SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – O’Reilly Automotive has announced record revenues and earnings for its fourth quarter and full year ended Dec. 31, 2014. The results represent 22 consecutive years of comparable store sales growth and record revenue and operating income for O’Reilly since becoming a public company in April of 1993.
Sales for the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31, 2014, increased $143 million, or 9 percent, to $1.76 billion from $1.62 billion for the same period one year ago. Gross profit for the fourth quarter increased to $912 million (or 51.7 percent of sales) from $819 million (or 50.5 percent of sales) for the same period one year ago, representing an increase of 11 percent.
Net income for the fourth quarter increased $29 million, or 19 percent, to $182 million (or 10.3 percent of sales) from $152 million (or 9.4 percent of sales) for the same period one year ago. Diluted earnings per common share for the fourth quarter increased 26 percent to $1.76 on 103 million shares versus $1.40 for the same period one year ago on 109 million shares.
O’Reilly’s President and CEO Greg Henslee commented, “We are very pleased to report another profitable quarter and a strong finish to a very successful year. Team O’Reilly’s unwavering commitment to providing unsurpassed levels of customer service each day drove our industry-leading 6.3 percent comparable store sales increase for the fourth quarter, which exceeded our guidance and resulted in a 6 percent comparable store sales increase for the full year, well above the guidance we set at the beginning of the year. Our unrelenting focus on profitable growth translated these strong top-line results into a record fourth quarter operating margin of 17.2 percent and a 26 percent increase in fourth quarter earnings per share, representing our 24th consecutive quarter of EPS growth greater than 15 percent. I would like to congratulate Team O’Reilly for exceeding our sales and profitability goals in yet another quarter and thank each of them for their continued hard work and dedication to our ongoing success.”
Full-Year Financial Results
Sales for the year ended Dec. 31, 2014, increased $567 million, or 9 percent, to $7.22 billion from $6.65 billion for the same period one year ago. Gross profit for the year increased to $3.71 billion (or 51.4 percent of sales) from $3.37 billion (or 50.7 percent of sales) for the same period one year ago, representing an increase of 10 percent.
Net income for the year ended Dec. 31, 2014, increased $108 million, or 16 percent, to $778 million (or 10.8 percent of sales) from $670 million (or 10.1 percent of sales) for the same period one year ago. Diluted earnings per common share for the year increased 22 percent to $7.34 on 106 million shares versus $6.03 for the same period one year ago on 111 million shares.
Henslee continued, “We finished 2014 with a record operating margin of 17.6 percent and a 22 percent increase in earnings per share, which is our sixth consecutive year of 21 percent or greater EPS growth. Based on our belief in the continued strength of the long-term drivers for demand in our industry and, more importantly, in our team’s commitment to providing consistently high levels of customer service, we are establishing our first quarter and full-year 2015 comparable store sales guidance at a range of 3 percent to 5 percent. We remain steadfast in our commitment to profitable growth, and for 2015, we are projecting an increase in operating margin to between 18.1 percent and 18.5 percent of sales. I would like to again thank and congratulate Team O’Reilly for our record-breaking 2014 results as we look forward to building on this strong performance in 2015.”
Share Repurchase Program
During the fourth quarter, the company repurchased 1.2 million shares of its common stock at an average price per share of $152.05, for a total investment of $179 million. During the year, the company repurchased 5.7 million shares of its common stock at an average price per share of $150.86, for a total investment of $866 million. Subsequent to the end of the fourth quarter and through the date of this release, the company repurchased an additional 0.1 million shares of its common stock at an average price per share of $183.20, for a total investment of $9 million.
The company also announced that its board of directors has approved a resolution to increase the authorization amount under its share repurchase program by an additional $500 million, raising the aggregate authorization under the program to $5 billion. The additional $500 million authorization is effective for a three-year period, beginning on Feb. 4, 2015. The company has approximately $770 million remaining under its current share repurchase authorizations.
