Lucor Reports Continued Strong Sales Growth in Second Quarter of 1997
21 August 1997
Lucor Reports Continued Strong Sales Growth in Second Quarter of 1997
RALEIGH, N.C., Aug. 21 -- Lucor, Inc. , the
largest Jiffy Lube franchisee in the Unites States, today announced net sales
of $10.8 million in the second quarter of 1997. This was a 14 percent
increase over net sales of $9.5 million in last year's second quarter.
Stephen P. Conway, chairman and chief executive officer, said the increase
resulted from Lucor's expansion program. The company had 99 Jiffy Lube
service centers in operation on June 30, 1997, compared with 76 a year
earlier, and it expects to have 125 by the end of next year. The company
provided its signature service to 300,234 cars in this year's second quarter,
compared with 255,504 a year earlier.
Lucor's gross profit was $8.2 million in this year's second quarter,
compared with $7.2 million a year earlier. Mr. Conway said the company's cost
of sales declined from 23.7 percent of sales in last year's second quarter to
23.5 percent in the second quarter of this year despite increased discounting
in new stores. This happened in large part, he said, because the company has
been able to reduce the prices of major inventory items through quantity
purchasing and other means.
Income from operations was $88,000 in this year's second quarter, a 385
per cent increase over $18,000 a year earlier. Marketing costs were $304,000
higher in the 1997 period than a year earlier, a reflection of actions taken
to attract customers to the company's new service centers. Interest expense
rose to $368,000 from $265,000 in last year's second quarter, a reflection of
borrowing for capital expenditures connected with the expansion program.
The company's net loss in this year's second quarter was $170,000, or
$0.07 per share of common stock, compared with $176,000, or $0.08 per share, a
year earlier. Mr. Conway said the losses in both periods are a planned result
due to the company's expansion.
Net revenue per car serviced was lower in this year's first half than a
year earlier for a number of reasons including increased use of coupons to
build market share, increased discounts associated with fleet sales, and a
price decrease in one of the company's markets.
In the first half of 1997, Lucor had a net loss of $530,000, or $0.21 per
share, on net sales of $20.8 million, compared with a net loss of $348,000, or
$0.19 per share, on net sales of $17.3 million a year earlier. Gross profit
was $16.0 million and the loss from operations was $128,000 in the first six
months of this year, compared with gross profit of $13.2 million and a loss
from operations of $125,000 in the first half of 1996.
"The rapid and continuing increase in our total number of retail outlets
is causing our sales to increase as planned," Mr. Conway said. "The next step
is to increase per-store sales at our newer service centers, and the process
of doing that is now well under way. I'm confident that, as this process
moves forward, Lucor's bottom-line performance will improve rapidly and
significantly."
Lucor is the first franchisee of Jiffy Lube International to become a
public company. The company's automotive fast oil change, preventative fluid
maintenance and lubrication service centers are situated in North Carolina,
Kentucky, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and Michigan.
To receive additional information on Lucor, Inc., via fax, at no charge,
dial 1-800-PRO-INFO and enter code LUCR.
SOURCE Lucor, Inc.
