Rent-A-Center announced record revenues and net earnings for the quarter and year ended December 31, 2002.

The Company reported total revenues for the quarter ended December 31, 2002 of $522.2 million as compared to $479.0 million for the same quarter of the prior year, an increase of 9.0%.

Net earnings rose to $45.2 million or $1.26 per diluted share in the fourth quarter of 2002, after being reduced by approximately $1.1 million in pre-tax expenses associated with amending the Company's Senior Credit Facilities, otherwise net earnings for the quarter would have been $1.28 per diluted share.

The amendment provides for, among other effects, increased flexibility to distribute cash to shareholders through stock repurchases and/or the payment of dividends.

After adjusting reported results for the fourth quarter of 2001 to exclude the effects of goodwill amortization and a non-recurring charge of $36.0 million relating to the settlement of its class action gender discrimination lawsuits, net earnings and diluted earnings per share increased $13.0 million and $0.39, respectively. On a comparable basis, this represents an increase in diluted earnings per share of 44.8%.

The Company's quarterly growth in revenues and net earnings was primarily driven by higher than expected growth in same store revenues, incremental revenues from new and acquired stores and the continued benefit of the Company's cost control programs instituted in the fall of 2001. Same store revenues (revenues earned in stores operated for the entirety of both periods) during the fourth quarter of 2002 increased 4.7% above the comparable quarter of 2001.

Mark E. Speese
CEO
"We are very pleased to report record levels of revenue and profitability this quarter which is the culmination of the collaborative efforts of all of our employees. We were able to deliver on our expectations, and in many cases exceed those expectations, throughout 2002, consistent with the goals we established in the fourth quarter of 2001."

Net earnings for the twelve months ended December 31, 2002 were $175.1 million compared with $122.4 million, on a comparable basis, for the twelve months ended December 31, 2001, representing an increase of 43.1%. Diluted earnings per share rose to $4.82 for the twelve months ended December 31, 2002 compared with earnings of $3.30 per diluted share, on a comparable basis, for the twelve months ended December 31, 2001, an increase of 46.1%. Total revenues for the twelve months ended December 31, 2002 increased to $2.010 billion from $1.809 billion in 2001, representing an increase of 11.1%. Same store revenues for the twelve-month period ended December 31, 2002 increased 6.0%.

In the fourth quarter of 2002, the Company opened 31 new locations, acquired 19 stores and purchased accounts from 42 locations. The Company has opened 10 new stores during the first quarter of 2003 and intends to open 80 to 100 new stores during 2003, as well as continue to pursue opportunistic acquisitions. The Company believes this growth can be funded with internally generated cash flow. During the year ended December 31, 2002, the Company generated $294.5 million in cash flow from operations, enabling the Company to reduce total debt outstanding by $181.3 million, fund the growth of an additional 153 stores and accounts from 126 locations and repurchase $65.6 million in outstanding common stock. The Company ended the year with approximately $85.7 million of cash on hand.

The Company also announced today the completion of the acquisition of 295 stores from Rent-Way, Inc. This acquisition was financed entirely with cash on hand and is expected to add approximately $95.0 million in revenue in 2003, as well as approximately $0.15 in diluted earnings per share. The earnings guidance which follows has been adjusted to reflect the acquisition of the Rent-Way stores.

Mark E. Speese
CEO
"We are excited about the opportunities inherent in these stores. While there is a benefit in both revenue and earnings in 2003 from this acquisition, we view the long term potential upside as significant as well."

Rent-A-Center will host a conference call to discuss the fourth quarter financial results and other business updates on Tuesday morning, February 11, 2003, at 10:45 a.m. EST. RTO Online has a link to the live webcast on our stock page.

FIRST QUARTER 2003 GUIDANCE:

Revenues
-- The Company expects total revenues to be in the range of $550 million to $555 million.

-- Store rental and fee revenues are expected to be between $485 million and $490 million.

-- Total store revenues are expected to be in the range of $536 million to $541 million.

-- Same store sales increases are expected to be in the 2% to 4% range.

-- The Company expects to open 15-20 new store locations.

Expenses
-- The Company expects depreciation of rental merchandise to be between
21.6% and 22.0% of store rental and fee revenue and cost of goods
merchandise sales to be between 70% and 75% of store merchandise sales.

-- Store salaries and other expenses are expected to be in the range of 52.5% to 54.0% of total store revenue.

-- General and administrative expenses are expected to be between3.0% and 3.2% of total revenue.

-- Interest expense is expected to be approximately $14.0 million and
amortization of intangibles is expected to be approximately $2.6 million.

-- The effective tax rate is expected to be between 39.0% and 39.5% of
pre-tax income.

-- Diluted earnings per share are estimated to be in the range of $1.34 to $1.37.

-- Diluted shares outstanding are estimated to be between 36.0 million and 36.4 million.