The Bapcor Limited (ASX: BAP) share price is edging into the green in early trade on Wednesday after the release of the company's full-year results.
The automotive parts and service business is trading for $6.82 a share at the time of writing, 0.74% higher, after dipping into the red immediately after its results announcement.
What did the company report?
- Revenue was up 4.6% to hit $1.84 billion
- Pro forma earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) was up 4.3% to hit $291.5 million
- Net profit after tax (NPAT) was up 5.9% to hit $125.8 million
- Dividend per share has increased 7.5% to hit 21.5 cents per share
What else happened in FY22?
The major event for the company over the last financial year was the turmoil in its chief executive position.
Long-time chief and managing director Darryl Abotomey announced in November he would retire to depart at the end of February. But by December, the relationship between the board and Abotomey had soured so much that he was booted out immediately.
This didn't help market perception, with some analysts downgrading their view of the stock.
What did management say?
Bapcor chief executive Noel Meehan said:
FY22 was a successful year for Bapcor and I would like to thank our more than 5,000 team members for their hard work and contributions to this outcome. The team has delivered record revenue and NPAT, in line with market guidance.
Inventory availability remains a key competitive advantage and significant progress was made in the development of our distribution capabilities with our Victorian DC [distribution centre] on track to achieve steady-state performance and the construction of our Queensland DC progressing well. This helped to mitigate the ongoing risk from global supply chain disruption due to manufacturing, transportation and staff shortages which increased product shortages in the market and raised ordering lead times to unprecedented levels.
What's next?
While Bapcor declared the "resilience of Bapcor's operating model" and vowed to "improve operational efficiency and progress strategic initiatives", it declined to provide specific guidance for 2023.
Meehan said:
Operationally, we expect a solid underlying trading performance with our continued focus on network growth, realising operational efficiencies and expanding our own brand product range.
These initiatives will be complemented by strategically reviewing how we can make Bapcor 'Better than Before' to allow us to deliver even more for our customers, unleash the power of our people and drive value for shareholders.
Bapcor share price snapshot
The Bapcor share price is down about 16.3% over the past 12 months. Most of that decline happened in December when the board kicked out ex-chief Abotomey.
The dividend yield, after the latest increase, is now at 3.2%.
