Pep Boys sees improved earnings, but sales slide

PHILADELPHIA The Pep Boys – Manny, Moe & Jack reported that sales for the fourth quarter ended Jan. 30 decreased by $12.6 million, or 2.7%, to $452.9 million from $465.5 million for the fourth quarter ended Jan. 31, 2009. Comparable sales decreased 3.9% due to a 4.9% comparable-merchandise sales decrease partially offset by a 0.7% comparable service revenue increase.

Net Earnings for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2009 increased to $2.3 million, or 4 cents per share, from a loss of $33.3 million, or 63 cents per share recorded in the same period last year.

Sales for the fiscal year ended Jan. 30 decreased by $16.9 million, or 0.9%, to $1.91 billion from $1.93 billion for the fiscal year ended Jan. 31, 2009. Comparable sales decreased 1.2% due to a 2.6% comparable-merchandise sales decrease partially offset by a 4.7% comparable service revenue increase.

Net Earnings for fiscal 2009 increased to $23 million, or 44 cents per share, from a loss of $30.4 million, or 58 cents per share, recorded in the same period last year.

“We are pleased to report that we met our 2009 ‘Back in Black’ commitment – to return to profitability – for both the full year and each quarter,” said CEO Mike Odell. “The foundation of our turnaround has been our commitment to our customers and our focus on core automotive products and services. While we did not enjoy a comparable-store sales increase in the fourth quarter, as we did in the third quarter, we did achieve customer count increases in both service and commercial. Two years into our three-year turnaround plan, our improved disciplines in category management, expense controls and margin controls resulted in our fourth quarter profitability despite the soft holiday season.”