Exhibit 99.1

		Contact: Kelly Malson         CFO		FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE   NASDAQ: NICK Web site:  nicholasfinancial.com
Nicholas Financial, Inc. Corporate Headquarters 2454 McMullen-Booth Rd. Building C, Suite 501 Clearwater, FL 33759		www.nicholasfinancial.com         Ph # (727) 726-0763

Nicholas Financial Reports

3^rd Quarter Results

February 1, 2019 – Clearwater, Florida - Nicholas Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ: NICK) announced a net loss for the three months ended December 31, 2018 of $0.9 million compared to a net loss of $2.9 million for the three months ended December 31, 2017. Diluted net loss per share decreased to $0.12 for the three months ended December 31, 2018 as compared to $0.37 for the three months ended December 31, 2017. Revenue decreased 18.4% to $16.7 million for the three months ended December 31, 2018 as compared to $20.5 million for the three months ended December 31, 2017. The Company reported an operating loss before income taxes for the three months ended December 31, 2018 of $1.3 million compared to operating income of $0.8 million for the three months ended December 31, 2017. The Company recorded an income tax benefit of approximately $0.4 million during the current quarter compared to $3.7 million income tax provision during the three months ending December 31, 2017. This change was attributed to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act enacted in the prior year.

“Whereas it is always disappointing to have a negative earnings quarter, we remain pleased with our continuing efforts to improve the overall health of the Company and with our subsequent positive results related to our last 12 months of purchases and operations,” commented Doug Marohn, President and CEO of Nicholas Financial. “As we have reported over the last 4 quarters, the legacy portfolios from purchases in 2015, 2016 and 2017 have difficult pools in terms of underwriting quality and subsequent portfolio performance/losses. Our focus over the last year has been to manage through these existing receivables as best we can, but more importantly to substantially improve our underwriting and operations in an effort to improve the strength and stability of the Company going forward.”

Net income for the nine months ended December 31, 2018 was $1.1 million compared to a net loss of $1.7 million for the nine months ended December 31, 2017. Diluted net earnings per share increased to $0.14 for the nine months ended December 31, 2018 as compared to a $0.22 loss for the nine months ended December 31, 2017. Revenue decreased 14.3% to $54.9 million for the nine months ended December 31, 2018 as compared to $64.1 million for the nine months ended December 31, 2017. The Company’s operating income before income taxes decreased for the nine months ended December 31, 2018 to $1.4 million compared to $2.7 million for the nine months ended December 31, 2017. The provision for income taxes decreased to $0.3 million compared to $4.4 million in the prior year. This change was attributed to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act enacted in the prior year.

“Over the last year we have been able to improve all significant Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) on new purchases resulting significantly increased yields on the new purchases and a lower exposure for potential losses,” continued Marohn.

“This focus on improving our loan metrics also came with a deliberate reduction in our new loan purchases to allow for retraining of our field employees, redevelopment of our dealer relationships and remarketing of our brand. Now that we have been successful in correcting the type of contracts we purchase, we intend to focus more efforts on increasing the quantity of purchases, as well.” The Company began modifying its underwriting guidelines half way through fiscal 2018 to improve the quality of Contracts being purchased. These changes led to a decrease in the dollar amount of Contracts purchased by approximately $24.1 million, or 29.9%, during the 9 months ended December 31, 2018, as compared to the nine months ended December 31, 2017. However, the number of Contracts purchased only decreased by 1,420, or 20.4%, over the same period of time, as illustrated in the table above. The revenue decrease during the nine months ended December 31, 2018, as compared to the nine months ended December 31, 2017, was a result of this reduction in the dollar amount of Contracts purchased partially offset by an increase in the average APR. With tighter underwriting guidelines and a decreasing portfolio, the Company’s provision for credit losses saw a 12.4% improvement for the three months ended December 31, 2018 compared to the three months ended December 31, 2017 and a 25.0% improvement for the nine months ended December 31, 2018 compared to the nine months ended December 31, 2017.

Marohn continued, “We are also very excited about the progress we are making with our Direct Loan / Consumer Loan product. What was once primarily a Florida-specific product is now an active product in Florida, North Carolina, Georgia and Ohio. As a result, we have increased our Direct Loan portfolio by over 13% in this past quarter. We are in the process of licensing Tennessee, Kentucky and Indiana and expect those markets to be operational by the end of our 4^th quarter. It is our strategy to eventually have the Direct Loan product in each of our markets where we have a branch office.”

Nicholas Financial, Inc. is a publicly-traded specialty consumer finance company, operating branch locations in both Southeastern and Midwestern U.S. states. The Company has approximately 7.9 million shares of voting common stock outstanding. For an index of Nicholas Financial, Inc.’s news releases or to obtain a specific release, visit our web site at www.nicholasfinancial.com.

Cautionary Note regarding Forward-Looking Statements

Except for the historical information contained herein, the matters discussed in this news release include forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties including risk relating to competition and our ability to increase and maintain yield and profitability at desirable levels, as well as risks relating to general economic conditions, access to bank financing, and other risks detailed from time to time in the Company’s filings and reports with the Securities and Exchange Commission including the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended March 31, 2018. When used in this document, the words “anticipate”, “estimate”, “expect”, “will”, “may”, “plan,” “believe”, “intend” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Such statements are based on the beliefs of Company management as well as assumptions made by and information currently available to Company management. Actual events or results may differ materially from those anticipated, estimated or expect. All forward-looking statements and cautionary statements included in this document are made as of the date hereof based on information available to the Company as of the date hereof, and the Company assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement or cautionary statement.

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Nicholas Financial, Inc.

Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income

(Unaudited, Dollars in Thousands, Except Share and Per Share Amounts)

Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets

(Unaudited, In Thousands)

Note: All three-month and six-month statement of income performance indicators expressed as percentages have been annualized.

The following tables present certain information regarding the delinquency rates experienced by the Company with respect to automobile finance installment contracts (“Contracts”) and direct consumer loans (“Direct Loans”), excluding any Chapter 13 bankruptcy accounts:

The following table presents selected information on Contracts purchased by the Company (1):

The following table presents selected information on the entire Contract portfolio of the Company (1):

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