SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — O’Reilly Automotive has announced revenues and earnings for the third quarter ended Sept. 30.

Sales for the three months ended Sept. 30, 2008, totaled $1.11 billion, up 68 percent from $0.66 billion for the same period a year ago. Gross profit for the third quarter of 2008 increased to $507 million (or 45.6 percent of sales) from $294 million (or 44.4 percent of sales) for the third quarter of 2007, representing an increase of 73 percent. Selling, General and Administrative expenses increased to $415 million (or 37.3 percent of sales) for the third quarter of 2008 from $211 million (or 31.9 percent of sales) for the third quarter of 2007, representing an increase of 97 percent. Net income for the third quarter totaled $41.4 million, down 22 percent from $53.1 million for the same period in 2007. Diluted earnings per common share for the third quarter of 2008 decreased 33 percent to 31 cents on 133.1 million shares compared to 46 cents for the third quarter of 2007 on 116.3 million shares.

Sales for the first nine months of 2008 totaled $2.46 billion, up 28 percent from $1.92 billion for the same period a year ago. Gross profit for the first nine months of 2008 increased to $1.11 billion (or 45.2 percent of sales) from $850 million (or 44.3 percent of sales) for the same period a year ago, representing an increase of 31 percent. Selling, General and Administrative expenses increased to $858 million (or 34.8 percent of sales) for the first nine months of 2008 from $609 million (or 31.7 percent of sales) for the same period a year ago, representing an increase of 41 percent. Net income for the first nine months of 2008 totaled $144 million, down 6 percent from $153 million for the same period a year ago. Diluted earnings per common share for the first nine months of 2008 decreased 11 percent to $1.18 on 122.1 million shares compared to $1.32 a year ago on 116 million shares.

The company’s third quarter results include charges related to the July 11, 2008, acquisition of CSK Automotive. These charges include one-time costs for the prepayment and extinguishment of existing O’Reilly debt, commitment fees for an unused interim financing facility, a one-time adjustment to tax liabilities resulting from the acquisition of CSK and a non-cash charge to amortize the value assigned to CSK’s trade names and trademarks, which will be amortized over the next two and a half years coinciding with the anticipated conversion of CSK store locations. Adjusted diluted earnings per share, excluding the impact of acquisition related charges, was 40 cents and $1.27 for the third quarter and first nine months of 2008, reflecting decreases of 13 percent  and 4 percent, respectively, from the same periods a year ago. The impact of the individual acquisition related charges was as follows:

Comparable store sales for O’Reilly stores open at least one year increased 1.5 percent for both the third quarter and first nine months of 2008. Comparable store sales for CSK stores open at least one year decreased 4.3 percent for the portion of CSK’s sales in the third quarter since the July 11, 2008, acquisition by O’Reilly. Consolidated comparable store sales for stores open at least one year decreased 0.8 percent for the third quarter of 2008 and increased 0.5 percent for the first nine months of 2008.

“We enter the fourth quarter focused on the continued execution of our CSK store conversion plan,” Ted Wise, COO and co-president, said. “During the quarter, we will be converting stores located in markets where we have O’Reilly distribution reach and can effectively execute our dual market strategy. We opened 37 new stores and merged 16 CSK with O’Reilly stores during the third quarter. We continue to be very impressed with the new members of our team and the level of enthusiasm they have shown by embracing the O’Reilly culture.”

“We continue to be very enthused about the prospects of the integration of CSK Auto. Our management team is clearly focused on both driving performance in existing O’Reilly markets and laying the foundation for the successful integration of CSK. I would like to take this opportunity to thank every member of Team O’Reilly for all the hard work and dedication they have exhibited since we closed the CSK acquisition in July,” CEO and Co-President Greg Henslee stated. “The acquisition of 1,342 CSK stores and the opening of 37 new stores during the quarter brings our total store count to 3,277 stores in 38 states.”

The impact of the acquisition of CSK, excluding the items presented above, is expected to dilute 2008 earnings by approximately $0.15 per diluted share. The Company continues to expect the acquisition to be slightly accretive to earnings per share in 2009 and to realize ongoing synergies of $100 million annually beginning in 2010. The company estimates diluted earnings per share for the year ending Dec. 31, 2008, to range from $1.45 to $1.49. Excluding the expected impact of acquisition charges related to CSK of 11 cents per diluted share, adjusted earnings per share are expected to range from $1.56 to $1.60.

Comparable store sales for the fourth quarter of 2008 are estimated to range from 2 percent to 4 percent for existing O’Reilly stores and (1 percent) to (3 percent) for CSK stores for a combined Company range of flat to 2 percent. Full year comparable store sales are estimated to range from 1 percent to 3 percent for existing O’Reilly stores and (2 percent) to (4 percent) for CSK stores for a combined company full year range of flat to 1 percent.