In what ended up being a record second quarter, CarMax increased its total used-vehicle sales by more than 6 percent, and the retailer moved a shade under 294,000 used cars in its fiscal first half.

CarMax had 143,325 total used unit sales in its second fiscal quarter ending Aug. 31, which marked a 6.3-percent year-over-year increase. In the first two quarters, it moved 293,853 used units, an 8.0-percent upswing. Meanwhile, comparable used unit sales were up 0.2 percent in Q2 and up 1.8 percent in the first two quarters combined.

“This growth (in the second quarter) was on top of increases of 21.1 percent in total used units and 15.9 percent in comparable store used units in last year’s second quarter,” CarMax said in its earnings release. 

“While we experienced our fifth consecutive quarter of improved customer traffic in comparable stores, sales were tempered by the effect of a calendar shift. We had one fewer Saturday this quarter compared with last year’s second quarter, which we estimate adversely affected comparable store used unit sales growth by approximately 1 percent,” the company added.

Used-vehicle gross profits in Q2 climbed 6.2 percent and came in at $311.5 million; for the first half, they were up 8.1 percent at $645.6 million.

CarMax generated $2,173 used-vehicle gross profit per unit in the second quarter, essentially static with the year-ago period ($2,174). Similarly, used gross profits per units through the first half ($2,197) were fairly even with the prior year ($2,195).

Overall, CarMax recorded Q2 net sales and operating revenues of $3.60 billion, a 10.9-percent increase.  Its net earnings for the quarter were at $154.5 million, a 10.2-percent gain.
 
Net earnings per diluted share were $0.70, an uptick of 12.9 percent.

The company said: “Net earnings per diluted share for the current quarter included a $0.06 benefit in connection with our receipt of settlement proceeds in a previously disclosed class action lawsuit.”

CarMax president and chief executive officer Tom Folliard offered more perspective, noting: “We are pleased to report record second quarter results, even before considering the benefit of the settlement proceeds.

 “The continued growth in our store base and improvements across our used, wholesale and CAF operations, as well as our share repurchase program, all contributed to our record second quarter earnings per share,” he added.