2017 is also a record high for the company, beating our previous record set in 2008.

In FY2017, we also increased the average price of our tax prep service by 7.1%, thus increasing the revenue from our tax prep business YOY by 23%, giving us an increase of $2.8 million compared to tax season FY2016.

We are particularly pleased that we managed to grow at this level when, according to GlobeNewswire, major tax preparer H&R Block reported a decline in its e-filings of 0.1% compared to the IRS reported reduction of 0.3%.

Personnel Expense:
Overall personnel expenses increased $3.2 million or 7.2% in Q4 compared to the same quarter of last year. The primary reason for the increase was an increase of $2.2 million in incentive expense during the quarter as a result of improved branch level performance. Also, share-based compensation increased $1.7 million during the quarter due to the release of expense previously accrued for restricted stock awards in Q4 2016. Our payroll and overtime expense also increased $400,000 quarter over quarter. This was off-set by a decrease in benefit expense of $1.2 million due to lower health insurance and workers compensation expense.

In order to ensure we use our field personnel productively, we have created guidelines for full-time associates proportional to branch size and we are tracking these on a quarterly basis and reducing/ increasing per branch as needed to maximize our efficiency.

We continue to believe that we can reduce our field personnel costs over time. The elimination of field calls allows more time to be spent at the branch level focused on improving branch performance. We have re-written our Monthly Supervisor Report to focus much more on training and coaching than the basics of passing an audit, which we believe our field personnel are more than capable of doing. We are also ramping up our focus on hiring Associates with more than a high school diploma, as we have found that for the most part, the turnover is lower and the performance is higher for folks with an Associate’s degree or at least one-or-more year degree beyond high school.

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Mexico:
Our Mexico business has had another very good quarter. Gross loans in Mexico increased 13.7% in US dollars. However, gross loans in Mexico increased 23.5% in Mexican pesos. Avance, our traditional installment loan business, continues to grow while reducing delinquencies. Loans 60 days or more past due on a recency basis in our VIVA business increased to 14.6% compared to 10.2% the same quarter of FY2016. We continue to closely monitor late payments from a few specific unions and to diversify our union base in order to limit exposure in any one specific union or state.

Revolving credit from bank group:
We are pleased to say that we have renegotiated our revolving credit facility with our bank lending group. The credit facility reduced from $460 million to $370 million on March 31, 2017. However, the renegotiated terms in fact increase the facility to $480 million and extend our term to June 15, 2019. The interest rate remains the same and the initiation fee for the new contract was in line with past renewals. We are pleased to say that a new bank joined our lending group, coming in with a commitment of $50 million, while all of our current bankers remained in the group. We do not foresee any constraints on our growth in FY2018.

Our current debt to equity ratio is 0.6:1. We consider 2:1 to be a conservative level and we are clearly significantly below that level. The amended revolving credit agreement allows for the repurchase of shares, subject to certain conditions; therefore, we expect to use some portion of cashflow to repurchase shares up to 50% of consolidated adjusted net income during FY2018.

REGULATORY ENVIRONMENT
There have been no significant changes in state regulations nor do we see any impending passed regulations that will affect our business model at this time.

CFPB:
Regarding proposed regulations from the CFPB on small dollar lending, as the proposal stands at present, we believe that the effect on our business practices will be fairly limited, though we will not be able to determine that conclusively until / if the final new regulations come into existence. With the change in government leadership, it is unclear on the expected timetable for these regulations to be issued. Regarding the CID issued to World in March of 2014, we have no further information to add.

IN SUMMARY
We are pleased with our continued growth in our Mexico businesses. We are also pleased with our operational improvements in the US, above all in growing our unique customer base for the first time in four years and shrinking our gross loans much less than a year ago. Our US same store growth in unique customers and accounts demonstrates that our improvements in marketing and underwriting processes are showing signs of success. We are pleased with the increase in credit quality of both our new customers and our portfolio in general. The myriad of operating changes we continue to make to constantly improve our business are also showing positive results. The question “How can we do better?” is now something we ask ourselves every day and fully ingrain into our corporate culture.

For FY2018, we have a strong focus on three areas: further strengthening our recoveries, increasing current customer loan sizes where warranted and desired, and generally expanding and improving our digital activities and presence.

We look forward to continuing to improve our operating metrics in both our US and Mexico operations in FY2018.

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