O'Reilly drives up profits in Q2

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — O'Reilly Auto Parts reported that sales for its second quarter ended June 30 increased $84 million, or 6%, to $1.56 billion from $1.48 billion for the

same period one year ago.The company posted a 9% increase in net income to $146 million from $134 million for the same period last year. Diluted earnings per common share for the second quarter increased 20% to $1.15 on 127 million shares versus 96 cents for the same period one year ago on 140 millionshares.



Comparable-store sales increased 2.5% for the second quarter versus 4.4% for the same period one year ago.



“We are pleased to report solid second quarter results, highlighted by a 20% increase in diluted earnings per share, which was driven by a 56 basis point increase in operating margin,” stated Greg Henslee, O’Reilly’s CEO and co-president.



“Despite the challenging environment during the quarter, our continued commitment to providing industry-leading customer service allowed us to profitably grow sales with a comparable store sales increase of 2.5%, while also increasing our gross profit by 132 basis points. I would like to thank our over 52,000 team members for their continued dedication and hard work - your commitment to providing the highest level of customer service in the industry remains the key to our current and long-term success.”



Sales for the first six months of 2012 increased $230 million, or 8%, to $3.09 billion from $2.86 billion for the same period one year ago. Net income for the first six months of 2012 increased $57 million, or 24%, to $294 million (or 9.5% of sales) from $236

million (or 8.3% of sales) for the same period one year ago. Diluted earnings per common share for the first six months of 2012 increased 37% to $2.29 on 128 million shares versus $1.67 for the same period one year ago on 141 million shares.



O'Reilly opened 50 new stores in the quarter is on track to open 180 new stores during 2012, according to COO and Co-president Ted Wise. The company operates 3,859 as of the end of the quarter.