HOUSTON, Nov. 13 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The Mint Leasing, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: MLES) ("Mint Leasing" or "the Company"), which provides innovative leasing services to customers of franchised automobile dealers throughout the United States, today announced its operating results for the third quarter and first nine months of 2009.
For the three months ended September 30, 2009, the Company reported revenues of approximately $3.1 million and a net loss of ($2,614,151), or ($0.03) per share. For the nine months ended September 30, 2009, revenues were approximately $15.1 million, and the Company recorded a net loss of ($3,578,011), or ($0.04) per share.
In the third quarter of 2008, revenues were approximately $8.0 million, and the Company reported a net loss of ($2,111,993), or ($0.03) per share. In the nine months ended September 30, 2008, revenues totaled approximately $36.8 million, and the Company reported a net loss of ($2,836,444), or ($0.04) per share.
The decrease in revenues for the third quarter and first nine months of 2009, when compared with revenues for respective prior-year periods, was primarily due to the Company's inability to purchase vehicles and issue new leases as a result of restrictive credit availability in the current economic environment. The Company was unable to borrow funds under its Sterling Bank facility, and its Moody Bank facility was not available until late in the third quarter. Management believes that if it had access to additional capital during the quarter ended September 30, 2009, its revenues would have been similar to those reported in the second quarter of 2009, when the Company's revenues approximated $5.8 million.
The net losses reported for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2009 resulted from the cumulative effect of lower revenues, costs associated with the early termination of leases and higher repossessions, increased bad debt expenses, and higher professional fees.
The Company generated approximately $2.7 million in cash from its operating activities during the nine months ended September 30, 2009, which was primarily due to collections and reductions of net investment in sales-type leases of approximately $7.5 million. Non-cash charges for bad debt expense, depreciation and amortization, and imputed interest also contributed positively to the cash provided by operating activities.
For more information regarding the Company's third quarter and year-to-date operating results, please see the Form 10-Q filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on November 13, 2009 which is available on the Internet at http://www.sec.gov/.
About The Mint Leasing, Inc.
The Mint Leasing, Inc. represents an alternative to traditional financing companies by providing its innovative vehicle leasing solutions to the customers of premier automotive retailers. Most of its customers are located in Texas and six other states in the southeastern U.S. The Mint Leasing's customers are primarily comprised of brand-name automobile dealers that seek to provide leasing options to their customers. The Mint Leasing, Inc. is responsible for underwriting criteria and procedures, administration of the leases, and collection of payments from lessees.
The Company is headquartered in Houston, Texas, and its common stock trades on the OTC Bulletin Board under the symbol "MLES".
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (the "Act"). In particular, when used in the preceding discussion, the words "believes," "expects," "intends," "plans," "anticipates," or "may," and similar conditional expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Act, and are subject to the safe harbor created by the Act. Any statements made in this news release other than those of historical fact, about an action, event or development, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based upon assumptions that in the future may prove not to have been accurate and are subject to significant risks and uncertainties. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations or any of its forward-looking statements will prove to be correct. Factors that could cause results to differ include but are not limited to, successful performance of internal plans, product or services development and acceptance, the impact of competitive services and pricing, or general economic risks and uncertainties, and other risks disclosed in the Company's periodic filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company takes no obligation to update or correct forward-looking statements, and also takes no obligation to update or correct information prepared by third parties that are not paid for by the Company.
Contact: RJ Falkner & Company, Inc., Investor Relations Counsel at (800) 377-9893 or via email at info@rjfalkner.com or The Mint Leasing, Inc. Investor Relations at investorinfo@mintleasing.com (FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS FOLLOW) The Mint Leasing, Inc. Consolidated Balance Sheet - September 30, 2009 ASSETS ($000) Cash and equivalents $515 Investment in sales-type leases, net 37,039 Vehicle inventory 925 Property and equipment, net 93 Deferred income taxes 661 Other assets 65 TOTAL ASSETS $39,298 LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY ($000) LIABILITIES: Accounts payable and accrued liabilities $282 Credit facilities 29,686 Notes payable to related parties 630 TOTAL LIABILITIES 30,598 STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY: Preferred stock Series A -- Preferred stock Series B 2 Common stock 82 Additional paid-in capital 9,259 Retained earnings (deficit) (643) TOTAL STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY 8,700 TOTAL LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY $39,298 The Mint Leasing, Inc. Consolidated Statements of Income For the Three Months Ended September 30, 2009 ($000) REVENUES Sales-type leases, net $1,246 Amortization of unearned income related to Sales-type leases 1,888 Total Revenues 3,133 COST OF REVENUES 5,091 GROSS PROFIT (LOSS) (1,958) GENERAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSE 1,740 LOSS BEFORE OTHER INCOME (EXPENSE) FROM CONTINUING OPERATIONS (3,698) OTHER INCOME (EXPENSE) Interest expense (492) Other income -- Total Other Income (Expense) (492) LOSS BEFORE TAXES (4,191) Provision for (benefit from) Income Tax (1,576) NET LOSS $(2,614) Weighted average shares outstanding (000) Basic and fully-diluted 81,925 Basic and Fully-Diluted Loss Per Share $(0.03) The Mint Leasing, Inc. Consolidated Statements of Income For the Nine Months Ended September 30, 2009 ($000) REVENUES Sales-type leases, net $10,258 Amortization of unearned income related to Sales-type leases 4,882 Total Revenues 15,140 COST OF REVENUES 15,301 GROSS PROFIT (160) GENERAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSE 4,129 LOSS BEFORE OTHER INCOME (EXPENSE) FROM CONTINUING OPERATIONS (4,289) OTHER INCOME (EXPENSE) Interest expense (1,398) Other income -- Total Other Income (Expense) (1,398) LOSS BEFORE TAXES (5,687) Provision for (benefit from) Income Tax (2,109) NET LOSS $(3,578) Weighted average shares outstanding (000) Basic and fully-diluted 81,927 Basic and Fully-Diluted Loss Per Share $(0.04)
The Mint Leasing, Inc.
CONTACT: Investor Relations Counsel, RJ Falkner & Company, Inc.,
1-800-377-9893, info@rjfalkner.com, for The Mint Leasing, Inc.; or Investor
Relations of The Mint Leasing, Inc., investorinfo@mintleasing.com
