Asbury Automotive Group(ABG) - 2024 Q4 - Annual Results

Financial Performance - Fourth quarter 2024 net income reached $129 million ($ 6.54 per diluted share), a 132% increase from $56 million ($ 2.70 per diluted share) in Q4 2023[2] - Full year 2024 net income was $430 million ($ 21.50 per diluted share), a 25% decrease compared to $603 million ($ 28.74 per diluted share) in the prior year[10] - Total adjusted EBITDA for the full year 2024 was $982 million, a 13% decrease from the prior year[13] - Net income for Q4 2024 was$ 128.8 million, a 132% increase from $55.5 million in Q4 2023[33] - Basic earnings per share increased by 142% to$ 6.58 in Q4 2024, compared to $2.72 in Q4 2023[33] - For the year ended December 31, 2024, net income was$ 430.3 million, a decrease of 37.6% compared to $683.6 million in 2023[48] - Diluted EPS for 2024 was$ 21.50, down from $32.60 in 2023, reflecting a decrease of 34.1%[48] Revenue Growth - Total revenue for Q4 2024 was an all-time record of$ 4.5 billion, representing an 18% growth year-over-year[5] - Total revenue for Q4 2024 was $4,504.5 million, an 18% increase from$ 3,811.7 million in Q4 2023[41] - New vehicle revenue increased by 19% to $2,457.1 million in Q4 2024, compared to$ 2,058.5 million in Q4 2023[41] - Used vehicle retail revenue rose by 14% to $1,098.9 million in Q4 2024, up from$ 965.8 million in Q4 2023[33] - Total consolidated revenue for the twelve months ended December 31, 2024, was $17,188.6 million, an increase from$ 14,802.7 million in the previous year, representing a growth of 15.9%[45] Profitability Metrics - Parts & Service gross profit for Q4 2024 was $340 million, a 19% increase, with same store Parts & Service gross profit growth of 11%[5] - Gross profit for Q4 2024 was$ 749.9 million, an 11% increase from $673.0 million in Q4 2023[33] - Overall gross profit for the company was maintained at 100% year-over-year[39] - The total gross profit margin decreased to 16.6% in Q4 2024 from 17.7% in Q4 2023, a decline of 101 basis points[41] - Segment operating income for the twelve months ended December 31, 2024, was$ 889.5 million, compared to $1,025.0 million in the previous year, reflecting a decrease of 13.2%[45] Expenses and Cost Management - Adjusted SG&A as a percentage of gross profit was 62.0%, showing improvement for two consecutive quarters[5] - Selling, general and administrative (SG&A) expenses for the three months ended December 31, 2024, were$ 476.9 million, compared to $410.5 million in the same period last year, an increase of 16.1%[47] - Selling, general and administrative (SG&A) expenses for 2024 totaled$ 1,888.5 million, representing 64.0% of gross profit, compared to 58.7% in 2023[48] Liquidity and Capital Management - As of December 31, 2024, the company had total liquidity of $828 million, including cash and availability under credit lines[14] - The company repurchased approximately 830,000 shares for$ 183 million in 2024, with $276 million remaining on its share repurchase authorization[15] - The adjusted long-term net debt as of December 31, 2024, was$ 2,796.9 million, a decrease from $2,870.6 million in the previous year[46] Vehicle Sales and Inventory - New vehicle unit volume increased by 18% in 2024, with new vehicle revenue increasing by 19%[11] - Days supply of new vehicle inventory decreased to 49 days as of December 31, 2024, down from 63 days as of September 30, 2024[36] - Used vehicle retail sales grew by 24.4%, while wholesale sales increased by 3.5%[39] - The used to new vehicle sales ratio decreased to 70.4% from 76.4% in the previous year[43] Market Trends - Total imports accounted for 40% of new vehicle sales, with domestic sales at 28%[39] - Luxury vehicle revenue growth: Lexus 10%, Mercedes 8%, BMW 3%, Land Rover 2%[39] - Total revenue from luxury brands reached 32% of overall sales, up from 34%[39]