A.C. Moore Reschedules Earnings Release Due to Lease Accounting
BERLIN, N.J., Feb. 22 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- A.C. Moore Arts & Crafts, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACMR) announced today that they now plan to report earnings for the
fourth quarter of 2004 after market close on Wednesday, March 9, 2005 rather
than on Wednesday, February 23rd, as originally scheduled. The Company will
hold a conference call and webcast to discuss the fourth quarter results on
Wednesday, March 9th at 5 p.m. EST.
Les Gordon, Chief Financial Officer of A.C. Moore, stated, "We, like many other
retailers, are reviewing our lease accounting practices in light of recent
views expressed by the chief accountant of the SEC. Our preliminary
determination is that certain non-cash related corrections are needed in our
computation of straight-line rent expense and the related deferred rent
liability. The reason is that historically landlords have granted us access to
the property free-of-charge in order to build out or fixture the store and
stock it with merchandise prior to opening our doors for business. This
period, which can range from one to several months, has not been included in
the amortization period for straight-line rent expense. We also are
considering a change in accounting to reflect a change in accounting for
construction allowances from landlords of properties leased by the Company for
its stores." Mr. Gordon continued, "Making these changes will result in non-cash expense and
balance sheet adjustments, similar to those recently announced by a number of
retail and restaurant companies. The views expressed by the SEC were in
disagreement with longstanding accounting practices that have been used by A.C. Moore and pervasively in the retail industry and which A.C. Moore has followed
consistently for many years. We are still analyzing the impact of the issues
and determining the amounts to reflect the appropriate accounting." To participate in the live conference call on March 9, 2005 at 5:00 p.m. EST,
please call 719-955-1568 and give the operator pin number 8727416. If you are
unable to access the live call, please dial 719-457-0820 and enter pin number
8727416 to access the taped digital replay. The replay will be available at
approximately 7:00 p.m. on March 9th and will remain available until Tuesday,
March 15th at 11:59 p.m. A simultaneous webcast of the conference call may be
accessed at http://www.acmoore.com/. Go to "Investor Relations" and click on
"Corporate Profile." To listen to the live call, please go to the web site at
least fifteen minutes early to register, download and install any necessary
audio software. An archive of the conference call will be available
approximately two hours after the conference call ends and will remain
available on the company's website until March 9, 2006.
A.C. Moore operates arts and crafts stores that offer a vast assortment of
traditional and contemporary arts and crafts merchandise for a wide range of
customers. The Company operates 96 stores on the eastern United States. For
more information about the Company, visit our website at
http://www.acmoore.com/.
This press release contains statements that are forward-looking within the
meaning of applicable federal securities laws and are based on A.C. Moore's
current expectations and assumptions as of this date. The Company undertakes no
obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement whether the result
of new developments or otherwise. These statements are subject to a number of
risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially
from those anticipated. Factors that could cause actual results to differ from
those anticipated include, but are not limited to, the impact of the adoption
of EITF Issue 02-16, the impact of the adoption of FAS 123R, customer demand
and trends in the arts and crafts industry, related inventory risks due to
shifts in customer demand, the effect of economic conditions, the impact of
adverse weather conditions, the impact of competitors' locations or pricing,
the availability of acceptable real estate locations for new stores,
difficulties with respect to new system technologies, supply constraints or
difficulties, the effectiveness of advertising strategies, the impact of the
threat of terrorist attacks and war, the uncertainty of the final resolution of
the insurance claim relating to the roof collapse, and other risks detailed in
the Company's Securities and Exchange Commission filings. DATASOURCE: A.C. Moore Arts & Crafts, Inc.
CONTACT: Leslie Gordon, Chief Financial Officer, A.C. Moore Arts & Crafts, Inc., +1-856-768-4930; or Joe Crivelli, Gregory FCA Communications, Inc., +1-610-642-8253, for A.C. Moore Arts & Crafts, Inc.
Web site: http://www.acmoore.com/
|