Duluth-based Asbury Automotive Group, one of the nation's largest auto retailers, reported a hefty boost in profits for the second quarter as it sees a gradual economic recovery with more customers coming into car dealerships.
Asbury, whose business includes the Nalley Automotive dealerships in metro Atlanta, reported second quarter net income of $21.1 million, or 67 cents per diluted share, up from $14.2 million, or 43 cents a share, a year ago.
Revenue increased 11 percent to $1.2 billion in the quarter. New vehicle retail revenue was up 16 percent, while used vehicle retail revenue was up 7 percent.
"We feel like we're in a slow but ongoing economic recovery. There are times when it's choppy," said Asbury's chief executive Craig Monaghan.
"Generally speaking, we feel like we're headed in the right direction," he said.
The new car market is offering more fuel-efficient models and attractive lease and finance rates, said Asbury's chief operating officer Michael Kearney. Incentive offers are pushing the price of new models close to the cost of used late-year models, he added.
Kearney said the company has seen a strong influx of customers for both new and used cars. "We're seeing customers we haven't seen in a while," he said, adding he expects traffic to continue.
Monaghan said the company will continue to go after acquisitions, but in the last quarter, it walked away from two targets that didn't make economic sense.
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