America’s Car-Mart Inc. (Nasdaq: CRMT) of Rogers on Wednesday reported that net income fell 46.9% year-over-year in its fiscal first-quarter as tight supply and high prices affected sales.
The company posted net income of $13.2 million, down from $24.9 million in the same period a year ago. Earnings per share were $2, down from $3.57 a year ago.
The results fell short of Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of three analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of $3.11 per share.
Revenue in the quarter was $344.9 million, up 23% from $280.3 million. It was the second-highest quarterly revenue figure in company history, behind the fourth quarter of fiscal 2022.
Retail units sold totaled 15,536, an increase of 2.1% from a year ago, while units sold per store was flat at 33.6 The average retail sales price in the period rose 19.8% to 18,455.
Same-store revenue growth was 21.5%, down from 46.7%.
“We believe that when supply in our market eventually returns to more normal levels, our productivity will increase as affordability is most certainly keeping many good customers out of the market,” CEO Jeff Williams said in a news release.
America’s Car-Mart said it had 96,899 active customers, just short of Williams’ stated goal of reaching 100,000. It is an increase from 91,158 in the same quarter a year ago; Williams said the company has added 15,000 active customers in the past two years.
Williams said Car-Mart had 154 stores operating in the first quarter.
“We are ever more convinced of our strong, unique place in the used vehicle market and have never been more optimistic about our future,” Williams said. “Consumer demand for our offering is high and expected to continue increasing, and we are well-positioned relative to competition. Currently, over half of our sales are to repeat customers who value our service and their peace of mind, at least as much as price.”
Car-Mart shares were down more than 20% late Thursday morning. For the year to date, the company’s stock is down 9.5%.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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