Automotive retail chain Pep Boys-Manny Moe & Jack, with service-parts stores in Connecticut says its profit more than tripled in the fourth quarter and beat Wall Street expectations, The Associated Press reports.
For the quarter that ended Jan. 29, Pep Boys reported Wednesday net income of $8.4 million, or 16 cents per share, compared with $2.3 million, or 4 cents per share, in the year-ago quarter. The most recent quarter included a $1 million tax benefit, while the fourth quarter of 2009 included a $1.2 million tax benefit.
Analysts polled by FactSet Research in Norwalk expected earnings of 6 cents per share.
Revenue rose 5 percent to $477.4 million from $452.9 million. Revenue at stores open at least a year rose 4.3 percent on growth in both merchandise and service revenue. Analysts were looking for $481.4 million in revenue for the quarter.
For the full year, Pep Boys said net income rose to $36.6 million, or 69 cents per share, compared with $23.0 million, or 44 cents per share, in fiscal 2009. Revenue rose 4 percent to $2.0 billion from $1.9 billion a year earlier.
The company opened 28 service and tire centers and seven supercenters in 2010, and plans to open 50 service and tire centers and five supercenters in 2011.
