CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Sonic Automotive Inc. said Monday that its second-quarter net income rose 32 percent, boosted by a jump in overall vehicle demand.
The Charlotte, N.C.-based auto retailer earned $28.2 million, or 47 cents per share, for the three months ended June 30, up from $21.4 million, or 35 cents per share, in the same quarter last year.
Excluding a charge related to the repurchase of debt and a gain stemming from a tax-related settlement, the company posted an adjusted profit from continuing operations of 43 cents per share.
Total revenue rose 12 percent to $2.19 billion from $1.95 billion, as total vehicle sales grew 14 percent to $1.82 billion.
The results beat Wall Street predictions. Analysts, on average, expected earnings of 41 cents per share on $2.17 billion in revenue. They typically exclude one-time items from the comparison.
Its shares slipped 10 cents to $16.35 in morning trading Monday after trading as high as $16.74 earlier in the session. Its shares have traded in a 52-week range of $10.11 to $19.05.
Retail sales of new vehicles increased 21 percent to $1.18 billion, while fleet sales dropped 20 percent to $44.5 million. Used vehicle sales grew 4 percent to $550 million, while wholesale vehicle demand increased 6.9 percent.
The company sold a total of 36,026 new vehicles during the quarter up 19 percent from the same period last year. Used vehicle unit sales rose 2.7 percent to 27,528.
It was the second strong performance by a major U.S. retailer in a week.
Last week, the nation’s biggest auto retailer, AutoNation Inc. of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., reported a 9.3 percent rise in net income to $78.6 million, or 64 cents per share for the three-month period ended June 30. Its revenue rose 17 percent to $3.9 billion.
AutoNation, which owns 260 new-vehicle franchises in 15 states, said sales of new vehicles increased 29 percent in the quarter while used vehicle revenue rose 8 percent.
