BENTONVILLE, Ark. — William "Hank" Henderson, America's Car-Mart president and chief executive officer, said late last week  that management is continuing its growth strategy and credits repeat customers as a large factor in the company's solid financial performance.

Henderson indicated that the company's 100th store will open very soon, with six to eight more new locations expected in the remainder of the fiscal year.

"It goes without saying that our growth will continue. Our current plans are to add six to eight new locations during the remainder of this fiscal year, and then open new dealerships at an approximate rate of 10 percent for the next several years," Henderson explained.

"Additionally, we are very excited that we will be opening our 100th dealership very soon and will be making that announcement in the next few weeks," he noted.

For its first fiscal quarter, the company reported net income of $8 million, or 70 cents per diluted share, compared with $7 million, or 60 cents per diluted share, in the previous year. This is a 17-percent increase in diluted earnings per share.

Continuing on, Car-Mart posted a revenue climb of 9.2 percent to $91.5 million, compared with $83.8 million. Same-store revenue growth came in at 6.4 percent.

Meanwhile, retail sales increased 3.7 percent to 8,481, versus 8,182 in the same period of the prior year.

According to management, strong cash flows are supporting the increase in revenues and the $11.5-million jump in finance receivables, $1.1 million in net capital expenditures and $7.3 million in common stock repurchases, with only a $5.6-million climb in debt.

Car-Mart's active customer base now stands at more than 48,000.

As for credit losses, the company indicated the allowance remains unchanged at 22 percent of finance receivables. The provision for credit losses is 19.5 percent of sales.

Debt to equity for Car-Mart is 24.9 percent and debt to finance receivables is 16.3 percent.

Furthermore, management reported that down payments increased to 7.2 percent from 7 percent in the previous fiscal year.

Explaining the results, Henderson said, "Our financial results are obviously outstanding but there are two specific areas that represent the heart of what we are about and are the key ingredients to our solid financial performance. One, the success of our customers is our number one goal. Our mission statement is, ‘We strive to earn the repeat business of our customers by providing quality vehicles, affordable payment terms and excellent service.' Car-Mart offers a great value to our customers and every one of our associates is dedicated to helping to ensure that we do everything we can to help them succeed.

"This dedication is the reason that over half of the sales at many of our lots are to repeat customers. We operate in a very competitive industry and we have to continue to get better and improve to serve our customer base in a way that sets us apart," he stressed. "We are dedicated to making this happen as we grow."

Henderson went on to say his management team is happy to create employment opportunities in many different communities.

"Two, we are very proud of the employment opportunities we are creating every day in the communities we serve. Every new lot we open as well as the existing dealerships that continue to expand are directly responsible for the creation of new jobs, as well as opportunities for advancement for our current associates. Car-Mart has a great reputation and as a result, we attract quality people interested in joining a growing, dynamic company. We currently have over 1,200 dedicated associates and nothing makes us happier than seeing them advance," Henderson explained.

And the company's chief financial officer expects the solid financial streak to continue.

"Once again, our financial performance was solid for the quarter and we certainly expect these positive trends to continue. Our strong cash flows allowed us to fund $7.3 million in share repurchases, an $11.5-million increase in finance receivables and $1.1 million in capital expenditures, all with only a $5.6 million increase in debt," said Jeff Williams, CFO of Car-Mart.

"We continue to focus on our cash returns by ensuring that our customers have equity in their vehicles throughout the term of their loans. We are only successful if our customers are successful and we are dedicated to earning their repeat business," he pointed out.

Williams said the company repurchased 317,686 shares, or 2.8 percent, of its common stock during the first quarter, and 749,532, or 6.4 percent, during the previous two quarters.

"We believe in the long-term value of our company and we will invest in the repurchase program when favorable conditions are presented to us. Our board of directors has approved another increase in our share repurchase program, once again allowing for up to 1 million shares to be repurchased. Our debt-to-equity ratio of 24.9 percent and our debt-to-finance receivables ratio of 16.3 percent continue to be very strong and what we consider to be the best in the industry," he concluded.