America's Car-Mart Reports Diluted Earnings per Share of $2.00 on Record Revenues of $190 Million

BENTONVILLE, Ark., Nov. 18, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- America’s Car-Mart, Inc. (NASDAQ: CRMT) today announced its operating results for the second quarter of fiscal year 2020.

Highlights of second quarter operating results:

• Net earnings of $13.9 million, or $2.00 per diluted share vs. net earnings of $11.3 million, or $1.58 per diluted share for prior year quarter
• Revenues of $190 million compared to $167 million for the prior year quarter; current quarter includes same store revenue increase of 12.2%
• Sales volume productivity of 31.6 retail units sold per store per month, up from 29.7 for the prior year quarter
• Interest income increased 8.7%, or $1.8 million, with an 8.3% increase in average finance receivables
• Gross profit dollars increased $6.9 million, or 11.3%, to $67.9 million, and gross profit dollars per retail unit sold increased by $116, or 2.4%, to $4,935
• Selling, general and administrative expenses at 16.9% of sales compared to 17.9% for the prior year quarter and at 57.4% of total revenues less cost of sales and provision for credit losses compared to 60.5% for the prior year quarter
• Net Charge-offs as a percent of average finance receivables decreased to 6.1%, compared to 6.6% for the prior year quarter.  Collections as a percent of average finance receivables increased to 13.3% from 13.0% for the prior year quarter.
• Provision for credit losses of 24.5% of sales vs. 26.3% for prior year quarter
• $10.0 million in common stock repurchases at an average price of approximately $89 per share (112,091 shares)

“Once again, we are pleased with the quality of our work, which resulted in another solid quarter. Our work has real purpose and our associates are enthusiastically embracing efforts to continually improve the customer experience in the communities we serve. As we have said many times, we serve a large and fragmented market and we will continue to grow our customer base at a rate that matches our ability to operate at the highest levels. We believe that we have an obligation to serve more customers by growing market share in the areas we currently serve and by adding new locations over time. Our new vision statement – ‘To be America’s best auto sales and finance company in the eyes of our customers and associates while improving the communities we serve’ is our purpose, and we have a sense of urgency to get better every day,” said Jeff Williams, President and Chief Executive Officer. “We will continue to invest in our infrastructure to support a growing company as we believe that every town in America would be better with a Car-Mart dealership. We continue to elevate our offering by giving our valued customers peace of mind with their transportation needs while educating the market about our competitive advantage as to the total cost of vehicle ownership. We continue to make significant improvements with our training programs, and we will keep pushing in this critically important area. The customer experience starts and ends with the vehicle and we pledge to ‘keep our cars on the road’ with quality cars and great customer service after the sale.  It’s a very exciting time to be at America’s Car-Mart and to be part of a team making such a positive difference.”  

“It’s nice to see the productivity improvements which have resulted from the continued focus on our Operational Non-Negotiables.  We plan to open additional locations in the future, and we believe we can continue to pick up significant market share in our current markets by further differentiating our offering from the competition,” said Mr. Williams. “We believe that there is tremendous demand for our offering and that we have significant growth opportunities over time. We have opened two new dealerships this year, and we are currently working on new dealerships in Chattanooga, Tennessee and in Cabot, Arkansas. Additionally, we have just begun work on a new dealership in Edmond, Oklahoma.”

“We were pleased to see the retail unit volume increase at 8.7% and proud to have added over 4,500 customers to the Car-Mart family in the last twelve months,” said Vickie Judy, Chief Financial Officer.  “We are working very hard to grow our customer count at each dealership, and that success is also reflected in our lower net charge-offs as a percentage of average receivables (6.1% compared to prior year quarter of 6.6%).  These results would not have been possible without our continued investments in our associates and infrastructure.  We did have some nice leveraging as our overall selling, general, and administrative expenses decreased to 16.9% of sales, compared to 17.9% for the prior year quarter.  We recognized an income tax benefit related to share-based compensation of $140,000, or $0.02 per diluted share, compared to $543,000, or $0.08 per diluted share, for the prior year quarter.”

“We repurchased 112,091 shares of our common stock during the quarter at an average price of approximately $89 for a total of $10.0 million. Since February 2010, we have repurchased 6.3 million shares (54.3% of our outstanding shares at January 31, 2010) at an average price of approximately $38. We plan to continue to repurchase shares opportunistically as we move forward.  During the six-month period ended October 31, 2019, we added $43.8 million in receivables, repurchased $14.7 million of our common stock, funded $1.7 million in net capital expenditures, and increased inventory by $10.6 million, a total of $70.8 million, with only a $24.1 million increase in debt. We will continue to remain focused on cash-on-cash returns and maintaining a strong balance sheet.  At October 31, 2019, our debt to equity ratio is 63.6% and debt to finance receivables ratio is 30.1%,” added Ms. Judy.

Conference Call

Management will be holding a conference call on Tuesday, November 19, 2019 at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time to discuss quarterly 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 two hours following the call for thirty days and can be accessed by calling (855) 859-2056 (domestic) or (404) 537-3406 (international), conference call ID #9387084.

About America's Car-Mart

America’s Car-Mart operates automotive dealerships in eleven 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 smaller cities throughout the South-Central United States selling quality used vehicles and providing financing for substantially all of its customers.  For more information about America’s Car-Mart, including investor presentations, please visit our website at www.car-mart.com.

Car-Mart was named to the Forbes America’s Best Mid-Size Employers list in 2019 for the second consecutive year and has sold over 650,000 vehicles since fiscal year 2000.

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:

• new dealership openings;
  
• performance of new dealerships;
  
• same dealership revenue growth;
  
• future revenue growth;
  
• receivables growth as related to revenue growth;
  
• gross profit per retail unit sold;
  
• interest rates;
  
• future credit losses;
  
• the Company’s collection results, including but not limited to collections during income tax refund periods; and
  
• seasonality.

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:

• the availability of credit facilities to support the Company’s business;
  
• the Company’s ability to underwrite and collect its contracts effectively;
  
• competition;
  
• dependence on existing management;
  
• ability to attract, develop and retain qualified general managers;
  
• availability of quality vehicles at prices that will be affordable to customers;
  
• changes in consumer finance laws or regulations, including but not limited to rules and regulations that have recently been enacted or could be enacted by federal and state governments; and
  
• general economic conditions in the markets in which the Company operates, including but not limited to fluctuations in gas prices, grocery prices and employment levels.

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.

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Contacts:              Jeffrey A. Williams, President and CEO (479) 464-9944 or Vickie D. Judy, CFO (479) 464-9944