Westar Financial Expects Higher Results

    TUMWATER, Wash.--Oct. 1, 2001--Westar Financial Services Incorporated (OTCBB:WEST), the leading automobile e-finance company, today announced it expects fiscal second quarter revenues to increase to $146 million and profits to rise to approximately $2.2 million, or $0.93 per outstanding share for the quarter ended September 30, 2001.
    "We had factored a slowdown in originations into our earlier expectations for the quarter," said R. W. Christensen, Jr., Chairman and CEO. "That slowing has not occurred. In fact, September set several new records for Westar and helped push the company to record quarterly originations, revenues and profits." For the first half of fiscal 2001, Westar's revenues tripled to $292 million generating profits of approximately $3.1 million, or $1.30 per outstanding share.
    In the second quarter a year ago, the company generated revenues of $60 million and a net loss of $1.5 million or $0.65 per share as it invested heavily in executing its Private Label marketing program. In the first half of fiscal 2001, revenues were $97 million, and net losses were $3.8 million or $1.61 per share.
    WEST is the leading publicly traded automobile-oriented e-commerce financial portal and ASP. Westar originates, decisions, commits to and fulfills consumer financings for itself or others. Westar completed the first entirely electronic Internet automobile purchase and lease transaction in October 1999. The company operates in the western states and nationally through alliances with AmSouth Bancorporation, Mellon Bank, USAA FSB and others. For more information on WEST visit www.westarfinancial.com.

    Statement regarding "Forward Looking Statements": Statements concerning future performance, developments or events, levels, expansion of operations, growth of consumer financial originations, quality of the company's lease portfolio, the ability to place securitizations, success of the e-commerce model, trends in interest rates, overhead expense variations, results of the interim audit including calculations of earnings per diluted weighted average shares, various statements concerning expectations for growth or profits and any other guidance on future periods, constitute forward-looking statements which are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties which might cause actual results to differ materially from stated expectations.