By Shawn Langlois

SAN FRANCISCO (Dow Jones) -- Genuine Parts Co. shares rallied early Thursday, gaining as financial results showed the auto-equipment retailer's first-quarter profit didn't decline as steeply as analysts had expected.

The stock was up $2.44 at $33.89 in early trading on Thursday, but it remains down 11% since the beginning of the year.

The Atlanta-based company (GPC) reported a quarterly profit of $89.2 million, or 56 cents a share, down from $123.5 million, or 75 cents, earned in the first three months of 2008.

Revenue fell 11% to $2.44 billion for the latest quarter, stung by weak consumer spending and downturn in manufacturing.

Analysts polled by FactSet Research had been looking for a profit, on average, of 49 cents a share on sales of $2.49 billion.

"It was a challenging quarter for us, as the effects of the slower economy impacted each of our four business segments," CEO Thomas Gallagher said, adding that he expects the effects of the economic slowdown to linger for several more quarters.

"Clearly, these are challenging times; however, our expectation is to show gradual improvement in our overall results as the year progresses," Gallagher said in a statement.