ROANOKE, Va. – Advance Auto Parts has announced its financial results for the first fiscal quarter ended April 21. First-quarter earnings per diluted share (EPS) were $1.79, which was a 32.6 percent increase over the first quarter last year.

“We are pleased with our overall performance during our first quarter despite a meaningful slowdown in our sales trends in the month of April. Our commitment to lead in service, while adapting our costs to the current business environment allowed us to generate a solid comp store sales performance and a 21 percent growth in our operating income,” said Darren Jackson, president and CEO. “Our second-quarter sales trends remain challenging despite the positive long-term industry fundamentals. We remain committed to executing our key priorities while making adjustments to these short term sales trends.”

Total sales for the first quarter increased 3.1 percent to $2 billion, compared with total sales of $1.9 billion during the first quarter of fiscal 2011. Advance says this sales increase reflected a comparable store sales gain of 2.1 percent compared to a 1.4 percent comparable store sales gain during the first quarter of fiscal 2011 and the net addition of 82 new stores during the past 12 months.