Rent-to-own News - Rent-A-Center Q3 revenues up 6%

Rent-A-Center today, announced revenues and earnings for the quarter ended September 30, 2011 including a six percent increase in total revenues driven primarily by the RAC Acceptance business.

Third Quarter 2011 Results

Total revenues for the quarter were $704.3 million, an increase of $39.7 million from total revenues of $664.6 million for the same period in the prior year. This 6.0% growth in total revenues was primarily due to an increase in revenue driven by the RAC Acceptance business, offset by a reduction in revenue due to the discontinuation of the financial services business. Same store sales for the three months ended September 30, 2011, increased 2.0%.

Net earnings and net earnings per diluted share for the three months ended September 30, 2011, were $31.2 million and $0.52, respectively, as compared to $40.5 million and $0.62, respectively, for the same period in the prior year. Net earnings and net earnings per diluted share for the three months ended September 30, 2011, were reduced by $7.6 million, and approximately $0.08 per share, respectively, due to a pre-tax restructuring charge related to store closings, as discussed below.

When excluding the pre-tax restructuring charge above, adjusted net earnings per diluted share for the three months ended September 30, 2011, were $0.60, as compared to net earnings per diluted share for the three months ended September 30, 2010, of $0.62. These results include approximately $0.07 per share dilution for the three months ended September 30, 2011 and $0.03 per share dilution for the same period in the prior year related to the Company's growth initiatives.

"Our results for the quarter were excellent in this very challenging economy as the demand for our products and services remained strong," said Mark E. Speese, the Company's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "Both our core rent-to-own and RAC Acceptance businesses reflected this customer demand in the quarter with the company's 2.0% same store sales growth split evenly between the two businesses," Speese added. "In 2012, we will continue to execute on our strategic plan that we communicated in November 2010. We will continue to focus on keeping the core business strong and extending our reach both domestically and internationally with a compelling set of growth initiatives," Speese continued. "Accordingly, our 2012 guidance includes total revenue growth in the range of 8% to 11% and net earnings per diluted share growth in the range of 8% to 15%, including approximately $0.20 per share dilution related to our international growth initiatives. We believe our growth will continue to be supported with our significant cash flow from operations and a solid balance sheet," Speese concluded.

See full report here.