Car-Mart Profit Up 24% on Higher Revenue
by May 25, 2012 2:16 pm 84 views
The Bentonville-based used-car dealer, reporting earnings late Thursday, said it had earnings of $9.64 million, or 97 cents per share, for the quarter that ended April 30, compared to earnings of $8.37 million, or 78 cents per share, in the same period a year ago.
The company topped the average earnings estimate of 91 cents per share from three analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters.
Revenue rose 9.8 percent to $113.48 million.
The number of cars sold grew from 9,246 in the same quarter last year to 9,789, or 5.9 percent. Operating in nine states, Car-Mart recently opened its 114th lot in April.
The company focuses on the “buy here, pay here” segment of the used-car market, providing financing for most of its customers.
President and CEO William H. “Hank” Henderson said in a news release that Car-Mart will continue adding new locations while growing business at existing dealerships.
“We will continue to focus all of our efforts on helping our customers succeed by working with them when they experience financial difficulties,” he said.
Chief financial officer Jeff Williams said in the release that credit results have been strong, and the company reduced its allowance for credit losses in the quarter from 22 percent to 21.5 percent.
For the year, Car-Mart reported earnings of $32.99 million, or $3.24 per share, compared to $28.22 million, or $2.54 per share, a year earlier.
Revenue for the year rose 13.4 percent to $430.18 million.
In mid-morning trading Friday on the Nasdaq, Car-Mart’s shares were at $43.35, down $1.67 or 3.71 percent. Shares have traded between $25.81 and $48.24 in the past year.