EXETER, PA — Keystone Automotive Operations announced that net sales for the second quarter ended July 1, were $169.3 million, an increase of $27.8 million, or 19.6 percent, as compared to $141.5 million for the same period in the prior year. The company said sales increased due to new customer acquisitions and higher sales to existing customers in developing markets as well as the integration of Blacksmith and Reliable customers.
Gross profit for the second quarter was $54 million, or 31.9 percent as a percentage of sales, as compared to $45.1 million, or 31.9 percent as a percentage of sales for the same period in the prior year. The increase in gross profit dollars was due to the increase in sales, partially offset by increased freight expense as a result of expanded geographic distribution.
Operating income for the second quarter ended July 1 was $12.8 million, an increase of $2.5 million, or 25 percent, as compared to $10.3 million for the comparable period in 2005. The increase in operating income resulted primarily from higher net sales partially offset by an increase in selling, general and administrative expenses due to higher delivery, selling and warehouse expenses as well as costs associated with operating and integrating Reliable.
Net income for the second quarter ended July 1 was $2.7 million compared to $3.1 million for the same period last year.
As of July 1, the company had a cash and cash equivalents balance of $1.2 million. The company’s net debt (total debt less cash) at the end of the second quarter was $354.3 million.
"We are pleased with our overall performance for the quarter considering the economic slowdown we are experiencing. We completed the integration of Reliable ahead of schedule, and the benefits of the acquisition are already apparent in the significant increases we reported in both sales and operating income," said Ed Orzetti, CEO of Keystone Automotive Operations. "We also expanded our operations with the opening of a new warehouse outside of Atlanta to better serve the Southeast region."
To learn more about Keystone Automotive, go to: http://www.ekeystone.com .
