DOW JONES NEWSWIRES 
 

Advance Auto Parts Inc.'s (AAP) fiscal first-quarter earnings rose 14%, with results topping analysts' expectations, as the company continued to benefit from consumers holding to their cars longer.

In after-hours trading, Advance's shares were up 2.6% to $44. The stock, having risen more than 75% in the past six months, is now just below last September's high.

Auto-parts retailers are holding up well despite a recession that has made a basket case of most of the U.S. auto industry, as consumers put off buying new cars and do more of their own repairs. Still, the company has said it wants to rev up profits by renegotiating rents and moving or closing stores.

The second-largest U.S. auto-parts retailer, after AutoZone Inc. (AZO), reported earnings of $93.6 million, or 98 cents a share, compared with $82.1 million, or 86 cents a share, a year earlier. The latest results included a 4-cent charge for store divestitures.

Sales for the quarter ended April 25 climbed 10% to $1.68 billion, helped by 114 new stores.

Analysts estimated earnings of 92 cents a share on revenue of $1.6 billion, according to a poll by Thomson Reuters.

Same-store sales rose 8.2%, with sales to do-it-yourself customers up 4.4% and sales to commercial repair shops 17.5%. The company also said a calendar shift added about one percentage point to growth.

Gross margin rose to 48.8% from 47.5%.

During the first quarter, Advance opened 46 stores, closed nine and moved three. As of April 25, the store count was 3,405.

-By Jay Miller, Dow Jones Newswires; 201-938-2331; jay.miller@dowjones.com