BENTONVILLE, Ark., Feb. 18, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- America's Car-Mart, Inc. (Nasdaq:CRMT) today announced its operating results for the third quarter of fiscal 2014.
Highlights of third quarter operating results:
Highlights of nine month operating results:
"Despite the pressure we are feeling in the current competitive environment, we are continuing to see some good growth. We remain committed to growing our business the right way with the realization that so long as the competition does not share our same focus on customer success, our results could continue to be affected somewhat. There are a lot of good people who are currently signing up on financial arrangements with our competitors for what we believe are impractical terms that are not in their long-term best interest. We will continue to do our very best to set our customers up to succeed so that we will be in a position to earn their repeat business in the future. Anything short of our customers successfully completing the terms of their individual contracts is not acceptable to us and not in line with how we believe this business should operate. Unfortunately, the current environment is contributing to higher levels of charge-offs and we will continue to work hard to reverse these trends," said William H. ("Hank") Henderson, President and Chief Executive Officer of America's Car-Mart.
"We have opened seven new dealerships this year and have four more projects underway that we expect to open between now and the end of our fiscal year. Our new dealerships are performing well and we are excited to be adding great new towns to our footprint. We have added almost 4,400 active accounts and are working hard to make these new customers, and our existing customers, fans for life of America's Car-Mart," added Mr. Henderson.
"Excluding the effect of the increase in the allowance for credit losses, we earned $.68 per diluted share for the quarter. While this is certainly below where we had hoped to be, the decrease can be attributed to the continuing intense competitive environment that we are facing on the funding side coupled with the fact that our customers continue to be under significant pressure due to the persistent negative macro-economic environment. We know we can do better, but the business model is certainly being stress tested by forces outside of our control. We are working hard to continue to grow in a healthy manner so that we are in a good position if conditions change in our favor," said Jeff Williams, Chief Financial Officer of America's Car-Mart. "Because of the stubbornly high net charge-off levels, and our expectation that tough conditions will continue at least over the short-term to mid-term, it was necessary for us to increase our allowance for credit losses to 23.5% from 21.5%. The last time we adjusted our allowance was in April 2012 when we reduced the percentage to 21.5% from 22.0%. Prior to April 2012 the last time an adjustment was made to the allowance was in October 2006 when it was increased to 22% from 19.2%. This non-cash charge will not in any way affect our efforts to help our customers succeed, and our cash on cash returns continue to be very attractive even with higher charge-off levels. We are focused on maximizing efficiencies on the operating expense side of the business and are committed to always being the lowest cost operator."
"Our debt to equity was 54.3% and our debt to finance receivables was 28.5% at the end of the quarter. We are committed to maintaining a conservative balance sheet," added Mr. Williams. "We repurchased 200,000 shares of our common stock during the quarter or about 2.2% of the outstanding shares. Since February 1, 2010 we have repurchased 3.1 million shares or 27% of the company. We will continue to stay focused on cash on cash returns and aggressive expense management. We believe in the long-term value of our company and will continue to invest in the repurchase program when we believe favorable conditions exist. Our first priority for capital allocation will continue to be to support the healthy growth of the business."
Conference Call
Management will be holding a conference call on Wednesday, February 19, 2014 at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time to discuss third quarter results. A live audio of the conference call will be accessible to the public by calling (877) 776-4031. International callers dial (631) 291-4132. Callers should dial in approximately 10 minutes before the call begins. A conference call replay will be available one hour following the call for thirty days and can be accessed by calling (855) 859-2056 (domestic) or (404) 537-3406 (international), conference call ID # 59350030.
About America's Car-Mart
America's Car-Mart, Inc. (the "Company") operates 131 automotive dealerships in ten states and is one of the largest publicly held automotive retailers in the United States focused exclusively on the "Integrated Auto Sales and Finance" segment of the used car market. The Company emphasizes superior customer service and the building of strong personal relationships with its customers. The Company operates its dealerships primarily in small cities throughout the South-Central United States selling quality used vehicles and providing financing for substantially all of its customers. For more information, including investor presentations, on America's Car-Mart, please visit our website at www.car-mart.com.
This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements address the Company's future objectives, plans and goals, as well as the Company's intent, beliefs and current expectations regarding future operating performance, and can generally be identified by words such as "may," "will," "should," "could, "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "intend," "plan," "foresee," and other similar words or phrases. Specific events addressed by these forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to:
These forward-looking statements are based on the Company's current estimates and assumptions and involve various risks and uncertainties. As a result, you are cautioned that these forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance, and that actual results could differ materially from those projected in these forward-looking statements. Factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from the Company's projections include, but are not limited to:
Additionally, risks and uncertainties that may affect future results include those described from time to time in the Company's SEC filings. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the dates on which they are made.
America's Car-Mart, Inc. | |||||
Consolidated Results of Operations | |||||
(Operating Statement Dollars in Thousands) | |||||
% Change | As a % of Sales | ||||
Three Months Ended | 2014 | Three Months Ended | |||
January 31, | vs. | January 31, | |||
2014 | 2013 | 2013 | 2014 | 2013 | |
Operating Data: | |||||
Retail units sold | 10,735 | 10,403 | 3.2% | ||
Average number of stores in operation | 129 | 118 | 9.3 | ||
Average retail units sold per store per month | 27.7 | 29.4 | (5.8) | ||
Average retail sales price | $ 9,739 | $ 9,797 | (0.6) | ||
Same store revenue growth | (2.8)% | 8.8% | |||
Net charge-offs as a percent of average Finance Receivables | 6.7% | 5.7% | |||
Collections as a percent of average Finance Receivables | 13.3% | 13.4% | |||
Average percentage of Finance Receivables-Current (excl. 1-2 day) | 79.3% | 80.5% | |||
Average down-payment percentage | 4.0% | 3.9% | |||
Period End Data: | |||||
Stores open | 130 | 120 | 8.3% | ||
Accounts over 30 days past due | 5.8% | 6.0% | |||
Finance Receivables, gross | $ 400,651 | $ 363,918 | 10.1% | ||
Operating Statement: | |||||
Revenues: | |||||
Sales | $ 108,400 | $ 106,215 | 2.1% | 100.0% | 100.0% |
Interest income | 14,188 | 12,707 | 11.7 | 13.1 | 12.0 |
Total | 122,588 | 118,922 | 3.1 | 113.1 | 112.0 |
Costs and expenses: | |||||
Cost of sales | 62,092 | 60,941 | 1.9 | 57.3 | 57.4 |
Selling, general and administrative | 19,650 | 18,775 | 4.7 | 18.1 | 17.7 |
Provision for credit losses | 36,776 | 25,189 | 46.0 | 33.9 | 23.7 |
Interest expense | 779 | 795 | (2.0) | 0.7 | 0.7 |
Depreciation and amortization | 835 | 712 | 17.3 | 0.8 | 0.7 |
Loss on Disposal of Property and Equipment | 37 | -- | -- | -- | -- |
Total | 120,169 | 106,412 | 12.9 | 110.9 | 100.2 |
Income before taxes | 2,419 | 12,510 | 2.2 | 11.8 | |
Provision for income taxes | 949 | 4,530 | 0.9 | 4.3 | |
Net income | $ 1,470 | $ 7,980 | 1.4 | 7.5 | |
Dividends on subsidiary preferred stock | $ (10) | $ (10) | |||
Net income attributable to common shareholders | $ 1,460 | $ 7,970 | |||
Earnings per share: | |||||
Basic | $ 0.16 | $ 0.88 | |||
Diluted | $ 0.16 | $ 0.84 | |||
Weighted average number of shares outstanding: | |||||
Basic | 8,917,826 | 9,017,613 | |||
Diluted | 9,370,635 | 9,451,473 |
America's Car-Mart, Inc. | |||||
Consolidated Results of Operations | |||||
(Operating Statement Dollars in Thousands) | |||||
% Change | As a % of Sales | ||||
Nine Months Ended | 2014 | Nine Months Ended | |||
January 31, | vs. | January 31, | |||
2014 | 2013 | 2013 | 2014 | 2013 | |
Operating Data: | |||||
Retail units sold | 31,986 | 29,970 | 6.7% | ||
Average number of stores in operation | 127 | 116 | 9.5 | ||
Average retail units sold per store per month | 28.0 | 28.7 | (2.4) | ||
Average retail sales price | $ 9,762 | $ 9,635 | 1.3 | ||
Same store revenue growth | 1.8% | 2.8% | |||
Net charge-offs as a percent of average Finance Receivables | 19.8% | 18.1% | |||
Collections as a percent of average Finance Receivables | 40.5% | 42.8% | |||
Average percentage of Finance Receivables-Current (excl. 1-2 day) | 80.5% | 81.5% | |||
Average down-payment percentage | 5.6% | 5.8% | |||
Period End Data: | |||||
Stores open | 130 | 120 | 8.3% | ||
Accounts over 30 days past due | 5.8% | 6.0% | |||
Finance Receivables, gross | $ 400,651 | $ 363,918 | 10.1% | ||
Operating Statement: | |||||
Revenues: | |||||
Sales | $ 325,314 | $ 302,706 | 7.5% | 100.0% | 100.0% |
Interest income | 41,249 | 36,435 | 13.2 | 12.7 | 12.0 |
Total | 366,563 | 339,141 | 8.1 | 112.7 | 112.0 |
Costs and expenses: | |||||
Cost of sales | 187,537 | 173,330 | 8.2 | 57.6 | 57.3 |
Selling, general and administrative | 59,045 | 53,982 | 9.4 | 18.2 | 17.8 |
Provision for credit losses | 91,602 | 70,499 | 29.9 | 28.2 | 23.3 |
Interest expense | 2,291 | 2,156 | 6.3 | 0.7 | 0.7 |
Depreciation and amortization | 2,407 | 2,070 | 16.3 | 0.7 | 0.7 |
Loss on Disposal of Property and Equipment | 76 | -- | -- | -- | -- |
Total | 342,958 | 302,037 | 13.5 | 105.4 | 99.8 |
Income before taxes | 23,605 | 37,104 | 7.3 | 12.3 | |
Provision for income taxes | 8,789 | 13,728 | 2.7 | 4.5 | |
Net income | $ 14,816 | $ 23,376 | 4.6 | 7.7 | |
Dividends on subsidiary preferred stock | $ (30) | $ (30) | |||
Net income attributable to common shareholders | $ 14,786 | $ 23,346 | |||
Earnings per share: | |||||
Basic | $ 1.65 | $ 2.55 | |||
Diluted | $ 1.56 | $ 2.43 | |||
Weighted average number of shares outstanding: | |||||
Basic | 8,984,958 | 9,142,296 | |||
Diluted | 9,449,380 | 9,593,854 |
America's Car-Mart, Inc. | ||
Consolidated Balance Sheet and Other Data | ||
(Dollars in Thousands) | ||
January 31, | April 30, | |
2014 | 2013 | |
Cash and cash equivalents | $ 256 | $ 272 |
Finance receivables, net | $ 309,709 | $ 288,049 |
Inventory | $ 34,242 | $ 32,827 |
Total assets | $ 382,831 | $ 358,265 |
Total debt | $ 114,339 | $ 99,563 |
Treasury stock | $ 103,286 | $ 94,547 |
Stockholders' equity | $ 210,453 | $ 202,268 |
Shares outstanding | 8,845,320 | 9,023,290 |
Finance receivables: | ||
Principal balance | $ 400,651 | $ 363,394 |
Deferred revenue - payment protection plan | (13,664) | (12,910) |
Allowance for credit losses | (90,942) | (75,345) |
Finance receivables, net of allowance and deferred revenue | $ 296,045 | $ 275,139 |
Allowance as % of principal balance | 23.50% | 21.50% |
Changes in allowance for credit losses: | ||
Nine Months | ||
Ended January 31, | ||
2014 | 2013 | |
Balance at beginning of period | $ 75,345 | $ 65,831 |
Provision for credit losses | 91,602 | 70,499 |
Charge-offs, net of collateral recovered | (76,005) | (60,764) |
Balance at end of period | $ 90,942 | $ 75,566 |