"Earnings from the quarter were largely due to the strong growth in lending assets in both pawn and cash advances"
Daniel R. Feehan, President and Chief Executive Officer

Cash America International, Inc. (PWN) announced income from continuing operations for the three months ended September 30, 2004 of $7,181,000 is 76% higher than the $4,085,000 (15 cents per share) posted for comparable continuing operations for the same period in 2003.

The earnings gains were the result of revenue growth from the Company's combined total of service charges and fees on pawn loans plus cash advance fees, which were up 36% to $54.8 million for the third quarter of 2004 compared to $40.2 million last year. Total revenue for the three-month period in 2004 was up 16% to $110.5 million. Cash America completed the acquisition of Cashland in 2003 during the third quarter providing two months of revenue and earnings in the prior year figures included above.

Cash America announced the sale of its two European pawn businesses in early September so that it could focus its efforts exclusively on opportunities for earnings growth and expansion in the United States where it is the largest pawn lender and rapidly becoming one of the largest companies serving the cash advance market. At the same time Cash America announced the sale of its European businesses it also reported that it had signed an agreement to purchase the assets of a privately-owned chain of 41 pawn locations in four western states, based in Las Vegas, which operates under the trade name of SuperPawn.

Commenting on the results for the third quarter, Daniel R. Feehan, President and Chief Executive Officer said, "Earnings from the quarter were largely due to the strong growth in lending assets in both pawn and cash advances. We are pleased that the additional unit growth over the last twelve months is providing a solid base for revenue growth which should maintain the momentum of earnings expansion into the coming quarters."

The Company indicated that it is in the process of responding to comment letters from the SEC's Division of Corporation Finance on the classification of certain items in its previously filed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows relating to the forfeiture of pawned merchandise. The Company anticipates that these discussions will likely result in the amendment of the Company's Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows to address solely these items, and which would not impact any of the other aspects of the previously reported financial results or conditions shown on the Consolidated Statement of Operations or Consolidated Balance Sheets.

Forward-Looking Information
The elimination of the foreign source revenue and earnings to the consolidated Company will decrease earnings until the cash proceeds from the transaction are reinvested in comparable earning assets. Management has identified and entered into an opportunity to redeploy the proceeds from the sale into its announced acquisition of SuperPawn. The sensitivity of the final closing date of the acquisition of the SuperPawn chain, brought about by uncertain timing of regulatory approvals, leads management to adjust fourth quarter results for the elimination of the foreign business with no offsetting benefit of SuperPawn earnings at this time. Partially mitigating this effect are the current trends in pawn loans and cash advance balances, which have shown better than expected growth in 2004. Management's perspective of full year 2004 earnings per share is comprised of two elements. First, the earnings of continuing operations and second, the results of the eight months of its European business (excluding the gain on sale), which have now been classified as discontinued operations. The combination of these two elements for the full year of 2004 creates a range of expected earnings per share of between $1.37 to $1.41 per share, with 22 cents per share represented by the earnings of the European businesses and the remaining $1.15 to $1.19 per share represented by the continuing operations for the U.S. business. This compares to 78 cents per share in earnings from continuing operations in fiscal 2003, excluding the impact of the gain on sale of a non-operating asset in 2003 of 5 cents per share, and $1.08 per share when including 30 cents per share from what is now classified as discontinued operations. In the near term, management expects earnings per share from continuing operations for the fourth quarter of 2004 to be between 43 and 47 cents per share compared to 32 cents per share in earnings from continuing operations in the fourth quarter of 2003.

Preliminary estimates for fiscal year of 2005 are based on management's current expectation that the acquisition of SuperPawn will be completed and that asset levels in the remainder of the U.S. will continue to grow. Based on these considerations management confirms its initial range of estimated earnings per share of between $1.62 and $1.72 for fiscal 2005. This estimate would be negatively affected if the SuperPawn acquisition fails to close or closes much later than January 1, 2005.

Cash America International, Inc. operates 764 total locations and is the largest provider of secured non-recourse loans to individuals, commonly referred to as pawn loans, through 404 locations in 17 states under the brand name Cash America Pawn.