Rush Enterprises, Inc., which operates the largest network of commercial vehicle dealerships in North America, reported record annual revenues of $3.1 billion compared to $2.6 billion in 2011 and net income of $62.5 million, or $1.57 per diluted share, up 11% over the previous year.
The company also announced that its Board of Directors approved a stock repurchase program authorizing the company to repurchase, from time to time in the next year, up to an aggregate of $40 million of its shares of Class A common stock, $.01 par value per share, and/or Class B common stock, $.01 par value per share.
"We are extremely proud of our record financial performance," said W. M. "Rusty" Rush, Chief Executive Officer and President of Rush Enterprises, Inc. "In addition to achieving record revenue and net income in 2012, we also realized a 116% annual absorption rate, a 30% increase in medium-duty truck sales and we expanded our Rush Truck Centers network footprint to include 78 dealership locations.
"We continue to transition the company into the leading provider of solutions to the commercial vehicle industry – implementing our growth strategy to expand our portfolio of aftermarket services, broadening the diversity of our commercial vehicle product offerings and extending our network of service points across the United States.
"The company ended the year with $199 million in cash and cash equivalents, in excellent financial position to implement our long-term strategic growth initiatives. We believe that the purchase of our common stock represents an attractive opportunity to benefit the long-term interests of the Company and its shareholders. The stock repurchase program reflects confidence in our ability to achieve future growth initiatives while returning capital to our shareholders," he said.
Aftermarket services accounted for 63.4% of the company's total gross profits in 2012 with parts, service and body shop revenues reaching a new record of $817.3 million, up 21% over 2011. This contributed to a new record annual absorption rate of 116%.
In 2012, Rush's Class 8 retail sales increased by 10% over 2011, and accounted for 5.0% of the total U.S. Class 8 retail truck sales market.
"Our strong truck sales are the direct result of our ability to successfully offer a diverse product line-up across a wide variety of market segments across a large geographic network," explained Rusty Rush.
The company expects U.S. Class 8 retail sales will range from 198,000 to 208,000 units in 2013. "We continue to see customer confidence increasing in certain segments of the economy, such as residential construction," said Rusty Rush. "We expect that the stronger order intake experienced during the past several months and implementation and customer acceptance of Navistar's engine strategy will begin to drive increased new truck deliveries beginning in the second quarter. We believe this improvement should continue throughout 2013 and into 2014.”
Rush's U.S. Class 4-7 medium-duty truck sales reached 7,126 units in 2012, up 30% over 2011, and accounted for 4.3% of the U.S. Class 4-7 market.
In the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2012, the company's gross revenues totaled $732.3 million, a 5.6% decrease from gross revenues of $776.1 million reported for the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2011. Net income for the quarter was $14.2 million, or $0.36 per diluted share, compared to $19.4 million, or $0.50 per diluted share, in the quarter ended December 31, 2011.
Parts, service and body shop revenue was $201.6 million in the fourth quarter of 2012, compared to $176.7 million in the fourth quarter of 2011. The company delivered 2,102 new heavy-duty trucks, 1,789 new medium-duty commercial vehicles, 393 new light-duty commercial vehicles and 1,039 used commercial vehicles during the fourth quarter of 2012, compared to 2,872 new heavy-duty trucks, 1,711 new medium-duty commercial vehicles, 292 new light-duty commercial vehicles and 1,215 used commercial vehicles in the fourth quarter of 2011.
Parts, service and body shop revenue was $817.3 million in the year ended 2012, compared to $675.3 million in the year ended 2011. The company sold 23,171 new and used commercial vehicles in 2012, a 14.8% increase compared to 20,189 new and used commercial vehicles in 2011. The Company delivered 9,925 new heavy-duty trucks, 7,126 new medium-duty commercial vehicles, 1,376 new light-duty commercial vehicles and 4,744 used commercial vehicles during 2012, compared 9,052 new heavy-duty trucks, 5,469 new medium-duty commercial vehicles, 1,019 new light-duty commercial vehicles and 4,649 used commercial vehicles during 2011.