HOUSTON, Oct. 28 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Carriage Services, Inc. (NYSE: CSV) today announced results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2009. Financial highlights from continuing operations for the third quarter of 2009 compared to the third quarter of 2008 were as follows: Third Quarter Selected Financial Results (amounts in millions, except per share amounts) Change ----------------- Q3 2008(1) Q3 2009 Amount Percent ---------- ------- ------- ------- Total Revenues $43.2 $42.2 ($1.0) (2.4%) Consolidated EBITDA $8.4 $8.7 $0.3 4.3% Consolidated EBITDA Margin 19.4% 20.7% 130bp 6.7% Net Income $0.6 $0.9 $0.3 50% Diluted Earnings per Share $0.03 $0.05 $0.02 67% (1) For comparability purposes, Q3 2008 is adjusted to exclude special charges totaling $0.8 million HIGHLIGHTS Melvin C. Payne, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, stated, "Given a weak revenue environment, third quarter results were satisfactory primarily because we achieved EPS of $0.05 versus $0.03 on a comparable basis and $0.01 on a GAAP basis last year. Despite the lower funeral volumes and challenging economic conditions, our expense management across all areas of our business has continued to be excellent. The cost control theme was evident in the third quarter of 2009 as we reduced field level expenses by $1.4 million, more than offsetting the $1.0 million reduction in revenue and resulting in an increase of 160 basis points in Total Field EBITDA Margin to 32.2% in the quarter compared to 30.6% last year. As we enter the more seasonably high revenue period, we are well positioned to finish strong in the fourth quarter and to get off to a good start in 2010," concluded Payne. TREND REPORTING Management monitors consolidated same store and acquisition field operating and financial results both on a five year and most recent rolling four quarters basis ("Trend Reports") to reflect long term and short term trends and seasonality. "Acquisition" is defined as businesses acquired since January 2005 (date of refinancing the Senior Notes). The Trend Reports highlight trends in volumes, revenues, Field EBITDA (controllable profit), Field EBITDA Margin (controllable profit margin) and the components of overhead. Trend reporting allows management to focus on the key operational and financial drivers relevant to the longer term performance and valuation of the Company's portfolio of deathcare businesses. Please review the table below and visit the Investor Relations homepage of Carriage Services' web site at http://www.carriageservices.com/ for a link to the consolidated Annual and Quarterly Trend Reports. UNAUDITED INCOME STATEMENT FROM CONTINUING OPERATIONS Period Ended September 30, 2009 ($000's) Three Months Three Months Nine Months Nine Months Ended Ended Ended Ended September 30, September 30, September 30, September 30, 2008 2009 2008 2009 -------------- -------------- ------------- ------------- CONTINUING OPERATIONS Same Store Contracts Atneed Contracts 3,994 3,795 12,737 11,888 Preneed Contracts 922 861 3,055 2,830 ---------- ---------- ---------- ---------- Total Same Store Funeral Contracts 4,916 4,656 15,792 14,718 ---------- ---------- ---------- ---------- Acquisition Contracts Atneed Contracts 671 663 2,194 2,075 Preneed Contracts 187 225 656 687 New Store Openings 190 187 632 631 ---------- ---------- ---------- ---------- Total Funeral Contracts 5,964 5,731 19,274 18,111 ========== ========== ========== ========== Funeral Revenue Same Store Funeral Operations Revenue $26,657 $25,912 84,685 82,186 Preneed Commission and Other Revenue 626 483 2,053 1,573 ---------- ---------- ---------- ---------- Total Funeral Same Store Revenue 27,283 26,395 86,738 83,759 Acquired Funeral Operations Revenue 4,313 4,185 14,026 13,457 ---------- ---------- ---------- ---------- Total Funeral Home Revenue 31,596 30,580 100,764 97,216 Cemetery Revenue Same Store Cemetery Operations Revenue 8,898 8,881 24,478 27,218 Same Store Cemetery Financial Revenue 1,020 886 3,028 2,820 ---------- ---------- ---------- ---------- Total Cemetery Same Store Revenue 9,918 9,767 27,506 30,038 Acquired Cemetery Operations Revenue 1,628 1,532 4,632 4,801 Acquired Cemetery Financial Revenue 70 288 190 465 ---------- ---------- ---------- ---------- Total Cemetery Acquisition Revenue 1,698 1,820 4,822 5,266 ---------- ---------- ---------- ---------- Total Cemetery Revenue 11,616 11,587 32,328 35,304 ---------- ---------- ---------- ---------- Total Revenue from Continuing Operations $43,212 $42,167 $133,092 $132,520 ========== ========== ========== ========== Field EBITDA from Continuing Operations Same Store Funeral Field EBITDA $8,807 $9,218 31,586 30,970 Same Store Funeral Field EBITDA Margin 32.3% 34.9% 36.4% 37.0% Acquired Funeral Field EBITDA 1,259 1,171 4,353 4,302 Acquired Funeral Field EBITDA Margin 29.2% 28.0% 31.0% 32.0% ---------- ---------- ---------- ---------- Total Funeral Field EBITDA 10,066 10,389 35,939 35,272 Total Funeral Field EBITDA Margin 31.9% 34.0% 35.7% 36.3% Same Store Cemetery Field EBITDA 2,594 2,711 7,072 8,832 Same Store Cemetery Field EBITDA Margin 26.2% 27.8% 25.7% 29.4% Acquired Cemetery Field EBITDA 546 490 1,641 1,579 Acquired Cemetery Field EBITDA Margin 32.2% 26.9% 34.0% 30.0% ---------- ---------- ---------- ---------- Total Cemetery Field EBITDA 3,140 3,201 8,713 10,411 Total Cemetery Field EBITDA Margin 27.0% 27.6% 27.0% 29.5% ---------- ---------- ---------- ---------- Total Field EBITDA from Continuing Operations 13,206 13,590 44,652 45,683 Total Field EBITDA Margin from Continuing Operations 30.6% 32.2% 33.5% 34.5% Overhead Total Variable Overhead 547 784 1,954 2,267 Total Regional Fixed Overhead 831 726 2,497 2,197 Total Corporate Fixed Overhead 3,463 3,355 9,898 10,143 ---------- ---------- ---------- ---------- Total Overhead 4,841 4,865 14,349 14,607 11.2% 11.5% 10.8% 11.0% ---------- ---------- ---------- ---------- Adjusted Consolidated EBITDA from Continuing Operations $8,365 $8,725 $30,303 $31,076 ---------- ---------- ---------- ---------- Adjusted Consolidated EBITDA Margin from Continuing Operations 19.4% 20.7% 22.8% 23.5% Special Charges Litigation Related Legal Costs 474 - 1,397 - Termination Expenses 269 - 969 - Other Special Charges 61 - 254 - ---------- ---------- ---------- ---------- Sum of Special Charges 804 - 2,620 - Consolidated EBITDA from Continuing Operations 7,561 8,725 27,683 31,076 17.5% 20.7% 20.8% 23.5% Property Depreciation & Amortization 2,670 2,441 7,744 7,840 Restricted Stock Amortization 188 241 749 783 Interest Expense 4,525 4,598 13,701 13,857 Interest (Income) and Other (83) (1) (224) (224) ---------- ---------- ---------- ---------- Pretax Income 261 1,446 5,713 8,820 Income tax 103 586 2,256 3,572 ---------- ---------- ---------- ---------- Net income from Continuing Operations $158 $860 $3,457 $5,248 ========== ========== ========== ========== 0.4% 2.0% 2.6% 4.0% Diluted EPS from Continuing Operations $0.01 $0.05 $0.18 $0.29 Diluted EPS from Continuing Operations Excluding Special Charges $0.03 $0.05 $0.26 $0.29 Diluted Shares Outstanding 19,564,759 17,599,792 19,725,156 17,821,788 CONSOLIDATED RESULTS Total revenue for the third quarter of 2009 was $42.2 million compared to $43.2 million in last year's third quarter. Carriage earned $0.05 for the third quarter compared to $0.01 per diluted share on a GAAP basis in the same period last year. Consolidated EBITDA in the third quarter increased 4.3% to $8.7 million versus adjusted consolidated EBITDA of $8.4 million in last year's third quarter. Consolidated EBITDA Margin increased in the third quarter of this year by 130 basis points to 20.7% compared to adjusted Consolidated EBITDA Margin of 19.4% in the third quarter last year. Adjusted 2008 Consolidated EBITDA excludes litigation costs, termination charges, and other costs that were nonrecurring. For the nine months ended September 30, 2009, total revenue was essentially flat at $132.5 million compared to $133.0 million. First nine months 2009 diluted earnings per share was $0.29 compared to diluted earnings per share from continuing operations of $0.18 on a GAAP basis in the same period last year. Excluding special charges in the first nine months of 2008, adjusted diluted earnings per share from continuing operations was $0.26. First nine months 2009 Consolidated EBITDA was $31.1 million and Consolidated EBITDA Margin was 23.5% compared to 2008 adjusted Consolidated EBITDA of $30.3 million and adjusted Consolidated EBITDA Margin of 22.8%. FUNERAL OPERATIONS Third quarter Funeral Revenue decreased $1.0 million, or 3.2%, to $30.6 million as the number of contracts declined 3.9% and the average revenue per contract increased 1.1%. The cremation rate for the third quarter of 2009 increased by 2.8 percentage points to 42.6% compared to 39.8% for the third quarter last year. A recent initiative implemented in the third quarter of 2008 to increase the average revenue per cremation contract, largely by converting direct cremations to cremations with services, continues to gain traction and helped not only the cremation average but also customer satisfaction levels with cremation families. As a result of this continuing initiative, which includes new training and new merchandise options for client families, the average revenue per cremation contract in the current quarter increased 6.0% from the third quarter of 2008. Cremations with services have risen from 35% of total cremation contracts in the third quarter of 2008 to 42% for the third quarter of 2009. Funeral Field EBITDA increased 3.2% to $10.4 million compared to the third quarter of 2008, while the related Field EBITDA Margin increased 210 basis points to 34.0% from 31.9%. The year over year improvement in Funeral Field EBITDA and Funeral Field EBITDA Margin was substantially due to the ability of our Managing Partners to reduce operating costs across almost all expense categories in the current weak revenue environment. For the nine months ended September 30, 2009, total funeral revenue was $97.2 million, just slightly lower year over year. The number of contracts has decreased by 1,163, or 6% compared to the first nine months of 2008, while total Funeral Field EBITDA declined by only 1.8% to $35.3 million and total Funeral Field EBITDA Margin increased 60 basis points to 36.3% because of excellent cost management. CEMETERY OPERATIONS Cemetery Revenue totaled $11.6 million in the third quarter of 2009, essentially unchanged compared to the prior year quarter. Cemetery Field EBITDA increased 1.9% to $3.2 million, as Cemetery Field EBITDA Margin increased slightly to 27.6% from 27.0% in the prior year. Total Cemetery Financial Revenue from trust funds and finance charges increased by approximately $0.1 million compared to the third quarter a year ago. Financial income from the perpetual care trust funds, where current earnings are recognized, increased by $0.2 million. Financial income from merchandise and services trust funds, where cumulative realized earnings are recognized at the point when the merchandise and services are provided, was essentially unchanged from the prior year. For the nine months ended September 30, 2009 total cemetery revenue increased $3.0 million or 9.2% to $35.3 million compared to the prior year period, driven by an increase in preneed property sales of $3.6 million or 29.2%. Total Cemetery Field EBITDA increased by $1.7 million or 19.5%, as Total Cemetery Field EBITDA Margin increased 250 basis points to 29.5% from 27.0% on the strength of the increase in preneed property sales. OVERHEAD Total Overhead of $4.9 million in the third quarter of 2009 was roughly flat compared to the third quarter of 2008 when excluding $0.8 million in nonrecurring special charges in the 2008 period. No special or nonrecurring costs have been incurred in 2009. SHARE REPURCHASE PROGRAM During 2008 the Board of Directors approved plans for common stock repurchases totaling $10 million. During the third quarter of 2009 the Company repurchased 108,544 shares of common stock at an average cost per share of $3.77. Through September 30, 2009, we have repurchased a cumulative total of 2,861,897 shares at an average cost of $3.14 per share. Compared to the third quarter of 2008, $0.01 of the improvement in diluted earnings per share for the third quarter of 2009 was due to the lower share count. As of September 30, 2009, the amount available to spend in the future for share repurchases is $1.0 million. TRUST FUND PERFORMANCE Over the last year, Carriage has successfully repositioned the investments in its discretionary trust fund accounts by exploiting credit and illiquidity opportunities during the recent capital markets crisis. The Company believes it is well positioned to produce higher amounts of both income and capital gains from trust funds over the next few years in support of its field operations. Shown below are consolidated performance metrics for the combined trust fund portfolios (preneed funeral, cemetery merchandise and services and cemetery perpetual care) at key dates. ($in 000's) Discretionary Accounts ---------------------- CSV Trust Funds Market Value, Income and Yield ---------------------------------------------- Est. Yield Unrealized Date Market Value Annual Income on Cost Gain / (Loss) ---- ------------ ------------- ------- ------------- 9/30/08 $120,407 $3,948 2.85% ($18,113) 12/31/08 $101,554 $5,431 5.27% ($25,753) 3/9/09 $79,439 $6,611 7.16% ($40,408) 3/31/09 $89,249 $7,208 7.52% ($29,217) 6/30/09 $120,667 $7,352 7.82% $7,014 9/30/09 $145,776 $7,979 7.28% 28,323 ($in 000's) Total Trust Funds ----------------- CSV Trust Funds Cost, Market Value, Gain ---------------------------------------- Date Cost Basis Market Value Unrealized Gain / (Loss) ---- ---------- ------------ ------------------------ 9/30/08 $179,972 $160,956 ($19,016) 12/31/08 $167,242 $138,476 ($28,766) 3/9/09 $156,262 $112,114 ($44,148) 3/31/09 $159,023 $126,324 ($32,699) 6/30/09 $153,999 $158,928 $4,929 9/30/09 $159,050 $186,646 $27,596 CSV Trust Funds: Market Value Performance (Gain) ------------------------------------------------ Discretionary Accounts Total Trust Funds ------------------ ------------------ Timeframe Amount Percent Amount Percent ---------- ------- ------- ------- ------- 1 year ending 9/30/09 $25,369 21.1% $25,690 16.0% 9 months ending 9/30/09 $44,222 43.5% $48,170 34.8% 3/9/09 to 9/30/09 $66,337 83.5% $74,532 66.5% 3 months ending 9/30/09 $25,109 20.8% $27,718 17.4% CSV Trust Funds: Market Value Performance (Gain) ------------------------------------------------ Equity Index Performance ------------------------ Timeframe DJIA S&P 500 NASDAQ --------- ---- ------- ------ 1 year ending 9/30/09 -10.5% -9.2% 1.9% 9 months ending 9/30/09 10.7% 17.0% 35.2% 3/9/09 to 9/30/09 48.3% 56.3% 68.1% 3 months ending 9/30/09 15.0% 15.0% 16.2% CSV Trust Funds: Portfolio Profile ----------------------------------- 9/30/2008 9/30/2009 -------------- -------------- Total Trust Total Trust Funds Funds -------------- -------------- Asset Class MV % MV % ----------- -------- --- -------- --- Equities $83,325 52% $73,443 39% Fixed Income $46,563 29% $94,971 51% Cash $31,068 19% $18,232 10% ---- -------- --- -------- --- Total Portfolios $160,956 100% $186,646 100% ----------- -------- --- -------- --- Management believes the financial revenue to be derived from its cemetery perpetual care trusts and the maturing contracts in its preneed funeral and cemetery trusts will increase earnings compared to prior periods, and will have an increasingly positive earnings impact in future years from maturing contracts with higher levels of accumulated income. CASH FLOW Carriage Services generated negative Free Cash Flow (defined as cash flow from operations less maintenance capital expenditures) of $0.7 million during the third quarter of 2009, compared to negative Free Cash Flow of $0.8 million in the third quarter of 2008. It is common for Free Cash Flow to be low in the third quarter because we pay the semiannual cash interest payment of $5.1 million on the Senior Notes in the third quarter and because seasonally the third quarter is the lowest revenue period of the year. The sources and uses of cash for the first nine months of 2009 consist of the following (in millions): Adjusted cash provided by operations(1) $11.2 Cash used for maintenance capital expenditures (3.3) ----- Adjusted Free Cash Flow for First Nine Months of 2009 $7.9 Cash at beginning of year 5.0 Proceeds from sales of assets 0.1 Cash used for growth capital expenditures - funeral homes (0.4) Cash used for growth capital expenditures - cemeteries (2.4) Cash used for litigation settlement (3.3) Share repurchase program (3.2) Other financing activities (0.4) ----- Cash at September 30, 2009 $3.3 ===== (1) Cash provided by operations excludes the $3.3 million litigation settlement reported in the fourth quarter of 2008 and paid in the first quarter of 2009. BANK CREDIT FACILITY The Company is in the process of amending and extending its bank credit facility with its lenders, Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Wells Fargo. The Company's current credit facility in the amount of $20 million expires in April 2010 and as of September 30, 2009 had no borrowings outstanding. The new credit facility is contemplated to be in the amount of $40 million with an accordion provision in the amount of $20 million and is expected to have a maturity date in the fourth quarter of 2012. The primary purpose of the new bank credit facility is to provide acquisition financing. OUTLOOK The Four Quarter Outlook ranges for the rolling four quarter period ending September 30, 2010 are intended to approximate what the Company believes will be the sustainable earning power of its portfolio of deathcare assets over the next four quarters as its three models are effectively executed. Performance drivers include funeral contract volumes, cremation mix, preneed sales, preneed maturities and deliveries, average revenue per service and overhead items. Other variables include the effective tax rate, which is currently estimated to be in the range of 39% to 41% and the estimated number of diluted shares outstanding which is currently estimated to be approximately 17.5 million and is subject to change based on changes in the share price and activity in the share repurchase plan. Though we expect to acquire businesses in the future, we have not forecast any acquisitions in the Four Quarter Outlook ending September 30, 2010, because of the uncertainty as to the timing and size of acquisitions. ROLLING FOUR QUARTER OUTLOOK - Period Ending September 30, 2010 (amounts in millions, except per share amounts) Range --------------- Revenues $177.0 - $182.0 Field EBITDA $62.0 - $64.5 Field EBITDA Margin 35.0% - 35.5% Total Overhead $21.0 - $22.2 Consolidated EBITDA $41.0 - $42.3 Consolidated EBITDA Margin 23.2% Interest $18.1 Depreciation & Amortization $12.0 Income Taxes $4.3 - $4.9 Net Income $6.6 - $7.3 Diluted Earnings Per Share $0.38 - $0.42 Free Cash Flow $14.5 - $16.0 Earnings for this period are expected to increase relative to 12 months ended September 30, 2009 for the following reasons: -- Increase in Funeral Field EBITDA with better execution of the Standards Operating Model -- Increase in Same Store Cemetery EBITDA with higher preneed sales and lower bad debt expense -- Higher cemetery financial revenue -- Tighter management of overhead expenses -- No special charges Long Term Outlook - Through 2013 (Base Year 2008) ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Revenue growth of 6-7% annually, including acquisitions Consolidated EBITDA growth of 9-11% annually, including acquisitions Consolidated EBITDA Margin range of 23-26% Delever the Company relative to debt to EBITDA by increasing earnings and Free Cash Flow ------------------------------------------------------------------------- CONFERENCE CALL Carriage Services has scheduled a conference call for tomorrow, Thursday, October 29, 2009 at 10:30 a.m. eastern time. To participate in the call, please dial 480-629-9869 at least ten minutes before the conference call begins and ask for the Carriage Services conference call. A telephonic replay of the conference call will be available through November 5, 2009 and may be accessed by dialing 303-590-3030 and using pass code 4173929#. An audio archive will also be available on the company's website at http://www.carriageservices.com/ shortly after the call and will be accessible for approximately 90 days. For more information, please contact Karen Roan at DRG&E at 713-529-6600 or email . Carriage Services is a leading provider of death care services and products. Carriage operates 134 funeral homes in 25 states and 32 cemeteries in 11 states. USE OF NON-GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES This press release uses the following Non-GAAP financial measures "free cash flow" and "EBITDA". Both free cash flow and EBITDA are used by investors to value common stock. The Company considers free cash flow to be an important indicator of its ability to generate cash for acquisitions and other strategic investments. The Company has included EBITDA in this press release because it is widely used by investors to compare the Company's financial performance with the performance of other deathcare companies. The Company also uses Field EBITDA and Field EBITDA Margin to monitor and compare the financial performance of the individual funeral and cemetery field businesses. EBITDA does not give effect to the cash the Company must use to service its debt or pay its income taxes and thus does not reflect the funds actually available for capital expenditures. In addition, the Company's presentation of EBITDA may not be comparable to similarly titled measures other companies report. Non-GAAP financial measures should be viewed in addition to, and not as an alternative for, the Company's reported operating results or cash flow from operations or any other measure of performance as determined in accordance with GAAP. The Company categorizes its general and administrative expenses into three categories of overhead: (1) variable overhead, (2) regional fixed overhead and (3) corporate fixed overhead. Variable overhead consists of cost and expense such as incentive compensation which will vary with profitability and legal expense unrelated to day to day operations. Regional fixed overhead and corporate fixed overhead represent the cost and expenses of regional operations leaders and the home office and will not vary as a result of profitability. Special charges are considered by management to be unusual in nature, unique and not expected to occur in the normal course of business. FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS Certain statements made herein or elsewhere by, or on behalf of, the Company that are not historical facts are intended to be forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These statements are based on assumptions that the Company believes are reasonable; however, many important factors, as discussed under "Forward-Looking Statements and Cautionary Statements" in the Company's Annual Report and Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2008, could cause the Company's results in the future to differ materially from the forward-looking statements made herein and in any other documents or oral presentations made by, or on behalf of, the Company. The Company assumes no obligation to update or publicly release any revisions to forward-looking statements made herein or any other forward-looking statements made by, or on behalf of, the Company. A copy of the Company's Form 10-K, and other Carriage Services information and news releases, are available at http://www.carriageservices.com/. Contacts: Terry Sanford, SVP & CFO Carriage Services, Inc. 713-332-8400 Ken Dennard / Kip Rupp / DRG&E / 713-529-6600 - Tables to Follow - CARRIAGE SERVICES, INC. Selected Financial Data September 30, 2009 (unaudited) Selected Balance Sheet Data (in 000's): 12/31/2008 9/30/2009 ----------- ------------- Cash and short-term investments $5,007 $3,256 Total Senior Debt (a) $137,732 $137,095 Common shares outstanding 17,835 17,340 Ratios and other data Days sales in funeral accounts receivable 21.3 20.3 Senior Debt to total capitalization 41.1 40.6 Senior Debt to adjusted EBITDA from continuing operations (rolling twelve months) 3.6 3.4 a) - Senior debt does not include the convertible junior subordinated debentures. Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures: This press release includes the use of certain financial measures that are not GAAP measures. The non-GAAP financial measures are presented for additional information and are reconciled to their most comparable GAAP measures below. Reconciliation of Net Income from continuing operations to adjusted EBITDA from continuing operations for the three months ended September 30, 2008 and 2009 and the estimated rolling four quarters ended September 30, 2010 (presented at the midpoint of the range identified in the release)(in 000's): Rolling Four Three months Three months Quarter ended(1) ended Outlook 9/30/2008 9/30/2009 9/30/2010 E ---------- ------------- ----------- Net income from continuing operations $158 $860 $6,800 Provision for income taxes 103 586 3,100 ------ ------ ------- Pre-tax earnings from continuing operations 261 1,446 9,900 Net interest expense, including loan cost amortization 4,442 4,597 18,100 Special charges 804 - - Restricted stock amortization 188 241 1,000 Depreciation 2,670 2,441 10,000 ------ ------ ------- Consolidated EBITDA from continuing operations $8,365 $8,725 $39,000 ====== ====== ======= Revenue from continuing operations $43,212 $42,167 $177,500 Adjusted EBITDA margin from continuing operations 19.4% 20.7% 22.0% (1) For comparability purposes, Q3 2008 is adjusted to add back special charges. Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures, Continued: Reconciliation of cash provided by operating activities from continuing operations to free cash flow (in 000's): Three months Three months ended ended 9/30/2008 9/30/2009 -------------- -------------- Cash provided by operating activities from continuing operations $201 $966 Less maintenance capital expenditures from continuing operations (965) (1,674) ----- ------ Negative free cash flow from continuing operations $(764) $(708) ===== ====== Rolling Four Nine months Nine months Quarter ended ended Outlook 9/30/2008 9/30/2009(1) 9/30/2010 E --------- ------------ ----------- Cash provided by operating activities from continuing operations $12,211 $11,218 $21,000 Less maintenance capital expenditures from continuing operations (4,188) (3,320) (7,000) ------ ------ ------ Free cash flow from continuing operations $8,023 $7,898 $14,000 ====== ====== ======= (1) Excluded from free cash flow for the nine months ended 9/30/2009 is the $3.3 million litigation settlement payment made in the first quarter of 2009. DATASOURCE: Carriage Services, Inc. CONTACT: Terry Sanford, SVP & CFO of Carriage Services, Inc., +1-713-332-8400; or Ken Dennard, , or Kip Rupp, , both of DRG&E, +1-713-529-6600, for Carriage Services, Inc. Web Site: http://www.carriageservices.com/

Copyright