SPRINGFIELD, Mo. O’Reilly Automotive has announced record revenues and earnings for its first quarter ended March 31.
Sales for the first quarter increased $147 million, or 11 percent, to $1.53 billion from $1.38 billion for the same period one year ago. Gross profit for the first quarter increased to $762 million (or 49.8 percent of sales) from $670 million (or 48.4 percent of sales) for the same period one year ago, representing an increase of 14 percent.
Operating income for the first quarter increased to $248 million (or 16.2 percent of sales) from $196 million (or 14.2 percent of sales) for the same period one year ago, representing an increase of 26 percent.
Net income for the quarter increased $45 million, or 44 percent, to $147 million (or 9.6 percent of sales) from $102 million (or 7.4 percent of sales) for the same period one year ago. Diluted earnings per common share for the first quarter increased 58 percent to $1.14 on 129 million shares versus 72 cents for the same period one year ago on 143 million shares.
Commenting on the company’s quarterly results, CEO and Co-President Greg Henslee stated, “We are pleased to report a very strong start to 2012, highlighted by our comparable store sales increase, excluding the extra Leap Day, of 6.1 percent and a 200 basis point improvement in operating margin to 16.2 percent, representing a record high.
The improvement in operating margin was driven by a combination of solid gross margin performance and strong SG&A expense leverage. Our 37 percent increase in adjusted earnings per share is once again the direct result of the hard work of our over 51,000 dedicated team members.”