Sonic reports higher Q3 adjusted profits; Asbury posts all-time record
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(Reuters) -- Sonic Automotive Inc, the third-largest U.S. dealership group, today reported a higher adjusted profit for the third quarter, helped by higher vehicle sales as well as lower costs.
Excluding one-time items, Sonic reported adjusted earnings of $21.3 million, or 40 cents per share, up from $19.4 million or 34 cents per share, a year earlier.
Net income during the third quarter fell to $10 million, or 21 cents per share, from 34 cents per share a year before. During the quarter, Sonic repurchased some senior notes, leading to a pre-tax charge of $18.5 million, or 19 cents per share.
The move simplified Sonic's capital structure and delayed its earliest debt maturity to 2018, the company said. Revenue rose 11.7 percent to nearly $2.2 billion.
Asbury posts record
Meanwhile, Asbury Automotive Group Inc. posted an all-time company record for profit from continuing operations.
Asbury posted a profit of 72 cents per share excluding one-time items.
Asbury, based in suburban Atlanta, reported net income for the quarter of $20.7 million, or 66 cents per diluted share, compared with $12.3 million, or 38 cents per diluted share a year earlier.
Quarterly revenue was $1.2 billion, up 14 percent, and in line with analyst expectations. For the first nine months of the year, revenue was $3.4 billion, up 11 percent.
"Operational excellence combined with disciplined spending produced these record results," Asbury CEO Craig T. Monaghan said in a statement.
The earnings performance tapped analysts' forecasts by 8 cents a share.
Sonic ranks No. 3 on the Automotive News list of the top 125 U.S. dealership groups with 2011 retail sales of 114,132 vehicles. Asbury ranks No. 7 on that list with 2011 retail sales of 68,770 vehicles.
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