ATLANTA (Feb. 18, 2015) — NAPA Auto Parts parent Genuine Parts Co. (GPC) closed 2014 with record sales and earnings.
GPC increased its net income 3.8 percent to $711.3 million on a 9-percent jump in sales to $15.3 billion for 2014, compared with the previous year. Before a one-time adjustment in 2013, net income for the full year in 2014 increased 9 percent, compared with the previous year, the company reported.
GPC's automotive segment, which includes NAPA, boosted its operating profit 9.2 percent to $700.4 million on an 8.1-percent jump in sales to $8.1 billion for the year.
“2014 was another year of record sales and earnings, and we are especially pleased that each of our four business segments contributed to these records. We also improved our operating margin for the year and further improved our financial strength with effective asset management and solid cash flows,” said Chairman and CEO Tom Gallagher.
The company's fourth-quarter net income surged 10 percent to $165.6 million as sales increased 8.7 percent to $3.82 billion, compared with the year-ago period.
The automotive group suffered a 2.3-percent dip in operating profit to $150.3 million despite a 3.7-percent increase in sales to $1.99 billion for the fourth quarter.
“We are pleased to report another solid quarter of sales and earnings growth for Genuine Parts Co. Our 9-percent total sales increase includes approximately 7.6-percent underlying sales growth and a 2.7-percent contribution from acquisitions, offset by a currency headwind of approximately 1.6 percent,” Mr. Gallagher noted.
“Our overall sales growth was supported by increases in each of our four business segments. Sales for the Automotive Group were up 4 percent, consisting of core automotive growth of 6 percent and a 0.5-percent contribution from acquisitions. These items were offset by a 2.5-percent negative impact of currency.”