ATLANTA, Sept. 24 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Aaron Rents, Inc. (NYSE: RNT),
the nation's leader in the sales and lease ownership, specialty retailing and
rental of residential and office furniture, consumer electronics and home
appliances and accessories, today announced revised store opening plans and
commented on current business conditions.
"Our goal for 2007 was to add 250 new stores, a combination of Company-
operated and franchised stores," said R. Charles Loudermilk, Sr., Chairman and
Chief Executive Officer of Aaron Rents. "At the end of September 2007 we
anticipate over 115 of these stores will be completed. However it is evident
now, due primarily to construction delays, that all of these stores will not
be ready to conduct business by the end of the year. Although hard to exactly
predict, we anticipate that 50 to 75 of these additional stores will be pushed
into 2008."
"We expect operating costs as a percentage of revenue will be higher than
expected in the third and fourth quarter due primarily to these opening delays
as we continue to build resources in anticipation of adding new stores. In
addition, we have seen collections a little slower and associated write-offs
higher than expected so far in the third quarter. We anticipate that the
operating cost pressures will subside as revenue is generated as the new
stores open and also that collection trends will shortly return to more
normalized levels," continued Mr. Loudermilk.
"We expect overall revenues for the third quarter of 2007 to be up over
13% compared to the third quarter of last year. Revenues in the Aaron's Sales
& Lease Ownership division should increase over 15% in the third quarter
compared to the same quarter a year ago. In addition, we anticipate that same
store revenues in the Aaron's Sales & Lease Ownership division will increase
close to 5% in the third quarter compared to the same period last year and
that same store core rental revenues will be up approximately 7%. Due to the
operating cost pressures mentioned above our results for the third and fourth
quarter of 2007 will probably be at the low end of our earnings guidance or
somewhat below it. We will discuss revenue and earnings guidance for the
remainder of 2007 and the 2008 year as well as new store opening plans when we
announce third quarter results on October 24."
Aaron Rents will hold a conference call to discuss its quarterly financial
results on Thursday, October 25, 2007, at 10:30 am Eastern Time. The public is
invited to listen in to the conference call by webcast accessible through the
Company's website, www.aaronrents.com, in the "Investor Relations" section.
The webcast will be archived for playback at that same site.
Aaron Rents, Inc., based in Atlanta, currently has more than 1,450
Company-operated and franchised stores in 48 states and Canada for the rental
and sale of residential and office furniture, accessories, consumer
electronics and household appliances. The Company also manufactures furniture,
bedding and accessories at 13 facilities in five states.
"Safe Harbor" Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act
of 1995: Statements in this news release regarding Aaron Rents, Inc.'s
business which are not historical facts are "forward-looking statements" that
involve risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results to differ
materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements. These
risks and uncertainties include factors such as changes in general economic
conditions, competition, pricing, customer demand and other issues, and the
risks and uncertainties discussed under "Risk Factors" in the Company's Annual
Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2006. Statements
in this release that are "forward-looking" include without limitation comments
on Aaron Rents' projected revenues, earnings, store openings for future
periods, and operating costs.