WRAPUP 1-Rent-A-Center, Aaron's Q1 profit beats Street

* Aaron's raises FY09 view

* Rent-A-Center narrows FY09 EPS view

* Shares of Aaron's up 8 pct, Rent-A-Center down 5 pct

April 27 (Reuters ) - Furniture and appliance rental companies Rent-A-Center Inc (RCII.O) and Aaron's Inc (AAN.N) reported better-than-expected quarterly profit as consumers opted to rent, rather than buy, new items amid a recession.

"Our business has been especially strong in recent quarters as more consumers are finding it extremely attractive to use the Aaron's option of obtaining basic home furnishings necessities with no credit checks and the ability to return the merchandise at any time," Aaron's Chief Executive Robert Loudermilk said in a statement.

Aaron's, formerly known as Aaron Rents, earned 65 cents a share, beating estimates by 13 cents.

For fiscal 2009, Aaron's raised its earnings forecast to $1.90 to $2.05 a share, from $1.72 to $1.87 a share. It expects revenue of $1.80 billion, excluding franchisees, up from $1.75 billion.

Analysts had expected the company to earn $1.82 a share on revenue of $1.77 billion.

Rent-A-Center posted earnings of 65 cents a share, excluding items, and revenue of $728.2 million, compared with analysts' average estimate of 55 cents a share on revenue of $732.4 million, according to Reuters Estimates.