ROCHESTER, N.Y. (July 25, 2013) — Monro Muffler Brake Inc.'s earnings climbed 16.6 percent to $13.6 million on a 21.9-percent boost in net sales to $206.2 million for its fiscal first quarter, ended June 29.
Monro also disclosed it's agreed to buy 10 Curry's Auto Service stores in the Washington D.C. area.
The sales increase of $37 million was due to an increase in revenues from new stores, including recently acquired stores adding $36 million, and a comparable store sales increase of 1.2 percent, the retailer said.
Comparable store sales increased about 3 percent for alignments and 1 percent for maintenance services and tires, Monro said, and were flat for exhaust, front end/shocks and brakes.
The company's gross margin decreased to 38.3 percent for the quarter from 40.3 in the year-ago quarter largely due to a sales mix shift to the lower margin tire category related primarily to recently acquired stores.
Operating income for the quarter increased 17.4 percent to $23.1 million.
Monro added one store and closed three locations during the three-month period, ending the quarter with 935 stores.
"Our first quarter performance continues to reflect the volatility associated with the economic environment that has been weighing on our customers, with the positive comparable store sales trends we experienced in April and early May softening in the final six weeks of the quarter," said Monro President and CEO John Van Heel.