Comparable store tire sales at Monro Inc. locations were down 4% in the second quarter of the company’s fiscal year.
Monro’s maintenance service sales declined 7% on a year-over-year basis during the quarter, including a 12% drop in brake service sales and a 5% drop in front end/shock work.
However, battery sales, at the comparable store level, increased by 20% year-over-year and alignment sales were flat on a year-over-year basis.
Year-over-year, gross margin decreased by 40 “basis points compared to the prior-year period, primarily resulting from higher material costs due to mix within tires and higher fixed occupancy costs as a percentage of sales, partially off-set by lower technician labor costs as a percentage of sales,” according to Monro officials.
Overall, Monro’s comparable store sales dropped 5.8%, year-over-year, versus a 2.3% decrease the previous year.
Monro posted total sales of $301.4 million during the quarter, down 6.4% versus the same period in 2023. Operating income for the second quarter totaled $13.2 million versus $22.4 million the prior year. Net income totaled $5.6 million, down from $12.9 million during the second quarter of 2023.
During the second quarter of its current fiscal year, Monro closed 12 stores – ending the quarter with 1,272 company-owned outlets, plus 50 franchises locations.
Six-month review
During the first six months of its fiscal year, Monro experienced an 8.4% drop in sales versus the same period last year. Its net income for the first six months totaled $11.5 million versus $21.7 million the previous year.
Gross margin for the first six months totaled 36.3% versus 35.3% during the prior-year period.
Comparable store sales fell by 7.8% during the first six months of Monro’s present fiscal year.
During the first half of its fiscal year, Monro generated operating cash flow of $88 million and as of Sept. 28, has total liquidity of $529 million.
