The shares of LKQ Corporation plummeted after reporting lower-than-expected earnings for the fourth quarter. The company also announced its management changes today.
The stock price of LKQ Corporation declined more than 12% to $24.40 per share at the time of this writing around 12:41 P.M. in New York.
LKQ Corporation financial results
For the fourth quarter, LKQ Corporation reported earnings of $0.26 per diluted share, lower than the $0.32 per share consensus estimate by Wall Street analysts.
The company reported that its revenue increased 27.9% to $1.68 billion from $1.32 billion the year-ago quarter. Analysts expected LKQ Corporation to report $1.70 billion in revenue for the period.
During the quarter, the company said its total organic revenue increased 7.1% including parts and services revenue growth of 8.7%. Its acquisitions revenue growth was 22.2%.
LKQ Corporation President and CEO Robert Wagman said the company delivered solid results for the full year 2014 despite experiencing worse-than-expected headwinds of deteriorating scrap prices and currency devaluations in the fourth quarter.
According to Wagman, the headwinds negatively impacted the company’s fourth quarter earnings, but its full-year earnings and revenue rose by double-digit.
For the full year 2014, LKQ Corporation said its net income increased 22.4% to $381.5 million or $1.25 per diluted share. Its annual revenue rose 33% to $6.74 billion.
Business outlook
LKQ Corporation expected to deliver diluted earnings per share of around $1.36 to $1.46 for the full year 2015. The company expected to achieve organic revenue growth for parts and services in the range of 6.5% to 9%.
LKQ Corporation management changes
LKQ Corporation also announced changes to its executive management today. The company appointed John Quinn as CEO and managing director of European Operations.
His previous position as EVP and CFO will be assumed by Dominick Zarcone by the end of March 15. Zarcone recently served as managing director and CFO of Robert W. Baird.
Commenting on the appointments, Joseph Holsten, chairman of the board of LKQ Corporation said, “This is a win-win for the company. John is an ideal candidate to manage our important European operations. Importantly, our Global Finance Department, which John so effectively developed during his tenure as our CFO, will not miss a beat with Nick taking over the CFO duties.”
