Operator: Good morning. My name is Karen, and I'll be your conference operator today. At this time, I would like to welcome everyone to the Asta Funding, Incorporated Investor Conference Call for the Third Quarter of Fiscal Year Ended September 30, 2017. [Operator Instructions] On the call today from Asta Funding are Gary Stern, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer; and Bruce Foster, Chief Financial Officer. Before our host, Gary Stern, discusses current results, let me take a few minutes to read the following statements. Except for statements of historical facts, all statements made during the conference call are forward-looking statements. Although Asta Funding believes the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are based upon reasonable assumptions, there can be no assurance that these expectations will be realized. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees and are subject to numerous known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to diverge materially and adversely from the results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Please review the full forward-looking statement in our earnings release issued today or in the company's annual report on Securities and Exchange Commission Form 10-K for the fiscal year-ended September 30, 2016 with the SEC. These can all be found on the company's website, www.astafunding.com. Now let me turn the call over to Gary Stern.
Gary Stern: Thank you. Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us for today's investor call. While the first half of 2017 has been challenging for the company, we believe we are executing on the strong strategy to create sustainable long-term growth opportunities for the company. Now let us begin with an update on our reportable segments, highlighting important aspects and initiatives of each of our four core businesses. First, consumer receivables segment. As you know, this segment manages our consumer portfolios that have been acquired for liquidation. As of June 30, 2017, the balance sheet shows $9.1 million in accounts receivable. We have a significant amount of consumer assets that are on zero basis of accounting. We are extremely diligent in our collection of these assets. These cash collections provide a significant cash flow for the company. Revenues continue to remain strong in this segment. Second, our personal injury claim segment represents our 80% investment in Pegasus Funding, as well as our 100% investment in Simia Capital, each of which provides personal injury litigation funding directly to consumers. Simia Capital, LLC, company's newly formed wholly-owned subsidiary, commenced operations in early January of this year. Simia was established in response to the company's decision not to renew its joint venture with Pegasus Legal Funding and as such, is currently funding personal injury settlement claims. During the second quarter, Simia completed the purchase of a $3 million personal injury claims portfolio. The company has begun funding original advances. Simia will continue to fund deals organically and may look to purchase additional portfolios on a selective basis. The company is no longer funding any new cases from Pegasus, instead is liquidating its existing portfolio. This segment continues to be an integral part of the company's long-term growth strategy. In the disability segment services section, GAR and Five Star Veterans operates a special lives advocacy firm that helps individuals and veterans obtain long-term disability benefits from the United States Social Security Administration and the Veterans Benefits Administration to assist in meeting their daily needs. During the third quarter of 2017, revenue for this segment remained relatively unchanged from the prior year period. Additionally, management has worked diligently to reduce the costs associated with this segment and decreased its operating expenses by approximately $1 million in the third quarter compared to the prior period. The fourth and final core business is structured settlements, which represents our investment in CBC Settlement Funding. CBC purchases periodic payments on the structured settlements and annuity policies in exchange for lump-sum cash payments. Over the last nine months, we have increased our structured settlement portfolio by $3.3 million to $89 million as of June 30, 2017. On April 7, 2017, CBC completed its seventh private placement note offering for $18 million with a yield of 5%. The combination of these segments form a strong foundation, by which we can effectively and efficiently grow the business. Now I'd like to turn the call over to Bruce Foster, our Chief Financial Officer, who will provide some additional details on the financial results.
Bruce Foster: Thank you, Gary, and good morning. For the three months ended June 30, 2017, net income attributable to Asta Funding, Inc. was $1.8 million or $0.27 per diluted share, as compared to net income attributable to Asta Funding, Inc. of $3.2 million or $0.26 per diluted share for the three months ended June 30, 2016. For the three months ended June 30, 2017, net income before net income attributable to non-controlling interest was $2.6 million, as compared to net income before net income attributable to non-controlling interest of $4.7 million for the three months ended June 30, 2016. Total income for the three months ended June 30, 2017, decreased $4.1 million to $14.9 million, compared to $19 million for the three months ended June 30, 2016. Total revenue included in the three months ended June 30, 2017 is approximately $4.1 million in revenue from CBC Settlement Funding, LLC on structured settlements, as compared to $3.2 million for the three months ended June 30, 2016. Also included in total revenues for the three months ended June 30, 2017 is approximately $5.6 million from the personal injury claims segment, as compared to $9.8 million for the three months ended June 30, 2016. Disability fee income from the three months ended June 30 was down by $0.1 million to $1.1 million, as compared to $1.2 million for the three months ended June 30, 2016. Finance income from the distressed receivable business was down by approximately $0.6 million to $4 million for the three months ended June 30, 2017, as compared to $4.6 million for the three months ended June 30, 2016. General and administrative expenses were $9.3 million for the three months ended June 30, 2017, as compared to $10.6 million for the three months ended June 30, 2016. The decrease for the three months ended June 30, 2017 was primarily attributable to reduction in the disability segment expenses related to advertising and payroll costs. Interest expense was $1.1 million for the three months ended June 30, 2017, as compared to $0.8 million for the three months ended June 30, 2016. Now turning to the nine month numbers. For the nine month ended June 30, 2017, net loss attributable to Asta Funding was $5.4 million or $0.57 per diluted share, as compared to net income attributable to Asta Funding, Inc. of $3.2 million or $0.26 per diluted share for the nine months ended June 30, 2016. For the nine months ended June 30, 2017, net loss before net loss attributable to non-controlling interest was $4.7 million, as compared to net income before net income attributable to non-controlling interest of $5.3 million for the nine months ended June 30, 2016. Total income for the nine months ended June 30, 2017 was $31.6 million, as compared to $42.3 million for the nine months ended June 30, 2016. Total revenue included for the nine months ended June 30, 2017 is approximately $5.6 million in revenue from CBC Funding on structured settlements, as compared to $9.1 million for the nine months ended June 30, 2016. Also included in total revenues for the nine months ended June 30, 2017 is approximately $10 million from the personal injury claims segment compared to $14.8 million for the nine months ended June 30, 2016. Disability fee income for the nine months ended June 30, 2017 was up by $1.3 million to $4 million, as compared to $2.7 million for the nine months ended June 30, 2016. Finance income from the distressed receivable business was down by approximately $2.7 million to $12 million for the nine months ended June 30, 2017, as compared to $14.7 million for the nine months ended June 30, 2016. General and administrative expenses were $36.3 million for the nine months ended June 30, 2017, as compared to $32 million for the nine months ended June 30, 2016. The increase for the nine months ended June 30, 2017 was primarily attributable to increase in professional fees of $2.5 million, primarily related to the Mangrove matter, increase in bad debt expense of $3.5 million and a loss on investment of $3.4 million, partially offset by the reduction in litigation settlement costs of $2.1 million, and advertising and payroll costs in the disability segment of $2.7 million. Interest expense was $3 million for the nine months ended June 30, 2017, as compared to $2.3 million for the nine months ended June 30, 2016. The increase in interest expense is a result of additional CBC debt incurred during the period to expand the investment structured settlements and the interest related to the Bank Hapoalim line of credit. Now turning your attention to the balance sheet. As of June 30, 2017, the company had approximately $22.1 million in cash and cash equivalents and available-for-sale investments. A $121.9 million in stockholders' equity and a net book value of per share of $18. At June 30, 2017, the company had an invested balance of $89 million in structured settlements and $27.5 million in personal injury claims. Net cash collections of consumer receivables acquired for liquidation for the nine months ended June 30, 2017 totaled $6 million compared to $7.5 million in 2016. Net cash collections on the Great Seneca portfolio were $1.2 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2017, compared to $1.6 million in 2016. Recurring value of the Great Seneca portfolio at June 30 was $0.7 million comparing to $5.4 million at June 30, 2016. The company through Simia invested approximately $0.5 million in original personal injury cases for the third quarter, as the company continues to build in its personal injury portfolio. Investments in structured settlements were approximately $5.4 million for the third quarter ended June 30, 2017, as compared to $4 million in 2016. This concludes my update on the financial results. I will now open the floor for any questions you may have.
Operator:
Gary Stern: I want to personally thank our shareholders for your support through the years. We remain committed to investing in areas for growth, while remaining focused on cost savings, balanced growth and value creation for you, our shareholders. Thank you for participating in our investor conference call. Have a great day.
Operator: Thank you for participating in today's teleconference. Have a pleasant day.