According to Monro Inc.’s report for fiscal 2021, ending March 27, sales for fiscal 2021 decreased 10.4% to $1.126 billion from $1.257 billion in fiscal 2020. Comparable store sales were down 11.1% compared to a decrease of 2.3% in the prior year. Comparable store sales were down approximately 3% for tires, 13% for alignments, 19% for maintenance services and front end/shocks and 24% for brakes compared to the prior year. Sales for fiscal 2021 were negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, Monro says.
The company says gross margin for fiscal 2021 was 35.1% of sales, compared to 37.9% in the prior year, primarily due to lower comparable store sales, which resulted in higher fixed distribution and occupancy costs as a percentage of sales, and a higher sales mix of tires, which resulted in higher material costs as a percentage of sales.
The company says net income for fiscal 2021 was $34.3 million, as compared to $58.0 million in fiscal 2020.
Fourth Quarter Results
Monro‘s financial reports for the fourth quarter reflect sales increased 6.8% to $305.5 million, as compared to $286.1 million for the fourth quarter of the fiscal year ended March 28, 2020.
During the fourth quarter of fiscal 2021, the company opened four company-operated stores while closing one store. Monro ended the quarter with 1,263 company-operated stores and 96 franchised locations.
The total sales increase for the fourth quarter of $19.4 million resulted from a comparable store sales increase of 9.4% for the period and an increase in sales from new stores of $5.1 million, including sales from recent acquisitions of $4.6 million, partially offset by a decrease in sales of $5.9 million from closed stores. Comparable store sales increased approximately 17% for tires, 15% for alignments, 1% for front end/shocks, were flat for maintenance services, and decreased approximately 1% for brakes compared to the prior year period.
Net income for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2021 was $11.8 million, as compared to a net loss of $3.8 million in the same period of the prior year.
“Monro’s solid fourth-quarter results capped an unprecedented and challenging year and I am proud of our team who demonstrated exceptional resilience and commitment to safely serving our customers. I am excited to build on the tremendous progress that Monro has achieved over the past year advancing its transformation initiatives. As we enter fiscal 2022, we look forward to continuing to build on the momentum we experienced during our fourth quarter. We are well positioned to capitalize on the strengthening demand environment, as reflected in our comparable store sales growth of approximately 53% in the fiscal 2022 first quarter-to-date,” said Mike Broderick, newly appointed president and chief executive officer.
Broderick continued, “Looking ahead, our focus on operational excellence will be instrumental to unlock the full potential of our Monro.Forward initiatives. In addition, we remain well-positioned to take advantage of attractive consolidation opportunities in our fragmented industry and have successfully completed the acquisition of 30 Mountain View Tire & Service stores in California. Now with a total of 116 stores in the Western region, we are particularly excited about Monro’s growth prospects in this attractive and dynamic market. Importantly, our strategy is underpinned by a rigorous financial discipline and strong balance sheet, which we believe provide us with ample financial flexibility to execute our growth initiatives and deliver long-term sustainable value for all our stakeholders.”
