ATLANTA, Oct. 22, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Genuine Parts Company (NYSE: GPC) announced today its results for the third quarter and nine months ended September 30, 2020.

"The GPC team remained focused on our top priorities through the third quarter, aggressively managing our operations through the challenges of COVID-19. We are proud of everyone's hard work and commitment to operational excellence, which has required effective measures to maintain a safe work environment while also providing first class customer service," said Paul Donahue, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Genuine Parts Company.

Third Quarter 2020 Results

Sales from continuing operations were $4.4 billion, a 3.4% decrease compared to $4.5 billion in the same period of the prior year. The decrease in sales is attributable to a 1.8% decline in comparable sales and a 4.2% impact from divestitures. These items were partially offset by a 1.3% benefit from acquisitions and a 1.3% net impact of foreign currency and other. Excluding divestitures, net sales from continuing operations were up 0.8% in the third quarter[1], which compares to a 10.1% sales decrease in the second quarter.

Net income from continuing operations was $232.9 million, or a diluted earnings per share of $1.61. This compares to net income from continuing operations of $212.3 million, or $1.45 per diluted share in the prior year period. Excluding the impact of restructuring and transaction and other costs, the Company's adjusted net income from continuing operations was $236.8 million, compared to $203.8 million a year ago. On a per share diluted basis, adjusted net income from continuing operations was $1.63, an increase of 17.3% compared to $1.39 per diluted share last year¹_.

Mr. Donahue stated, "We entered the third quarter focused on driving profitable growth and productivity initiatives for our streamlined Automotive and Industrial portfolio. Our progress for the quarter reflects the resiliency in our businesses and the benefits of these initiatives. Our financial performance was highlighted by strengthening sales trends, continued gross margin expansion, significant cost savings, operating margin expansion in each of our businesses, a stronger balance sheet, enhanced liquidity and substantial cash flows. We were pleased to report a strong financial performance for the quarter."

Third Quarter 2020 Segment Highlights

Automotive Parts Group

Sales for the Automotive Group were $3.0 billion in the third quarter, up 6.0% from 2019 and representing 68% of total company revenues. The increase consisted of an approximate 2.2% increase in comparable sales, a 2.2% net impact of favorable foreign currency and other and a 1.6% benefit from acquisitions. Segment profit of $266 million was up 19.6%, with profit margin at 9.0%, up 100 basis points from 2019.

Industrial Parts Group

Sales for the Industrial Parts Group were $1.4 billion, down 18.6%, or down 8.7% excluding the EIS divestiture, and representing 32% of total company revenues. The decrease in sales and sales excluding divestitures includes an approximate 9.2% decrease in comparable sales, slightly offset by a 0.4% benefit from acquisitions and a favorable foreign currency impact. Segment profit of $126 million was down 8.7%, with profit margin up at 8.9%, up 100 basis points from 2019¹.

Nine Months 2020 Results

Sales from continuing operations for the nine months ended September 30, 2020 were $12.3 billion, a 7.2% decrease compared to $13.2 billion for the same period in 2019. Excluding divestitures, net sales from continuing operations were down 2.8% for the nine months. The net loss from continuing operations for the nine months was $8.2 million, or a loss of $0.06 per diluted share. Excluding items which impact comparability with prior periods, as noted above, the Company's adjusted net income from continuing operations was $544.1 million, or $3.76 per diluted share¹.

Balance Sheet, Cash Flow and Capital Allocation

The Company generated operating cash flow from continuing operations of $1.4 billion during the first nine months of 2020, a significant increase from the prior year, driven primarily by entering into an agreement to sell accounts receivable which provided $500 million of operating cash flows and the effective management of our working capital. Free cash flow was $1.3 billion for the first nine months of 2020, also up significantly¹.

The Company returned $435 million to shareholders during the nine months ended September 30, 2020, including $339 million in the form of quarterly dividends and $96 million in share repurchases. As previously announced, the Company decided to suspend its share repurchase program and limit its M&A activities to smaller, bolt-on acquisitions until there is greater visibility into the macro environment.

We ended the quarter with $2.8 billion of total liquidity (comprising $1.9 billion availability on the revolving credit facility and $0.9 billion of cash and cash equivalents). The Company reduced debt by $300 million during the quarter and is in compliance with all its debt covenants.

Mr. Donahue concluded, "As we move forward through the balance of 2020, our teams will execute on a number of strategic initiatives to build on the positive momentum of the third quarter. Our plans focus on maximizing the value of our Automotive and Industrial business segments and positioning GPC for sustained long-term growth and improved profitability. We look forward to reporting on our progress in the quarters ahead."

2020 Outlook

On April 6, 2020, the Company withdrew its full-year 2020 guidance due to the economic uncertainty relating to the rapidly evolving COVID-19 pandemic and the limited visibility on the impacts to our businesses. Given the continued lack of visibility, we will not be providing annual guidance updates until macro-economic conditions stabilize further.

Non-GAAP Information

This release contains certain financial information not derived in accordance with United States generally accepted accounting principles ("GAAP"). These items include changes in sales excluding divestitures, adjusted net (loss) income from continuing operations, adjusted diluted net (loss) income from continuing operations per common share and free cash flow to account for the impact of these adjustments. The Company believes that the presentation of changes in sales excluding divestitures, adjusted net (loss) income from continuing operations, adjusted diluted net (loss) income from continuing operations per common share and free cash flow, which are not calculated in accordance with GAAP, when considered together with the corresponding GAAP financial measures and the reconciliations to those measures, provide meaningful supplemental information to both management and investors that is indicative of the Company's core operations. The Company considers these metrics useful to investors because they provide greater transparency into management's view and assessment of the Company's ongoing operating performance by removing items management believes are not representative of our continuing operations and may distort our longer-term operating trends. We believe these measures are useful and enhance the comparability of our results from period to period and with our competitors, as well as show ongoing results from operations distinct from items that are infrequent or not associated with the Company's core operations. The Company does not, nor does it suggest investors should, consider such non-GAAP financial measures as superior to, in isolation from, or as a substitute for, GAAP financial information. The Company has included a reconciliation of this additional information to the most comparable GAAP measure following the financial statements below.

Comparable Sales

Comparable sales is a key metric that refers to period-over-period comparisons of our sales excluding the impact of acquisitions, divestitures and foreign currency. The Company considers this metric useful to investors because it provides greater transparency into management's view and assessment of the Company's core ongoing operations. This is a metric that is widely used by analysts, investors and competitors in our industry, although our calculation of the metric may not be comparable to similar measures disclosed by other companies, because not all companies and analysts calculate this metric in the same manner.

Daily Sales

Daily sales is a key metric that represents the amounts invoiced to the Company's customers each day. Daily sales do not represent GAAP-based sales because, among other things, invoices are not always generated at the same time goods and services are delivered to customers and the amounts do not include adjustments for estimates of returns, rebates or other forms of variable consideration. Management uses this metric to monitor demand trends at each of its subsidiaries throughout each month for the purposes of monitoring performance against forecasts and to make operational decisions. The Company considers this metric useful to investors because it provides greater transparency into management's view and assessment of the Company's ongoing operations. The calculation of this metric may not be comparable to similar measures disclosed by other companies, because not all companies and analysts calculate this metric in the same manner.

Conference Call

Genuine Parts Company will hold a conference call today at 11:00 a.m. Eastern time to discuss the results of the quarter. A supplemental earnings deck will also be available for reference. Interested parties may listen to the call and view the supplemental earnings deck on the Company's website at http://genuineparts.investorroom.com. The call is also available by dialing 877-407-0789, conference ID 13710500. A replay will also be available on the Company's website or at 844-512-2921, conference ID 13710500, two hours after the completion of the call until 12:00 a.m. Eastern time on November 5, 2020.

About Genuine Parts Company

Founded in 1928, Genuine Parts Company is a global service organization engaged in the distribution of automotive replacement parts and industrial parts. The Company's Automotive Parts Group distributes automotive replacement parts in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Australasia, France, the U.K., Germany, Poland, the Netherlands and Belgium. The Company's Industrial Parts Group distributes industrial replacement parts in the U.S., Canada, Mexico and Australasia. Further information is available at www.genpt.com.

Forward Looking Statements

Some statements in this press release and the related conference call, as well as in other materials we file with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) or otherwise release to the public and in materials that we make available on our website, constitute forward-looking statements that are subject to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements in the future tense and all statements accompanied by words such as "expect," "likely," "outlook," "forecast," "preliminary," "would," "could," "should," "position," "will," "project," "intend," "plan," "on track," "anticipate," "to come," "may," "possible," "assume," and variations of such words and similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. Senior officers may also make verbal statements, including during today's conference call, to analysts, investors, the media and others that are forward-looking. These forward-looking statements include, without limitation, our expected ability to operate and protect our workforce during the COVID-19 pandemic, our strategies for growing our automotive and industrial businesses, the execution and effect of our cost savings initiatives, our efforts and initiatives to help us emerge from the pandemic well-positioned, our ongoing efforts to maintain compliance and flexibility under our debt covenants, our liquidity position and actions to maximize cash flow to continue to operate during these highly uncertain times and plans for future cost savings.

The Company cautions that its forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, and while we believe that our expectations for the future are reasonable in view of currently available information, you are cautioned not to place undue reliance on our forward-looking statements. Actual results or events may differ materially from those indicated as a result of various important factors. Such factors may include, among other things, the extent and duration of the disruption to our business operations caused by the global health crisis associated with the COVID-19 outbreak, including the effects on the financial health of our business partners and customers, on supply chains and our suppliers, on vehicle miles driven as well as other metrics that affect our business, and on access to capital and liquidity provided by the financial and capital markets; the Company's ability to maintain compliance with its debt covenants; the Company's ability to successfully integrate acquired businesses into the Company and to realize the anticipated synergies and benefits; the Company's ability to successfully divest businesses; the Company's ability to successfully implement its business initiatives in its two business segments; slowing demand for the Company's products; the ability to maintain favorable supplier arrangements and relationships; disruptions in our suppliers' operations, including the impact of COVID-19 on our suppliers as well as our supply chain; changes in national and international legislation or government regulations or policies, including changes to import tariffs, short term government subsidies, and the unpredictability of such changes and their impact to the Company and its suppliers and customers, data security policies and requirements as well as privacy legislation; changes in general economic conditions, including unemployment, inflation (including the impact of tariffs) or deflation and the United Kingdom's exit from the European Union, commonly known as Brexit, and the unpredictability of the impact following such exit from the European Union; changes in tax policies; volatile exchange rates; volatility in oil prices; significant cost increases, such as rising fuel and freight expenses; the Company's ability to successfully attract and retain employees in the current labor market; uncertain credit markets and other macroeconomic conditions; competitive product, service and pricing pressures; failure or weakness in our disclosure controls and procedures and internal controls over financial reporting, including as a result of the work from home environment; the uncertainties and costs of litigation; disruptions caused by a failure or breach of the Company's information systems, as well as other risks and uncertainties discussed in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for 2019, the Company's Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the quarters ended March 31, 2020, June 30, 2020 and September 30, 2020 and Item 1A, Risk Factors (all of which risks may be amplified by the COVID-19 outbreak) and from time to time in the Company's subsequent filings with the SEC.

Forward-looking statements are only as of the date they are made, and the Company undertakes no duty to update its forward-looking statements except as required by law. You are advised, however, to review any further disclosures we make on related subjects in our subsequent Forms 10-K, 10-Q, 8-K and other reports filed with the SEC.

The table below clarifies where the items that have been adjusted above to improve comparability of the financial information from period to period are presented in the consolidated statements of income.

View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/genuine-parts-company-reports-third-quarter-2020-results-301157986.html

SOURCE Genuine Parts Company