Motion on Thursday reported a decline in sales in its latest fiscal quarter but said its profit and margin numbers each improved compared to the first quarter of last year.
The MRO and industrial technology giant — no. 2 on ID’s latest Big 50 list — posted $2.2 billion in sales, which represented a 2.2% drop from the same quarter in 2023. The company’s comparable sales fell by 2.6%, but the overall revenue number was helped by a 0.5% contribution from Motion’s acquisitions. Foreign currency dented the sales number by 0.1%.
Will Stengel, president and COO of Motion parent Genuine Parts Company (GPC), said that a decline in the “low single-digits” was expected amid “our most difficult comparative period for the year.” Company officials noted that Motion’s $271 million in quarterly profit was up 3.4% compared to the first quarter of 2023, which translated to a profit margin that rose 70 basis points year-over-year to 12.3%.
GPC officials maintained the segment’s full-year forecast of 3% to 5% sales growth.
Overall, GPC — which also includes the NAPA auto parts brand — posted a slight increase in sales in the latest quarter thanks to recent acquisitions offsetting a drop in comparable sales. Gross profit also increased, but net income fell from more than $300 million to begin 2023 to just under $250 million.
The company maintained its sales outlook for the year and raised its earnings forecast from $8.95 to $9.15 per diluted share up to $9.05 to $9.20.
"Our performance in the quarter highlights the value of our business mix paired with our geographic diversity as our teams delivered profits that were ahead of our expectations," GPC Chairman and CEO Paul Donahue said in a statement. "We did this by staying focused on both our near- and long-term strategic initiatives to improve our business and drive profitable growth.”
