O'Reilly finishes quarter, year with net income increases

O'Reilly Automotive Inc. (Nasdaq: ORLY) earned net income of $105.8 million in its fourth quarter, a 47 percent increase from fourth-quarter 2009 net income of $72 million.

Earnings per diluted share were 74 cents during the quarter, compared to 52 cents in the last quarter of 2009, according to an O'Reilly news release.

Net income and share earnings were adjusted because of a settlement on a note receivable acquired when the company purchased CSK Auto Corp. in July 2008. The settlement resulted in a nonrecurring, non-operating gain of $11.6 million, with a net of tax of $7.2 million.

O'Reilly recorded sales of $1.31 billion during the quarter, a 12 percent increase from $1.17 billion in sales earned in 4Q 2009.

"We achieved comparable store sales growth of 9.2 percent for the fourth quarter, which drove an increase of 33 percent in adjusted earnings per share, resulting in our eighth consecutive quarter of double-digit earnings growth," Greg Henslee, CEO and co-president, said in the release.

Net income for the year ended Dec. 31 was $419.4 million, compared to $307.5 million in fiscal 2009.

Earnings per diluted share were $2.95, compared to earnings per diluted share of $2.23 in FY 2009.

Year-end results were adversely affected by the CSK settlement. Prior to O'Reilly's acquisition of the company, the U.S. Department of Justice began an investigation related to CSK's historical accounting practices. O'Reilly and the DOJ agreed to resolve the investigation, with O'Reilly paying a one-time monetary penalty of $20.9 million to the DOJ.

Sales reached $5.4 billion in 2010, an 11 percent increase from the $4.85 billion in sales earned in 2009.

As of Dec. 31, the company's total assets were $2.3 billion, relatively unchanged from year-end fiscal 2009.

"During 2010, we opened 156 new stores, closed seven stores and opened a record four new distribution centers, increasing our store count to 3,570 and our distribution center count to 23," Ted Wise, chief operating officer and co-president, said in the release.

O'Reilly ended the year with 46,858 employees, up from 44,880 at the end of fiscal 2009.

Wise noted the company plans to open an additional 170 stores in fiscal 2011.

O'Reilly Automotive Inc. shares were trading at $56.03 as of 9:53 a.m., compared to a 52-week range of $37.58 to $63.05.[[In-content Ad]]