AutoZone Improves Top and Bottom Lines with More Stores, Inventory Rollouts

By Anne Steele 

AutoZone Inc. said profit grew 6.4% in the final quarter of its fiscal year as the replacement-part retailer reported higher revenue, propped up by new store openings.

Sales at domestic stores open at least a year rose 1% for the Memphis, Tenn., company, which has been working to increase inventory and selection in part by opening so-called mega hub locations and making more frequent deliveries to stores.

On Thursday Chief Executive Bill Rhodes said the company's ongoing inventory rollout "has gone very well" and will continue in 2017. Inventory per store climbed 2.5% from a year ago, while overall inventory increased 6.1%, thanks to new store openings and increased product placement.

In the latest period, AutoZone opened 71 new stores and relocated two stores in the U.S., bringing its total to 5,297.

In all for the August quarter, AutoZone reported a profit of $426.8 million, or $14.30 a share, up from $401.1 million, or $12.75 a share, a year earlier. Revenue climbed 3.3% to $3.4 billion.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters had projected profit of $14.25 a share on $3.43 billion in sales.

Gross margin edged up to 52.8% from 52.5% a year earlier, as lower acquisition costs were partly offset by higher supply chain costs associated with the inventory initiatives.

Shares, inactive premarket, have risen 1.3% so far this year.

Last month, rival Advance Auto Parts Inc. posted a worse-than-anticipated decline in profit in its latest quarter as weak same-store sales continued to drag on the top line.

Write to Anne Steele at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 22, 2016 08:00 ET (12:00 GMT)

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