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BLOOMFIELD HILLS, Mich. — Penske Automotive Group reported double-digit improvement in several areas of its second-quarter performance, including a substantial gain in income from continuing operations attributable to common shareholders.

Specifically, Penske said that particular item totaled $29.2 million, up from $19.8 million in during the year-ago period.

The group enjoyed a 16.6-percent upswing in total revenue, which came in at $2.7 billion. Pushing the gains in revenue were stronger new and used retail unit sales, which improved 16.2 percent as they totaled 68,908 vehicles sold.

On the used side, there were 29,232 units sold, a 12-percent year-over-year increase. U.S. used-unit sales climbed 17.1 percent and internationally, Penske's used-retail sales improved 4.2 percent.

Meanwhile, the company's new-vehicle retail unit sales were at 39,676 vehicles, a 19.6-percent improvement from the second quarter of 2009.

In the U.S., they were up 20.5 percent, with Penske's international operations showing a 17.2-percent hike.

As far as same-store retail revenue, Penske said this reached $2.4 billion, a 13.3-percent uptick from a year ago. The U.S. total was 15.8-percent ahead of the year-ago period, while the international total was up 9 percent.

"The improving retail environment and our premium/luxury brand mix helped drive double-digit growth in units, revenue, income from continuing operations and earnings per share in the second quarter," stated Roger Penske, company chairman.

"Our new-vehicle unit sales outperformed industry sales in both the U.S. and the U.K., and we maintained a greater than one-to-one ratio of used-unit-to-new-unit sales in our international markets," Penske added. "Along with our strong operating performance, we have further reduced our leverage, resulting in a decrease in our long-term debt to capital ratio from 50 percent at the beginning of this year to 47 percent as of June 30."

Smart Operations

Looking at the company's smart USA segment of its business in the quarter, there were 2,040 vehicles wholesaled by smart USA. This marks a significant gain from the 956 units wholesaled in the first quarter.

"Recent sales activity and proactive management of current model-year inventory purchases has resulted in inventory levels more closely aligned with current market conditions," officials noted. "Based on the increase in sales in the second quarter, coupled with expense reduction efforts, the loss in the distribution segment improved to $0.02 per share in the second quarter compared to $0.04 in the first quarter."