Driven Brands, which owns Auto Glass Now, is reporting strong figures for its paint, collision and glass segment with the release of 2023 first-quarter highlights. According to the report, paint, collision and glass showed the most growth for the company in the first few months of 2023 with 31 new stores and same-store sales growth at 14%.
First-quarter highlights for Driven Brands, which acquired Auto Glass Now in January 2022, include revenue at $562 million, and net income at $30 million and $42 million when adjusted. That’s a 20% revenue increase over the same period last year, which the company attributes to same-store sales growth of 9% and net store growth at 7%. Net income, however, decreased 14% from the first quarter of 2022.
The company’s system-wide sales total came to $1.5 billion for the quarter, a 19% increase over last year. The paint, collision and glass segment accounted for 54% of system-wide sales in the first quarter of 2023, and 22% of total revenue. For comparison, the company’s maintenance sector accounted for 30% of system-wide sales and 41% of revenue. The paint, collision and glass segment also opened 10 more stores than maintenance, 31 and 21, respectively, in the first quarter of 2023.
CEO Jonathan Fitzpatrick told investors on an earnings call last week that the company made “significant progress” integrating its 10 auto glass acquisitions in the first quarter of 2023, creating a “glass platform” in the U.S.
“We’ve combined the best processes, procedures and technology to inform our standard operating model that is being rolled out across the entire footprint,” Fitzpatrick says. “Simultaneously, we have begun scaling our organic growth strategy, building on our position as the second largest player in the U.S. auto glass servicing category.”
Driven Brands and Auto Glass Now ended the first quarter with more than 200 locations and approximately 800 mobile units in the United States. According to Fitzpatrick, there’s even more to come in the remaining months of 2023.
“In addition to strong expected unit growth of almost 100 net new stores in fiscal 2023, store volume continues to increase as we see the early benefits of integration under the Auto Glass Now brand,” he says. “We couldn’t be more excited about the long-term potential of our U.S. glass business as we leverage the network benefits of the broader Driven Brands platform.”
Additionally, Driven Brands announced this week that Gary Ferrera has been appointed executive vice president and chief financial officer of Driven Brands effective Wednesday, May 10. Fitzpatrick calls Ferrera a “proven leader” with experience in mergers and acquisitions, and in leading financial teams.
“Gary is a proven leader who brings deep experience leading financial teams, a strong track record in successfully driving growth strategies and M&A expertise,” Fitzpatrick said. “We are very pleased to welcome Gary to the Driven team and I look forward to partnering with him as we continue to focus on execution, delivering results and enhancing value for our shareholders.”
According to a company news release, Ferrera has served as CFO for firms across multiple industries over the course of the past two decades. He holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Bentley University and an MBA in finance and strategy from the Kellogg School of Management.
