O’Reilly Automotive Inc. (Nasdaq: ORLY) yesterday announced record revenues and earnings for the fourth quarter and the year ended Dec. 31.
Sales were up 6 percent to $1.39 billion for the quarter, and up 7 percent to $5.79 billion for the year, according to a news release from the company.
Net income also increased, up 16 percent for the quarter to $123 million compared to the same quarter a year ago, and up 21 percent to $508 million year-to-year. For the quarter, diluted earnings per common share increased 27 percent to 94 cents per share on 130 million shares, compared to 74 cents apiece on 143 million shares in the same quarter last year. For the year, diluted earnings per common share were up 26 percent to $3.71 a share on 137 million shares, compared to $2.95 per share on 142 million shares for the previous year, the release said.
The company’s fourth-quarter results included nonrecurring income related to a settlement between the Securities and Exchange Commission and a former CSK Auto Corp. officer that resulted in the reimbursement of $3 million to CSK of incentive-based compensation and stock sale profits previously received by the officer. In the same quarter a year ago, the company’s results included a nonrecurring, non-operating gain of $12 million related to the settlement of a note receivable acquired in O’Reilly’s acquisition of CSK.
The company’s results for the year included one-time charges associated with new financing transactions completed in January 2011, including noncash, as well as the “clawback amount” related to the former CSK officer, the release said. Among the one-time charges was a $22 million noncash charge to write off the balance of debt issuance costs related to the company’s previous credit facility.
Comparable store sales were up 3.3 percent for the fourth quarter compared to the same quarter a year ago, and they were up 4.6 percent for the year compared to 2010. Results indicate that 2011 was the 19th consecutive year of comparable store sales growth.
The company also decreased its net inventory investment by more than $420 million for the year, co-President and CEO Greg Henslee said in the release.
“This working capital improvement, along with lower capital expenditures during the year generated $791 million in free cash flow,” he said in the release. “During the year, we generated significant shareholder value through our share buyback program by repurchasing more than 15 million of our shares for almost $1 billion, and we expect to continue to prudently execute our buyback program in 2012.”
The company’s board of directors in January 2011 authorized a $500 million share repurchase program, and in August, they increased the authorization by another $500 million. In November, they expanded it by another $500 million, bringing the cumulative authorized repurchase program to $1.5 billion, the release said.
As of 11:04 a.m., O’Reilly Automotive Inc. shares were trading at $84.01, compared to its 52-week range of $53.33 to $85.32.[[In-content Ad]]
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