America's Car-Mart Reports Second Quarter Earnings of $0.55 Per Share Vs. Forecast of $.53 - $.56
Company Updates EPS Guidance for Fiscal 2005
BENTONVILLE, Ark., Dec. 7 -- America's Car-Mart, Inc. today announced its operating results for the second fiscal quarter and six months ended October 31, 2004. The Company's results are segmented into continuing and discontinued operations.
Highlights of second quarter operating results (continuing operations): -- Revenue growth of 17% compared to the prior year quarter -- Income growth of 15% compared to the prior year quarter -- Diluted EPS growth of 14% compared to the prior year quarter -- Retail unit sales growth of 3% compared to the prior year quarter
For the three months ended October 31, 2004, revenues increased 17% to $50.5 million, compared with $43.3 million in the same period of the prior fiscal year. Income for the quarter increased 15% to $4.4 million, or $0.55 per diluted share, versus $3.8 million, or $0.48 per diluted share, in the same period last year. Retail unit sales increased 3% to 6,281 vehicles in the current quarter, compared to 6,096 vehicles in the same period last year.
Highlights of six month operating results (continuing operations): -- Revenue growth of 17% over the prior year period -- Income growth of 14% over the prior year period -- Diluted EPS growth of 13% over the prior year period -- Retail unit sales growth of 5% over the prior year period
For the six months ended October 31, 2004, revenues from continuing operations increased 17% to $101.3 million, compared with $86.6 million in the same period of the prior fiscal year. Income from continuing operations for the first six months of FY2005 increased 14% to $9.3 million, or $1.16 per diluted share, versus $8.2 million, or $1.03 per diluted share, in the same period last year. Retail unit sales increased 5% to 12,742 vehicles in the current period, compared to 12,162 vehicles in the same period last year.
"We are pleased with our strong financial results in the second quarter, including revenue growth of 17% and income growth of 15% over the same period last year," commented T. J. ("Skip") Falgout, III, Chief Executive Officer of America's Car-Mart. "We believe that our decision to move our average retail sales price up to the $7,000 range this past February has been beneficial to revenue growth and is beginning to show positive signs in the credit loss area. Loans on our higher-priced vehicles have been performing better than loans on lower-priced vehicles. At October 31, 2004, the percentage of our accounts over 30 days past due was 3.5%, compared to 5.2% at the same time last year. The decrease is the result of the tighter delinquency standards we adopted in February."
"During the second quarter we opened a total of four dealerships, two in Texas (Marshall and Palestine) and two in Arkansas (Truman and Russellville) bringing us to a total of 76 at quarter end," stated Hank Henderson, America's Car-Mart's President. "As previously announced, we plan to open two more stores later in this fiscal year for a total of eight for the year. Overall, we are pleased with the performance of the new stores we have opened this year."
Fiscal 2005 Earnings Guidance
The Company has updated its fiscal year 2005 earnings estimate from continuing operations to take into account the actual results from the second quarter. Accordingly, the Company projects that it will earn $2.29 to $2.35 per diluted share from continuing operations in FY 2005 as follows:
Projected
Period Period Ending Diluted EPS
1st Quarter 7-31-04 $.62 Actual
2nd Quarter 10-31-04 .55 Actual
3rd Quarter 1-31-05 .49 to .52 Projected
4th Quarter 4-30-05 .63 to .66 Projected
Fiscal 2005 4-30-05 $2.29 to 2.35 Projected
Conference Call
Management will be holding a conference call on Tuesday, December 7, 2004 at 11:00 a.m. Eastern time to discuss second quarter results. To participate, please dial 800-309-9490 (U.S./Canadian callers) or 706-634-0104 (International callers). Callers should dial in approximately 10 minutes before the call begins. The conference call can also be accessed on http://www.vcall.com/ . A conference call replay will be available one hour following the call for three days and can be accessed by calling: 800-642-1687 (U.S. callers) or 706-645-9291 (International callers), conference ID# 2553343.
About America's Car-Mart
America's Car-Mart operates 76 automotive dealerships in seven states and is the largest publicly held automotive retailer in the United States focused exclusively on the "Buy Here/Pay Here" segment of the used car market. The Company operates its dealerships primarily in small cities throughout the South-Central United States selling quality used vehicles and providing financing for substantially all of its customers. For more information on America's Car-Mart, please visit our website at http://www.car-mart.com/ .
America's Car-Mart, Inc.
Consolidated Results of Operations
(Operating Statement Dollars in Thousands)
% Change As a % of Sales
Three Months Ended 2004 Three Months Ended
October 31, vs. October 31,
2004 2003 2003 2004 2003
Operating Data:
Retail units sold 6,281 6,096 3.0%
Average number of
stores in
operation 74.7 65.7 13.7
Average retail
units sold per
store per month 28.0 30.9 (9.4)
Average retail
sales price $7,120 $6,350 12.1
Same store revenue
growth 10.3% 11.1%
Period End Data:
Stores open 76 65 16.9%
Accounts over 30
days past due 3.5% 5.2%
Operating Statement:
Revenues:
Sales $46,694 $40,197 16.2% 100.0% 100.0%
Interest income 3,821 3,118 22.5 8.2 7.8
Total 50,515 43,315 16.6 108.2 107.8
Costs and expenses:
Cost of sales 25,325 21,196 19.5 54.2 52.7
Selling, general
and
administrative 8,361 7,129 17.3 17.9 17.7
Provision for
credit losses 9,487 8,561 10.8 20.3 21.3
Interest expense 287 305 (5.9) 0.6 0.8
Depreciation and
amortization 99 78 26.9 0.2 0.2
Total 43,559 37,269 16.9 93.3 92.7
Income from
continuing
operations
before taxes 6,956 6,046 15.1 14.9 15.0
Provision for
income taxes 2,565 2,231 15.0 5.5 5.6
Income from
continuing
operations 4,391 3,815 15.1 9.4 9.5
Discontinued
operations:
Income from
discontinued
operations, after
taxes
Net income $4,391 $3,815 15.1%
Basic earnings per
share:
Continuing
operations $0.56 $0.51 10.7%
Discontinued
operations --- ---
Total $0.56 $0.51
Diluted earnings per
share:
Continuing
operations $0.55 $0.48 14.2%
Discontinued
operations --- ---
Total $0.55 $0.48
Weighted average
number of shares
outstanding:
Basic 7,809,681 7,512,401
Diluted 8,015,857 7,950,608
America's Car-Mart, Inc.
Consolidated Results of Operations
(Operating Statement Dollars in Thousands)
% Change As a % of Sales
Six Months Ended 2004 Six Months Ended
October 31, vs. October 31,
2004 2003 2003 2004 2003
Operating Data:
Retail units sold 12,742 12,162 4.8%
Average number of
stores in operation 73.0 65.7 11.1
Average retail units
sold per store
per month 29.1 30.9 (5.7)
Average retail
sales price $7,077 $6,393 10.7
Same store revenue
growth 11.5% 11.5%
Period End Data:
Stores open 76 65 16.9%
Accounts over 30 days
past due 3.5% 5.2%
Operating Statement:
Revenues:
Sales $93,927 $80,517 16.7% 100.0% 100.0%
Interest income 7,398 6,108 21.1 7.9 7.6
Total 101,325 86,625 17.0 107.9 107.6
Costs and expenses:
Cost of sales 50,567 42,132 20.0 53.8 52.3
Selling, general
and
administrative 16,566 14,436 14.8 17.6 17.9
Provision for credit
losses 18,709 16,282 14.9 19.9 20.2
Interest expense 514 620 (17.1) 0.5 0.8
Depreciation and
amortization 191 160 19.4 0.2 0.2
Total 86,547 73,630 17.5 92.1 91.4
Income from
continuing
operations before
taxes 14,778 12,995 13.7 15.7 16.1
Provision for income
taxes 5,454 4,801 13.6 5.8 6.0
Income from
continuing
operations 9,324 8,194 13.8 9.9 10.2
Discontinued operations:
Income from
discontinued
operations,
after taxes 165
Net income $9,324 $8,359 11.5%
Basic earnings per share:
Continuing
operations $1.20 $1.11 8.1%
Discontinued
operations --- 0.02
Total $1.20 $1.13
Diluted earnings per share:
Continuing
operations $1.16 $1.03 12.7%
Discontinued
operations --- 0.02
Total $1.16 $1.05
Weighted average
number of shares
outstanding:
Basic 7,792,930 7,403,666
Diluted 8,006,910 7,930,054
America's Car-Mart, Inc.
Consolidated Balance Sheet and Other Data
October 31, April 30,
2004 2004
Cash and cash equivalents $566,447 $1,128,349
Finance receivables, net $115,570,804 $103,683,660
Total assets $131,711,641 $117,241,451
Revolving credit facility $26,484,897 $22,534,120
Stockholders' equity $94,255,416 $84,577,476
Shares outstanding 7,815,082 7,757,841
Finance receivables:
Principal balance $143,299,204 $128,719,627
Allowance for credit losses (27,728,400) (25,035,967)
Finance receivables, net $115,570,804 $103,683,660
Allowance as % of principal balance 19.35% 19.45%
Changes in allowance for credit losses:
Six Months Ended
October 31,
2004 2003
Balance at beginning of year $25,035,967 $20,395,095
Provision for credit losses 18,709,031 16,281,659
Net charge-offs (16,016,598) (13,915,729)
Balance at end of period $27,728,400 $22,761,025