The Mint Leasing, Inc. Celebrates 10th Anniversary in 2009
Provider of Innovative Vehicle Leasing Solutions Faces Bright Future as Franchised Auto Dealers Seek Financial Flexibility for Customers
HOUSTON, Feb. 18 -- The Mint Leasing, Inc., (OTC Bulletin Board: MLES), a provider of innovative vehicle leasing solutions, today announced that the Company is celebrating its 10th Anniversary in business throughout the year of 2009.
"The growth of Mint as a provider of innovative leasing solutions for the customers of franchised automobile dealerships has been impressive over the past decade," stated Jerry Parish, Chief Executive Officer of the Company. "We believe our future is even brighter, given the fact that several automobile companies and many banks have sharply reduced their leasing activities or exited the leasing business altogether in recent months."
"The Mint Leasing, Inc. started business in May 1999 from a small office in Bellaire, Texas," continued Parish. "Although we had minimal capital, in our first year we generated just under $2 million in revenues from the customers of a few auto dealerships - all in the Houston area. Today, we have relationships with approximately 600 dealerships in seventeen states, and the demand for our leasing services has grown significantly as the turmoil in global credit markets has reduced the range of financing alternatives available to purchasers of new and late-model cars and trucks."
"As a result of steady growth during the past ten years, our 2008 revenues topped $40 million, and we transitioned from private ownership into a publicly traded company in July of last year. By December 2008 the Company was generating approximately $1.5 million in cash flow every month, and the size of our lease portfolio now exceeds $60 million. I would like to thank Sterling Bank, which has been our primary lender for the entire decade; our dedicated team of employees; the expanding number of auto dealerships that offer our leasing solutions to their customers; and our shareholders for their continued support and the role they will play in Mint's growth in coming years. We look towards the future with great optimism and confidence that our second decade in business will be more rewarding for all of our stakeholders than the past ten years have been," concluded Parish.
About The Mint Leasing, Inc.
As a provider of innovative leasing solutions, The Mint Leasing, Inc. allows premier franchise automobile dealers to offer their customers attractive and flexible financing alternatives for the purchase of new or late-model cars and trucks. Most of the Company's customers are located in Texas and sixteen other states. The Mint Leasing's customers are primarily comprised of brand-name automobile dealers that seek to provide leasing options to their customers, many of whom would otherwise not have the opportunity to acquire new or late-model-year vehicles. The Mint Leasing, Inc. is responsible for underwriting criteria and procedures, administration of the leases, and collection of payments from lessees.
The Company is headquartered in Houston, Texas, and its common stock trades on the OTC Bulletin Board under the symbol "MLES".
The information in this news release includes certain forward-looking statements that are based upon assumptions that in the future may prove not to have been accurate and are subject to significant risks and uncertainties, including statements to the future financial performance of the Company. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations or any of its forward-looking statements will prove to be correct. Factors that could cause results to differ include but are not limited to, successful performance of internal plans, product development and acceptance, the impact of competitive services and pricing, or general economic risks and uncertainties, and other risks disclosed in the Company's periodic filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.