Genuine Parts Company Reports Results For the Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2022

Fourth Quarter 2022 Highlights

• Sales of $5.5 billion, Up 15.0%
• Diluted EPS of $1.77
• Adjusted Diluted EPS of $2.05, Up 14.5%

Full Year 2022 Highlights

• Record sales of $22.1 billion, Up 17.1%
• Segment Profit Margin of 9.4%, Up 60 basis points
• Diluted EPS of $8.31
• Adjusted Diluted EPS of $8.34, Up 20.7% and a New Record
• Cash From Operations of $1.5 billion, Up 16.6%; Free Cash Flow of $1.1 billion, Up 13.6%
• Returned $719 million to Shareholders via Cash Dividends and Share Repurchases

2023 Outlook

• Revenue Growth of 4% to 6%
• Diluted EPS of $8.80 to $8.95

ATLANTA, Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Genuine Parts Company (NYSE: GPC) announced today its results for the fourth quarter and twelve months ended December 31, 2022.

"The GPC team capped off a record-setting year with a strong fourth quarter highlighted by double-digit sales and earnings growth and continued margin expansion. We are incredibly proud of our progress throughout the year and thankful to our teammates across the globe for their ongoing commitment to excellence," said Paul Donahue, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Genuine Parts Company. "Working together, we have been agile in navigating the dynamics of the macro-economy and continue to deliver market share gains and drive positive momentum in our top and bottom-line results."

Fourth Quarter 2022 Results

Sales were $5.5 billion, a 15.0% increase compared to $4.8 billion in the same period of the prior year. The improvement is attributable to an 11.1% increase in comparable sales and an 8.0% benefit from acquisitions, partially offset by a 4.1% unfavorable impact of foreign currency and other.

Net income was $252 million, or a diluted EPS of $1.77. This compares to net income of $256 million, or $1.79 per diluted share in the prior year period.

Adjusted net income, which excludes an expense of $40 million, or $0.28 per diluted share, in non-recurring items primarily associated with a remeasurement of the company's product liability reserve, costs related to the integration of Kaman Distribution Group (KDG) and a loss related to an investment in S.P. Richards, was $292 million, an increase of 13.8% compared to adjusted net income of $256 million for the same period of the prior year. On a per share diluted basis, adjusted net income was $2.05, an increase of 14.5% compared to $1.79 per diluted share in the prior year. Refer to the reconciliation of GAAP net income to adjusted net income for more information.

Fourth Quarter 2022 Segment Highlights

Automotive Parts Group ("Automotive")

Global Automotive sales were $3.4 billion in the fourth quarter, up 7.6% from the same period in 2021, consisting of an 8.2% increase in comparable sales and a 4.8% benefit from acquisitions, net of a 5.4% unfavorable impact of foreign currency and other. Segment profit of $295 million increased 11.0%, with profit margin of 8.6% up 30 basis points from the same period of the prior year.

Industrial Parts Group ("Industrial")

Industrial sales were $2.1 billion, up 29.6% from the same period in 2021, and reflecting a 16.7% increase in comparable sales and a 14.3% contribution from the KDG acquisition, slightly offset by a 1.4% unfavorable impact of foreign currency. Segment profit of $230 million increased 49.8%, with profit margin of 11.0% up 150 basis points from the same period of the prior year.

"The strength in Automotive sales was broad-based, with double-digit total sales growth in local currency in each of our global operations," said Will Stengel, President and Chief Operating Officer. "In addition, Industrial generated its seventh consecutive quarter of double-digit sales comps and tenth consecutive quarter of margin expansion, while continuing to execute well and create value with the accelerated integration of KDG. Our strong fourth quarter and record financial performance in 2022 are testaments to our teams' hard work and dedication to serve our customers."

Full Year 2022 Results

Sales in 2022 were $22.1 billion, a 17.1% increase from $18.9 billion in 2021. Net income for the twelve months was $1.2 billion, or $8.31 per diluted share. Adjusted net income, which excludes an expense of $5 million, or $0.03 per diluted share, in non-recurring items as described above as well as transaction and other costs related to the acquisition of KDG and a gain on the sale of certain real estate recorded in the prior quarters of 2022, was $1.2 billion, or $8.34 per diluted share, an increase of 20.7% compared to $6.91 per diluted share in the prior year. Refer to the reconciliation of GAAP net income to adjusted net income for more information.

Balance Sheet, Cash Flow and Capital Allocation

The company generated cash flow from operations of $1.5 billion in 2022, a 16.6% increase from $1.3 billion in 2021 driven primarily by higher net income and effective management of our working capital. We used $1.7 billion in cash for investing activities, primarily in connection with the acquisition of KDG, in addition to $340 million for capital expenditures. We also had $205 million in cash provided by financing activities, which includes $961 million of net proceeds from debt primarily related to the KDG acquisition. This was partially offset by quarterly dividends of $496 million paid to shareholders and $223 million of share repurchases. Free cash flow was $1.1 billion, a 13.6% increase from $992 million for the twelve months in 2021.

The company ended the quarter and year with $2.2 billion in total liquidity, consisting of $1.5 billion availability on the revolving credit facility and $653 million in cash and cash equivalents.

2023 Outlook

In consideration of several factors, the company is establishing full-year 2023 guidance. The company considered its recent business trends and financial results, current growth plans, strategic initiatives, global economic outlook, geopolitical conflicts and the potential impact on results in establishing its guidance, which is outlined in the table below.

"We had an exceptional 2022 which included celebrating our 95th year of operations. We have quickly turned our attention to the year ahead and, while the macro-environment remains uncertain, we are confident in our strategic plans to drive sustained sales and earnings growth, continued margin expansion and strong cash flow. We believe our progress in these key areas, combined with a strong balance sheet, position GPC with the financial strength and flexibility to pursue strategic growth opportunities while also returning capital to shareholders," Mr. Donahue concluded. 

Non-GAAP Information

This release contains certain financial information not derived in accordance with United States ("U.S.") generally accepted accounting principles ("GAAP"). These items include adjusted net income, adjusted diluted net income per common share and free cash flow. The company believes that the presentation of adjusted net income, adjusted diluted net income per common share and free cash flow, 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, foreign currency and other. 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.

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 investor relations website. The call is also available by dialing 888-317-6003, conference ID 0079869. A replay will also be available on the company's website or at 877-344-7529 conference ID 1162108, two hours after the completion of the call.

About Genuine Parts Company

Founded in 1928, Genuine Parts Company is a global service organization engaged in the distribution of automotive and industrial replacement parts. The company's Automotive Parts Group distributes automotive replacement parts in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Australasia, France, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Germany, Poland, the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain and Portugal. The company's Industrial Parts Group distributes industrial replacement parts in the U.S., Canada, Mexico and Australasia. In total, the company serves its global customers from an extensive network of more than 10,000 locations in 17 countries and has approximately 58,000 employees. Further information is available at www.genpt.com.

Forward Looking Statements

Some statements in this release, as well as in materials the company files with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), release to the public or make available on the company's 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," or similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements include the company's view of business and economic trends for the coming year, the company's ability to execute our strategic priorities and capitalize in light of these business and economic trends, and the established full-year 2023 financial guidance for the company provided above. Senior officers may also make verbal statements to analysts, investors, the media and others that are forward-looking.

The company cautions that all forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, and while the company believes that its 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, changes in general economic conditions, including unemployment, inflation (including the impact of tariffs) or deflation and geopolitical conflicts such as the conflict between Russia and Ukraine; volatility in oil prices; significant cost increases, such as rising fuel and freight expenses; public health emergencies such as the COVID-19 pandemic, 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; our ability to maintain compliance with our debt covenants; our ability to successfully integrate acquired businesses into our operations and to realize the anticipated synergies and benefits; our ability to successfully implement our business initiatives in our two business segments; slowing demand for our products; the ability to maintain favorable supplier arrangements and relationships; changes in national and international legislation or government regulations or policies, including changes to import tariffs, environmental and social policy, infrastructure programs and privacy legislation, and their impact to us, our suppliers and customers; changes in tax policies; volatile exchange rates; our 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 our information systems, as well as other risks and uncertainties discussed in the company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for 2022 and from time to time in the company's subsequent filings with the SEC.

Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made, and the company undertakes no duty to update any 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.

SOURCE Genuine Parts Company