Advance Auto sees 1Q sales boost

ROANOKE, Va. Advance Auto Parts reported first quarter earnings per diluted share of 98 cents including a 4 cents charge related to store divestures which were not included in, and continue to be excluded from, the company’s 2009 annual outlook.

Total sales for the first quarter increased 10.3% to $1.68 billion, compared with total sales of $1.53 billion in the first quarter of fiscal year 2008. The sales increase reflected the net addition of 114 new stores in the past 12 months and a comparable-store sales increase of 8.2% during the quarter compared to an increase of 0.6% during the first quarter last year.

“Based on our first quarter results, we remain confident in our strategic initiatives to accelerate growth and improve profitability. As a result, we will continue to accelerate our rate of investment to strengthen our core strategic capabilities. We now expect each 1% increase in comparable store sales will add approximately 5 cents in EPS on an annual basis and a 10 basis-point improvement in operating margin is still expected to add approximately 3 cents of EPS to our comparable fiscal 2008 EPS of $2.65,” said Mike Norona, EVP and CFO.