O'Reilly Automotive quarterly earnings flat

NEW YORK, Feb 19 (Reuters) - Auto parts retailer O'Reilly Automotive Inc (ORLY.O: Quote, Profile, Research) said on Tuesday that quarterly earnings were essentially flat as sales and expenses rose in tandem.

Net profit was $40.6 million, or 35 cents per share, in the fourth quarter, compared to $40.4 million, or 35 cents per share, a year earlier.

Revenue rose 8.2 percent to $604 million, while costs of goods sold rose to $334 million from $309 million.

In January O'Reilly warned that same-store sales were lower than expected during the holiday shopping period because of a slower U.S. economy that had led consumers to defer discretionary maintenance on their vehicles. (Reporting by Chris Reiter, editing by Phil Berlowitz)