O'Reilly Automotive Shatters Sales Records

By Sam Lewis

Second quarter highlighted by 10 percent jump in sales

O’Reilly automotive, based in Springfield, MO, attained a record quarterly gross margin of 50.8 percent during the second quarter of 2013. The automotive retailer credits its improvements on better costs of acquiring merchandise, a better mix of products, better price management, and its commitment to excellent customer service.

O’Reilly, which operates nearly 4,100 stores across 42 states, saw sales for the second quarter rise 10 percent, up to $1.71 billion from $1.56 billion in 2012. Gross profit rose from $780 million to $872 million for the quarter, showing a 12 percent increase from the same time last year. Net income for the quarter increased 21 percent from last year, up to $177 million from $146 million. Earnings increased 37 percent to $1.58 per share on 112 million shares up from $1.15 per share on 127 million shares just one year ago. Comparable store sales increased to 6.5 percent for the quarter, up from 2.5 percent during the same quarter last year. Additionally, sales for the first half of 2013 increased 7 percent to $3.3 billion from $3.09 billion during the same period of 2012.

CEO Greg Henslee says “We are very pleased to again report another record breaking quarter, representing our 18th consecutive quarter of 15% or greater adjusted diluted earnings per share growth,” said Henslee. “Our focus on expense control, along with our strong gross margin results, generated a record quarterly operating margin of 17.3%, which was a 170 basis point improvement over the prior year.”

O’Reilly has already opened 111 new stores across 30 states and is well on its way to meeting its goal of opening 190 new stores in the U.S. before the end of 2013. The number of new store openings, combined with the record-breaking quarterly numbers, is a promising sign of continued growth for O’Reilly Automotive.