From Tire Review
 
Fresh from posting record quarterly sales and net profits, Monro Muffler Brake Inc. is looking to make a major acquisition and is considering a run at competitor Midas Inc.  
 
The Rochester, N.Y., service chain told investors it was evaluating acquisition targets, including Midas, and hopes to close on at least one deal this quarter. Monro could, in fact, acquire two or three companies, some with between five and 40 retail locations.
 
Last year Midas admitted it was undergoing an internal review about its future, “evaluating strategic and financial alternatives to enhance value for stockholders,” and suggested it would be available for acquisition or a merger.
 
Over the 12 months, Monro has spent an estimated $38 million total to buy the 22-store Vespia Tire Centers business in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, and for seven Terry’s Tire Town Inc. retail stores in Ohio and Pennsylvania.
 
Monro also sold off some stores in Long Island, N.Y., to Mavis Discount Tire.
 
For its third quarter of 2011 (ending Dec. 24, 2011), Monro Muffler Brake recorded net income of $13.6 million on sales of $176.7 million. Those results, both records the company said, compared to income of $11.1 million on sales of $165.5 million year-over-year.
 
However, Monro’s comparable store sales were flat overall, with gains in exhaust (+14 percent), brakes (+6 percent) and front end/shocks (+2 percent), and losses in tires and alignments (-4 percent) and level for maintenance services.
 
For the nine-month period, net income increased 17.3 percent to a record $44.1 million (up year-over-year from $37.6 million) and sales increased 6 percent to a record $514.8 million (up from $485.9 million).