O’Reilly Automotive grows earnings 20% on same-store sales

Capitalizing on strong same-store sales, O’Reilly Automotive Inc. (Nasdaq: ORLY) boosted first-quarter earnings 20 percent to $255.4 million from $212.9 million a year earlier.

The Springfield-based auto parts retailer’s diluted share earnings were up 53 cents to $2.59. The quarter was the 29th straight period with a diluted share earnings increase of at least 15 percent, according to a news release.

O’Reilly Automotive President and CEO Greg Henslee said the 6.1 percent increase in comparable store sales marked the 10th straight quarter of growth above 5 percent.

“Our consistently strong performance is the direct result of the unwavering commitment of our over 73,000 team members dedicated to providing excellent customer service,” he said in the release.

First-quarter financial notes:
    •    Sales reached $2.1 billion, a 10 percent increase from a year earlier.
    •    O’Reilly Automotive invested $313 million repurchasing 1.2 million shares of its common stock at an average price of $254.02.
    •    The company opened 52 new stores during the quarter, resulting in a total of 4,623 nationwide. That’s up from 4,433 a year earlier.
    •    As of March 31, assets were $7.4 billion.

Henslee cautioned a second-quarter noncash impact related to a new supplier contract would affect the company’s gross margin. Company officials also estimated diluted share earnings of $2.54-$2.64 during the quarter - below analysts’ projection - which could be the cause of a drop in shares this morning, according to Investors.com.

ORLY shares opened nearly $10 down from yesterday’s closing price of $272.87. As of 11:15 a.m., shares were trading at $268.36, compared to a 52-week range of $216.41 to $277.96.