Penske Q4 revenue, net income set records

Penske Automotive Group Inc.'s fourth-quarter revenue set a record for any quarter, as net income reached a fourth-quarter high aided by soaring gross profits for new and used vehicles, finance and insurance and service and parts operations.

CEO Roger Penske said the performance stems from the auto retailer's diversified business mix and execution.

Pretax earnings from Penske's retail commercial trucks division jumped 69 percent and the group's ownership stake in Penske Transportation Solutions generated 62 percent higher income.

In December, Penske bought a BMW dealership in suburban Detroit that was part of 2021 auto retail and commercial truck acquisitions and new-point dealerships that it expects will add $1.3 billion in annual revenue.

In 2021, Penske opened six standalone used-vehicle CarShop stores, including two in the U.S. and four in the U.K. Penske has 23 CarShop locations and plans to have 40 stores by the end of next year.

Shares of Penske were up less than 1 percent on Wednesday, trading at $102.75 when the markets closed.

• Q4 revenue: $6.3 billion, up 8.3 percent from a year earlier.

• Q4 net income: $312.9 million, up 55 percent from a year earlier.

• Q4 adjusted income from continuing operations: $320.5 million, up 60 percent from a year earlier.

• Q4 vehicle sales: Penske sold 101,732 vehicles, new and used, down 6.7 percent. Penske didn't provide exact U.S. sales figures but said same-store U.S. new-vehicle sales dropped 17 percent and same-store U.S. used-vehicle sales rose 3 percent.

• Records: Fourth quarter and yearly records for revenue, pretax earnings, income from continuing operations and earnings per share.

• 2021 revenue: $25.55 billion, up 25 percent.

• 2021 net income: $1.19 billion, up 119 percent.

• 2021 adjusted income from continuing operations: $1.2 billion, up 128 percent.

• Ranking: Penske, of Bloomfield Hills, Mich., ranks No. 2 on Automotive News' list of the top 150 dealership groups based in the U.S., retailing 178,437 new vehicles in 2020. But, Lithia — the third-largest group in the country in 2020 — vaulted past Penske to become the second-largest retailer going forward with its April 2021 acquisition of the Suburban Collection.