OREANDA-NEWS. Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE: ABG), one of the largest automotive retail and service companies in the U.S., today reported adjusted income from continuing operations for the fourth quarter 2015 of $32.8 million, or $1.31 per diluted share, versus adjusted income from continuing operations in the fourth quarter 2014 of $31.4 million, or $1.07 per diluted share, a 22% increase per diluted share. The fourth quarter of 2015 benefited from a favorable tax rate of 37.2% versus 39.0% during the fourth quarter of 2014. Income from continuing operations for the fourth quarter 2015 included a $13.5 million pre-tax gain on divestitures, or $0.34 per diluted share.  Income from continuing operations for the fourth quarter 2014 included a $31.9 million pre-tax loss on extinguishment of long-term debt, or $0.66 per diluted share.  Net income for the fourth quarter 2015 was $41.1 million, or $1.64 per diluted share, compared to $11.8 million, or $0.40 per diluted share in the prior year period.  See attached reconciliation for reported adjustments related to both of these periods.

Fourth Quarter 2015 Operational Highlights (compared to the prior year period):

  • Total revenues increased 9% to $1.6 billion
  • New vehicle revenue up 9%; gross profit down 3%
  • Used vehicle retail revenue up 9%; gross profit was flat
  • Finance and insurance revenue up 13%
  • Parts and service revenue up 8%; gross profit up 9%
  • Total gross profit increased 6%
  • SG&A expense as a percent of gross profit increased 50 basis points to 70.5%
  • Income from operations increased 6%
  • Income from operations as a percentage of revenue was 4.2%

Strategic Highlights:

  • In October 2015, issued an additional $200 million of our 6.0% Senior Subordinated Notes due in 2024
  • Repurchased $44 million of common stock during Q4 and $304 million for the full year 2015
  • Sold two Nissan franchises, one VW franchise, and one Mazda franchise
  • In January 2016, the Board reset our total share repurchase authorization to $300 million

"Asbury is pleased to announce another record fourth quarter," said Craig Monaghan, Asbury's President and Chief Executive Officer. "We continue to execute our two-part strategy: to drive operational excellence and to deploy capital to its highest returns.  In 2015, we acquired dealerships representing over $160 million in annualized revenues, reduced our share count by approximately 13%, and grew income from operations 12%."

"We continued to experience margin pressure on both new and used vehicles in the fourth quarter," said Asbury's Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, David Hult. "Despite this margin pressure, our diversified business model enabled us to deliver same store gross profit growth as parts and service and F&I delivered a combined 8% growth."

For the year ended December 31, 2015, the Company reported adjusted income from continuing operations of $147.0 million, or $5.57 per diluted share, versus adjusted income from continuing operations for the full year 2014 of $131.5 million, or $4.37 per diluted share. See attached reconciliation for reported adjustments related to both of these periods.  Net income for the full year  2015 was $169.2 million, or $6.41 per diluted share, compared to $111.6 million, or $3.71 per diluted share in the prior year period.

The conference call will be today at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time and will also be simulcast live on the Internet.  The simulcast can be accessed by logging onto www.asburyauto.com or www.ccbn.com.  A replay will be available at these sites for 30 days.  In addition, a live audio of the call will be accessible to the public by calling (800) 768-6544 (domestic), or (785) 830-7990 (international); passcode - 312559.  Callers should dial in approximately 5 to 10 minutes before the call begins. A conference call replay will be available two hours following the call for seven days, and can be accessed by calling (888) 203-1112 (domestic), or (719) 457-0820 (international); passcode - 312559.