By Jeff Sanford
Toronto, Ontario — October 17, 2017 — Welcome to the first entry in a new ongoing series. Tuesday Ticker sums up the financial news and results from the industry’s publicly traded companies.
Collision Repair magazine launched the CRM Index during the summer. You can find the current listing for the CRM Index here. We’ll be updating the CRM Index on a regular basis, making sure you’ve got the information you need to drive decision making.
As we come up on the release of third quarter financial reports by publicly traded companies, Wall Street analysts are busy speculating about just what those results will be. Find out what they’re saying about each company below.
GPC (NYSE) – In the case of Genuine Parts Company (now in its 98th year of business) analysts are expecting earnings to come in at $1.10 per share on revenue of between $3.81 billion and $3.86 billion. The company reports on October 19. The stock had been trading as high as $101 in September, but has drifted down to $98 a share. Hitting or exceeding those earnings targets would likely see a bump in the stock price. The financial press notes some analysts have been raising their estimates of upcoming earnings in front of Wednesday’s release, a good sign that the company may report good news.
LKQ (Nasdaq) – Earlier this month LKQ acquired a chain of stores, Andrew Page Limited, through its subsidiary Euro Car Parts. Andrew Page distributes automotive parts in the UK. The deal sees LKQ take over 102 Andrew Page branches, a national distribution centre and corporate office. As Collision Repair magazine has reported, LKQ is making big advances in Europe. It’s relatively recent acquisition of Rhiag auto parts represented a big move on that strategy. This more recent deal builds out the new European side of the business. Andrew Page will continue to operate under its own brand according to a press release.
AXTA (NYSE) – Axalta Coating Systems announced this week that it has opened a regional office in Dubai. The office will expand regional sales and customer service capability as Axalta responds to the “region’s continued growth that is outperforming other global markets in automotive industry sales,” according to a press release. The company also announced plans to commission a flagship regional Refinish Training Centre in Dubai by early 2017. The press release notes that both the office and training centre help, “commemorate the company’s 150th anniversary in the coatings industry.” The United Arab Emirates topped global growth rates for new car sales during the first eight months of 2015, while the wider Middle East car sales market is predicted to grow twice as fast as markets in North America and Western Europe between 2012 and 2022. The CEO of Axalta, Charlie Shaver, was quoted as saying that Axalta will lead the way in introducing waterborne coating systems to the region.
BYD.UN (TSX) – Boyd Group Income Fund has announced a cash distribution for the month of October of $0.04 per trust unit. The distribution will be payable November 28, 2016 to unitholders of record at the close of business on October 31, 2016. Boyd has been on something of an expansion drive in 2016, acquiring at least 37 facilities since the start of the year. For more on this, please see “Boyd Group buys heavy-duty repair facility.”
ACQ (TSX) – AutoCanada announced earlier this month that it will purchase all of the issued and outstanding shares of Wellington Motors Limited. Wellington runs the Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram Fiat dealership in Guelph, Ontario. The deal includes the 40,793 sq. ft. dealership that includes a 12 car showroom and 16 service bays. In 2015, the dealership did revenue of about $61 million. AutoCanada CEO, Steven Landry, was quoted as saying, “We are extremely pleased to welcome Wellington Motors into our Ontario dealer group. The dealership recently owned and operated by Ted and Mike Woods has a long history serving the Guelph community, recently celebrating its 75th anniversary. We are thrilled to acquire such a flagship store in Ontario.”
