CHARLOTTE, N.C. -

Sonic Automotive said Tuesday that it not only enjoyed a rather robust fourth quarter, but closed the period with its most profitable month ever.

The company released quarterly and full-year earnings results Tuesday, and indicated that adjusted net income for the fourth quarter was $16.55 million, compared to an adjusted net loss of $7.24 million in the prior-year period.

Total revenues improved 17 percent to $1.84 billion.

“We are pleased with our operating results this quarter and proud of the way our dealerships are embracing our operating playbook best practices,” said Sonic president Scott Smith. “Sonic Automotive benefited from an improved automotive retail environment and our ongoing focus on growing our core business.

“We continued to see significant growth in new- and used-vehicle sales in both our domestic and our luxury/import dealerships as our eCommerce and other advertising strategies continued to take effect,” he continued. “We capped off a very successful quarter in December by having the most profitable month in the history of our company."

Breaking down some of the results, used-vehicle revenue climbed from $370.02 million in the fourth quarter of 2009 to $437.26 million in the most recent period. Used-vehicle volume climbed 17 percent.

"We are proud to be the used vehicle leader among the public franchised automobile dealer groups. Even with the double digit growth we’ve enjoyed for several years now, we believe significant future growth opportunities remain in this piece of our business as we continue to implement the more advanced stages of our strategy,” stated Jeff Dyke, executive vice president of operations at Sonic.

“The most exciting thing about the growth opportunities in new and used vehicles is the impact it has on the other areas of our business,” he added.

Meanwhile, new-vehicle revenue came in at $975.85 million, compared with $811.91 million in the fourth quarter of 2009. New-vehicle volume showed an 18-percent spike.

“The growth in our new-vehicle business easily outpaced the overall industry growth of 13.5 percent,” Dyke shared. “Our new vehicle retail revenue was up approximately 20 percent compared to the fourth quarter last year.

“We expect to see continued growth in this area as the industry continues its steady rebound and as we begin to introduce our new vehicle playbook in 2011,” he continued.

As far as parts and services, Sonic enjoyed an 8-percent year-over-year lift for revenue in this department during the fourth quarter. Specifically, parts and service revenue came in at $285.36 million, compared with $264.27 million in the year-ago period.

“Our parts and service business continued the growth trend that we’ve seen all year,” Dyke noted. “Our merchandising efforts, our focus on customer service, and the growth in our new and used vehicle business are helping us retain customers and grow our parts and service business."

Full-Year Results

As far as full-year 2010, Sonic saw total revenue hit $6.88 billion, compared with $6.06 billion in 2009. Adjusted net income was $51.48 million, compared with $32.22 million in the prior year.

Projections

Looking forward to the rest of 2011, Smith noted: “We expect to see continued steady growth in the automotive retailing sector. We are targeting 2011 new vehicle industry volume of 12.5 million units. We currently expect earnings per share from continuing operations of between $1.18 and $1.28 for the full year 2011.”