Asbury Automotive Group reported fourth quarter net income of $60 million, or $3.10 per diluted share, down 53% from $129 million, or $6.54 per diluted share, in the prior year period. On an adjusted basis, which excludes non-cash asset impairments of $87 million, gains on divestitures of $26 million and certain implementation expenses, the company delivered adjusted net income of $129 million, or $6.67 per diluted share, a 10% decline year-over-year. Total revenue rose 4% to $4.7 billion, driven by a 3% increase in new vehicle sales and a 12% gain in parts and service revenue, while used vehicle retail revenue edged up 1% and finance and insurance per vehicle retailed reached $2,334.

Gross profit for the quarter increased 6% to $793 million, lifting gross margin by 31 basis points to 17.0%. On a same-store basis, revenue declined 6% to $4.0 billion and gross profit fell 5% to $683 million, though same-store margin improved by 26 basis points to 17.0%. Used vehicle retail gross profit on a same-store basis rose 4% despite a 10% revenue decline, and parts and service gross profit increased 2%. Selling, general and administrative expenses represented 66.7% of gross profit, or 65.3% on an adjusted basis, resulting in an adjusted operating margin of 5.4%.

During the quarter the company deployed $186 million in capital expenditures, divested four stores contributing $150 million of annualized revenue and repurchased 212,000 shares for $50 million. As of December 31, available liquidity totaled $927 million, including $180 million of cash and floorplan offsets and $747 million undrawn under credit facilities. The transaction-adjusted net leverage ratio stood at 3.2 times. For the full year the company acquired $2.9 billion in annualized revenue, repurchased 433,000 shares at a cost of $100 million and achieved record revenues of $18 billion with adjusted net income of $550 million.