FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — NationsRent earned $18.1 million in net income for the third quarter of 2005, up 28 percent year over year from the $14.1 million earned for the same period last year.

Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization rose 14.6 percent year over year from $52.7 million in Q304 to $60.4 million in the third quarter of this year.

For the nine-month period ended Sept. 30, net income rose from a $5 million loss in 2004 to a $10.5 million profit in 2005. EBITDA for the nine-month period rose 22 percent year over year from $112.8 million in 2004 to $137.9 million this year. The company expects full fiscal year 2005 EBITDA to be around $190 million.

The company also announced last month that it was granted an option to extend all of its store leases with Lowe's Companies through 2010, with an additional two-year extension through 2012 subject to Lowe's approval.

Jeff Putman, NationsRent CEO, said, “Rental and service trends show that the Lowe's locations contribute significantly to our growing market share with homeowners and small contractors, and we are pleased to continue to offer rental services at Lowe's convenient locations.”

As of November 2005, the company operated 100 locations at Lowe's home improvement stores. Every NationsRent at a Lowe's store offers customers access to the same full line of equipment they could rent from stand-alone NationsRent locations, as well as even larger equipment than typically offered, seven days a week.

Based in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., NationsRent is No. 6 on the RER 100.