Rochester, NY – Monro, Inc. (NASDAQ: MNRO), a leader in automotive undercar repair and tire services, announced its fourth-quarter financial results, revealing earnings and revenues below Wall Street expectations.
The company reported adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $0.21 for the quarter, falling short of analysts’ consensus estimate of $0.30. Quarterly revenue amounted to $310.08 million, trailing analysts’ forecast of $320.43 million.
Compared to the same quarter last year, Monro’s fourth-quarter sales experienced a slight decrease of 0.2%, reaching $310.8 million. The company reported a marginal increase of 0.1% in comparable store sales but a 7.2% decline when adjusted for calendar days.
This decline was attributed to the struggle of the lower to middle-income consumer base, who preferred lower-margin tires due to excess supply in the industry. Despite these challenges, Monro achieved a 210 basis point gross margin expansion compared to the previous year, attributed to a decrease in technician labor costs, including overtime hours, and lower material costs as a percentage of sales.
President and CEO Mike Broderick commented on the company’s performance, stating, “We increased gross profit margins in both the fourth quarter and full fiscal year. We continued to mitigate the headwinds of a challenged upper-income consumer through actions to reduce unproductive labor costs, including overtime hours in our stores.” Broderick also noted that despite the prolonged weakness in the tire market, Monro effectively managed the situation through strategic actions and initiatives.
For the full fiscal year 2024, Monro reported a 3.7% decrease in sales to $1.277 billion from $1.325 billion in fiscal year 2023, with a 2.0% decline in comparable store sales and a 3.9% decline when adjusted for calendar days. The company’s adjusted diluted EPS for fiscal year 2024 decreased slightly from $1.36 in the previous year to $1.33.
Monro ended the fourth quarter with 1,288 company-operated stores and 51 franchise locations after closing 8 stores during the quarter. The company did not provide specific financial guidance for fiscal year 2025 but generated $125 million in operating cash flow for fiscal year 2024 and reported total liquidity of $475 million as of March 30, 2024.
The Board of Directors approved a cash dividend of $0.28 per share, payable to shareholders of record as of June 4, 2024, on June 18, 2024, for the first quarter of fiscal year 2025. Monro did not repurchase any shares during the fourth quarter but repurchased 1.5 million shares for $44 million at an average price of $28.50 during fiscal year 2024 under its existing authorization.
Source: investing.com
