(Reuters) - AutoZone Inc , the largest U.S. auto parts retailer, reported better-than-expected quarterly profit, helped by higher sales volumes and lower promotion costs. For the second quarter ended February 14, net income was $115.9 million, or $2.03 per share, compared with $106.7 million, or $1.67 per share, a year earlier. Net sales rose 8 percent to $1.45 billion.
Analysts on average were expecting earnings of $1.85 per share, before special items, on revenue of $1.38 billion, according to Reuters Estimates.
Shares of the company, which opened 20 new stores in the United States, were up 5 percent at $147 in trading before the bell. They closed at $140.03 Monday on the New York Stock Exchange.
(Reporting by Bhaswati Mukhopadhyay in Bangalore; Editing by Anil D'Silva)
