First Cash Financial Services : Reports Strong Second Quarter Operating Results Driven by Growth of Latin American Revenue and Pawn Receivables; Company Declares Quarterly Cash Dividend

For Immediate Release:‌‌

ARLINGTON, Texas (July 28, 2016) -- First Cash Financial Services, Inc. (the "Company") (NASDAQ: FCFS), a leading international operator of retail pawn stores in the U.S. and Latin America, today announced revenue, net income and earnings per share for the three and six month periods ended June 30, 2016.

Mr. Rick Wessel, chief executive officer, stated, "We are excited about our second quarter results that exceeded both our internal forecast and consensus earnings expectations. Exceptionally strong revenue growth in Latin America was fueled by impressive same-store revenue increases and contributions from new stores including the 211 recently acquired locations in Mexico, Guatemala and El Salvador. Based on the strength of these results, including record pawn receivable balances in Latin America and improving trends in our U.S. pawn business, we have great momentum entering the second half of the year. Additionally, the Company believes it is on track to complete the announced merger with Cash America International, Inc. ("Cash America") in the third quarter of 2016. The Company today also announced that the Board of Directors has declared a third quarter cash dividend of $0.125 per common share. The dividend is payable on August 24, 2016 to stockholders of record as of August 10, 2016."

• Diluted GAAP earnings per share for the second quarter of 2016, which include the impact of significant merger-related expenses, totaled $0.41. Excluding these non-recurring expenses, which totaled $0.10 per share, adjusted diluted earnings per share were $0.51 for the second quarter of 2016 which equaled adjusted diluted earnings per share of $0.51 in the prior year. Strong growth in local-currency operating income in Latin America was offset by an 18% decline in the average value of the Mexican peso, which reduced year-over-year comparable earnings by approximately $0.09 per share for the quarter. Anticipated decreases in net earnings from non-core jewelry scrapping and payday lending operations further reduced comparable earnings by an additional $0.02 per share. Adjusted diluted earnings per share is a non-GAAP measure and is defined and reconciled in the detailed reconciliation of non-GAAP financial measures provided elsewhere in this release.

• Year-to-date GAAP diluted earnings per share were $0.88. Excluding the non-recurring expenses related to the merger and other acquisitions, adjusted diluted earnings per share were $0.98 compared to $1.10 in the prior year. Comparative adjusted diluted earnings for the six months ended June 30, 2016 were impacted by

  $0.16 per share due to a 19% decline in the average value of the Mexican peso and approximately $0.07 per share due to decreases in earnings from non-core jewelry scrapping and payday lending operations.

• Net income and adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization and certain non- recurring charges) for the trailing twelve months ended June 30, 2016 totaled $55.4 million and $130.1 million, respectively. Adjusted EBITDA is a non-GAAP measure and is defined and reconciled in the detailed reconciliation of non-GAAP financial measures provided elsewhere in this release.

  Note: All growth rates presented in "Revenue Highlights" and "Pawn Operating Metrics" are calculated on a constant currency basis, a non-GAAP measure defined elsewhere in this release and reconciled to the most comparable GAAP measures in the financial statements in this release. The average Mexican peso to U.S. dollar exchange rate for the three-month period ended June 30, 2016 was 18.1 pesos / dollar versus 15.3 pesos / dollar in the comparable prior- year period and for the six-month period ended June 30, 2016 was 18.0 pesos / dollar versus 15.1 pesos / dollar in the comparable prior-year period.

  Revenue Highlights

• Consolidated core revenue from retail merchandise sales and pawn service fees increased 20% during the second quarter of 2016 compared to the second quarter of 2015. Core pawn revenues in Latin America grew 33% in the second quarter of 2016 and represented 59% of total core revenues. Core U.S. pawn revenues increased 4% for the quarter.

• Retail merchandise sales in pawn stores increased by 21% for the second quarter of 2016 compared to the prior-year period, driven by sales increases of 31% in Latin America and 6% in the U.S.

• Pawn fee revenue grew 20% in total compared to the prior-year period, with an increase of 37% in Latin America that was partially offset by a minimal 1% decrease in the U.S.

• Consolidated same-store core revenue increased 5% for the second quarter, driven by impressive growth in Latin America of over 10%. While U.S. same-store core revenue decreased 1%, it represented the third straight quarter of sequential improvement in this metric.

  Pawn Operating Metrics

• Pawn loans outstanding at June 30, 2016 increased by 43% in Latin America and 17% overall as compared to a year ago, while loans decreased 4% in the U.S. Consolidated same-store pawn loans outstanding at quarter end increased 3%. Same-store pawn loans outstanding at quarter end increased 11% in Latin America compared to the prior-year period, while U.S. same-store pawn loans decreased 4%.

• Consolidated retail merchandise sales margins improved slightly to 38.3% during the second quarter of 2016, compared to the prior-year period. Second quarter wholesale scrap jewelry margins remained consistent at 19% compared to the prior-year period.

• The average monthly pawn loan portfolio yield was approximately 13.3% for the second quarter of 2016, which was consistent with the prior-year.

• The combined annualized yield on total pawn assets (pawn fees plus merchandise sales gross profit), as a percentage of pawn assets (pawn receivables plus inventories), was 176% in the second quarter of 2016, in line with 180% in the prior-year period.

• Total inventories at June 30, 2016 increased 13% compared to June 30, 2015, which is in line with store growth and acquisitions. Annualized inventory turns for the trailing twelve months ended June 30, 2016 were 3.4 times per year. Aged inventories (items held for over a year) accounted for approximately 4% of total inventories at June 30, 2016, which is a sequential improvement over aged inventories of 5% at March 31, 2016.

  Store Count Activity

• During the quarter, the Company opened 10 new locations in Mexico and one in Guatemala. Year-to-date, a total of 211 stores were added as the Company opened 31 stores and acquired 179 stores in Latin America, and one store in the U.S.

• For the twelve months ended June 30, 2016, the Company has added 256 pawn stores in Latin America and added five pawn stores in the U.S. The year-over-year store count has increased 36% in Latin America and 22% overall.

• As of June 30, 2016, the Company operated 1,271 stores, of which 95% or 1,212 were pawn stores. There were 947 stores in Latin America, of which 919 were pawn stores, and 324 stores in the U.S., of which 293 were pawn stores.

• During the quarter, the Company closed 10 consumer loan stores and two small format pawn stores (which primarily focused on consumer loans) located in Texas and plans to close at least seven additional U.S. consumer loan stores during the third quarter of 2016. By the end of the third quarter, the Company expects to be operating less than 25 consumer loan stores in the U.S., all located in Texas. The Company anticipates that this number will continue to decrease as the Company continues to de-emphasize this non-core product offering.

  Financial Metrics

• Pre-tax store operating margin was 24% for the trailing twelve months ended June 30, 2016, as compared to 25% in the prior-year period, primarily reflecting contraction in non-core payday lending and scrap jewelry sales.

• The adjusted EBITDA margin was 18% for the trailing twelve months ended June 30, 2016. Excluding the impact of currency, non-core payday lending and wholesale scrap jewelry operations, the adjusted EBITDA margin was consistent with the prior-year period. Adjusted EBITDA margin is a non-GAAP measure and is calculated in the detailed reconciliation of non-GAAP financial measures provided elsewhere in this release.

  Liquidity

• As of June 30, 2016, the Company had $46 million in cash on its balance sheet and $169.5 million of availability for future borrowings under its long-term revolving bank credit facilities. The average interest rate on the Company's $50.5 million outstanding bank debt at quarter end was 3.00%.

• In anticipation of the Cash America merger, the Company entered into a $400 million unsecured revolving bank credit facility for the combined company, which will become effective upon the completion of the proposed transaction, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions. The credit facility includes eight participating commercial lenders led by Wells Fargo. The credit facility will have a five year term from the closing date of the merger and will bear interest at either the prevailing London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) plus a fixed spread of 2.5% or the prevailing prime or base rate plus a fixed spread of 1.5%.

• The Company's leverage ratio at June 30, 2016 (outstanding indebtedness divided by trailing twelve months adjusted EBITDA) was 1.9:1 and net debt, defined as funded debt less invested cash, was $217 million. The leverage ratio is a non-GAAP measure and is calculated in the detailed reconciliation of non-GAAP financial measures provided elsewhere in this release.

• Cash provided by operating activities was $90 million for the trailing twelve months ended June 30, 2016, while free cash flow totaled $52 million. Free cash flow is a non-GAAP measure and is defined and reconciled in the detailed reconciliation of non-GAAP financial measures provided elsewhere in this release.

• For the trailing twelve months ended June 30, 2016, the Company invested $43 million in acquisitions, $30 million in capital expenditures, $17 million in stock repurchases and $7 million in dividend payments, funded primarily with operating cash flows and a $28 million increase in net debt.

  Cash Dividends

• The Board of Directors declared a $0.125 per share third quarter cash dividend on common shares outstanding, which will be paid on August 24, 2016 to stockholders of record as of August 10, 2016.

• The Board of Directors approved a plan to increase the annual dividend to $0.76 per share, or $0.19 per share quarterly, beginning in the fourth quarter, subject to the closing of the merger.

  Fiscal 2016 Outlook

• The 2016 outlook for adjusted earnings per share and store growth does not include any assumptions regarding earnings or store additions related to the announced merger with Cash America.

• The Company is raising the lower end of its guidance range by $0.10 per share and expects its fiscal full-year 2016 guidance for adjusted earnings, which excludes non-recurring merger transaction costs, to be in the range of $2.35 to $2.45 per diluted share. The previous guidance range provided on April 28th, 2016, was $2.25 to

  $2.45 per share. These revised estimates reflect the following assumptions:

  An estimated foreign exchange rate of approximately 18.5 Mexican pesos / U.S. dollar for the balance of fiscal 2016.

  The estimate excludes the impact of non-recurring transaction expenses of $0.10 per share in the first half of 2016 and excludes any such transaction or restructuring expenses that will be incurred during the remainder of fiscal 2016, which are primarily expenses related to the pending merger with Cash America International, Inc.

• Excluding the impact of the merger or additional acquisitions, the Company expects to add approximately 220 to 225 new stores in 2016.

Mr. Wessel further commented on the second quarter results, "We experienced especially strong growth in revenue and pawn loans in Latin America, driven by new stores, acquisitions and impressive same-store results. Of significant note was the 11% growth in currency-adjusted same-store pawn loans and 43% growth in total currency-adjusted pawn receivables in Latin America, which has historically been a strong leading indicator of future revenue growth. This strength is also reflected in currency-adjusted same-store core revenues in Latin America, which were up 10% for the quarter.

"The second quarter results for the 211 stores recently acquired in Mexico, Guatemala and El Salvador in December and early this year were encouraging as well. We have already completed the integration of over 75% of these stores onto our proprietary point-of-sale and pawn management technology platform. With our technology platform in place, we can rapidly implement our best practice lending and retailing policies at these stores, which we believe will drive additional long-term improvements in retail sales and margins, loan yields and profitability of the stores. We also believe that we can implement significant administrative cost synergies in the second half of the year that will drive further earnings accretion as we enter 2017.

"Based on the record pace and success of our store growth in Latin America thus far, coupled with our strong second quarter operating results, we are well-positioned as we begin the second half of 2016. As a result, we have updated our guidance and tightened our adjusted earnings per share expectations to be at the upper end of our original $2.25 to $2.45 estimate for the full year," Mr. Wessel concluded.

The Company's guidance is based solely on the Company's expected stand-alone operational performance and excludes any future merger-related expenses or any expected results of the combined company in the event the merger transaction is completed during the remainder of 2016. As announced in the joint press release filed by Cash America on July 26, 2016, the Company currently expects the merger transaction to close in the third quarter of 2016.

This release contains forward-looking statements about the business, financial condition and prospects of First Cash Financial Services, Inc. and its wholly owned subsidiaries and the Company's previously announced all-stock merger of equals transaction with Cash America. 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," "targets," "intends," "could," or "anticipates," or the negative thereof, or other variations thereon, or comparable terminology, or by discussions of strategy or objectives. Forward-looking statements can also be identified by the fact 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 per share, earnings growth, expansion strategies, the impact of new or existing regulations, store openings, liquidity (including the availability of capital under existing credit facilities), cash flow, consumer demand for the Company's