O’Reilly sales fuel 4Q, 2007 growth

The Springfield-based retailer announced its fourth-quarter and annual results Tuesday after market close.

Net income for the quarter ended Dec. 31 was $40.6 million, a 0.6 percent increase from $40.4 million in the same period in 2006. Sales were $604 million, up 8.2 percent from $558 million a year ago, and earnings per share held steady at 35 cents on 116.3 million shares, compared to 35 cents on 115.4 million shares a year ago.

For the year, net income was $194 million, up 8.9 percent from the previous year. Sales grew 10.5 percent to $2.52 billion, and earnings per share for the year were $1.67, compared to $1.55 a year ago.

O’Reilly added 56 stores in the fourth quarter, for a total of 190 new stores in 2007.

“In spite of a very challenging economic environment in 2007, we were able to increase net income by 8.9 percent,” CEO Greg Henslee in a company news release. “Our focus remains on customer service and gaining market share in new and existing markets.”

In an attempt to do just that, O’Reilly earlier this month proposed a takeover bid to shareholders of CSK Auto Corp., which has 1,349 stores in the western United States – an area O’Reilly has yet to cover. Less than a week later, O’Reilly announced it had entered a standstill agreement with CSK.

O'Reilly shares (Nasdaq: ORLY) closed Tuesday at $27.72 and were trading down at $27.53 as of 10:30 this morning. The 52-week range is $24.08 to $38.84.