ATLANTA (July 20, 2016) — Genuine Parts Co., parent of NAPA Auto Parts, generated sales and earnings in the second quarter and first half that were slightly down from last year's results.
Net income slid 2 percent to $191.4 million during the second quarter as sales slipped 1 percent to $3.9 billion.
The automotive group, which includes NAPA, reported a 1.9-percent drop in operating profit for the second quarter to $203.6 million as sales slid 0.7 percent to $2.1 billion.
“This quarter our automotive sales, along with our other distribution businesses, were all impacted by the challenging sales environment,” said Paul Donahue, Genuine Parts president and CEO.
“We offset some of this impact with key sales and gross margin initiatives as well as tight expense controls. Importantly, we also further improved the strength of our balance sheet and cash flows with effective working capital management. We expect the combination of these efforts to support stronger growth for the company over the long-term.”
Corporate income fell 2 percent to $349.4 million for the half as sales dipped 0.8 percent to $7.6 billion.
The automotive group maintained an even keel for the half with operating profit that slipped 0.2 percent to $357.3 million as sales edged up 0.5 percent to $4 billion.
For the full year, the company said it is expecting 1- to 2-percent sales growth and is updating diluted earnings per share expectations of $4.70 to $4.75 from a range of $4.70 to $4.80.