ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Monro Inc. reported 74% higher per-tax operating income in the quarter and nine-months ended Dec. 25 on 20%-plus higher sales in both periods, setting the company up for "outsized sales growth" based on "robust demand and multi-year industry tailwinds."
Monro, the nation's No. 1 retail tire dealership based on number of stores, reported third quarter operating earnings of $27.4 million on 20.1% higher sales of $341.8 million, yielding an 8% operating ratio. Net earnings were up 143.2% over the fiscal 2021 quarter to $16.3 million.
Comparable store sales increased approximately 28% for both brakes and alignments, Monro said, as well as 14% for front/end shocks and 11% for both tires and maintenance services compared with the prior-year period.
"Driven by the unwavering dedication of our teammates and the experience of our senior leaders, Monro's solid third-quarter results reflect significant progress on our journey to transform this great organization and unleash its full potential," Monro President and CEO Mike Broderick said.
"Led by growth in our key service categories, we posted our third consecutive quarter of double-digit comparable store sales growth across all regions and categories as well as year-over-year margin expansion."
Mr. Broderick also stressed that "incremental investments" in quality technicians were critical to delivering improved topline results in the quarter and allowed Monro to navigate through staffing challenges posed by COVID-19 over the last six weeks.
Monro said preliminary fiscal January comparable store sales increased 1% compared to fiscal January of last year and were 4% above pre-COVID levels.
"Our teammates have done a tremendous job of navigating COVID related disruption and will once again be fully focused on continuing to deliver topline growth as this latest wave of the pandemic passes", said Mike Broderick, President and Chief Executive Officer.
Broderick continued, "Looking ahead, we will continue to invest in our teammates as we execute on our Monro.Forward strategy and build a best-in-class service model. This will position us for outsized sales growth as we capitalize on robust demand and multi-year industry tailwinds. We are committed to the highest standards of operational excellence that will enable a virtuous cycle of earnings growth and cash flow generation and allow us to continue to invest in value-enhancing acquisitions."
For the nine-month period, operating income jumped 73.5% to $89.7 million on 25.7% higher sales of $1.03 billion, yielding an operating ratio of 8.7%. Net income more than doubled to $53 million.
During the quarter, Monro completed acquisitions of 11 stores in Iowa and six stores in southern California, further expanding the company's reach in the Midwest and West Coast regions. These locations are expected to add approximately $25 million in annualized sales and are expected to be slightly dilutive to diluted earnings per share in fiscal 2022.
