News Details

RICHMOND, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- CarMax, Inc. (NYSE:KMX) today reported record second quarter results for the quarter ended August 31, 2014.

• Net sales and operating revenues increased 10.9% to $3.60 billion.
• Used unit sales in comparable stores increased 0.2%.
• Total used unit sales rose 6.3%.
• Total wholesale unit sales increased 7.4%.
• CarMax Auto Finance (CAF) income increased 9.7% to $92.6 million.
• Net earnings grew 10.2% to $154.5 million. Net earnings per diluted share rose 12.9% to $0.70.
  • Net earnings per diluted share for the current quarter included a $0.06 benefit in connection with our receipt of settlement proceeds in a previously disclosed class action lawsuit.

“We are pleased to report record second quarter results, even before considering the benefit of the settlement proceeds,” said Tom Folliard , president and chief executive officer. “The continued growth in our store base and improvements across our used, wholesale and CAF operations, as well as our share repurchase program, all contributed to our record second quarter earnings per share.”

Second Quarter Business Performance Review

Sales. Total used vehicle unit sales grew 6.3% and comparable store used unit sales increased 0.2% versus the prior year’s second quarter. This growth was on top of increases of 21.1% in total used units and 15.9% in comparable store used units in last year’s second quarter. While we experienced our fifth consecutive quarter of improved customer traffic in comparable stores, sales were tempered by the effect of a calendar shift. We had one fewer Saturday this quarter compared with last year’s second quarter, which we estimate adversely affected comparable store used unit sales growth by approximately 1%.

The percentage of retail vehicles financed by third-party subprime providers (those who purchase financings at a discount), combined with those financed under the previously announced CAF loan origination test, declined from 18.5% in the second quarter of fiscal 2014 to 13.8% in this year’s second quarter.

Wholesale vehicle unit sales grew 7.4% versus the second quarter of fiscal 2014. Wholesale unit sales continued to benefit from a stronger wholesale vehicle buy rate and the addition of new stores.

Other sales and revenues increased $7.7 million, or 10.8%, year-over-year. Extended protection plan (EPP) revenues (which includes extended service plan and guaranteed asset protection revenues) declined $2.1 million versus the prior year’s quarter due to higher estimated cancellation reserve rates and a lower EPP penetration rate, partially offset by the growth in our store base. Net third-party finance fees improved $8.5 million versus last year’s second quarter primarily due to the reduction in the percentage of sales financed by third-party subprime providers.

Gross Profit. Total gross profit increased 6.6% to $463.3 million. Used vehicle gross profit rose 6.2%, driven by the increase in total used unit sales, while used vehicle gross profit per unit remained comparable with the prior year period. Wholesale vehicle gross profit increased 10.5% versus the prior year’s quarter, driven by the combination of the 7.4% increase in wholesale unit sales and an improvement in wholesale vehicle gross profit per unit, which rose 2.9% or $25 per unit. Other gross profit rose 2.0% reflecting the improvement in net third-party finance fees, partially offset by the change in EPP revenues and a decrease in service department gross profits. Service department gross profits were adversely affected by our relatively flat comparable store used unit sales growth and the resulting deleverage of service overhead costs.

SG&A. SG&A expenses increased 5.1% to $297.6 million. SG&A was reduced by $20.9 million, which represented our receipt of settlement proceeds in a class action lawsuit related to the economic loss associated with certain Toyota vehicles. Excluding this item, SG&A expenses increased 12.5% year-over-year, primarily due to the 15% increase in our store base since the beginning of last year’s second quarter (representing the addition of 18 stores), as well as a $6.4 million increase in share-based compensation expense. Excluding the legal settlement gain, SG&A per retail unit rose $116 to $2,183.

CarMax Auto Finance.⁽¹⁾ CAF income increased 9.7% to $92.6 million, driven by an increase in average managed receivables, partly offset by a lower total interest margin percentage. Average managed receivables grew 18.5% to $7.72 billion as CAF loan originations have grown in recent years. The total interest margin, which reflects the spread between interest and fees charged to consumers and our funding costs, declined to 6.6% of average managed receivables in the current quarter from 7.0% in last year’s second quarter.

We continued our test to originate loans for customers who typically would be financed by our third-party subprime providers. During the second quarter of fiscal 2015, we originated $14.8 million of loans in this test, representing 0.6% of retail unit sales. As of August 31, 2014, a total of $44.4 million of loans had been originated in this test.

Store Openings. During the second quarter of fiscal 2015, we opened four stores, including three stores in new markets (Madison, Wisconsin; Lynchburg, Virginia; and Portland, Oregon) and one in an existing market (Dallas, Texas).

Share Repurchase Program. During the second quarter, we repurchased 4.0 million shares of common stock for $201.0 million pursuant to our share repurchase program. As of August 31, 2014, we had $907.0 million remaining available for repurchase under the program.

Supplemental Financial Information

Amounts and percentage calculations may not total due to rounding.

Planned Store Openings

We currently plan to open the following stores within 12 months from August 31, 2014:

Normal construction, permitting or other scheduling delays could shift the opening dates of any of these stores into a later period. We currently estimate total capital expenditures will be approximately $325 million in fiscal 2015. We plan to open 13 stores in fiscal 2015 and between 10 and 15 stores in each of the following two fiscal years.

Conference Call Information

We will host a conference call for investors at 9:00 a.m. ET today, September 23, 2014. Domestic investors may access the call at 1-888-298-3261 (international callers dial 1-706-679-7457). The conference I.D. for both domestic and international callers is 53275084. A live webcast of the call will be available on our investor information home page at investor.carmax.com and at www.streetevents.com.

A webcast replay of the call will be available at investor.carmax.com through December 18, 2014. A telephone replay also will be available through September 30, 2014, and may be accessed by dialing 1-855-859-2056 (international callers dial 1-404-537-3406). The conference I.D. for both domestic and international callers is 53275084.

Third Quarter Fiscal 2015 Earnings Release Date

We currently plan to release results for the third quarter ending November 30, 2014, on Friday, December 19, 2014, before the opening of trading on the New York Stock Exchange. We plan to host a conference call for investors at 9:00 a.m. ET on that date. Information on this conference call will be available on our investor information home page at investor.carmax.com in December 2014.

About CarMax

CarMax, a member of the Fortune 500 and the S&P 500, and one of the Fortune “100 Best Companies to Work For,” for ten consecutive years, is the nation’s largest retailer of used vehicles. Headquartered in Richmond, Va., CarMax currently operates 139 used car stores in 70 markets. The CarMax consumer offer features low, no-haggle prices, a broad selection of CarMax Quality Certified used vehicles and superior customer service. During the fiscal year ended February 28, 2014, the company retailed 526,929 used vehicles and sold 342,576 wholesale vehicles at our in-store auctions. For more information, access the CarMax website at www.carmax.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

We caution readers that the statements contained in this release about our future business plans, operations, opportunities or prospects, including without limitation any statements or factors regarding expected sales, margins or earnings, are forward-looking statements made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements are based upon management’s current knowledge and assumptions about future events and involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from anticipated results. Among the factors that could cause actual results and outcomes to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements are the following:

• Changes in the competitive landscape and/or our failure to successfully adjust to such changes.
• Changes in general or regional U.S. economic conditions.
• Changes in the availability or cost of capital and working capital financing, including changes related to the asset-backed securitization market.
• Changes in consumer credit availability provided by our third-party financing providers.
• Events that damage our reputation or harm the perception of the quality of our brand.
• Our inability to recruit, develop and retain associates and maintain positive associate relations.
• The loss of key associates from our store, regional or corporate management teams or a significant increase in labor costs.
• Security breaches or other events that result in the misappropriation, loss or other unauthorized disclosure of confidential customer or associate information.
• Significant changes in prices of new and used vehicles.
• A reduction in the availability of or access to sources of inventory or a failure to expeditiously liquidate inventory.
• Factors related to the regulatory and legislative environment in which we operate.
• Factors related to geographic growth, including the inability to acquire or lease suitable real estate at favorable terms or to effectively manage our growth.
• The failure of key information systems.
• The effect of various litigation matters.
• Adverse conditions affecting one or more automotive manufacturers, and manufacturer recalls.
• The inaccuracy of estimates and assumptions used in the preparation of our financial statements, or the effect of new accounting requirements or changes to U.S. generally accepted accounting principles.
• Factors related to seasonal fluctuations in our business.
• The occurrence of severe weather events.
• Factors related to the geographic concentration of our stores.

For more details on factors that could affect expectations, see our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended February 28, 2014, and our quarterly or current reports as filed with or furnished to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Our filings are publicly available on our investor information home page at investor.carmax.com. Requests for information may also be made to the Investor Relations Department by email to investor_relations@carmax.com or by calling 1-804-747-0422 ext. 4391. We undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements after the date they are made, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Source: CarMax, Inc.