SECURITIES
AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON,
D.C. 20549
FORM
8-K
Current
Report Pursuant
to
Section
13 or 15(d) of the
Securities
Exchange Act of 1934
Date
of
Report (Date of Earliest Event Reported): November 7, 2006
First
Cash Financial Services, Inc.
(Exact
name of registrant as specified in its charter)
Delaware
(State
or
other jurisdiction of incorporation)
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0-19133
(Commission
File Number)
|
|
75-2237318
(IRS
Employer Identification No.)
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690
East Lamar Blvd., Suite 400, Arlington, Texas 76011
(Address
of principal executive offices, including zip code)
(817)
460-3947
(Registrant's
telephone number, including area code)
Item
1.02 Termination of a Material Definitive Agreement
Mr.
Alan
Barron’s December 2004 employment contract with First Cash Financial Services,
Inc. (the “Company”) was terminated as described in Item 5.02
below.
Item
5.02 Departure of Directors or Principal Officers; Election of Directors;
Appointment of Principal Officers
Effective
November 7, 2006, the Company announced the resignation of Mr. Alan Barron,
the
Company’s Chief Executive and Chief Operating Officer, and announced the
appointment of Mr. Rick Wessel as its Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Wessel will
retain his existing duties and titles of Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors
and President. Mr. Wessel will relinquish his current non-executive positions
of
Secretary and Treasurer; these positions will be assumed by Mr. Doug Orr, the
Company’s Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. The
responsibilities of the chief operating officer position will be assumed by
the
chief executive officer position. Mr. Wessel’s increased responsibilities will
be governed under his current employment agreement.
Mr.
Barron’s December 2004 employment contract with the Company was terminated
effective November 7, 2006 by the mutual agreement of the parties.
Mr.
Barron will be paid severance compensation through December 30, 2006
in an amount equal to his former annual base salary, on a pro rated
basis.
A
press
release announcing the resignation of Mr. Barron and the appointment of Mr.
Wessel as Chief Executive Officer, which also provides Mr. Wessel’s biographical
information, is attached as Exhibit 99.1. As Messrs. Wessel and Orr are named
executive officers of the Company, information relating to their compensation,
stock ownership, and existing employment agreements is set forth in the
Company’s most recent Schedule 14A Definitive Proxy Statement.
Item
9.01 Financial
Statements and Exhibits
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Exhibit
99.1
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Press Release dated November 7, 2006 announcing the resignation of Mr. Alan Barron and the appointment of Mr. Rick Wessel as Chief Executive Officer. |
SIGNATURES
Pursuant
to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant
has
duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned thereunto
duly authorized.
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FIRST
CASH FINANCIAL SERVICES, INC.
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(Registrant)
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| Dated: November 7, 2006 | /s/ R. DOUGLAS ORR | |
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R. Douglas Orr |
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Chief
Accounting Officer
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Exhibit
99.1
For
Immediate Release:
First
Cash Announces New CEO
______________________________________________________________________________
Rick
Wessel, Current Vice Chairman and President,
Appointed
Chief Executive Officer
ARLINGTON,
Texas (November 7, 2006) -- First
Cash
Financial Services, Inc. (Nasdaq
Stock Market: "FCFS") today
announced that Rick Wessel, the Company’s current Vice Chairman & President,
has been appointed as Chief Executive Officer. The former CEO, Mr. Alan Barron,
resigned his position as Chief Executive and Chief Operating Officer with the
Company in order to pursue other business opportunities outside of the consumer
finance industry.
Mr.
Rick
Powell, Chairman of the Board, stated, “The appointment of Rick Wessel to the
position of Chief Executive Officer represents a logical and well-deserved
extension of his current duties and responsibilities. In his time as Vice
Chairman and President, Mr. Wessel has been instrumental in developing and
implementing First Cash’s strategic growth initiatives, new product development,
geographic expansion and acquisitions. We are excited about Mr. Wessel’s ability
to expand his leadership role as Chief Executive Officer; his long tenure with
the Company, as both a senior executive officer and director, will assure that
this is a seamless transition. The Board of Directors has full confidence in
Mr.
Wessel’s ability to successfully lead the Company’s strategic and operational
growth initiatives.”
Mr.
Wessel, age 48, joined First Cash in 1992 as its Chief Financial Officer. He
has
served as Secretary and Treasurer of the Company since May 1992 and as President
since May 1998. He was elected as a director in November 1992 and was appointed
as the Vice Chairman of the Board in December 2004. During Mr. Wessel’s tenure
with First Cash, the Company has grown from 12 pawn stores, all located in
Texas, to approximately 400 credit and retail locations in 13 U.S. states and
8
states in Mexico. In addition to his key leadership role in expanding the
Company’s pawn operations, Mr. Wessel has been instrumental in extending the
Company’s suite of customer offerings into additional short-term credit products
and buy-here/pay-here automotive retailing. Prior to joining First Cash in
1992,
Mr. Wessel worked for approximately nine years in the assurance practice of
Price Waterhouse, a national public accounting firm.
In
summary, Mr. Powell noted, “I am proud of First Cash’s consistent track record
of earnings growth, its strong financial position, the depth and maturity of
the
managerial and leadership teams, and its prospects for the future. We are very
appreciative of the contributions of Mr. Barron in his roles as Chief Executive
and Chief Operating Officer and wish him well in his future endeavors.
“I
would like to
also take this opportunity to express my sincere appreciation to our
enthusiastic, loyal and dedicated team of store associates and managers,
operational supervisors and corporate support staff. As we look toward the
future, we have great confidence in our experienced and highly skilled
management team, which will remain in place under the leadership of Rick Wessel.
We have every reason to project a continuation of the same growth and success
our shareholders have grown to expect from us.”
Mr.
Wessel
will relinquish his current non-executive positions of Secretary and Treasurer.
These positions will be assumed by Mr. Doug Orr, the Company’s Executive Vice
President and Chief Financial Officer. The responsibilities of the chief
operating officer position will be assumed by Mr. Wessel within his new CEO
position.
Forward
Looking Information
This
release may contain forward-looking statements about the business, financial
condition and prospects of First Cash Financial Services, Inc. (“First Cash” or
the “Company”). Forward looking statements, as that term is defined in the
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, can be identified by the
use
of forward-looking terminology such as “believes,” “projects,” “expects,” “may,”
“estimates,” “should,” “plans,” “intends,” “could,” or “anticipates,” or the
negative thereof, or other variations thereon, or comparable terminology, or
by
discussions of strategy. Forward-looking statements can also be identified
by
the fact that these statements do not relate strictly to historical or current
matters. Rather, forward-looking statements relate to anticipated or expected
events, activities, trends or results. Because forward-looking statements relate
to matters that have not yet occurred, these statements are inherently subject
to risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements in this release include,
without limitation, the Company’s expectations of earnings growth, expansion and
growth strategies, success of leadership transitions and other performance
results. These statements are made to provide the public with management’s
current assessment of the Company’s business. Although the Company believes that
the expectations reflected in forward-looking statements are reasonable, there
can be no assurances that such expectations will prove to be accurate. Security
holders are cautioned that such forward-looking statements involve risks and
uncertainties. The forward-looking statements contained in this release speak
only as of the date of this statement, and the Company expressly disclaims
any
obligation or undertaking to report any updates or revisions to any such
statement to reflect any change in the Company’s expectations or any change in
events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based.
Certain factors may cause results to differ materially from those anticipated
by
some of the statements made in this release. Such factors are difficult to
predict and many are beyond the control of the Company and may include changes
in regional, national or international economic conditions, changes in consumer
borrowing and repayment behaviors, credit losses, changes or increases in
competition, the ability to locate, open and staff new stores and dealerships,
the availability or access to sources of inventory, inclement weather, the
ability to successfully integrate acquisitions, the ability to retain key
management personnel, the ability to operate with limited regulation as a credit
services organization in Texas, new legislative initiatives or governmental
regulations (or changes to existing laws and regulations) affecting short-term
advance businesses, credit services organizations, pawn businesses and
buy-here/pay-here automotive retailers in both the U.S. and Mexico, unforeseen
litigation, changes in interest rates, changes in tax rates or policies, changes
in gold prices, changes in energy prices, changes in used vehicle prices, cost
of funds, changes in foreign currency exchange rates, future business decisions,
and other uncertainties. These and other risks and uncertainties are indicated
in the Company’s 2005 Annual Report on Form 10-K (see “Item 1A. Risk Factors”)
and updated in subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q.
About
First Cash
First
Cash
Financial Services, Inc. is a leading provider of specialty consumer financial
services and related retail products. Its pawn stores make small loans secured
by pledged personal property, retail pawned merchandise acquired through loan
forfeitures and in certain locations provide short-term advances and credit
services products. The Company’s short-term advance locations provide various
combinations of short-term advance products, check-cashing, credit services
and
other financial services products. First Cash also operates automobile
dealerships and related financing operations focused exclusively on the
“buy-here/pay-here” segment of the used vehicle market. The Company owns and
operates approximately 400 stores and buy-here/pay-here dealerships in 13 U.S.
states and 8 states in Mexico. In addition, First Cash is an equal partner
in
Cash & Go, Ltd., a joint venture, which owns and operates 40 check-cashing
and financial services kiosks located inside convenience stores. First Cash
has
been recognized for five consecutive years by Forbes
magazine
as one of its “200
Best Small Companies.”
This
annual ranking is based on a combination of profitability and growth performance
measures over the most current one and five-year periods.
First
Cash’s common stock (ticker symbol "FCFS") is traded on the Nasdaq
Global Select Market,
which
has the highest initial listing standards of any stock exchange in the world
based on financial and liquidity requirements.
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For
further information, please contact:
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Rick
Wessel, Chief Executive Officer
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Doug
Orr, EVP & Chief Financial Officer
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Phone:
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(817)
505-3199
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Email:
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investorrelations@firstcash.com
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Website:
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www.firstcash.com
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