Rent-A-Center Beats Estimates Despite Fall in Revenues (RCII)

Rent-A-Center Inc.

reports Q3 earnings of $0.62 versus consensus of $0.55. Rent-A-Center Inc. reports revenues of $664.6 million versus consensus of $661.09 million. Revenues decreased 1% year over year. Same store sales for the quarter ended September 30, 2010 increased 0.3%. RCII expects FY 2011 revenues to be in the range of $2.806 billion and $2.866 billion and same store sales in the range of 1.0% to 2.0%. "We had a very strong quarter as both our revenues and earnings exceeded our expectations," said Mark E. Speese, the Company's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "Customer demand remained strong in the quarter with total deliveries outperforming the comparable period in 2009," Speese stated. "We also continued to return value to our stockholders with the repurchase of 1.9 million shares of our common stock, and the declaration of our second consecutive quarterly dividend.” “We will continue to invest in future profitable growth as evidenced by the rapid expansion of our RAC Acceptance kiosks - partnering with retailers and offering the rent-to-own transaction to consumers who do not qualify for in-store financing. In addition, we are excited to announce our international entry into Mexico with the recent opening of our first rent-to-own store in Reynosa," Speese concluded. Shares of RCII are higher in the after-hours by 1.03%.