AutoZone Beats by a Penny - Analyst Blog
22 Maio 2012 - 9:00AM
Zacks
AutoZone Inc. (AZO) posted an 18.7% rise in
earnings per share to $6.28 in the third quarter of fiscal 2012
ended May 5, 2012 from $5.29 in the third quarter of fiscal 2011.
With this, it exceeded the Zacks Consensus Estimate by a penny. In
absolute terms, profits were $248.6 million in the reported
quarter, up 9.3% compared with $227.4 million in the year-ago
quarter.
The company’s revenues for the quarter came in at $2.1 billion,
up 6.7% compared with $2 billion in the year-ago quarter. However,
it was in line with the Zacks Consensus Estimate. Domestic
same-store sales (sales for stores open at least one year)
increased 3.9% during the quarter.
AutoZone reported a 51.6% gross margin compared with 51.2% in
the last year’s quarter. The improvement in margins was driven by
lower shrinkage expenses and leveraging distribution costs (25
basis points) due to increase in sales.
Operating expenses as a percentage of sales is 31.4. Operating
expenses as a percentage of sales were positively affected by
decrease in incentive compensation (31 basis points), which was
partially offset by a rise in self insurance cost (23 basis
points).
Store Opening and Inventory
AutoZone opened 33 new stores in the U.S. and 10 new stores in
Mexico with relocation of 3 stores in the U.S. As of May 5,
2012, the company had 4,613 stores in 48 states, the District of
Columbia and Puerto Rico in the U.S. and 297 stores in Mexico.
AutoZone’s inventory went up 5.5% in the quarter. The increase
is attributable to rise in store count and continuous investment in
hard parts assortment. Inventory per store increased marginally by
1.6% to $536 thousand from $527 thousand in the corresponding
quarter of prior year.
Share Repurchase
AutoZone repurchased 1.1 million shares of common stock under
its existing share repurchase program. With an average price of
$380, the company invested $400 million during the quarter for
share repurchases. At the end of the quarter, the company had $836
million remaining under the current share repurchase
authorization.
Financial Position
The company had cash and cash equivalents of $103.1 million as
of May 5, 2012, up from $100.4 million as of May 7, 2011. Total
debt amounted to $3.6 billion as of May 5, 2012 compared with $3.2
billion as of May 7, 2011. The company had a stockholder deficit of
$1.4 billion as of May 5, 2012, up from $1.1 billion recorded as of
May 7, 2011.
In the first nine months of fiscal 2012, the company had net
cash flow of $631.6 million before share repurchases and changes in
debt compared with $727.1 million in the same period last year.
Capital spending increased to $228.3 million from $200.6 million in
the year-ago period.
Our Take
AutoZone is a leading retailer and distributor of automotive
replacement parts & accessories with stores in the U.S. and
Mexico. The company is focused on aggressive share repurchase
program along with expansion of hub stores.
It also possesses growth opportunities from rising demand for
autoparts led by higher average age of vehicles on road. However,
rising gas prices and stiff competition from O’Reilly
Automotive Inc. (ORLY) and
Advance Auto Parts Inc. (AAP) is a threat to the
company. As a result, it retains a Zacks #3 Rank on its shares,
which translates into a short-term Hold rating.
ADVANCE AUTO PT (AAP): Free Stock Analysis Report
AUTOZONE INC (AZO): Free Stock Analysis Report
O REILLY AUTO (ORLY): Free Stock Analysis Report
To read this article on Zacks.com click here.
O Reilly Automotive (NASDAQ:ORLY)
Gráfico Histórico do Ativo
De Jun 2024 até Jul 2024
O Reilly Automotive (NASDAQ:ORLY)
Gráfico Histórico do Ativo
De Jul 2023 até Jul 2024