(By Balachander) CarMax Inc. (NYSE:KMX), a retailer of used cars, reported flat quarterly earnings, missing market expectations. Yet shares rose 3.22 percent in premarket on Thursday as sales topped consensus. Earnings were $111.6 million or $0.48 per share for the second quarter, compared with $111.2 million or $0.48 per share in the year-ago quarter. Net sales and operating revenues rose 7 percent to $2.76 billion for the three months ended August 31, the Richmond, Virginia-based company said. Comparable store used unit sales gained 5 percent. New vehicle sales surged 31 percent, while Wholesale vehicle sales declined 4.5 percent. Wall Street analysts, on average, expected earnings of $0.52 per share on revenue growth of 6.30 percent.
Selling, general and administrative expenses jumped 11 percent. "Net earnings were flat, as the contributions from the growth in retail sales and CAF income were offset by higher SG&A costs, which were pressured by the ramp in our store growth rate, and the tough comparisons in our wholesale operations," chief executive Tom Folliard said. KMX closed Wednesday's regular trading session 1.95 percent higher at $31.97. The stock has been trading in the 52-week range between $22.77 and $35.17.