ROANOKE, Va. — Advance Auto Parts has announced its financial results for the third quarter ended Oct. 9.
Third quarter comparable earnings per diluted share (EPS) were $1.03, which was a 49.3 percent increase over the third quarter last year. Including the 4 cent charge related to store divestitures recorded during the third quarter of fiscal 2009, EPS increased 58.5 percent.
“I would like to thank our 51,000 team members for delivering another record performance in our third quarter of 2010. Our passion for serving our customers and growing our business has enabled us to accelerate growth and capitalize on strong industry fundamentals and consumer demand for auto parts,” said CEO Darren Jackson. “Through the strength of our team and the focus on our strategies, we have produced comparable store sales and bottom-line results that exceeded our expectations. We will continue to focus on consistency and providing a differentiated experience by leading in service and ensuring superior parts availability.”
Total sales for the third quarter increased 11.4 percent to $1.41 billion, compared with total sales of $1.26 billion during the third quarter of fiscal 2009. The company said this sales increase reflected the net addition of 122 new stores during the past 12 months and a comparable store sales gain of 9.9 percent compared to a 4.7 percent comparable store sales gain during the third quarter of fiscal 2009. Year-to-date comparable store sales increased 7.8 percent, which was on top of a 6.1 percent increase over the same period in fiscal 2009.
The company’s operating income increased 31.5 percent during the third quarter to $147.2 million as compared to the third quarter of fiscal 2009. The company’s operating income rate increased 160 basis points to 10.5 percent of total sales. Including the impact of store divestitures, the company’s operating income increased 40.4 percent and its operating income rate increased 216 basis points.
“We are very pleased with our strong third quarter results as we continue to reach new heights and achieve new milestones in our company’s history, including our record return on invested capital and recent upgrade in our credit rating to full investment grade status,” said Mike Norona, executive vice president and CFO. “During our third quarter, we continued to benefit from favorable industry dynamics, previous strategic investments and strong team member execution. Given our strong third quarter performance, we are increasing our fiscal 2010 annual EPS outlook to be in the range of $3.80 to $3.90.”
