Group 1 Automotive 7% After Q1 Earnings - CEO Touts Strength In UK Operations

Group 1 Automotive, Inc. GPI reported first-quarter adjusted earnings per share of $9.49, beating the Wall Street view of $9.38. 

Quarterly revenues of $4.471 billion outpaced the analyst consensus of $4.379 billion. Sales rose 8.2% year over year.

Net income from continuing operations for the current quarter was $147.4 million, a 7.2% decrease year over year.

Parts and service revenues of $576.2 million rose 5.1% year over year. U.K. total revenues of $824.8 million increased 4.7%.

“Our U.K. team rebounded nicely from the challenging fourth quarter of 2023, producing record quarterly revenues from parts and service and new vehicles, as well as increasing used vehicle sales volumes over 19% sequentially,” said Daryl Kenningham, Group 1’s President and Chief Executive Officer.

Total gross profit rose 2% year over year to $742.6 million. In the current quarter, the company successfully acquired and integrated dealership operations with total expected annual revenues of approximately $1.0 billion.

Group 1 Automotive disposed of six dealerships located in Beaumont, Texas. These dealerships generated approximately $260 million in annual revenues.

The company has $89.6 million remaining on its authorized common share repurchase program.

Price Action: GPI shares are trading higher by 6.6% to $298.10 at last check Wednesday.