UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

FORM 8-K

CURRENT REPORT
Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

H&E Equipment Services, Inc.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Delaware		000-51759		81-0553291
(State or other jurisdiction		(Commission		(I.R.S. Employer
of incorporation)		File Number)		Identification No.)
11100 Mead Road, Suite 200,
Baton Rouge, Louisiana				70816
(Address of principal executive offices)				(Zip Code)

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (225) 298-5200

Not Applicable

Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions:

o		Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425)
o		Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12)
o		Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))
o		Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))

 

 

Item 2.02 Results of Operations and Financial Condition.

On November 6, 2008, we issued a press release for the third quarter ended September 30, 2008. A copy of the press release is attached as Exhibit 99.1.

The information in this Form 8-K and the attached exhibit shall not be deemed “filed” for purposes of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 or otherwise subject to the liability of that seciton nor shall it be deemed incorporated by reference to any filing under the Securities Act of 1933, except as shall be expressly set forth by specific reference in such filing.

Item 8.01 Other Events.

We define EBITDA as net income (loss) before interest expense, income taxes, depreciation and amortization. We use EBITDA in our business operations to, among other things, evaluate the performance of our business, develop budgets and measure our performance against those budgets. We also believe that analysts and investors use EBITDA as a supplemental measure to evaluate a company’s overall operating performance. However, EBITDA has material limitations as an analytical tool and you should not consider it in isolation, or as a substitute for analysis of our results as reported under GAAP. We find EBITDA a useful tool to assist us in evaluating performance because it eliminates items related to capital structure, taxes and non-cash charges. The items that we have eliminated in determining EBITDA are interest expense, income taxes, depreciation of fixed assets (which includes rental equipment and property and equipment) and amortization of intangible assets. However, some of these eliminated items are significant to our business. For example, (i) interest expense is a necessary element of our costs and ability to generate revenue because we incur a significant amount of interest expense related to our outstanding indebtedness; (ii) payment of income taxes is a necessary element of our costs; and (iii) depreciation is a necessary element of our costs and ability to generate revenue because rental equipment is the single largest component of our total assets and we recognize a significant amount of depreciation expense over the estimated useful life of this equipment. Any measure that eliminates components of our capital structure and costs associated with carrying significant amounts of fixed assets on our balance sheet has material limitations as a performance measure. In light of the foregoing limitations, we do not rely solely on EBITDA as a performance measure and also consider our GAAP results. EBITDA is not a measurement of our financial performance under GAAP and should not be considered as an alternative to net income, operating income or any other measures derived in accordance with GAAP. Because EBITDA is not calculated in the same manner by all companies, it may not be comparable to other similarly titled measures used by other companies.

Item 9.01 Financial Statements and Exhibits.

(d) Exhibits

99.1 Press Release, dated November 6, 2008, announcing earnings for the third quarter ended September 30, 2008.

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.