Earnings Labs

Genuine Parts Company (GPC)

Q2 2013 Earnings Call· Thu, Jul 18, 2013

$105.18

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Transcript

Operator

Operator

Good morning. My name is Jasmine, and I will be your conference operator today. At this time, I would like to welcome everyone to the Genuine Parts Company Second Quarter 2013 Earnings Conference Call. [Operator Instructions] I will now turn the conference over to Sid Jones, Vice President of Investor Relations. You may begin.

Sidney G. Jones

Analyst

Thank you. Good morning, and thank you for joining us today for the Genuine Parts second quarter conference call to discuss our earnings results and outlook for the full year. Before we begin this morning, please be advised that this call may involve forward-looking statements regarding the company and its businesses. The company's actual results could differ materially from any forward-looking statements due to several important factors described in the company's latest SEC filings. The company assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements made during this call. We'll begin this morning with comments from Tom Gallagher, our Chairman and CEO. Tom?

Thomas C. Gallagher

Analyst

Thank you, Sid, and I would like to add my welcome to each of you on the call today and to say that we appreciate your taking the time to be with us this morning. Paul Donahue, our President, along with Carol Yancey, our Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, and I will each handle a portion of today's call, and once we've concluded our individual remarks, we will look forward to addressing any specific questions that you may have. Now earlier this morning, we released our second quarter 2013 results, and hopefully, you've had an opportunity to review them. But for those who may not have seen the numbers yet, a quick recap shows that sales for the quarter were $3,676,000,000, which was up 10% over the prior year. Net income was $216.4 million, which was up 28%, and earnings per share were $1.39 this year compared to $1.08 last year and the EPS increase was up 29%. Now I do want to point out that these results include the contributions from our Australia and New Zealand acquisition that was completed on April 1. You will recall that as of April 1, we purchased the remaining 70% of the shares that we did not own, and both Carol and Paul will give you a bit more detail on how this impacted the numbers during their comments. But I would just say that we are really pleased to have this team as part of the GPC family and they will be strong contributors to our results in the quarters ahead. A review of the results by business segment shows quite a contrast between our automotive and nonautomotive operations. Automotive revenues were up 22% in the quarter, including the contributions from the Australia and New Zealand acquisition, and they were…

Paul D. Donahue

Analyst

Thank you, Tom, and good morning, everyone. As Tom mentioned, we are including in our automotive recap the results from our newly acquired business in Australasia, formerly known as Exego, and now known as GPC Asia Pacific. Our 434 stores now operating in Australia and New Zealand were consolidated into our results on April 1, and this business performed as expected throughout the second quarter. We have an outstanding management team on the ground and we are pleased with the progress we see in their growth strategy. Our expectation is continued growth in this business over the balance of 2013. Turning to our North American automotive business. Our team delivered a 6% sales increase in the second quarter. This 6% growth includes approximately a 2% benefit from 1 month of Quaker City Motor Parts revenues. As many of you will recall, we acquired this business back on May 1 of 2012. Our total automotive business, including the acquisition of GPC Asia Pacific, grew 22%. Our North American 6% revenue growth in the second quarter includes comp store sales growth of 4.5%, which is an improvement from relatively flat sales comps posted in the first quarter. These favorable results were driven by our commercial business. However, our team also made solid strides with our retail business in the quarter. Within our U.S. company-owned store group, the commercial side of our business ended the quarter up 6%. This represents our strongest performance since Q1 of 2012. Diving deeper into the results, our non fleet-related business turned in a strong quarter, generating an 8% increase. This segment was supported by high single-digit growth from our approximately 15,000 NAPA AutoCare centers, which we're proud to announce is at an all-time high record number. Our major account group also grew high single-digits and was a…

Carol B. Yancey

Analyst

Thank you, Paul. We'll get started with a review of our second quarter and 6 months income statement and the segment information, and we'll also review a few key balance sheet and other financial items. Tom will come back to wrap it up and then we'll open the call up to your questions. To start off with, please note that any reference to our June 30 second quarter and year-to-date consolidated results include GPC Asia Pacific, which we acquired on April 1 of this year. In association with the acquisition of the remaining 70% in GPC Asia Pacific, we are required to revalue our original 30% investment. This remeasurement, net of certain onetime purchase accounting cost, amounted to a positive pretax adjustment of approximately $36 million reported -- recorded in the second quarter. In accounting for this adjustment, approximately $18 million in costs were reported to cost of goods sold and a $54 million gain, net of expenses, was recorded to selling, administrative and other expenses on our income statement. Additionally, the $36 million net adjustment is included in the Other net line on our segment information sheet. The $36 million net adjustment, combined with the lower tax rate for the remeasurement, favorably impacted diluted earnings per share by $0.22. Now turning to our income statement, total sales were a record high of $3.7 billion for the second quarter, an increase of 10% from last year, as Tom mentioned. For the 6 months, total sales of $6.9 billion were up 5% from 2012. And overall, we remain optimistic in our outlook for future sales growth. Our gross profit for the second quarter was 30.1% of sales, up from the 29.1% of sales last year. And for the 6 months, gross margin of 29.5% is up from the 29.0% for the…

Thomas C. Gallagher

Analyst

Well, thank you, Paul and Carol, for your updates. Well done in each case, as usual. So that's a recap on our second quarter results. And as we look back over the quarter, we feel that our folks made good progress in a number of key areas. Our sales and earnings set new quarterly records with and without the impact of acquisitions. On the balance sheet, accounts receivable and inventory were managed well and accounts payable continue to trend in the right direction. Cash from operations improved nicely and working capital efficiency improved as well. On the revenue side, it's clear that our Automotive segment is the bright spot for us right now. The Automotive operation showed good sequential improvement from Q1 to Q2, both with and without about the acquisition impact. We are pleased with the progress being made in this segment and we feel that the prior full year -- revenue guidance of plus 5% to plus 7% without acquisition volume, and plus 18% to 20% with the GPC Asia Pacific volume, remains appropriate at this time. And we think that this would represent a solid performance from our automotive team. Our challenges right now are more concentrated in our nonautomotive operations. End market conditions in each of these segments remain challenging. And while we do expect to see second half revenues to improve somewhat compared to first half, we think that it's appropriate to trim our prior full year revenue guidance for each of these businesses. In our prior guidance for Industrial, we said that revenues for the year would be up 4% to 6%, and currently, we think it's more appropriate to say that they're going to be up 1% to 3%. Prior, we had guided for Electrical/Electronic to be up 4% to 6% as well,…

Operator

Operator

[Operator Instructions] And your first question comes from the line of David Gober from Morgan Stanley.

David Gober - Morgan Stanley, Research Division

Analyst

Paul, just a quick one for you on the automotive business. Just curious if you could talk at all about either the monthly cadence within the quarter. I know you'd said at the last quarter that you're starting to see some green shoots. Just curious if that scaled throughout the quarter or if it was relatively even? And then, I guess, a follow-on to that also, if you're seeing any -- what you're seeing in terms of regionality. I know, obviously, there was -- for the better part of last year, you had some significant differences across regions and just curious if you're seeing that reversers, have you seen different regions normalized in the automotive business?

Paul D. Donahue

Analyst

Yes, great question, David. And let me take the first one regarding the trending throughout the quarter. The quarter actually strengthened as we moved through the quarter. So May was a bit better than April. And on a per day basis, June was a bit better than May. So we do remain encouraged by what we're seeing in automotive and we're encouraged by the trend that we're seeing. In terms of regionality, David, we did see -- if you recall, in our previous calls, we were challenged, as I think many were, in the Midwest, Eastern, central parts of the country. We have seen that area of the country. Certainly, the East and the Midwest have come back strong. The Southwest has been a good performer for us last couple of years. They continue to do well. And the rest of the country is pretty much performing as we expected.

David Gober - Morgan Stanley, Research Division

Analyst

Got you. That's helpful. And Tom or Carol, I guess, just on the overall EPS guidance, I just wanted to confirm that that includes the $0.22 benefit from the recast on the Exego deal? And just curious if that also was kind of contemplated in the prior guidance?

Thomas C. Gallagher

Analyst

Yes, it does include that. And yes, it was contemplated in the prior guidance.

Operator

Operator

Your next question comes from the line of Scot Ciccarelli from RBC Capital Markets.

Scot Ciccarelli - RBC Capital Markets, LLC, Research Division

Analyst

Scot Ciccarelli. Just one more clarification on the EPS. Does that include the gain as well or just kind of the run rate of Exego?

Thomas C. Gallagher

Analyst

It includes the gain. And the $4.50 to $4.60 is an all-in number.

Scot Ciccarelli - RBC Capital Markets, LLC, Research Division

Analyst

Okay. But you didn't previously anticipate the $0.22 gain when we got the original $4.45 to $4.60, correct?

Thomas C. Gallagher

Analyst

No, we anticipated that it would be a gain. And it might be instructive just to say that you're probably familiar with the accounting on this. And we had a higher range and a low range on the anticipated gain and it's a very complicated process, and you can't narrow it down until you get to the very last moment. And we tried to take an appropriate look at it when we gave you that prior guidance. And as it turns out, we were reasonably close with what it actually turned out to be.

Scot Ciccarelli - RBC Capital Markets, LLC, Research Division

Analyst

Okay. Got it. And then, regarding the comments about kind of gross margin SG&A run rates, I guess, is there anything that's impacting maybe that little bit of a shift that we've seen to higher gross margin and higher SG&A other than the Asia Pacific business or is that -- it really center on that?

Carol B. Yancey

Analyst

Well, so we gave you the onetime amounts that are in both of those numbers. So taking those into account, what we would say that our gross margins, our core gross margins were up slightly, excluding the impact of GPC Asia Pacific and the onetime adjustments. And SG&A, because of the decline in the sales in the nonautomotive businesses, our SG&A, really, we didn't have the improvement there and that's the loss of leverage and you see that in the operating margins. So what we're saying on a go-forward basis is you are going to see just a slight shift there, if you will, that's due to GPC Asia Pacific, but we're going to continue to focus on our normal improvements in both of those lines.

Operator

Operator

Your next question comes from the line of Matt Fassler from Goldman Sachs.

Matthew J. Fassler - Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Research Division

Analyst

One question on the Office Products business. If you could comment on the divergence between the Megas and the independents and sort of the nature of the business you do with those 2 channels and what you think might be leading to that? Is that a function of their end markets? Is it a function of your role with respect to channels? Any color you could give there would be terrific.

Thomas C. Gallagher

Analyst

Well, just as a reminder, Matt, the independent channel was down mid single-digit and the Mega Channel was up mid single-digit. And we've seen variations in this over time and we can go back 1 year or 2 and see that the independents may have been growing at a little faster rate with us than the Mega Channel. So it does undulate a bit up and down, just depending upon the circumstance. At this point, I would say that the independents, as a general statement, the independents that seem to be doing reasonably well right now have embraced some of the newer things that S.P. Richards has been introducing. So as for instance, the independents that have embraced, in a big way, the cleaning and breakroom category are enjoying pretty good revenue growth with that. And of course, we benefit from that. And the same thing could be said for the Megas as well. As you know, they've embraced some of the new growth opportunities also. Those independents that have a strong presence on the Internet, I think, as a general statement, would be doing a little bit better than those independents that don't have a strong presence on the Internet. So it varies depending upon the particular circumstance of the independent channel. I was just at a meeting where S.P. Richards had a number of their independent customers in attendance. And I'd have to say that I was encouraged by the determination that I heard from the number that I got to talk with. And while they're not happy with where they find themselves as a general statement through midyear, many of them have a little bit of optimism for the second half of the year and they're determined to embrace some of these things that they know can enhance the revenue growth in the quarters ahead.

Matthew J. Fassler - Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Research Division

Analyst

I have 2 quick ones on Automotive. One is operational and one is financial. The operational one, I'll address to Paul. So you're showing very nice transaction growth, particularly in commercial. And interested in what your sense of the source of that is. Is that market growth, for clearly the market has improved to some degree? Or in your view, is that market share growth for the NAPA franchise?

Paul D. Donahue

Analyst

I would think a little bit of both, Matt. As I mentioned in my comment are 2 key initiatives for us certainly is our AutoCare business, and as I mentioned, we had a record number of AutoCares in the past quarter. And our major account business has bounced back nicely. So those 2 areas have grown nicely and I think will continue to do so. So that certainly is driving our overall commercial business.

Matthew J. Fassler - Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Research Division

Analyst

And are the major accounts typically large jobber chains and such, or is it fleet customers? Who typically is the population in that group?

Paul D. Donahue

Analyst

So when we talk about major accounts, Matt, our key partners in that world are folks like Firestone, Goodyear, Tire Kingdom, Midas, AAA, certainly.

Matthew J. Fassler - Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Research Division

Analyst

Got it. That's great. And then, finally, just to think about the $0.22 of the accounting adjustment, and then, what I think is separate, which is the accretion associated with the Exego deal that you discussed at the outset of the year, and correct me if I'm wrong, I think it was a $0.15 to $0.20 number, just to make sure that those are 2 different numbers, the accretion from Exego is exclusive of that $0.22 number?

Thomas C. Gallagher

Analyst

No, it's inclusive of that number, Matt. We tried to bake that in when we gave you some guidance at the time of the transaction.

Matthew J. Fassler - Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Research Division

Analyst

So the assumption then that the -- if you sort of exclude the accounting adjustment that if you think about the -- if you think about on an operating basis, if you will, it's more a breakeven kind of transaction with, I guess, potential to get more accretive over time?

Carol B. Yancey

Analyst

No. One thing to keep in mind is when we did our original guidance, when we assumed we were going to have a 30% investment for the full year, we had given an EPS guidance. And then we came in and said we're going to do the 70%. And we put in an incremental amount. But there was already some amount in the beginning number, if you will, but the $0.15 to $0.20 was a range of the incremental amount adding in the 70% and knowing we already had something in there for the 30%, but it's not a breakeven. In fact, it's -- the $0.15 to $0.20 range for the 9 months were just what their operating numbers are. It's pretty close to what it is.

Matthew J. Fassler - Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Research Division

Analyst

And the remeasurement, if you will, and it might be too detailed for this call, but I think we're all getting some questions on this. Is this a reassessment of the value of the original investment? Kind of what drives that remeasurement process? I understand you have to do it, but what's the nature of the assessment?

Carol B. Yancey

Analyst

So the 30% investment, there's purchase accounting rules and we're happy to have Sid go into more of this with you later. But the purchase accounting rules cause you to have a fair value valuation done by a third-party independent valuation firm. And they look at a lot of market metrics and they look at the results of the company and they look at a lot of different variables and it's a very in-depth process. So it's a fair value valuation of that original 30% that was $166 million, and you revalue it to the April 1 date.

Operator

Operator

Your next question comes from the line of Michael Montani from ISI Group.

Michael Montani - ISI Group Inc., Research Division

Analyst

I wanted to ask in automotive 2 questions. The first one is, was there any impact from holiday shift, either good or bad this quarter? I know that you mentioned it was a headwind last quarter. So is that actually a tailwind or neutral? And then, secondly, on the margins within automotive, they were down slightly, but if you were to exclude Exego from that with the core, North American margin actually have been up?

Paul D. Donahue

Analyst

I'll take the first one first, Michael. Certainly, Easter having a shift into the first quarter, the Easter holiday, that negatively impacted our numbers in Q1. So I think you could then surmise that it was a tailwind for our Q2 numbers. And the second question regarding our margin performance, I'm going to have Carol address that because I'm not sure I understood what your question was.

Carol B. Yancey

Analyst

So if you recall, in the first quarter, our Automotive margins were up 10 basis points. And then, this quarter, we're showing a really strong 9.3%, and they were flat. And for the 6 months, we're still able to show 10 basis point improvement. And what we would say is just for the quarter, our core business probably was up slightly. But we're saying, on a full year comparative basis, margins for GPC Asia Pacific are very similar to our normal business, our core business. You could have some differences quarter-to-quarter because if you -- you may or may not know, but their quarters are completely opposite of ours. So our second and third quarters here in the U.S. are our strongest throughput quarters. And these are pretty high operating margins for second and third quarters. But for Australia, it's the reverse on their quarters. So their stronger quarters are first and fourth.

Thomas C. Gallagher

Analyst

They're in the southern hemisphere and have the flip in terms of the seasonality.

Michael Montani - ISI Group Inc., Research Division

Analyst

Sure. So seasonality has an impact. That's helpful. And maybe the last one, which is for Tom, which is the industrial guidance of up 1% to 3% sort of versus the year-to-date trend seems to imply an assumption that the business could be up maybe in the 3% to 4% range in the next 2 quarters. Is there anything in particular that's driving that outlook, whether it be different initiatives that you have or a thought that inflation might pick up a bit? Or how are you guys looking at that outlook?

Thomas C. Gallagher

Analyst

I think we'd start with making the point that you may recall that at the end of the first 2 quarters last year, our industrial business was up 10%. And we ended the year up 7%. So we saw some deceleration in the second half of 2012. So the comps get a little easier. And then, I think, as I mentioned in my comments, some of the challenges that we have in the original equipment manufacturer segment, we're going to anniversary some of that, and here again, the comps get, I think, a little easier for us. And then we've got specific initiatives that are underway that we think could generate some incremental volume in the second half of the year. So it's a combination of factors.

Operator

Operator

Your next question comes from the line of Chris Horvers from JPMorgan. Christopher Horvers - JP Morgan Chase & Co, Research Division: Following up on a couple of questions. So first in the auto business, on the DIY side, you mentioned the business was up low single-digits in the quarter. Is that a comp number or does that include maybe 100 basis points for the extra -- the Easter shift? Is that the right way to think about it? And then, as you think about it going forward, how do you think about the growth in this business? Clearly, spring got pulled forward last year out of the second quarter. You would think you would get a lift here in the second quarter of it just going back. Do you think sort of plus low single-digits is the right trend for the back half of the year in DIY?

Paul D. Donahue

Analyst

So Chris, your first question was around the impact of Easter and was that a comp number or did Easter have an impact on our retail number. The way I'm looking at our retail business, Chris, we had a nice bounce back in Q2. And whether that's because Easter was in Q1, it's hard to determine. But I do know this, our retail business rebounded nicely in Q2. And we have a number of initiatives in the works that I do believe are beginning to take hold. And there's no reason to believe that we shouldn't continue that retail growth in Q3 and Q4. Again, we have a number of initiatives in the works and I'm excited with what the team is doing and we're pleased with what we're seeing.

Thomas C. Gallagher

Analyst

Paul, if I could add to it. Chris, if we look at our retail business, both ticket count and basket size across the 3 months in the quarter, there was a pretty consistent performance on a per day basis across the 3 months in the quarter. So I think that would suggest that maybe we did get to benefit in April from the Easter transition year-over-year. But the May and June numbers, I think, would validate a bit of what Paul is saying and that is the retail business is better. It's not booming by any stretch. But it's better than what it was and we're encouraged by what our team has accomplished on a monthly basis over the course of the quarter. Christopher Horvers - JP Morgan Chase & Co, Research Division: Perfect. And then, on the brakes side, does it -- can you maybe put some frame out how much is brakes in the NAPA business? What was it down? And did it flip to positive in the second quarter and grow as you talk about the momentum in the business improving throughout the quarter?

Thomas C. Gallagher

Analyst

I might take the first stab at that, Chris. We don't break out the volumes or percentage of the total volume on any of the product categories. I suggest we just leave it that it's a significant product category for anybody that's in the automotive aftermarket. And in terms of the relative performance, I think the industry was probably down in the brake category this year. And our numbers, if they're indicative of what's happening in the industry is probably a positive through the first half of this year, certainly, we are. Christopher Horvers - JP Morgan Chase & Co, Research Division: Okay. And then jumping back to a prior question. So on the Motion side, the compares do get a lot easier as you look at -- into the fourth quarter in getting back to positive. Is that something that's more weighted to later in the year, more of the fourth quarter versus the third quarter as you think about your annual guidance?

Thomas C. Gallagher

Analyst

Yes. I think we would expect the fourth quarter to be a bit heavier -- a bit better than the third quarter, at least the way we see it right now.

Operator

Operator

Your next question comes from the line of John Lovallo from Bank of America.

John Lovallo - BofA Merrill Lynch, Research Division

Analyst

First question would be, I guess, kind of a housekeeping, if you will. The other revenue line, kind of the offset line for discounts and incentives, seem to be running quite a bit higher than it has over the past several quarters. What's really driving that?

Carol B. Yancey

Analyst

The increase in that is GPC Asia Pacific. So the sales discounts that we have to show, by putting in their revenue, we had to show the offset on that line. So it's entirely related to GPC Asia Pacific. So the run rate that you see for this quarter will probably be the way that it is for the rest of the year.

John Lovallo - BofA Merrill Lynch, Research Division

Analyst

Great. That's helpful. And then, on the auto side, are there other assets, distribution assets globally that may make sense for you guys? I mean, are there potential acquisitions that are coming to the market or in the market right now?

Thomas C. Gallagher

Analyst

It very well may. And we're always open to having any discussion. At the end of the day, it's going to really come down to does it make sense for the shareholders of Genuine Parts Company? But yes, we'd be open to continue to have discussions with folks.

John Lovallo - BofA Merrill Lynch, Research Division

Analyst

Great. Helpful. And the final question would be on the raw material prices seem to continue to kind of trend lower here. Where in the value chain does this get captured? I mean, do you guys see any benefit from kind of lower input costs?

Thomas C. Gallagher

Analyst

Well, the input costs would affect our supply base more than they would us. If, in fact, we see sustained lower input cost, that should theoretically translate into reduced purchase prices and enable us to pass on lower prices to our customers as well.

Operator

Operator

Your next question comes from the line of Keith Hughes from SunTrust.

Keith B. Hughes - SunTrust Robinson Humphrey, Inc., Research Division

Analyst

I'm still a little confused on the guidance. The previous range, does it include the full $0.22 of the issue we're talking about here in the second quarter?

Thomas C. Gallagher

Analyst

Keith, we could not quantify precisely what the gain was going to be. We knew there would be a gain. And as I mentioned, we had a range. And when we gave the guidance at the time, we tried to pick what we thought would most closely approximate what actually turned out to be the gain. And we came pretty close in the final analysis. So yes, it includes it. And then, as Carol said, you need to back out from that the 30% equity stake that we had when we set up the guidance for the full year.

Keith B. Hughes - SunTrust Robinson Humphrey, Inc., Research Division

Analyst

What EPS number is that?

Thomas C. Gallagher

Analyst

I don't have that here but I'd...

Carol B. Yancey

Analyst

We didn't give that out. So that was just in our number.

Thomas C. Gallagher

Analyst

I think, if you want really a lot more of the detail, what might make the most sense is if you'll call Sid after this call. He'll be happy to try to walk you through it.

Keith B. Hughes - SunTrust Robinson Humphrey, Inc., Research Division

Analyst

Yes, please. That would be helpful. So I think it looks like, in the back half of the year, you're going to be up low single-digits in terms of EPS. And you gave us the guidance on the revenues by segment, which I average out, it'd be low single-digits, so I assume you're assuming no margin changes despite the weaker forecast on automotive business. Is that fair to say?

Carol B. Yancey

Analyst

Well, what we're trying to say is that we'd like to have margin improvement. And you may see that on the automotive side, that if on the nonautomotive we don't have the top line growth, you may not have that. So it's -- we would say that margins would be relatively flat to up slightly and that's what we're trying to accomplish.

Thomas C. Gallagher

Analyst

Keith, one other comment on the EPS improvement. Just keep in mind that we did have the onetime curtailment gain, the pension curtailment gain in Q4 of last year. And that was $0.09 a share. So take that into consideration as you build your model.

Operator

Operator

Your next question comes from the line of Bret Jordan from BB&T Capital Markets. Bret David Jordan - BB&T Capital Markets, Research Division: Quick question. As we look at Exego, sort of in a year-over-year standpoint, how did it comp in the quarter, just carving out that Australian business separately?

Thomas C. Gallagher

Analyst

Well, we don't break out the individual units. But I think Paul mentioned that they performed right at expectation for us in the quarter. So they did a good job. Bret David Jordan - BB&T Capital Markets, Research Division: Okay. And then, I guess, in North America, are you seeing any shift in maintenance versus failure parts demand? Are you seeing any reduction in maintenance deferral as we're getting into 2013 middle of the year?

Thomas C. Gallagher

Analyst

Well, I don't know if I'd refer to it as reduction in maintenance deferral. But we do know, based upon Paul's comments, that our major account and our AutoCare business both enjoyed good solid growth, which would suggest perhaps that we're getting some of that repair that's been hanging out there.

Paul D. Donahue

Analyst

I think, Bret, that's indicative of both categories. I mentioned we had a very strong quarter in our battery business on the failure side, but we also saw nice comeback in our brakes business. Bret David Jordan - BB&T Capital Markets, Research Division: Okay. And then, one last question. I guess not to get too granular, but you mentioned that the business improved as the quarter progressed. And regionally, the Eastern and Midwestern markets that were tough last year were showing improvement. But I guess, if you look at that Atlanta to New England market in June, you certainly had a historically wet month. Do you think you lost anything to the weather in the latter part of the quarter? Or was that really not an impact?

Paul D. Donahue

Analyst

No. It's interesting, Bret, because I recently read where the month of June across the country was the warmest in many years, but it was also the wettest. And our business in the South and certainly the Mid-Atlantic areas just got pounded with rain in the months. So again, it's difficult to quantify but I have to believe it had an impact on business because people just aren't getting out and working on their cars and visiting the retail stores. So your comments are, I think, dead on.

Operator

Operator

We have time for one last question from the line of Brent Rakers from Wunderlich Securities.

Anjali R. Voria - Wunderlich Securities Inc., Research Division

Analyst

This is actually Anjali Voria for Brent today. If I could just ask a couple of questions on industrial. I think you mentioned earlier your top 10 industry segments, excluding the OEM side, are actually up mid single-digits. I'm curious as to how they performed in Q1, if it accelerated or decelerated from Q1 levels excluding OEM? And whether maybe some of your broad line initiatives are helping these numbers? Outside of your core power transmission fluid power, is your broad line initiative ramping up here? Maybe you could talk about that a little bit.

Thomas C. Gallagher

Analyst

Sure. We'll take the first part of the question first. And we did see sequential improvement from Q1 to Q2. I think, in my comments, I mentioned that we're up mid single-digit in the second quarter in those industry segments, and we were up low single-digit or up low single digit year-to-date. So we did see some sequential improvement. As far as any specific initiatives, we would prefer not to get into those on the call. But I would say that we do have specific initiatives trying to continue to drive revenue in all of the customer categories that we have, as well as all product categories that we have. So that's a significant area of emphasis for us right now.

Anjali R. Voria - Wunderlich Securities Inc., Research Division

Analyst

Okay. Did you see any difference in performance in various geographic regions, such as maybe Canada or the Gulf or other parts of the country that saw some variability?

Thomas C. Gallagher

Analyst

I don't think we could say specific differences geographically due to any geographic regions. We would see differences geographically, depending upon how closely aligned they are to some of these OEM customers that I referenced in my comments.

Anjali R. Voria - Wunderlich Securities Inc., Research Division

Analyst

Okay. On the Office side, I think you noted sequestration as impacting some of the business there. I don't know if you've said in the past, but what is your exposure to the government side or government exposure in your S.P. Richards business?

Thomas C. Gallagher

Analyst

Well, we don't have any direct exposure because we don't sell direct. We sell only through Office Products resellers. But it's that customer category that would have exposures. So we would have many, many customers that do business at different levels of government, they would do local, state, federal business. And that customer segment at all 3 levels is really being impacted currently.

Anjali R. Voria - Wunderlich Securities Inc., Research Division

Analyst

And when you look at the -- I know it's a little ways out, but I think the initial Depot-Max combination was approved by shareholders. How do you view the opportunity for wholesale in interim as they consolidate their business? And maybe how do you think things will shake out after the full consolidation is completed? Any thoughts on that?

Thomas C. Gallagher

Analyst

Well, what we would say is they're both good companies and they're both good customers to S.P. Richards. And I think, as a general statement, if there is overcapacity in the industry, at least at the store level, over the medium and longer term, this will be a good positive for the industry overall and for the companies that we're talking about specifically. As far as more direct impact, I think there are some pluses and some minuses at any combination like this. And certainly, in the very near term, there will probably be some redundant inventories that will be burned off and that might create some headwind to revenue growth. But there'll also be, I think, some opportunities for other customers to find ways to grow their business as we go through this process. And if, in fact, those customers are customers of S.P. Richards, that's a net positive for SPR.

Anjali R. Voria - Wunderlich Securities Inc., Research Division

Analyst

Okay. And just to jump back to industrial for a second here. When you look at how July has progressed and what the month-to-month progression look like during the quarter, do you have any thoughts on how that's shaking out?

Thomas C. Gallagher

Analyst

Well, as far as the second quarter, if we look at it on a per day basis, the month was fairly even as we worked our way through the month. At this point, I think it's too early to make any comments on the July numbers.

Operator

Operator

And that concludes the Q&A session. I will now turn it back over.

Carol B. Yancey

Analyst

We want to thank everybody for participating in this quarter's call. And we look forward to talking with you with our third quarter release. Thank you.

Operator

Operator

Thank you. This concludes today's conference call. You may now disconnect.