Group 1 Automotive Announces Record Second Quarter 2021 Financial Results

HOUSTON, July 29, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE: GPI), ("Group 1" or the "Company"), an international, Fortune 500 automotive retailer, today reported record second quarter 2021 financial results. 

Second quarter 2021 net income per diluted share was an all-time quarterly record of $10.35, a 533.9 percent increase from $1.63 per diluted share as reported for second quarter 2020.  Second quarter 2021 adjusted net income per diluted share (a non-GAAP measure) was $10.31, a 173.6 percent increase from $3.77 per diluted share as reported for second quarter 2020.  Second quarter 2021 net income was $191.0 million, a 532.9 percent increase compared to net income of $30.2 million in the same period of 2020.  Second quarter 2021 adjusted net income (a non-GAAP measure) was $190.2 million, a 173.2 percent increase compared to adjusted net income of $69.6 million for the same period of 2020.  The Company's second quarter 2021 total revenues were $3.7 billion, a 73.6 percent increase compared to total revenues of $2.1 billion in the same period of 2020. 

Second quarter 2021 adjusted net income and diluted earnings per share excluded net after-tax adjustments totaling $0.8 million, or $0.04 per common share. The adjustments consist of gains on dealership and real estate transactions and a tax benefit related to the revaluation of deferred tax items in the U.K., partially offset by a non-cash loss associated with certain interest rate swaps due to decreased vehicle inventory levels. Second quarter 2020 adjusted net income and diluted earnings per share excluded net after-tax adjustments of $39.4 million, or $2.13 per share, primarily related to non-cash asset impairment charges, out-of-period adjustments to accelerate stock-based compensation expense, loss on debt extinguishment and severance costs. Reconciliations of non-GAAP financial measures are included in the attached financial tables. Certain disclosures may not compute due to rounding.

"Although the new vehicle supply disruption continues to impact our vehicle sales volume in all three of our markets, our operating teams continue to navigate this challenge with great success," said Earl J. Hesterberg, Group 1's President and Chief Executive Officer. "Our aftersales business is recovering extremely well, and our cost control has been outstanding."

Consolidated Operating Highlights for Second Quarter 2021 (year-over-year comparable basis)

Reported:

• Total revenues increased 73.6 percent, to $3.7 billion. Total gross profit increased 84.3 percent, to $661.3 million.
• New vehicle revenues increased 74.6 percent, as units sold increased 62.0 percent. New vehicle gross profit per retail unit (PRU) increased 59.9 percent, to $3,853.
• Used vehicle retail revenues increased 86.5 percent, as units increased 47.4 percent. Used vehicle retail gross profit PRU increased 59.9 percent, to $2,425.
• Parts and service gross profit increased 44.5 percent, on a 39.1 percent increase in revenue.
• Finance and Insurance (F&I) gross profit PRU increased 8.0 percent, to $1,832.
• Selling, General and Administrative (SG&A) expenses as a percentage of gross profit decreased 913 basis points, to 57.0 percent. Adjusted SG&A expenses (a non-GAAP measure) as a percentage of gross profit decreased 573 basis points, to 57.1 percent.

Same Store on a Constant Currency Basis (a non-GAAP measure):

• Total revenues increased 70.6 percent. Total gross profit increased 81.6 percent.
• New vehicle gross profit increased 156.2 percent, as units increased 62.4 percent. New vehicle gross profit PRU increased 57.8 percent.
• Used vehicle retail gross profit increased 130.7 percent, as units increased 48.8 percent. Used vehicle retail gross profit PRU increased 55.0 percent.
• Parts and service gross profit increased 41.6 percent.
• F&I gross profit PRU increased 6.8 percent.
• SG&A expenses as a percentage of gross profit decreased 880 basis points. Adjusted SG&A expenses as a percentage of gross profit decreased 548 basis points.

Share Repurchase Authorization

During the second quarter of 2021, the Company repurchased approximately 125,000 shares at an average price of $148.79, for a total of approximately $18.6 million.  The Company has approximately $150 million remaining on its Board authorized common stock share repurchase program. Future repurchases may be made from time to time, based on market conditions, legal requirements and other corporate considerations, in the open market or in privately negotiated transactions, and subject to Board approval and covenant restrictions.  While the Company's first priority for capital allocation remains M&A, it continues to be open to returning cash to shareholders in the form of both share repurchases and the increase of our quarterly dividend.

Corporate Development

As previously announced in July 2021, the Company acquired nine franchises in the U.K., which will contribute approximately $300 million in incremental annual revenues, and which increased the Company's U.K. portfolio count to 75 franchises.  Hesterberg added, "We believe this is an excellent time to expand our U.K. business.  Pent-up vehicle demand resulting from both Brexit and the pandemic should drive higher sales in the next several years."

Year-to-date, the Company has acquired 11 franchises, which are expected to generate $420 million in incremental annual revenues, and disposed of four franchises, which generated approximately $70 million in trailing-twelve-month revenues.

Second Quarter 2021 Earnings Conference Call Details

Group 1's senior management will host a conference call today at 10 a.m. ET to discuss the second quarter 2021 financial results. The conference call will be simulcast live on the Internet at group1auto.com, then click on 'Investor Relations' and then 'Events' or through this link: group1corp.com/events.  A webcast replay will be available for 30 days.

The conference call will also be available live by dialing in 15 minutes prior to the start of the call at:

A telephonic replay will be available following the call through May 6, 2021 by dialing:

ABOUT GROUP 1 AUTOMOTIVE, INC.

Group 1 owns and operates 188 automotive dealerships, 242 franchises, and 48 collision centers in the United States, the United Kingdom and Brazil that offer 32 brands of automobiles. Through its dealerships, the Company sells new and used cars and light trucks; arranges related vehicle financing; sells service contracts; provides automotive maintenance and repair services; and sells vehicle parts.

Investors please visit group1corp.com, group1auto.com, group1collision.com, acceleride.com, facebook.com/group1auto, and twitter.com/group1auto, where Group 1 discloses additional information about the Company, its business, and its results of operations.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, which are statements related to future, not past, events and are based on our current expectations and assumptions regarding our business, the economy and other future conditions. In this context, the forward-looking statements include statements regarding our goals, plans, and business strategy to repurchase shares of Group 1 common stock, our expectations regarding the reinstatement of our quarterly dividend as well as other statements, and may include words such as "expects," "anticipates," "intends," "plans," "believes," "seeks," "should," "foresee," "may" or "will" and similar expressions. While management believes that these forward-looking statements are reasonable as and when made, there can be no assurance that future developments affecting us will be those that we anticipate. Any such forward-looking statements are not assurances of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those set forth in the statements. These risks and uncertainties include, among other things, (a) board approval of future dividends, (b) general economic and business conditions, (c) the level of manufacturer incentives, (d) the future regulatory environment, (e) our ability to obtain an inventory of desirable new and used vehicles and the impact of supply chain disruptions which occur from time to time, (f) our relationship with our automobile manufacturers and the willingness of manufacturers to approve future acquisitions, (g) our cost of financing and the availability of credit for consumers, (h) our ability to complete acquisitions and dispositions and the risks associated therewith, (i) foreign exchange controls and currency fluctuations, (j) our ability to retain key personnel, (k) the impacts of COVID-19 on our business, (l) the impacts of any potential global recession, and (m) our ability to maintain vehicle margins, implement and maintain expense controls, and maintain sufficient liquidity to operate. For additional information regarding known material factors that could cause our actual results to differ from our projected results, please see our filings with the SEC, including our Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and Current Reports on Form 8-K. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements after the date they are made, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

NON-GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES, SAME STORE DATA, AND OTHER DATA

In addition to evaluating the financial condition and results of our operations in accordance with U.S. GAAP, from time to time our management evaluates and analyzes results and any impact on the Company of strategic decisions and actions relating to, among other things, cost reduction, growth, profitability improvement initiatives, and other events outside of normal, or "core," business and operations, by considering alternative financial measures not prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP. In our evaluation of results from time to time, we exclude items that do not arise directly from core operations, such as non-cash asset impairment charges, out-of-period adjustments, legal matters, gains and losses on dealership franchise or real estate transactions, and catastrophic events, such as hailstorms, hurricanes, and snow storms. Because these non-core charges and gains materially affect the Company's financial condition or results in the specific period in which they are recognized, management also evaluates, and makes resource allocation and performance evaluation decisions based on, the related non-GAAP measures excluding such items. This includes evaluating measures such as adjusted selling, general and administrative expenses, adjusted net income, adjusted diluted earnings per share, and constant currency. These adjusted measures are not measures of financial performance under U.S. GAAP, but are instead considered non-GAAP financial performance measures. Non-GAAP measures do not have definitions under U.S. GAAP and may be defined differently by, and not be comparable to similarly titled measures used by, other companies. As a result, any non-GAAP financial measures considered and evaluated by management are reviewed in conjunction with a review of the most directly comparable measures calculated in accordance with U.S. GAAP. We caution investors not to place undue reliance on such non-GAAP measures, but also to consider them with the most directly comparable U.S. GAAP measures.

In addition to using such non-GAAP measures to evaluate results in a specific period, management believes that such measures may provide more complete and consistent comparisons of operational performance on a period-over-period historical basis and a better indication of expected future trends. Our management also uses these adjusted measures in conjunction with U.S. GAAP financial measures to assess our business, including communication with our Board of Directors, investors, and industry analysts concerning financial performance. We disclose these non-GAAP measures, and the related reconciliations, because we believe investors use these metrics in evaluating longer-term period-over-period performance, and to allow investors to better understand and evaluate the information used by management to assess operating performance. The exclusion of certain expenses in the calculation of non-GAAP financial measures should not be construed as an inference that these costs are unusual or infrequent. We anticipate excluding these expenses in the future presentation of our non-GAAP financial measures.

In addition, we evaluate our results of operations on both an as reported and a constant currency basis. The constant currency presentation, which is a non-GAAP measure, excludes the impact of fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates. We believe providing constant currency information provides valuable supplemental information regarding our underlying business and results of operations, consistent with how we evaluate our performance. We calculate constant currency percentages by converting our current period reported results for entities reporting in currencies other than U.S. dollars using comparative period exchange rates rather than the actual exchange rates in effect during the respective periods. The constant currency performance measures should not be considered a substitute for, or superior to, the measures of financial performance prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP. The Same Store amounts presented include the results of dealerships for the identical months in each period presented in comparison, commencing with the first full month in which the dealership was owned by us and, in the case of dispositions, ending with the last full month it was owned by us. Same Store results also include the activities of our corporate headquarters.

Certain amounts in the financial statements may not compute due to rounding.  All computations have been calculated using unrounded amounts for all periods presented.

SOURCE: Group 1 Automotive, Inc.

Investor contacts:

Sheila Roth

Manager, Investor Relations

Group 1 Automotive, Inc.

713-647-5741 | [email protected]

Media contacts:

Pete DeLongchamps

Senior Vice President, Manufacturer Relations, Financial Services and Public Affairs

Group 1 Automotive, Inc.

713-647-5770 | [email protected]

or

Clint Woods

Pierpont Communications, Inc.

713-627-2223 | [email protected]