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DULUTH, Ga. — With a right-sized cost structure and a double-digit revenue upswing — including rather hefty gains on the used-vehicle side — Asbury Automotive Group enjoyed substantially stronger earnings in the second quarter.

The dealer group's net income climbed from $5.5 million in the year-ago period to $12.8 million in the most recent quarter, officials said Tuesday.

"While the pace of economic recovery remains uncertain, we have delivered consistent earnings growth. This is a result of Asbury's rapid response in better aligning its cost structure, as well as the continuing cost discipline our employees are demonstrating while capturing our share of an improved market," explained Charles Oglesby, president and chief executive officer at Asbury.

Asbury's income from continuing operations of $13.7 million was up from the $6.6 million reported in the second quarter of 2009.

Included in those year-ago results was $1.2 million (net of taxes) of non-core item expenses.

Quarterly revenue was $1.1 billion, compared with $936.8 million in the year-ago period. Used-vehicle revenue jumped from $241.3 million to $285.9 million, a more than 18-percent gain. Meanwhile, new-vehicle revenue came in at $587.7 million, an increase of more than 14 percent.

There was a slight decline in parts and service revenue, which dipped from $158.3 million to $157.7 million. F&I net revenue totaled $30.4 million, compared with $22.5 million.

"I am thrilled to report another quarter of consistent improvement in Asbury's performance. The increased sales and profitability resulted in second quarter income from continuing operations of 42 cents per diluted share versus 20 cents per diluted share a year ago," Oglesby noted.

"Gross profit increased across all four of our business lines in the second quarter," he continued. "In addition, we decreased SG&A as a percent of gross profit by 400 basis points."

Offering some additional commentary, Asbury senior vice president and chief financial officer Craig Monaghan shared: "To better support our improving operating performance, we continue to pursue process improvement initiatives to deliver sustainable growth. Our financial position continues to improve and, we believe, provides us with the flexibility we need going forward."