O'Reilly Auto hits $3.6B in 2008 sales

O'Reilly Automotive Inc. sales jumped 42 percent in 2008, a gain that was partially offset by charges related to the company's acquisition of CSK Auto Corp.

Springfield-based O'Reilly Auto on Wednesday reported $3.58 billion in sales last year, compared to $2.52 billion in 2007. Selling, general and administrative expenses climbed 59 percent to $1.29 billion.

Net income for the year was down 4 percent at $186.2 million, compared to $194 million in 2007. Earnings per share were $1.48, a decrease of 19 cents from $1.67 the year before.

In the fourth quarter, sales rocketed 84 percent to $1.1 billion, up from $604 million in fourth-quarter 2007. Gross profit nearly doubled to $515 million from $270 million the year before, while expenses grew 110 percent to $435 million from $207 million.

Net income for the quarter was $42.7 million, up 5.2 percent from $40.6 million a year earlier. Earnings per share were 32 cents on 135.4 million shares, down from 35 cents on 116.3 million shares. Excluding charges related to O'Reilly's July 11 acquisition of CSK, earnings were 37 cents per share - compared to analysts' expectations of 30 cents.

"We are encouraged with the positive CSK same-store sales of 0.8 percent for the quarter, making this the first positive same-store sales quarter for CSK since the third quarter of 2005," O'Reilly CEO and Co-President Greg Henslee said in a news release. "The integration of CSK is progressing well, and we remain confident in the strength and potential benefits of the combined companies."

During the fourth quarter, O'Reilly opened 27 net new stores, converted 51 CSK stores to the O'Reilly brand and merged 19 CSK stores with O'Reilly stores. The retailer had a total combined store count of 3,285 stores for 2008.

The company estimates earnings per share will be between 35 cents and 39 cents for first-quarter 2009 and between $1.80 and $1.84 for the year - above analysts' expectations of $1.78 per share.

Shares (Nasdaq: ORLY) closed Wednesday at $27.74 and were trading up at $31.67 at 10 a.m. The 52-week range is $20 to $31.58.