ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- Monro Muffler Brake has announced record financial results for its fiscal 2010 third quarter ended Dec. 26, 2009.

Sales for the third quarter of fiscal 2010 increased 28.7 percent to a record $152.7 million, compared to $118.7 million for the third quarter of fiscal 2009. Sales were driven largely by strong in-store sales execution across all categories and increased store traffic. Comparable store sales increased 7.2 percent, on top of a 5.9 percent comparable store sales increase in the third quarter of the prior year, and in-line with the company's previously estimated range of 6 percent to 8 percent. By category, comparable store sales increased approximately 13 percent for alignments, 11 percent for shocks, 10 percent for tires, 8 percent for exhaust, 6 percent for brakes and 3 percent for maintenance services.

The total sales for the quarter included an increase in sales from new stores of $28.8 million. The 26 Autotire stores acquired in June 2009 contributed $8.6 million of the increase, and the 45 Midwest Tire and Tire Warehouse stores acquired in September and October 2009, respectively, contributed $18.7 million of the increase.

Net income for the third quarter increased 41.8 percent to a record $7.9 million compared to $5.6 million for the prior year period. Diluted earnings per share for the quarter increased 35.7 percent to 38 cents, above the company's previously estimated range of 32 cents to 35 cents, and compared to diluted earnings per share of 28 cents in the third quarter of fiscal 2009. Net income for the third quarter reflects an effective tax rate of 40.7 percent compared with 34.2 percent for the prior year period. Pre-tax income for the third quarter increased to a record $13.3 million, a 57.1 percent increase over the prior year period.

First Nine Month Results
For the nine-month period, net sales increased 16.3 percent to a record $417.4 million from $359 million in the same period of the prior year. Net income for the first nine months of fiscal 2010 increased 29.8 percent to a record $27.3 million, or $1.33 per diluted share, compared with $21 million, or $1.05 per diluted share in the comparable period of fiscal 2009.

Robert Gross, chairman and chief executive officer, stated, "We are very pleased that the momentum we built over the past two years has continued into the second half of fiscal 2010. Our strong results for the third quarter demonstrate that we continue to gain market share and capitalize on favorable macro economic factors, most importantly, continued weak new vehicle sales and dealer closings. Additionally, we are very encouraged by our recent opportunistic, value-added acquisitions, all of which have been accretive to earnings from the start. During the quarter, we continued to focus on our store execution and to invest in advertising and employee training. These initiatives, coupled with our strong reputation as a trusted service provider, have us on track for our ninth straight year of same store sales increases, with an increase of approximately 7 percent for the third quarter and year-to-date."

Company Outlook
Based on year-to-date performance and current business and economic trends, the company anticipates fourth quarter comparable store sales growth to be in the range of 5 percent to 7 percent and diluted earnings per share to be in the range of 20 cents to 23 cents, compared to 15 cents for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2009.

For fiscal 2010, the company continues to expect comparable store sales growth of 6 percent to 7 percent. The company now expects total fiscal 2010 sales in the range of $555 million to $561 million compared to $476 million last year. The company raised its estimated range for fiscal 2010 diluted earnings per share to $1.53 to $1.56 from its previously estimated range of $1.44 to $1.48, and $1.20 last year. The estimate is based on 20.6 million weighted average shares outstanding.

Gross concluded, "We have continued to execute well against our business strategy and remain optimistic as we head into the fourth quarter. Our January comparable store sales increased approximately 9 percent, on top of a very strong 14.6 percent last January. We are extremely pleased with the performance of our recent acquisitions, which also provide us with an opportunity to convert 53 service stores in New England to our Black Gold format over the next three months. Additionally, we would hope to close acquisition deals by the end of this quarter that would add approximately $20 million in annual sales. As we look to the fourth quarter, we continue to view the current trends in our industry, our business and acquisition opportunities favorably, and are excited about what fiscal year 2011 will bring."