Aarons 2004 Annual Report Download - page 4

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Our advertising message to our customers
is “Do the Math,” and we are proud to
“Do the Math” on our outstanding results
for 2004. Highlights for the year include:
• It was the best year in the Company’s history.
• Revenues for the year were $946.5 million, a 23% increase
over the record 2003 performance.
• Revenues in the Aaron’s Sales and Lease Ownership Division
increased 27% during 2004, due to an 11.6% increase in
same store revenues and our rapid store expansion.
• Revenues at our franchised stores increased 28% for the
year to $358.7 million. Revenues of franchisees, however,
are not revenues of Aaron Rents, Inc.
• Net earnings also set a record, up 44% for the year to
$52.6 million.
• We added a net of 186 Aaron’s Sales & Lease Ownership
stores to our system including 70 new franchised stores, an
overall increase in store count of 24%. At the end of 2004,
we had 1,031 Company-operated and franchised stores open
in 45 states, Puerto Rico, and Canada, including 58 stores
in the rent-to-rent division.
• We are particularly proud to note that 562 of our
Company-operated and franchised Aaron’s Sales & Lease
Ownership stores had annual revenues in excess of
$1 million in 2004 and 32 of the stores had annual
revenues in excess of $2 million. These revenue
levels are much higher than competitors in our
industry, and are a unique and important success
factor in our store operating model.
• During the year, we awarded area development
agreements for the opening of 160 new franchised
stores. At the end of December, we had 357 franchised
stores open and another 301 stores scheduled to open over
the next several years.
• We added over 1,000 employees last year to service our
growing store base.
• We had our second 3-for-2 stock split within two years
and began paying quarterly dividends. We also more than
doubled our annual dividend payout.
• Investors in our Company also “Did the Math” and our
operating performance was reflected in stock market
appreciation of 88% in 2004 with, for the first time,
the Company’s market capitalization going over the
$1 billion mark.
To Our Shareholders
Total Company revenues in 2004 were
$946.5 million, a 23% increase over the
$766.8 million recorded in 2003. This
revenue increase was the result of a 27%
increase in revenues in the Aaron’s Sales
& Lease Ownership Division. Same store
revenues for the Aaron’s Sales & Lease
Ownership stores opened in comparable
periods increased 11.6% in 2004, an
excellent performance, particularly given
the 10.1% same store increase in 2003.
Net earnings for the year were $52.6
million, an increase of 44% over the
$36.4 million earned the previous year.
Fully diluted earnings per share were
$1.04 in 2004 compared to $.73 per
diluted share in 2003.
We plan to increase our store count by over
15% per annum over the next several years
by opening both Company-operated and
franchised Aaron’s Sales & Lease
Ownership stores as well as
seeking selected
acquisitions.
The grand opening of the 1,000th Aaron’s store
in Swainsboro, Georgia.