Demand for furniture and electronics from the Atlanta-based rent-to-own company Aaron's is high, and the company reported record earnings in 2010 as it saw an increase in customers.
"Although current business challenges and conditions affect us as they do other retailers, through the years the strength of the Aaron's business model has been proven resilient and has delivered consistent and superior financial results," President and CEO Robert C. Loudermilk Jr. said in a statement. "Aaron's provides desired and needed basic home furnishings, and our customers' demand for these products continues to remain strong."
For the year, customers at stores owned both by Aaron's and its franchisees increased 10 percent. Aaron's added 56 new stores in the fourth quarter and 163 in 2010 for a total of 1,814 locations; it has plans to open more than 250 stores in the coming years.
The company saw a 5 percent increase in net earnings for the year, to $118.4 million in 2010 from $112.6 million in 2009. In the fourth quarter, net earnings rose 23 percent, to $30.8 million, from $25 million for the fourth quarter of 2009. Diluted earnings per share were $1.44 in 2010, compared to $1.37 in 2009. For the fourth quarter, earnings per share were 38 cents, as compared to 31 cents in the like quarter a year ago.
Loudermilk said in the statement that Aaron's saw same-store growth that was better than anticipated, with revenues increasing 6.2 percent for the fourth quarter over the same period in 2009. Revenues for the company's home furniture and electronics division rose 9 percent for the quarter and 7 percent for the year, to $1.86 billion.
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