AutoZone Profit Beats Estimates Due To Higher Repairs

AutoZone Inc, the largest U.S. auto parts retailer, reported a better-than-expected 7 percent rise in quarterly profit as demand for repairs improves.

A warmer-than-usual winter in 2012 resulted in less wear and tear on vehicles, leading to fewer repairs.

AutoZone's performance has been weaker than some of its rivals due to its larger exposure to the do-it-yourself market, which has not recovered as fast as commercial repair. The company does not get any revenue from auto repair services.

Sales at stores open for at least a year rose 0.9 percent. Memphis, Tennessee-based AutoZone had more than 4,800 stores in the United States as at Aug. 31.

Rival O'Reilly Automotive Inc reported a 4.6 percent rise in third-quarter same-store sales in October.

AutoZone's net income rose to $218.1 million, or $6.29 per share, in the first quarter ended Nov. 23, from $203.5 million, or $5.41 per share, a year earlier.

Revenue rose 5 percent to $2.09 billion.

Analysts on average expected first-quarter earnings of $6.28 per share on revenue of $2.10 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

AutoZone's shares closed at $457.34 on the New York Stock Exchange on Monday. They have risen almost a third in the past 12 months, outperforming the S&P 500 index.