The Rowe Companies Announces Refinancing Of Capital Lease Obligation

Furniture World Magazine

The Rowe Companies (Amex: ROW), a leading furniture manufacturer and retailer, reported that it has executed a modification to its existing capital lease agreement with SunTrust Bank and Atlantic Financial. The modification extends the term of the lease an additional five years, reduces the balance by $1.3 million (to $13 million) and amortizes the remaining principal balance over fifteen years. "Effectively this completes the refinancing we began in 2002," said Gerald Birnbach, Chairman and CEO of The Rowe Companies. "We have reduced our debt significantly over the last eighteen months and improved our balance sheet strength. This lease extension enables us to reclassify over $12 million from current obligations to long-term liabilities, and we are now able to concentrate all of our resources to take advantage of the market opportunities we see in the home furnishings industry." The Rowe Companies operates two subsidiaries in the home furnishings industry: Rowe Furniture, Inc., a major manufacturer of quality upholstered furniture serving the middle and upper middle market throughout the U.S.; and Storehouse, Inc. a multi-channel, lifestyle home furnishings business including 61 retail home furnishing stores. Storehouse makes good design accessible by selling an edited assortment of casual, contemporary home furnishings through its stores located in the Southeast, Southwest, and Mid-Atlantic markets and its catalog. Statements in this press release concerning Rowe's business outlook or future economic performance, anticipated profitability, revenues, expenses or other financial items; together with other statements that are not historical facts, are "forward-looking statements" as that term is defined under Federal Securities Laws. "Forward-looking statements" are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors which could cause actual results to differ materially from those stated in such statements. Such risks, uncertainties and factors include, but are not limited to, industry cyclicality, fluctuations in customer demand and order patterns, the seasonal nature of the business, changes in pricing, and general economic conditions, as well as other risks detailed in Rowe's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.