LKQ 4Q results miss Wall Street's view; 2015 profit outlook below analysts' expectations

LKQ's fourth-quarter performance missed Wall Street expectations, hindered in part by declining scrap prices and currency devaluations.

The vehicle components company also provided a 2015 profit forecast below analysts' estimates.

Its stock slid more than 12 percent in Thursday afternoon trading.

LKQ Corp. earned $80.5 million, or 26 cents per share, for the period ended Dec. 31. That compares with $77.9 million, or 26 cents per share, a year earlier.

The results missed Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of 32 cents per share.

The Chicago company's revenue increased to $1.68 billion from $1.32 billion in the prior-year period, but missed Wall Street forecasts. Analysts expected $1.69 billion, according to Zacks.

For the year, the company reported a profit of $381.5 million, or $1.25 per share. Revenue was reported as $6.74 billion.

LKQ expects 2015 earnings to be $1.36 to $1.46 per share. Analysts predict earnings of $1.95 per share, according to a FactSet survey.

The company also announced that Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer John Quinn is going to become CEO and managing director of its European operations. Dominick Zarcone will succeed Quinn, effective at the end of next month. Zarcone most recently served as chief financial officer and managing director for investment bank Robert W. Baird.

Shares of LKQ tumbled $3.58, or 12.8 percent, to $24.28 in afternoon trading. The stock dropped to $22.90 earlier in the session, its lowest point in more than a year.

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Elements of this story were generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on LKQ at http://www.zacks.com/ap/LKQ

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Keywords: LKQ, Earnings Report