Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the Monro Muffler Brake's Earnings Conference Call for the First Quarter of Fiscal 2016. [Operator Instructions] As a reminder, ladies and gentlemen, this conference call is being recorded and may not be reproduced in whole or in part without permission from the company. I would now like to introduce Ms. Effie Veres of FTI Consulting. Please go ahead.

Thank you. Hello, everyone, and thank you for joining us on this morning's call. I would just like to remind you that on this morning's call, management may reiterate forward-looking statements made in today's release. In accordance with the Safe Harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, I would like to call your attention to the risks and uncertainties related to these statements, which are more fully described in the press release and the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not necessarily limited to, uncertainties affecting retail generally, such as consumer confidence and demand for auto repair; risks relating to leverage and debt service, including sensitivity to fluctuations in interest rates; dependence on and competition within the primary markets in which the company stores are located; and the need for and cost associated with the store renovations and other capital expenditures. The company undertakes no obligation to release publicly any revisions to these forward-looking statements that may be made to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. The inclusion of any statement in this call does not constitute an admission by Monro or any other person that the events or circumstances described and such statements are material. Joining us for this morning's call, from management, are John Van Heel, President and Chief Executive Officer; Cathy D'Amico, Chief Financial Officer; and Rob Gross, Executive Chairman. With these formalities out of the way, I'd like to turn the call over to John Van Heel. John, you may begin.

Thanks, Effie. Good morning, and thank you for joining us on today's call. We are pleased that you are with us to discuss our first quarter fiscal 2016 performance. I'll start today with a review of our results, key initiatives and outlook for fiscal 2016. I'll then turn the call over to Cathy D'Amico, our Chief Financial Officer, who will provide additional details on our financial results. Despite a choppy environment in the first quarter, our teams' consistent execution of our proven strategy and initiatives allowed us to deliver net income growth of 11%. While first quarter comparable store sales of negative 0.4% were below our guidance of flat, our continued focus on margin improvement and effective cost control combined with the outperformance of our recent acquisitions, enabled us to achieve record earnings per share of $0.57, the midpoint of our guidance range. These results demonstrate that our business model is working. However, as I said in May, while we have expanded our operating margin and increased earnings, and the bottom line remains more important than the top line, we are working to combine these improvements with higher comparable store sales to consistently achieve the level of sales and earnings growth that I expect of our company. On that call, I described a set of initiatives to help drive traffic and sales. These initiatives are being led, in large part, by our new Senior VP of Consumer Branding and Digital Marketing. We are shifting our marketing spend to more efficient digital advertising, thereby driving more customers into our stores and to our website at a similar overall marketing spend. These customers will find more robust website capabilities, including improvements to our online appointment, tire search and customer review process. In addition to these websites enhancements, we are increasing the collection…

Thanks, John. Good morning, everyone. Sales for the quarter increased 8.7% and $19 million. New stores which we define as stores opened or acquired after March 29, 2014, added $25.2 million, including sales of $23.1 million from the fiscal 2015 acquisitions. Comparable store sales decreased 0.40% and there is a decrease in sales from closed doors of approximately $6.1 million, largely related to the BJ store closures in fiscal 2015. There were 90 selling days in both the current and prior year first quarters. At June 27, 2015, the company had 999 company-operated stores and 146 franchise locations, as compared with 966 stores and 1 franchise location at June 28, 2014. During the quarter ended June 2015, the company added 4 company-operated stores and closed 4. Gross profit for the quarter ended June 2015 was $99.7 million or 42.2% of sales as compared with $90 million or 41.4% of sales for the prior year quarter. The increase in gross profit for the quarter ended June 27, 2015, as a percentage of sales, is due to several factors, including a decrease of total material costs, primarily related to a decrease in oil costs. Additionally, labor cost decreased as a percentage of sales as compared to the prior year due to a focus on cost control. Productivity, as measured by sales per man hour, also improved as compared to the prior year quarter. Distribution and occupancy costs were relatively flat as a percentage of sales as compared to the prior year quarter. Operating expenses for the quarter ended June 2015 increased $5.5 million and were $66.1 million or 28% of sales, as compared with $60.6 million or 27.9% of sales for the quarter ended June 2014. Approximately $5.4 million of the $5.5 million of the increase in operating expenses was directly attributable…

[Operator Instructions] And we'll take our first question from Rick Nelson with Stephens.

The 2% to 3% pricing that you're expecting in the tire category, I guess you saw 3% of quarter, why do you think that number isn't higher, given the Chinese tire tariff? And if you could comment on what's happening with the domestic tire manufacturers?

Sure. I -- that 3% is what we've seen in our business versus last year. The tariffs are -- were just finalized and are going into effect. So I just think you have other operators out there trying to drive sales and it's kind of -- but for right now, holding the market where it is on the pricing side. And with regard to the domestic manufacturers, we are seeing opportunities to work cost down as we move forward through the year this year. So that's a part of the guidance that we've given in terms of our overall tire cost being slightly down this year versus last.

Yes. I think, hopefully, Rick, it gets better than that, but I like plus 3 better than minus 4, which we got last year.

Yes. I got it. On the NDAs, you mentioned more than 10. Can you size those are up in terms of number of stores in the markets?

Sure. They are all within our markets. And that set of NDAs that we've consistently talked about are those 5 to 40 store chains. And they are -- and all of ones that we're working with right now are within our market. So we haven't -- it's all very consistent in those 5 to 40 store chains with regard to that number.

Right. And if I could circle back to tires. What -- the per unit performance, how do you think that's keeping pace in terms of market share within the industry?

I think we are -- we're keeping pace based on our pricing discipline. If we're getting anything up, it's very small. But as I've said, we are absolutely making more money than our competitors given all the financials that we see with the NDA. So I don't see us as losing share. And again, I'm encouraged certainly by the fact that July being positive in units, as well in price, is certainly a good start for the rest of the year.

And we'll take the next question from James Albertine with Stifel.

I wanted to ask, you mentioned the NDAs are all within your existing markets. But can you maybe shed some light on how many of the NDAs are in some of the newer markets, like the Florida or Southeastern part of the U.S.? And maybe highlight a little bit of the distribution drag you're still expressing as you have that gap sort of between Atlanta and Annapolis?

So the first part of your question, there are a fair number that are in the newer markets. I'm not going to be specific about that, but it's a good chunk of the opportunity that we have which, again, for us, is very encouraging given the density and opportunity in those markets and the fact that it will help balance our geography some. So that it -- I'm very encouraged by the opportunities in those new markets. I'm sorry, the second part of your question?

Well, just understanding -- it sounds like if that's case, then the distribution costs, or the drag from having the gap between the Mid-Atlantic region, and it sounds like you're still feeding off of the DCs in sort of your legacy markets not the South, you don't have a new DC as far as I understand, right?

No, we don't. And as I've said in the past, I view us making the investment in a new DC when we hit triple-digit stores down in that area of the country. And so the -- when we talked about the synergies that we get, obviously, we're not getting all of the distribution synergies right now with -- in those markets. That is incorporated within our guidance that we've given on the acquisitions this year. And I think you can see the importance of that in the fact that for the stores that we're buying, the 31 stores that we just announced with this -- on this release, that those will be breakeven this year after basically 6 months of operations because -- which is ahead of what we usually experience, because they are so close here within our markets. So when we hit the triple-digit number of stores down in the Atlanta, Georgia, Florida markets, I think you'll see us putting in a DC to get the additional accretiveness there.

Yes. Jamie, what's the drag you're talking about, remember, operating margins up 70 bps, so it's not hurting us too bad right now.

Well, I was just going to say, it's all the more impressive that your comp leverage point is as low as it is with that drag. So it was more of an optimistic spin if anything on the question. If I may just ask a housekeeping item, gentlemen and Cathy, April, May and June, monthly comp if you can provide it. And then maybe an update on some of your opportunities. It sounds like clicks are improving and you've got some good traction on your digital front, to the extent that you're -- you can sort of opine on where you are there on the digital effort, that would be great.

So the comps by month were down 1-8, 1.8% in April, and up 20 basis points in May and up 20 basis points in June. And with regard to the sales initiatives and the digital initiatives, we are still early in the push there. What I'm most encouraged by is the fact that, as I said, just this heightened focus on our overcoming consumer and anything else in the external marketplace is that additional focus, I think, is helping us right now. And I'm very encouraged by the early results we've seen out of the website enhancements, the appointments, and we'll comment on that as those become more fully implemented later in the year.

And we'll take our next question from Bret Jordan with Jefferies.

On that supply chain question, what number of stores are you not currently distributing to? Of the thousand, I guess, how many are you having to outbuy? And do you have a feeling sort of what the store level productivity of a distant store versus a self-distributed store is?

Yes. Well, the stores that are down in Florida, in Georgia number, just in the low-60, 62 or 63. So those are the stores that we're primarily talking about. Now don't forget, we do have a certain amount of product shipped directly from manufacturers directly to the stores. And we are getting some parts down there right now, we're just taking some different shipping approaches, which are raising our costs there. And we would expect that to be what we would save later on in setting up a DC down there. So I think of it -- go ahead.

No, you go ahead.

I was just going to say that when we talk about the synergies that we get -- we get 100 to 250 basis points on distribution. So we're not getting that right now. And there's probably a couple of 100 basis points of just straight cost savings that we're not getting right now as well with regard to those 60 stores.

Okay. And then on the Massachusetts acquisition, what chain did you buy?

It's called Windsor Tire.

Okay. Not Direct Tire?

No.

All right. And then one last question. Did you take a price increase in April in anything? Because April and September are still your increased months?

Yes. We took a service price increase, actually, before April, of about 1.5%. And we recently tweaked some tire pricing as well, up slightly.

Okay. And my final question. Alignment comp was up so high, what was happening there? I mean, usually that correlates to tire sales, but it seemed to outperform.

Yes. I think when you look at that comp, that was up 8 on top of being up, I believe, 9 last year. So certainly, it was a tough winter, that has an impact. And we're doing a better job, I think, on that in the stores. And as you contrast that maybe with the brake category, I think, you come back to the consumer and I still see the consumer deferring some of those larger purchases during the quarter, certainly, earlier in the quarter like brakes or tires. And we see that potentially improving into July. And I'm hopeful that the consumer as a piece of this is getting better and we'll finally get some -- more of those needed repairs done, which will certainly even better for our comps going forward.

And we'll take our next question from with Michael Montani with Evercore ISI.

I wanted to ask about what traffic and ticket were for the quarter?

Sure. Traffic for the quarter was down 1 and ticket was up 60 basis points.

Okay. And then -- sorry, I was just going to say in terms of the tire unit side of the equation, I think you said there was a 3% price increase, but was that 3% ticket or was there also an offset from trade down?

No. The mix of tires was relatively flat in the quarter between what we talked about as direct import and branded. So it was, overall, just the ticket.

Got it. Okay. And then just to follow-up on margins, if I could. The full year guidance, as you mentioned, implied 70 bps of operating margin in expansion. But then there's initiatives that seem to be building, especially if you think about the tire side, with the cost saves. So can you just help me to understand really what the key offsets are to that, that might prevent greater margin expansion into the back half of the year?

Well, that's 70 basis points on top of the 80 from 80 basis point improvement from last year. And I think it's -- you might look at it as some conservatism from our side, where we're -- again, I'm pleased that we're starting to show some progress on the sales front, but I'm not -- that's not where we need to be. So I'm trying to make sure that we put out numbers that we believe we can hit and are conservative. So we'll certainly update that as we put more time behind us with positive comps and positive margin.

Great. And just lastly, when you guys think about your consumer, what was seen year-to-date, 3.5% increase in miles driven, probably 1.5% increase in miles driven per vehicle, pending SAR and scrappage, I mean, those are the best numbers we've seen in years. So what kind of pent-up demand are you seeing and any kind of qualitative comments you can make, et cetera, as we head into July?

Sure. In terms of miles driven, I think we've consistently held a view that miles driven are not necessarily in any short period the key driver. I'm still -- the consumer is the other piece of it, and I would just go back to my thoughts on alignment as a category, versus brakes and perhaps tires, is that I think consumers are still spending only when they absolutely have to and holding back some. So I really, I -- we still see pent-up demand. And I just don't think that miles driven, you're going to tie that in so closely. For us, obviously, the broader trend in terms of cars getting older has always been much more important to our business and we see that helping the business. The other piece of it to me is the consumer and when they just decrease that deferral cycle, and that's what I expect to help our comps when that occurs.

And there are no additional questions at this time, I'll turn the call back to John for any additional or closing remarks.

Thank you all for your time this morning. I'm looking forward to reporting on the positive impacts of our focus on sales and traffic and contributions from the acquisition opportunities that we're acting on. Our business model should produce another year of double-digit EPS growth on top of the 40% increase over the past 2 years. We appreciate your continued support and the efforts of our employees that work hard to take care of our customers every day. Thanks again, and have a great day.

That does conclude today's conference. Thank you for your participation.