CarMax 1st-quarter profit drops 2.7 percent on sales decline, charges related to loans

CarMax 1Q earns fall, but tops view

RICHMOND, Va. — Auto retailer CarMax says its fiscal first-quarter profit fell 2.7 percent on a double-digit sales drop. Its results still beat Wall Street expectations.

Richmond, Virginia-based Carmax Inc. said Friday it earned $28.7 million, or 13 cents per share, in the three months ended May 31. That’s down from $29.6 million, or 13 cents per share, a year ago.

The latest results include a charge of 11 cents per share related to loans at its financing arm and a gain of 2 cents per share for a litigation settlement.

That left adjusted earnings at 22 cents a share — well above the 4 cents a share that anaysts expected. The analyst estimates typically exclude one-time items.

Carmax says sales fell 17 percent to $1.83 billion — beating analysts’ estimates of $1.72 billion.