Dorman Products Inc. has announced results for the third quarter.
Net sales for the third quarter ended Sept. 30, 2017, increased $11.8 million, or 5.6 percent, to $224.6 million from $212.8 million for the third quarter ended 2016. Diluted Earnings Per Share for the third quarter increased 3.9 percent to 80 cents per share from 77 cents per share in the third quarter of 2016.
“We are pleased with our performance this quarter despite a significant inventory reduction initiative at one of our major customers that reduced our growth rate by approximately 3 percent. The inventory reduction began late in the second quarter and moderated toward the end of the third quarter. Our investment in developing new products continues to pay off, positioning us well for the future. Year to date, our Heavy Duty (HD) Solutions lines are up 36 percent and our Complex Electronics lines are up 21 percent. Both of these initiatives continue to present significant future growth opportunities for Dorman. We also launched 954 unique SKUs in the quarter, which represents a 10 percent increase on a year-to-date basis. We remain excited about our new Chassis offering which accounted for approximately 1% of our total year to date revenue growth. Our outlook for the full year remains largely unchanged as we estimate annual sales growth to be in the 6% range and EPS growth to be in the high single digit range despite one less week in this year’s fourth quarter,” said Matt Barton, president and CEO.
Gross profit for the third quarter increased 6 percent to $88.1 million (or 39.2 percent of net sales) from $83.1 million (or 39.1 percent of net sales) in the third quarter of 2016. On a year to date basis, Gross profit has expanded 60bps from 39 percent in 2016 to 39.6 percent in 2017.
Under its share repurchase program, Dorman repurchased 342.9 thousand shares of its common stock for $24 million at an average share price of $69.98 during the third quarter ended Sept. 30, 2017, bringing year-to-date purchases to 782.4 thousand shares at an average price of $75.41.
