AACE ==> The March Madness Winner!

[MEA_1956]

AACE

Don't look now, Don't type a word, Don't even think a thought. Let's all be suprised when we read the words. ===> MEA

[mrmarket]

Re: Ouch.....

(AACE) - Any chance of recovery on this baby???

Just my opinion, but any stock pitted against direct, highly accessible/visible, lower priced competition by the giant Walmart would scare me away. The insiders knew this and ran like rats before the fall and they haven't made a move to return. but, JMO. Ticks me off. I took a beating on this one.
Good luck in whatever you decide to do.
Margie

I disagree...a lot of people who use AACE walk up to the check cashing window because they don't have a car. You can't walk to a Walmart.

[jiesen]

aace

having a nice turnaround in AACE lately. think the #1 Zack's rank had anything to do with it?

[MEA_1956]

Re: AACE

Don't look now, Don't type a word, Don't even think a thought. Let's all be suprised when we read the words. ===> MEA

Hooo's affright of the BIG BAD WOLF. Not me says LITTLE RED I'm still looking for my 60% and feel real comfortable holding this fine stock. In our small town my bank is only 7 blocks away, Wal-Mart is close to 2.5 miles. and moving farther out with there new store. If we did have an AACE branch it would be one hell of alot closer to the center of town for there is nothing out there where they plan on building new. I, myself, welome Wal-Mart to this new arena and who knows maybe they will end up in more law suites. ===> MEA

[mrmarket]

Pretty good article:

Stock Screen
Checks and Balances

By Jack Hough
July 14, 2004
Note: This column was originally published on SmartMoney Select, our premium, subscription-based website. To access this and other content from SmartMoney Select on a daily basis, click here to start your FREE TRIAL now!

IT'S A MORAL conundrum that could leave the activist-for-any-cause set more conflicted than Michael Moore at a Young Republicans bake sale. Wal-Mart (WMT) has expanded into yet another retail business. That might sound like an easy case for the righteous: "The neighborhood shops must be saved from this onslaught of low prices and convenience!" But in this case, the business is one that opponents — not just the hemp-adorned perma-indignant, but also many of us regular working stiffs — have long decried as being unfairly exploitive of the poor: check cashing.

Wrestle with this, Protest.net: Should we support local mom-and-pop check-cashing gougers at the expense of wage-earners who can least afford them, or defend the Arkansas-based, social-fabric-destroying champion of the price rollback? (Something tells us that, whatever the answer is, it'll involve a 20-foot, paper-mache Grim Reaper.)

Today, though, it's our profit compass, not our moral one, we'll look to as we size up the nation's largest owner and franchiser of check-cashing shops, Ace Cash Express (AACE). Its shares are up a whopping 130% in the past three years, but they've received a 30% haircut since March on Wal-Mart-related concerns. One analyst calls the fears "overblown"; more on that in a moment.

Ace Cash Express turned up recently in our Takeover Targets screen, which compares companies using the merger-and-acquisition analyst's metric of choice: the EV/Ebitda ratio. The "EV" stands for enterprise value, or market cap plus debt, minus cash. It's the amount it would cost to buy a company free and clear. Ebitda stands for earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization. It's a measure of profits that ignores several accounting entries that are unrelated to current operations.

Companies with low EV/Ebitda ratios may or may not make attractive acquisition candidates, but they're often attractive investments. Use our stock screener and the recipe to the right anytime you'd like to pull up a list of low-EV/Ebitda companies for yourself. Our recent search produced 21 companies, including Ace Cash Express.

Based in Irving, Texas, 35-year-old Ace booked sales of $242 million during the past year from a handful of basic financial services: check-cashing, sales of money orders and wire transfers, short-term loans (including payday loans) and electronic bill payment. The company's customers are mainly what it calls the unbanked, and what the rest of us call the unrich. They include workers who live check to check, as well as some who can't open bank accounts because of bad credit or immigration-status concerns.

Check-cashing made up 72% of Ace's sales in 1997; today that percentage is down to 54%, as loan income has ballooned to 30% of sales from 7% during that time. Bill-payment services today make up another 6% of sales; money transfer, 5%; money orders, 3%; and the rest comes from franchise fees. Speaking of fees, the company's check-cashing charges aren't as outrageous as one might think; it charges an average of 2.8% of face value, with an average face value of $482. But its paycheck-loan fees will leave you walking with a limp — an average fee of $39.85 on an average advance of $272. And its other short-term loans must feel to customers like a kick to the usurious area, with an average fee of $51.87 on an average loan of $294.

How big is the market for Ace's services? Of the 280 million-or-so people in the United States, the company figures that close to 14 million are unbanked. The population, according to U.S. Census estimates, should hit 300 million by 2010. Hispanics — a group that Ace calls particularly unbanked — are expected to make up more than half of the new arrivals. As of March 31, the company operated 1,203 stores (988 owned, 215 franchised) in 36 states. Last year, customers paid Ace stores more than 35 million visits.

Fourth-quarter results, reported April 15, showed Ace's sales increasing 10% to $73.7 million and earnings jumping to $8.2 million from a year-earlier $2.6 million. Per-share earnings of 72 cents topped analysts' expectations by a penny. Management credited the results to a 39% increase in comparable-store loan fees and 26% growth in bill-payment revenue.

Still, shares have languished since the report, largely, analysts say, on concerns over Wal-Mart entering the business. JMP Securities analyst Jim Fowler offers three reasons why he thinks those fears are exaggerated. (Note: Fowler doesn't own shares of Ace, but JMP co-managed a 2.9 million share offering for the company in April.) First, he points to customer surveys that show a strong preference for the convenience of a neighborhood storefront over a drive-and-park megamart. Second, he notes that Wal-Mart handles only preprinted or government-issued checks, which makes up just half of Ace's check-cashing business, and that for those checks Ace and Wal-Mart charge comparable fees. And third, while check-cashing contributes more than half of Ace's sales, paycheck loans and bill-payment services are its two fastest-growing segments.

Whether or not you find Fowler's argument convincing, Ace's shares look cheap based on several measures. They trade at 14 times fiscal 2004 earnings (three-quarters of which is already booked), compared with an average price/earnings multiple of 28 for the consumer financial-services group. Analysts predict that Ace will boost its earnings by the industry-average rate of 18% annually over the next five years, which gives its stock a price/earnings-to-growth, or PEG, ratio of 0.78, lower than peers' 1.56 and the Standard & Poor's 500 index's PEG, also 1.56.

Ace's EV/Ebitda ratio of 4.5, meanwhile, is safely below the S&P 500's median of 10.7. That doesn't necessarily make it a takeover target — we've seen no evidence of interest from potential suitors, or even speculation among analysts. But it suggests that the stock may be a bargain, so long as the investment adviser on your right shoulder can make the case to the social crusader on your left.

[jiesen]

gotta love this

Anyone notice the new terms of AACE CEO's Mr. Shipowitz's Employment Agreement? Not too shabby, and maybe a tad exorbitant, but it sure aligns his interests with ours... he gets about a million bucks in stock now, (vested over 6 years) and a bit more than that each time he hits target share prices, starting with $33, and $39! That's about as strong an incentive as he needs to get us where we need to be, don't you think? Just hitting the first target, if it stays above $33 for the required 30 days, will likely trigger our $36 target.

Combining a ballooning net profit and a sure-fire business plan of, well, predatory lending, the only thing left for AACE was to get a CEO driven to nail our $36 target as soon as possible... looks like we'll be firing on all cylinders from here on out!



from:

http://biz.yahoo.com/e/040827/aace8-k.html

Form 8-K for ACE CASH EXPRESS INC/TX


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

27-Aug-2004

Entry Material Agreement, Change in Directors or Principal Officers, Fina



Item 1.01. Entry into a Material Definitive Agreement
Employment Agreement and other arrangements with Jay B. Shipowitz

On August 23, 2004, the Board of Directors of Ace Cash Express, Inc. authorized, and ACE entered into, a written Executive Employment Agreement with Jay B. Shipowitz, ACE's Chief Executive Officer, and two ancillary agreements, a Restricted Stock Agreement and a new Change-in-Control Executive Severance Agreement. All of those agreements are effective as July 1, 2004, the beginning of ACE's current fiscal year. ACE's Board, based on the recommendation of its Compensation Committee (composed entirely of independent directors), determined that a written employment agreement with Mr. Shipowitz would provide ACE and its shareholders greater assurance of Mr. Shipowitz's valuable services.

Under the Employment Agreement:

・ Mr. Shipowitz's employment as Chief Executive Officer continues through June 30, 2007; and at each July 1, his employment term will automatically renew for another year unless either party has given 90 days' notice of nonrenewal, in which case the term will expire two years later.

・ Mr. Shipowitz's compensation consists of (1) an annual base salary of $450,000, subject to annual review by the Compensation Committee, (2) an annual bonus opportunity established by the Compensation Committee, with a target bonus equal to 75% of his annual salary, (3) a grant of 50,000 shares of ACE's Common Stock as restricted stock, and an opportunity to receive additional grants of up to 200,000 shares of ACE's Common Stock as restricted stock, in each case under ACE's 1997 Stock Incentive Plan, as amended (as further described below), and (4) participation in ACE's employee-benefit plans for senior executive officers and certain other benefits, including an automobile allowance, paid health insurance, a term-life insurance policy with a beneficiary designated by him in an amount equal to three times his annual salary, paid vacation, and a paid club membership.

・ The 50,000 shares of restricted stock vest in installments of 15% of the shares on August 1, 2004 and an additional 17% of the shares on each July 1 thereafter, so long as Mr. Shipowitz remains employed. The Restricted Stock Agreement entered into by ACE and Mr. Shipowitz, with the 1997 Plan, effected and governs that grant.

・ An additional grant of 40,000 shares of restricted stock under the 1997 Plan will be made to Mr. Shipowitz when the closing price of ACE's Common Stock on The Nasdaq Stock Market first remains at or above each of $33.00, $39.00, $45.00, $51.00, and $57.00 for 30 consecutive days or 30 trading days within a 45-consecutive-trading-day period. Each such grant made on or before July 1, 2006 will vest in installments of 15% one month after the date of grant and 17% on each anniversary of the date of grant, so long as Mr. Shipowitz remains employed; each grant made on or after July 1, 2006 will vest in equal installments one month after the date of grant and on each July 1 thereafter through



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Table of Contents
July 1, 2011. In addition, upon a change of control of ACE (which is defined as provided in the new Change-in-Control Executive Severance Agreement), Mr. Shipowitz is also entitled to receive the next stock-price-based grant not yet earned, which will vest one month after the date of grant.

・ Unless ACE terminates his employment for Cause (as defined in the Employment Agreement), Mr. Shipowitz will be entitled to severance benefits upon any termination of employment before expiration of the term and before any change of control of ACE. If Mr. Shipowitz's employment is terminated without Cause or because of his death or permanent disability, he will be entitled to receive continued payments of base salary and continued other benefits under the Employment Agreement (or the cash equivalent thereof) for 24 months, a prorated annual bonus for the year of termination to the extent that the Compensation Committee determines that a bonus would have been payable, and acceleration of vesting of all unvested stock options and all outstanding restricted stock. If Mr. Shipowitz terminates his employment for any (or no) reason, he will be entitled to receive continued payment of base salary and continued benefits under the Employment Agreement (or the cash equivalent thereof) for 18 months. Those severance benefits are conditioned upon Mr. Shipowitz's delivery of a general release in favor of ACE and compliance with his post-employment restrictive covenants.

・ Mr. Shipowitz is subject to noncompetition and nonsolicitation covenants during his employment and after termination of his employment for 24 months, or for 18 months if he terminates his employment or if ACE terminates his employment for Cause.

The new Change-in-Control Executive Severance Agreement, rather than the Employment Agreement, applies to any termination of Mr. Shipowitz's employment upon or after any change of control of ACE. It amends and supersedes the previous Change-in-Control Executive Severance Agreement with Mr. Shipowitz. The new agreement amends the previous agreement to (1) make the term correspond with that of the Employment Agreement, rather than being subject to annual termination at the Board's discretion, (2) remove the previous limitation on the amount or value of severance benefits to avoid any "excess parachute payment" under federal tax laws, and (3) provide for a possible tax gross-up payment to Mr. Shipowitz in addition to his severance benefits. If any severance benefit to Mr. Shipowitz is subject to federal excise taxes, ACE will pay an additional amount so that after the payment of all taxes, Mr. Shipowitz will retain an amount equal to the amount of the excise taxes multiplied by a percentage that varies in accordance with the price of ACE's Common Stock upon a change in control, as follows:


Per Share Change-in-Control Price Percentage
--------------------------------- ------------
Less than $33 0 %
$33 to less than $39 25 %
$39 to less than $45 50 %
$45 to less than $51 75 %
$51 or more 100 %




In all other material respects, the terms of the new agreement are the same as those of the previous agreement.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[tokyojoeskid]

aace

there may be life in this one after all
tjk

[jiesen]

Anyone know what's up with the increase to 50M (from 20M) of available shares on the ballot? Are you voting for this, or against it? Will it matter? I hope we'll be long gone from here by the time it takes effect, but just in case, will voting against these dilutions really do anything?

[mrmarket]

Nice article in local paper:



Beaufort cash-advance businesses becoming popular with residents
Published Sun, Dec 12, 2004

By JASON RYAN
Gazette staff writer
Beaufort's gateway roads are becoming increasingly adorned with small loan, cash-advance and check-cashing businesses.
"On Boundary Street, they're getting a little out of control," said Jerome Underwood on the proliferation of such companies on one of Beaufort's main drags, soon to be populated by another quick money provider, Ace Cash Express.

Underwood, who manages Low Country Cash Advances, said he remembers 1993, when there was only one cash advance company in town. A decade later, a look through the Yellow Pages or a drive down Boundary Street shows a number of quick cash options -- as many as 10, guessed Underwood.

The consensus from area bankers and loan givers is that the popularity and success of these businesses stem from the small, quick loans they can extend to customers a bank will refuse and fewer requirements needed for cashing paychecks.

"Because of the economy, a lot of times people have messed up their credit," said Joyce Spivey, branch manager for Delta Loans on Boundary Street. "Banks won't give them a loan."

Also, said Underwood, "Banks don't really offer a lot of small loans," mentioning people coming in for emergencies to pay an electric bill or for transportation costs to a funeral. "If people get behind they need a little here and there."

Underwood said Low Country Cash Advances charges 15 percent for money advances.

Bill Gossett, president and CEO of Islands Community Bank, said the small loan businesses provide a service large banks cannot.

"A typical transaction for a bank to break even would be $5,000 to $10,000," he said. "From a practical standpoint, we can't do a $200 loan until Friday."

In terms of paychecks, check-cashing businesses are far less scrutinizing.

While many banks require two forms of identification and an account to cash a paycheck, Underwood said Low Country Cash Advance's sister store, Payday Check Cashers, only requires one form of identification.

"If people come from Mexico they cash their paychecks here," said Underwood, who will accept Mexican identification from migrant workers but sometimes is unable to verify identities and turns paychecks down, speculating that those checks are often signed over to another person to cash or an employer simply pays the employee quietly with cash.

"The other store (Payday Check Cashers on Boundary Street) does pretty well. This one (Low Country Cash Advances) pulls in $10,000, the other $25,000," said Underwood on the monthly profits that excludes any bounced checks, which account for up to 30 percent of business received.

Underwood said that Payday Check Cashers charges the state maximum of 2 percent on printed payroll checks and 7 percent on handwritten paychecks.

Some in the community worry that the check cashing and cash advance companies may take advantage of lower income or desperate people.

"They certainly could be predatory," said John Trask III, who sits on the board of directors for Lowcountry National Bank. "If a (customer) doesn't have an efficient and mainstream outlet for his banking, he'll have to pay higher fees, it appears."

"A lot of people, unfortunately, don't have a bank account," said Trask.

"Sometimes people are a little intimidated by banks."

Trask said part of the reluctance for people to begin a bank account stems from all the necessary reporting banks must do in regard to customers and transactions.

"That would filter on down to the customer as well," said Trask, who thinks some customers are not anxious to disclose much personal information.

"Basically the idea is good, but sometimes the person gets in over their head," said Underwood of cash advance businesses, adding he does not grant loans to people he thinks already have enough credit problems.

Underwood said he would not begin his own cash advance business.

"It just doesn't agree with me. If you see the people after a while, you feel bad for them."

But, he said, "We don't go out and pull people in, the door is just open."

Cash advance companies, he said, are prohibited to loan to anyone under 18.

[mrmarket]

earnings earnings earnings:

ACE Cash Express Reports Record Fiscal 2005 Second Quarter Net Income and EPS; Total Store Network Grows 10% in Last 12 Months
Thursday January 20, 4:01 pm ET


DALLAS, Jan. 20 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- ACE Cash Express, Inc. (Nasdaq: AACE - News) announced diluted earnings per share of $0.42 for its fiscal 2005 second quarter ended December 31, 2004, a 24 percent increase over its diluted earnings per share of $0.34 in the second quarter of fiscal 2004. Net income of $5.8 million in the second quarter of fiscal 2005 increased 57 percent from $3.7 million in the second quarter of fiscal 2004.
During the second quarter of fiscal 2005, ACE's total revenue increased 9 percent to $64.7 million versus $59.2 million in the prior year period. This increase is primarily due to a 20 percent increase in loan fees and interest and a 19 percent increase in bill payment services.

"ACE's second quarter financial performance was excellent and is representative of our ability to continue to meet the needs of our customers and the large under-banked consumer marketplace," said Jay B. Shipowitz, President and CEO. "Over 10 million customers visited our stores seeking our diversified financial service offerings. We continue to generate strong comparable sales growth driven by loan fees, which increased 14 percent and bill payment services, which rose 16 percent, during the second quarter."

Among the Company's accomplishments during the second quarter of fiscal 2005 were:

The total ACE store network, including franchised stores, had a record 10 million customer visits and processed approximately $2.4 billion in transactions.
Comparable store sales increased 4.8 percent compared to the second quarter of fiscal 2004.
Gross margin improved to 34.4 percent, a record for any second quarter, from 32.7 percent for the second quarter of fiscal 2004.
ACE company-owned stores cashed 3.4 million checks, resulting in check-cashing fees of $29.2 million, a 2 percent increase from $28.8 million in the second quarter of fiscal 2004.
Loan fees and interest in company-owned stores increased 20 percent, to $24.5 million from $20.4 million in the prior year period and ACE processed over 578,000 loan transactions.
Bill-payment revenue increased 19 percent, to $4.9 million, from $4.1 million in the prior year period.
From October 1, 2004 through January 3, 2005, the Company opened 23 newly constructed company-owned stores, closed or sold 10 company- owned stores, and acquired 43 stores, for a total of 1,111 company- owned stores as of January 3, 2005.
During the second quarter, ACE opened 17 franchised stores and secured commitments to open another 8 franchised stores, bringing its total commitments to 122 stores.
ACE was ranked #1 in the industry and #74 overall in the January 2005 issue of Entrepreneur Magazine's Franchise 500 ®.
Results for the Six Months Ended December 31, 2004

For the first six months of fiscal 2005, ACE's total revenue increased 10 percent, to $126.8 million, from $114.9 million in the first six months of fiscal 2004. Net income increased 62 percent, to $10.9 million compared with $6.7 million in the prior year period, resulting in diluted earnings per share growth of 24 percent, to $0.78 per diluted share from $0.63 cents per diluted share. Comparable store sales increased by 6.1 percent during the first six months of fiscal 2005 compared to the first six months of fiscal 2004 as a result of continued strength in loan fees and bill payment services. ACE also improved its gross margin to 33.4 percent from 31.9 percent in the prior year period.

From July 1, 2004 through January 3, 2005, ACE opened 38 newly constructed company-owned stores, acquired 66 stores and opened 26 franchised locations. ACE also closed or sold 19 company-owned locations in the normal course of business.

"We are continuing to execute our growth plans as demonstrated by our store expansion strategy and new product and technology initiatives," concluded Mr. Shipowitz. "We will continue to look for and introduce new products and services that our customers desire."

Business Outlook for the Remainder of Fiscal 2005

The statements preceded by bullet points below are the Company's outlook or forecast for the Company's business for the third quarter ending March 31, 2005 and the fiscal year ending June 30, 2005. These statements are made only as of January 20, 2005 and indicate only the expectations of the Company's management as of that date. These statements supersede any and all previous statements made by the Company regarding the matters addressed. These statements are "forward-looking statements," cannot be guaranteed and may prove to be wrong.

* The Company expects total revenue for fiscal 2005 to range between
$265 million and $270 million.

* The Company expects its fiscal 2005 fully diluted earnings per share
to range between $1.94 and $2.00.

* Based on the Company's annual forecast, historical operating trends
and historical second quarter performance, the Company expects diluted
earnings per share to range between $0.68 to $0.74 for its third
fiscal quarter ending March 31, 2005.


This outlook is based upon various assumptions, which include, but are not limited to, the following: (1) the opening of 60 newly-constructed ACE Cash Express company-owned stores and the opening of 20 to 25 newly-constructed ACE Cash Advance stores in fiscal 2005, the closure of approximately 20 to 30 stores during the normal course of business in fiscal 2005, but no other increase or decrease in the number of the Company's owned stores (whether by acquisition or otherwise) and the opening of 50 franchised stores; (2) no material change in the products or services offered at the Company's locations as of December 31, 2004 or in the terms or procedures for offering such products and services; and (3) no material adverse results from any litigation or regulatory proceedings against the Company, either currently existing or that may arise in the future.

About ACE

ACE Cash Express, Inc. is a leading retailer of financial services, including check cashing, short-term consumer loans and bill payment services, and the largest owner, operator and franchisor of check cashing stores in the United States. As of January 4, 2005, ACE had a network of 1,327 stores in 37 states and the District of Columbia, consisting of 1,111 company-owned stores and 216 franchised stores. ACE focuses on serving unbanked and underbanked consumers, many of whom seek alternatives to traditional banking relationships in order to gain convenient and immediate access to check cashing services and short-term consumer loans. ACE's website is found at http://www.acecashexpress.com .

Forward-Looking Statements

This release contains certain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These statements are generally identified by the use of words such as "expect," "anticipate," "estimate," "believe," "intend," "plan," "target," "goal," "should," "would," and terms with similar meanings.

Although ACE believes that the current views and expectations reflected in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, these views and expectations, and the related statements, are inherently subject to risks, uncertainties, and other factors, many of which are not under ACE's control and may not even be predictable. Any inaccuracy in the assumptions, as well as those risks, uncertainties and other factors could cause the actual results to differ materially from these in the forward-looking statements. These risks, uncertainties, and factors include, but are not limited to, matters described in ACE's reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, such as:

ACE's relationships with Republic Bank & Trust Company, with Travelers Express and its affiliates and with its bank lenders;
ACE's relationships with providers of services or products offered by ACE or property used in its operations;
federal and state governmental regulation of check cashing, short-term consumer lending and related financial services businesses;
any litigation regarding ACE's short-term consumer lending activities; theft and employee errors;
the availability of adequate financing, suitable locations, acquisition opportunities and experienced management employees to implement ACE's growth strategy;
increases in interest rates, which would increase ACE's borrowing costs;
the fragmentation of the check cashing industry and competition from various other sources, such as banks, savings and loans, short-term consumer lenders, and other similar financial services entities, as well as retail businesses that offer services offered by ACE;
the terms and performance of third-party services offered at ACE's stores; and
customer demand and response to services offered at ACE's stores.
ACE expressly disclaims any obligation to update or revise any of these forward-looking statements, whether because of future events, new information, a change in ACE's views or expectations, or otherwise. ACE makes no prediction or statement about the performance of its common stock.

[Websman]

My God!!! AACE is actually going up! What is this....one stock out of a million that went up today? This may very well be the next Mr Market winner.


EARNINGS, EARNINGS, EARNINGS...I SEE THE LIGHT!!!!

[mrmarket]

This should be HUGE

Press Release Source: ACE Cash Express, Inc.


ACE Cash Express Appoints Former Blockbuster Executive as Chief Marketing Officer
Tuesday February 8, 12:03 pm ET


DALLAS, Feb. 8 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- ACE Cash Express, Inc. (Nasdaq: AACE - News), has named Allen J. Klose as chief marketing officer. Klose was previously a Senior Vice President and General Marketing Manager at Blockbuster Entertainment in Dallas, Texas.
ADVERTISEMENT


With over 10 years of experience at Blockbuster, Klose has directed all aspects of multi-unit retail marketing, including advertising, store design, consumer research, field marketing, franchise development, promotions, and new concept development.

"Allen brings extraordinary depth and experience to marketing the ACE brand," said Jay B. Shipowitz, President and Chief Executive Officer of ACE. "His leadership will provide a new focus and a fresh perspective to marketing our existing products and services and in developing outstanding new products to better serve our customers."

"ACE is a successful and innovative company with a strong management team," said Allen Klose. "I am looking forward to working with them to drive the business to even greater heights."

About ACE

ACE Cash Express, Inc. is a leading retailer of financial services, including check cashing, short-term consumer loans and bill payment services, and the largest owner, operator and franchisor of check cashing stores in the United States. As of January 4, 2005, ACE had a network of 1,327 stores in 37 states and the District of Columbia, consisting of 1,111 company-owned stores and 216 franchised stores. ACE focuses on serving unbanked and underbanked consumers, many of whom seek alternatives to traditional banking relationships in order to gain convenient and immediate access to check cashing services and short-term consumer loans. ACE's website is found at http://www.acecashexpress.com .

Forward-Looking Statements

This release contains certain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These statements are generally identified by the use of words such as "expect," "anticipate," "estimate," "believe," "intend," "plan," "target," "goal," "should," "would," and terms with similar meanings.

Although ACE believes that the current views and expectations reflected in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, these views and expectations, and the related statements, are inherently subject to risks, uncertainties, and other factors, many of which are not under ACE's control and may not even be predictable. Any inaccuracy in the assumptions, as well as those risks, uncertainties and other factors could cause the actual results to differ materially from these in the forward-looking statements. These risks, uncertainties, and factors include, but are not limited to, matters described in ACE's reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, such as:

ACE's relationships with Republic Bank & Trust Company, with Travelers Express and its affiliates and with its bank lenders;
ACE's relationships with providers of services or products offered by ACE or property used in its operations;
federal and state governmental regulation of check cashing, short-term consumer lending and related financial services businesses;
any litigation regarding ACE's short-term consumer lending activities; * theft and employee errors; * the availability of adequate financing, suitable locations,
acquisition opportunities and experienced management employees to

implement ACE's growth strategy;

increases in interest rates, which would increase ACE's borrowing costs;
the fragmentation of the check cashing industry and competition from various other sources, such as banks, savings and loans, short-term consumer lenders, and other similar financial services entities, as well as retail businesses that offer services offered by ACE;
the terms and performance of third-party services offered at ACE's stores; and
customer demand and response to services offered at ACE's stores.
ACE expressly disclaims any obligation to update or revise any of these forward-looking statements, whether because of future events, new information, a change in ACE's views or expectations, or otherwise. ACE makes no prediction or statement about the performance of its common stock.

[jiesen]

here's an interesting picture of how AACE is dealing with the latest bit of harsh news, in comparison to some of its competition:

http://finance.yahoo.com/q/bc?t=5d&s=AACE&l=on&z=m&q=l&c=aea%2Ccsh+dllr

the news, in case you missed it, was a new FDIC policy regarding payday loans:

http://www.fdic.gov/news/news/press/2005/pr1905.html

I guess the market thinks AACE is better able to deal with this than its peers.

[mrmarket]

Harsh news..maybe. Let's see what happens to earnings. My bet is that you won't see a change. People's habits die hard. If they go to Ace to get an advance on a paycheck, that's not going to change.

Most of the people who use this service don't know how to calculate 20% interest charges anyway. They'll gladly get their check 10 days early.

[Websman]

Harsh news..maybe. Let's see what happens to earnings. My bet is that you won't see a change. People's habits die hard. If they go to Ace to get an advance on a paycheck, that's not going to change.

Most of the people who use this service don't know how to calculate 20% interest charges anyway. They'll gladly get their check 10 days early.

You speak the truth Huge One... If a person is desperate and stupid enough to get a loan from a check cashing service, they sure aren't going to be smart enough to realize that they're going to pay a ton of interest.
Chances are they just want money to buy a six pack of Old Milwaukee and a carton of Newports.
Does Ace send hit men out to break the legs of those who fail to pay back the money they owe?