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Rent-A-Center (RCII) Sept. Comps Decline 4.2%

October 20, 2017 9:02 AM EDT

Rent-A-Center, Inc. (the “Company") (NASDAQ/NGS: RCII) today announced the following key operating metrics for its Core U.S. and Acceptance NOW (“ANow”) businesses for September 2017:

Core U.S.

  • Same Store Sales: (4.2%)
  • Delinquencies: 6.9%, 30 basis points favorable versus prior month, 270 basis points favorable versus prior year
  • Average Monthly Rate of New Agreements: 14.9% favorable versus prior year
  • Co-worker Turnover: 86.6% and 22.0 percentage points favorable versus prior year

Acceptance NOW

  • Same Store Sales: 8.1%
  • Delinquencies: 11.2%, 90 basis points unfavorable versus prior month, 250 basis points unfavorable versus prior year

In the Core U.S. segment, September same store sales improved sequentially for the fifth consecutive month, with an increase of 110 basis points, and a total year-to-date increase of 850 basis points, due to the improvements driven by the Company’s strategic plan. As a result of the impact of recent hurricanes, the Company instituted a change to the same store sales store selection in its reporting, excluding geographically impacted regions for 18 months. This change will ensure that the same store sales figure is consistent and accurately reflects the underlying performance of the business.

Rent-A-Center continues to see a positive trajectory from the improvement in its Core U.S. inventory position. The current average monthly rate for all agreements in the portfolio is approximately $114.50, up approximately 5.5 percent versus the prior year. The monthly rate of new agreements was approximately $116.00 in September, up 15 percent from the prior year.

Delinquencies have been stable at approximately 7 percent since late in the second quarter, down 270 basis points in September versus last year. As part of its strategic plan, the Company has started the process of charging off late-stage delinquent customers earlier in the month to improve workforce efficiency. These efforts to refine account management practices benefitted the delinquencies numbers in September by approximately 40 basis points.

Turnover continues to be significantly lower than 2016 and improved sequentially in September as the Company continues to refine the programs aimed at hiring and retaining store level coworkers. The more tenured workforce coupled with the improvements in feedback and training puts the Company in a better position to drive agreement volume entering the holiday season.

In Acceptance NOW, same store sales continue to show positive results. Same store sales currently represents about one-third of all staffed locations, excluding new stores, locations impacted by transferred agreements and locations impacted by the hurricanes. Delinquencies were at 11.2 percent in September, and 9.9 percent excluding Conn’s and HHGregg agreements. Given the portfolio nature of the business, delinquency levels are expected to improve as those agreements continue to decline in materiality over time.

The Company is assessing and implementing strategies aimed at improving the Acceptance NOW business model, including an enhanced value proposition expected to increase ownership and improve return on investment. There continue to be significant efforts around optimizing partner relationships. Additionally, several decision engine enhancements aimed at improving ownership and decreasing losses have been implemented this year but will take time to materially impact the portfolio performance.

The Company scheduled its third quarter earnings call for Tuesday, October 31st at 8:30 am ET and plans to discuss its financial and operational results.

Metric Definitions

Core U.S.

  • Same Store Sales - year over year revenue performance on comparable stores
  • Delinquencies - percent of customer agreements greater than 7 days past due
  • Average Monthly Rate of New Agreements - average monthly rental rate for agreements originated in the period
  • Co-worker Turnover - annualized year to date store co-worker turnover

Acceptance NOW

  • Same Store Sales - year over year revenue performance on comparable stores
  • Delinquencies - percent of customer agreements, in staffed locations, greater than 32 days past due



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