Exhibit 99.1
CSK Auto Corporation to Postpone Release of Fourth Quarter and Fiscal 2005 Financial Results
and Related Investor Call
PHOENIX, AZ, March 27, 2006 On March 27, 2006, CSK Auto Corporation (NYSE: CAO) announced the
postponement of its scheduling of a date for release of its fourth quarter and fiscal 2005
financial results and related investor call.
The postponement is being made to provide adequate time for the Company and the Audit Committee of
the Board of Directors of the Company to conduct a thorough review of certain accounting errors and
irregularities discovered in the course of the Companys ongoing assessment of internal control
over financial reporting required under Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and an
internal audit. The Audit Committee recently retained independent counsel, who, in turn, retained a
separate accounting firm, to conduct an investigation relative to the accounting errors and
irregularities.
Based on the Audit Committees preliminary understanding and inquiries, the accounting errors and
irregularities relate primarily to the Companys inventories and vendor allowances, as follows.
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In-Transit Inventory. The Company is investigating a potential overstatement of
approximately $27 million in its in-transit inventory. It appears that at least $20 million
of this inventory overstatement originated in periods prior to fiscal year 2002. |
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Other Inventory Accounts. The Company has identified certain costs included in
its inventory, a portion or all of which appear to be improper. The aggregate fiscal
year-end balances of these costs were approximately $13 million in fiscal 2001, $14 million
in fiscal 2002, $28 million in fiscal 2003, $32 million in fiscal 2004 and $25 million in
fiscal 2005. The effects of such improper costs on cost of sales by fiscal year, if any,
have not yet been determined. |
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Vendor Allowances. Certain vendor allowance receivables on the balance sheet at
the end of fiscal 2004 that were refunded or written off in fiscal 2005 are being
investigated. It appears that between approximately $4 million and $10 million of such
receivables may have resulted from errors or irregularities in prior periods. |
Although the Company has concluded that a restatement of its financial statements will be required,
additional inquiry and analysis needs to be conducted by the Company and the Audit Committee before
any conclusions are reached as to the time periods and amounts involved. In addition, there can be
no assurance that additional matters will not be identified that require further analysis relative
to their impact on previously issued financial statements or that the amounts involved and nature
and extent of the accounting errors and irregularities may not ultimately differ materially from
that described above. The Company will be evaluating whether any of the accounting errors and
irregularities were the result of one or more material weaknesses in its internal control over
financial reporting in addition to those previously reported in its fiscal 2004 Form 10-K. Although
the Company and the Audit Committee have not completed the evaluation of internal
control over
financial reporting for fiscal 2005, it is likely that the Company and its independent registered
public accounting firm will conclude that the Companys internal controls continue to be
ineffective as of January 29, 2006.
The Company has concluded that (i) its financial statements as of January 30, 2005 and February 1,
2004, and for each of the three fiscal years in the period ended January 30, 2005, (ii) its
selected consolidated financial
data for each of the five years in the period ended January 30, 2005, and (iii) its interim
financial information for each of its quarters in fiscal 2003 and fiscal 2004 included in its Form
10-K for the fiscal year ended January 30, 2005, and its interim financial statements included in
its Forms 10-Q filed for the fiscal year ended January 29, 2006, should no longer be relied upon.
Nevertheless, the Company believes that the above-described accounting errors and irregularities
will have no impact on the Companys reported sales or overall historical cash flows and should
have no impact on its ability to honor its contractual commitments or operate its business in the
ordinary course.
In light of the potential impacts of the accounting errors and irregularities on fiscal 2005
periods, the Company is unable to schedule the release of its fourth quarter or full year fiscal
2005 operating results at this time; however, based on its understanding to date, the Company
believes that its net income for the first three quarters of fiscal 2005 will not be negatively
impacted. Sales (on a stand-alone basis, excluding the newly acquired Murrays Discount Auto
Stores) for the fourth quarter continued to be disappointing, with approximately flat comparable
store sales, consisting of a decline of 2% in retail same store sales and an increase of 9% in
commercial same store sales. The Company expects to report free cash flow (cash flow from
operations less capital expenditures) in excess of its prior projections for fiscal 2005.
The Company will file with the Securities and Exchange Commission its restated annual financial
statements and current year interim financial statements as soon as reasonably practicable. The
Company will announce the date of its earnings release and conference call at a later date.
Portions of this release may constitute forward-looking statements as defined by federal law.
Although the Company believes any such statements are based on reasonable assumptions, there is no
assurance that actual outcomes will not be materially different. Any such statements are made in
reliance on the safe harbor protections provided under the Private Securities Litigation Reform
Act of 1995. Additional information about issues that could lead to material changes in the
Companys performance is contained in the Companys filings with the Securities and Exchange
Commission.
CSK Auto Corporation is the parent company of CSK Auto, Inc., a specialty retailer in the
automotive aftermarket. As of January 29, 2006, the Company operated 1,273 stores in 22 states
under the brand names Checker Auto Parts, Schucks Auto Supply, Kragen Auto Parts and Murrays Auto
Parts Stores.
Investor Contact: Brenda Bonn Manager, Investor Relations 602-631-7483
Media Contact: Ashton Partners Mike Banas 312-553-6704