CarMax Group Reports Strong Second Quarter Sales
RICHMOND, Va.--Sept. 7, 2001--In a separate release, Circuit City Stores, Inc. today reported second quarter sales for the company, including strong second quarter sales for the CarMax Group .Total sales for the CarMax Group rose 27 percent for the quarter ended August 31, 2001, to $851.8 million from $673.6 million in the same period last year. Comparable store sales also rose 27 percent.
"Our August sales continued the same robust growth that we saw during the first two months of the quarter and that led to the increased earnings expectations we announced on August 1," said W. Austin Ligon, president of CarMax. "Our comparable store sales growth of 27 percent was achieved on top of an 18 percent comparable store sales increase in last year's second quarter and resulted from strong store traffic, a continuing improvement in sales execution and a moderate increase in average retail prices. In addition, the Houston market produced particularly strong comparable store sales, partially as a result of vehicle replacements in the wake of flooding caused by tropical storm Allison. We estimate that the increased sales in our Houston stores caused by vehicle replacements related to the flood added roughly 2 percentage points to the total comparable sales for the quarter.
"We were particularly pleased that our sales continued to perform strongly despite the recent industry reports of new-car sales declines and an overall decline in consumer confidence. We believe this performance reflects both the strength of the CarMax consumer offer and the effectiveness of our marketing programs, particularly CarMax.com," Ligon said. On August 1, CarMax raised earnings expectations for the second quarter to a range of 24 cents to 25 cents per CarMax Group share.
The percent of vehicle sales represented by each category for the second quarter and the six months was as follows:
Percent Vehicle Sales by Category
Second Quarter Ended Six Months Ended
August 31 August 31
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2001 2000 2001 2000
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Vehicle Dollars:
Used Vehicles 81% 79% 81% 80%
New Vehicles 19% 21% 19% 20%
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Total 100% 100% 100% 100%
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Vehicle Units:
Used Vehicles 87% 86% 87% 86%
New Vehicles 13% 14% 13% 14%
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Total 100% 100% 100% 100%
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Earnings Release Date
The CarMax Group expects to release earnings on September 19, 2001.
Conference Call Information
Circuit City will host a conference call for investors at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time today to discuss this morning's announcement. Domestic investors may access the call at 1-888-769-8791 (passcode: Circuit City). International investors should dial 1-212-547-0180 (passcode: Circuit City).
A replay of the call will be available beginning at approximately 12 noon Eastern Time today and will run through midnight, September 11. Domestic investors may access the recording at 1-888-568-0499 and international investors at 1-402-530-7989. No access code is required. A replay of the call also will be available on the CarMax Group's investor information home page http://investor.CarMax.com and at http://www.streetevents.com.
CarMax is the nation's leading specialty retailer of used cars. With headquarters in Richmond, Va., the company operates 40 retail units in 37 locations, including 33 used-car superstores. CarMax also operates 20 new-car franchises, most of which are integrated or co-located with its used-car superstores. For more information, access the CarMax Web site at CarMax.com.
CarMax is a subsidiary of Circuit City Stores, Inc. Circuit City Stores, Inc. has two series of common stock, one of which is the CarMax Group stock, which tracks the performance of the CarMax operations, and the other of which is the Circuit City Group stock, which tracks the performance of the Circuit City operations and the retained interest in the CarMax Group. A portion of the earnings of the CarMax Group is attributed to the CarMax Group stock; the balance is attributed to the Circuit City Group stock.