Lithia Motors Reports Adjusted EPS of $1.42 for Fourth Quarter 2014 and $5.11 for Full Year 2014; Fourth Quarter Revenue Increases 75%
Lithia Motors Declares $0.16 per Share Dividend for Fourth Quarter
(firmenpresse) - MEDFORD, OR -- (Marketwired) -- 02/25/15 -- Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE: LAD) reported the highest fourth quarter and full year adjusted net income in Company history and increased adjusted net income from continuing operations 46% for the fourth quarter 2014 over the prior year period.
2014 fourth quarter adjusted net income from continuing operations was $37.5 million, or $1.42 per diluted share. This compares to 2013 fourth quarter adjusted net income from continuing operations of $25.7 million, or $0.98 per diluted share.
Unadjusted net income from continuing operations for the fourth quarter of 2014 was $41.1 million, or $1.55 per diluted share, compared to $27.2 million, or $1.03 per diluted share, for the fourth quarter of 2013. As shown in the attached non-GAAP reconciliation tables, the 2014 fourth quarter per share adjusted results from continuing operations exclude the following non-core items: a $0.02 charge for acquisition expenses; a $0.13 benefit related to the equity investment associated with the new market tax credit transaction; and a $0.02 benefit from a tax attribute. The 2013 fourth quarter per share adjusted results from continuing operations exclude the following non-core items: a $0.06 benefit for a gain on a sale of land; a $0.05 net benefit from non-core tax attributes; and a $0.06 expense related to an adjustment to a legal reserve associated with a lawsuit filed in 2006 and settled in 2013.
Fourth quarter 2014 revenue from continuing operations increased $768 million, or 75%, to $1.8 billion from $1.0 billion for the fourth quarter of 2013.
Total same store sales increased 14%
New vehicle same store sales increased 12%
Used vehicle retail same store sales increased 16%
Service, body and parts same store sales increased 12%
Same store F&I per unit increased $46 to $1,214
Adjusted SG&A expense as a percentage of gross profit was 70.3% (includes DCH)
For the full year of 2014, revenue from continuing operations increased 35% to $5.4 billion from $4.0 billion in 2014.
Total same store sales increased 12%
New vehicle same store sales increased 11%
Used vehicle retail same store sales increased 15%
Service, body and parts same store sales increased 11%
Same store F&I per unit increased $83 to $1,205
Adjusted SG&A expense as a percentage of gross profit was 67.7% (includes DCH)
"We had a strong finish to 2014," said Bryan DeBoer, President and CEO. "Our store leaders responded to shifting market dynamics to deliver solid results. We grew overall revenue 35% for the year and the DCH integration is progressing well. We achieved our second earnings per share milestone by exceeding $5.00 per share in 2014 and see a clear path to achieving $6.00 per share. We also have established a fourth milestone objective of $7.00 per share."
For the full year of 2014, adjusted net income per diluted share from continuing operations increased 28% to $5.11 from $3.99 for the full year of 2013. Unadjusted, net income from continuing operations was $5.14 per diluted share for the full year of 2014, compared to $4.02 per diluted share for the full year of 2013.
Chris Holzshu, SVP and CFO, said, "We finished 2014 with adjusted SG&A as a percentage of gross profit at 67.7%. The fourth quarter of 2014 was at 70.3% due to the impact of the DCH stores on our overall result. We target SG&A as a percentage of gross profit to continue to improve as we integrate the 36 stores added in 2014. For the full year, incremental throughput, or the percentage of additional same store gross profit dollars that we retain after deducting incremental selling costs, was 42.9%. Our stores remain focused on maintaining incremental throughput of 45% to 50%, which will continue to lever our SG&A expense going forward."
In January 2015, Lithia opened Subaru of Clearlake, Texas. The store is a new franchise we were awarded from Subaru. We estimate the store will contribute $45 million in annual revenues.
Bryan DeBoer, President and CEO, stated, "We significantly increased the size of Lithia in 2014, adding annualized revenues in excess of $2.7 billion. We acquired 35 stores and opened one franchise in 2014, and are pleased to have already opened a new store in the Houston, Texas market with Clearlake Subaru. The acquisition market remains active and we continue to seek domestic, import and luxury franchises in cities ranging from mid-sized regional markets to metropolitan markets across the United States."
We ended the fourth quarter with $30 million in cash and $70 million in available credit on our credit facilities. Additionally, approximately $146 million of our operating real estate is currently unfinanced, which could provide an estimated additional $109 million in available liquidity, for total potential liquidity of $209 million.
Our Board of Directors has approved a dividend of $0.16 per share related to fourth quarter 2014 financial results. We will pay the dividend March 27, 2015 to shareholders of record on March 13, 2015.
We project 2015 first quarter earnings of $1.18 to $1.21 per diluted share and 2015 full year earnings of $5.95 to $6.05 per diluted share. Both projections are based on the following annual assumptions:
Total revenues of $7.5 to $7.7 billion
New vehicle sales increasing 41.5%
New vehicle gross margin of 5.9% to 6.1%
Used vehicle sales increasing 36.5%
Used vehicle gross margin of 12.3% to 12.5%
Service body and parts sales increasing 41.0%
Service body and parts gross margin of 48.4% to 48.6%
Finance and insurance gross profit of $1,150 per unit
Tax rate of 40%
Average diluted shares outstanding of 26.5 million
Full year capital expenditures are $120 million
Total revenues of $5.2 to $5.4 billion
New vehicle same store sales increasing 7.0%
Used vehicle same store sales increasing 10.5%
Service body and parts same store sales increasing 8.5%
Finance and insurance gross profit of $1,200 per unit
These projections exclude the impact of future acquisitions, dispositions and non-core items. Actual results may be affected by items described under Forward-Looking Statements below.
The fourth quarter conference call may be accessed at 10:00 a.m. ET today by telephone at 877-407-8029. An updated presentation highlighting the fourth quarter results has been added to .
To listen live on our website or for replay, visit and click on webcasts.
Lithia Motors, Inc. is one of the largest automotive retailers in the United States. Lithia sells 30 brands of new vehicles and all brands of used vehicles at 130 stores in 14 states. Lithia also arranges finance, warranty, and credit insurance contracts; and provides vehicle parts, maintenance, and repair services at all of its locations.
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This press release includes "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the "Safe-Harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward looking statements include statements regarding our goals, plans, projections and guidance regarding our financial position, results of operations, market position, pending and potential future acquisitions and business strategy, and often contain words such as "project," "outlook," "expect," "anticipate," "intend," "plan," "believe," "estimate," "may," "seek," "would," "should," "likely," "goal," "strategy," "future," "maintain," "continue," "remain," "target" or "will" and similar references to future periods. Examples of forward-looking statements in this press release include, among others, statements regarding:
Future market conditions;
Expected operating results, such as improved store performance, maintaining incremental throughput between 45% and 50%, generating earnings per share of $6.00 and all projections set forth under the heading "2015 Outlook";
The increase in our annual revenues that we estimate will result from the dealership that we acquired as set forth under the heading "Corporate Development";
Anticipated availability of liquidity from our unfinanced operating real estate; and
Anticipated levels of capital expenditures in the future.
By their nature, forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties because they relate to events that depend on circumstances that may or may not occur in the future. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance, and our actual results of operations, financial condition and liquidity and development of the industry in which we operate may differ materially from those made in or suggested by the forward-looking statements in this press release. The risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from estimated or projected results include, without limitation, future economic and financial conditions (both nationally and locally), changes in customer demand, our relationship with, and the financial and operational stability of, vehicle manufacturers and other suppliers, risks associated with our indebtedness (including available borrowing capacity, compliance with financial covenants and ability to refinance or repay indebtedness on favorable terms), government regulations, legislation and others set forth throughout Part II, Item 7. Management''s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations and in Part I, Item 1A. Risk Factors of our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K, and from time to time in our other filings with the SEC. We urge you to carefully consider this information and not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. We undertake no duty to update our forward-looking statements, including our earnings outlook, which are made as of the date of this release.
This press release and the attached financial tables contain non-GAAP financial measures such as adjusted net income and diluted earnings per share from continuing operations, adjusted SG&A as a percentage of revenues and gross profit, adjusted operating margin, adjusted operating profit as a percentage of gross profit, and adjusted pre-tax margin. Non-GAAP measures do not have definitions under GAAP and may be defined differently by and not comparable to similarly titled measures used by other companies. As a result, we review any non-GAAP financial measures in connection with a review of the most directly comparable measures calculated in accordance with GAAP. We caution you not to place undue reliance on such non-GAAP measures, but also to consider them with the most directly comparable GAAP measures. We present cash flows from operations in the attached tables, adjusted to include the change in non-trade floor plan debt to improve the visibility of cash flows related to vehicle financing. As required by SEC rules, we have reconciled these measures to the most directly comparable GAAP measures in the attachments to this release. We believe the non-GAAP financial measures we present improve the transparency of our disclosures; provide a meaningful presentation of our results from core business operations, because they exclude items not related to core business operations and other non-cash items; and improve the period-to-period comparability of our results from core business operations. These presentations should not be considered an alternative to GAAP measures.
Contact:
John North
VP Finance and Controller
(541) 618-5748
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Datum: 25.02.2015 - 06:29 Uhr
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