Monro Muffler sales, profits up despite slowdown in car maintenance
The tires on your car a little more bald than they should be? But you're putting off replacing them because of the cost?
Monro Muffler Brake Inc. knows your pain.
Same-store sales for the Rochester-based car-care chain were down 2.1 percent in Monro's most-recent quarter as drivers continue to put off new tires, alignment jobs and maintenance work on their vehicles.
Monro announced its latest quarterly earnings Thursday. For the three months ending Sept. 28, sales overall were up 16.3 percent, to $205.3 million. But all of that growth was due to Monro buying stores. It now operates 941 stores in 22 states and the District of Columbia.
In a statement, CEO John Van Heel said the quarterly numbers show "customers remain conservative in their spending. While we were disappointed that our tire sales remained weak during the second quarter, we were encouraged by a recovery in our service business, with comparable store sales in exhaust and brakes both up more than 4 percent year over year. We were also pleased to see continuing strength in comparable store oil changes, up approximately 2 percent."
After expenses, Monro profits were up roughly 18 percent to $13.6 million. Earnings per share were up 17 percent, to 42 cents.
Parts of the after-market car-care industry overall are seeing some similar challenges.
The Philadelpbia-based Pep Boys – Manny, Moe & Jack chain said that in its most recent quarter same-store sales were down 1.3 percent year over year, with retail sales causing more of that decline than service sales.
In its most recent quarter, Advance Auto Parts Inc. saw same-store sales essentially flat from the year before, with CEO Darren Jackson saying the quarter had started off stronger but weakened as time went on in part due to the broader economy.
All of that comes as the typical car on the road is getting longer in the tooth. According to figures from automotive industry consultant R.L. Polk & Co., the average age of cars has been rising steadily over the past decade, from less than 10 years old in 2002 to closing in on 12 years old today.
MDANEMAN@DemocratandChronicle.com