First Cash Financial Services, Inc. (Nasdaq:FCFS) today announced
that its Board of Directors has authorized a new program for the
repurchase of up to 1,500,000 shares of its common stock. As of
December 14, 2011, the Company had 30,076,433 shares of common
stock outstanding.
Under previously completed share repurchase programs over the
past seven years, the Company has repurchased a total of 8,200,000
shares, representing 27% of the currently outstanding share
count.
Rick Wessel, the Company's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer,
said "The decision to authorize a new share repurchase program
reflects the confidence that management and the Board of Directors
have in the long-term future of First Cash. We remain committed to
our domestic and international growth strategies, as evidenced by
our long track record of significant store additions in both the
U.S. and Mexico. The Company currently has no outstanding
interest-bearing debt and has excess cash reserves of approximately
$42 million. Given First Cash's proven ability to fund expansion
and still generate strong levels of free cash flow, the Board
continues to believe that share repurchases through this new
authorization are potentially an excellent use of capital that
should enhance shareholder value over the long-term."
Under its share repurchase program, the Company can purchase
common stock in open market transaction, block or privately
negotiated transactions, and may from time to time purchase shares
pursuant to a trading plan in accordance with Rule 10b5-1 and Rule
10b-18 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or by
any combination of such methods. The number of shares to be
purchased and the timing of the purchases are based on a variety of
factors, including but not limited to the level of cash balances,
general business conditions, regulatory requirements, and the
availability of alternative investment opportunities. No time limit
was set for completion of repurchases under the new authorization
and the program may be suspended or discontinued at any time.
Forward-Looking Information
This release may contain forward-looking statements about the
business, financial condition and prospects of the Company.
Forward-looking statements, as that term is defined in the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, can be identified by the
use of forward-looking terminology such as "believes," "projects,"
"expects," "may," "estimates," "should," "plans," "targets,"
"intends," "could," or "anticipates," or the negative thereof, or
other variations thereon, or comparable terminology, or by
discussions of strategy or objectives. Forward-looking statements
can also be identified by the fact that these statements do not
relate strictly to historical or current matters. Rather,
forward-looking statements relate to anticipated or expected
events, activities, trends or results. Because forward-looking
statements relate to matters that have not yet occurred, these
statements are inherently subject to risks and uncertainties.
Forward-looking statements in this release include, without
limitation, the Company's expectations of earnings per share,
earnings growth, expansion strategies, regulatory exposures, store
openings, liquidity, cash flow, consumer demand for the Company's
products and services, future share repurchases and the impact
thereof, completion of disposition transactions and expected gains
from the sale of such operations, earnings from acquisitions, and
other performance results. These statements are made to provide the
public with management's current assessment of the Company's
business. Although the Company believes that the expectations
reflected in forward-looking statements are reasonable, there can
be no assurances that such expectations will prove to be accurate.
Security holders are cautioned that such forward-looking statements
involve risks and uncertainties. The forward-looking statements
contained in this release speak only as of the date of this
statement, and the Company expressly disclaims any obligation or
undertaking to report any updates or revisions to any such
statement to reflect any change in the Company's expectations or
any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such
statement is based. Certain factors may cause results to differ
materially from those anticipated by some of the statements made in
this release. Such factors are difficult to predict and many are
beyond the control of the Company and may include changes in
regional, national or international economic conditions, changes in
the inflation rate, changes in the unemployment rate, changes in
consumer purchasing, borrowing and repayment behaviors, changes in
credit markets, the ability to renew and/or extend the Company's
existing bank line of credit, credit losses, changes or increases
in competition, the ability to locate, open and staff new stores,
the availability or access to sources of inventory, inclement
weather, the ability to successfully integrate acquisitions, the
ability to hire and retain key management personnel, the ability to
operate with limited regulation as a credit services organization,
new federal, state or local legislative initiatives or governmental
regulations (or changes to existing laws and regulations) affecting
consumer loan businesses, credit services organizations and pawn
businesses (in both the United States and Mexico), changes in
import/export regulations and tariffs or duties, changes in
anti-money laundering regulations, unforeseen litigation, changes
in interest rates, monetary inflation, changes in tax rates or
policies, changes in gold prices, changes in energy prices, cost of
funds, changes in foreign currency exchange rates, future business
decisions, public health issues and other uncertainties. These and
other risks, uncertainties and regulatory developments are further
and more completely described in the Company's Annual Report on
Form 10-K and updated in subsequent releases on Form 10-Q.
About First Cash
First Cash Financial Services, Inc. is a leading international
specialty retailer and provider of consumer financial services. Its
569 retail pawn locations buy and sell a wide variety of jewelry,
electronics, tools and other merchandise, and make small customer
loans secured by pledged personal property. The Company's 109
consumer loan locations provide various combinations of financial
services products, including consumer loans, check cashing, and
credit services. In total, the Company owns and operates 678 stores
in eight U.S. states and 22 states in Mexico.
First Cash was named by Fortune Magazine as one of America's 100
fastest growing companies for 2011. First Cash is also a component
company in both the Standard & Poor's SmallCap 600
Index® and the Russell 2000 Index®. First
Cash's common stock (ticker symbol "FCFS") is
traded on the NASDAQ Global Select Market, which
has the highest initial listing standards of any stock exchange in
the world based on financial and liquidity requirements.
The First Cash Financial Services, Inc. logo is available at
http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=3365
CONTACT: Rick Wessel, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer
Doug Orr, Executive Vice President & Chief Financial Officer
Phone: (817) 505-3199
Email: investorrelations@firstcash.com
Website: www.firstcash.com
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