A mild winter is a godsend for most people, but not for collision repairers.
Even so, Boyd Group reported increases in first-quarter sales and profits despite some challenges.
“As stated in our Q4 2016 earnings results, the extremely warm and dry weather conditions we experienced in many of our markets, combined with currency headwind, had an adverse impact on our results this quarter,” said Brock Bulbuck, CEO of Winnipeg-based Boyd Group. “Notwithstanding these headwinds, we still reported meaningful growth in sales and earnings and we continue to be confident that we are on track to achieve our previously stated long-term goal of doubling our size by 2020.”
Revenue was up 8.2 percent, from $350.4 million in Q1 2016 to $378.9 million in Q1 2017.
Adjusted net earnings increased from $12.8 million to $13.9 million, an 8.6 percent jump.
Boyd Group, which operates more than 400 collision repair facilities in the United States and Canada, reported same-store sales growth of 1.2 percent, a “very modest” number that the company attributed to the mild winter weather.
“These extremely warm and dry winter weather conditions have had some carryover impact in some of our markets into the second quarter of 2017,” the company said in a news release. “While it is still very early in the quarter, and market conditions could therefore change as the quarter continues, thus far in Q2, our same-store sales growth is showing a slight improvement over Q1 levels.”
Despite the challenges, Bulbuck said the company’s first-quarter results “show that the business is robust and has been built to withstand fluctuations in regional market conditions.”
“We remain committed to achieving targeted growth by continuing to focus on acquiring both single- and multi-location businesses, developing new stores and growing same-store sales,” he added. “In addition, the WOW Operating Way operating model will ensure that we maintain the highest standards of service and customer care.”
