That means, on average, each store made 8,182 loans valued at $204,545.

If the 381 payday loan stores in Utah followed that national average, the Utah industry would have had a total of 3.1 million loans valued at $77.9 million.

The Center for Responsible Lending, a group opposing the payday loan industry, estimates the average profit rate per dollar on a payday loan is 34 percent. If that is correct, Utah's 381 payday loan stores would have made a profit in 2002 of $26.5 million.

Cash America, national chain of pawn stores and payday lenders, is publicly traded, so its profits are known and may be an example of what other companies make.

It reported that its revenue increased from $350.5 million in 2002 to $469.5 million in 2004 — up 34 percent in two years.

Earnings per share for stockholders jumped from 48 cents a share in 2002 to $1.18 a share in 2004 — up 145 percent in two years.

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E-mail: lee@desnews.com

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Tuesday: Utah's lack of regulation