Car-Mart posts income, sales increases

Executives at Bentonville-based America’s Car-mart Inc. aren’t looking for a bailout. The execs announced Tuesday (Dec. 2) net income of $8.93 million for the first six months (ended Oct. 31) of the company’s fiscal year. The income was 5.7 percent higher than net income for the same period in 2007 — a respectable figure for a used-car company operating in this economic environment.

Car-Mart operates 92 used-car lots in Alabama, Arkansas, Indiana, Kentucky, Missouri, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Texas. The company has a lot in Fort Smith, Poteau and Van Buren.

“This was another solid quarter for Car-Mart,” said Hank Henderson, America’s Car-Mart’s president and CEO, in a statement. “At a time when others are reporting higher levels of consumer debt credit losses and delinquencies, particularly in the automotive sector, ours are actually improving in quality and performance.”

The company posted total revenue in the six-month period of $147.64 million, up 16.3 percent over the same period on 2007.

The company sold 14,311 vehicles in the six-month period, up 12.1 percent over the same period in 2007. The average price per vehicle sold was $8,933, up slightly over the $8,455 price in the 2007 period.

The company also reduced its long-term debt during the six-month period to $37.82 million from $40.33 million.

Wall Street liked the earnings report.

Car-Mart shares (Nasdaq: CRMT) closed Tuesday (Dec. 2) at $10.68, up more than 28 percent on the day. During the past 52 weeks, the share price has ranged from a $23.12 high to a $6.88 low.