HOUSTON, Feb. 10, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE: GPI) ("Group 1" or the "Company"), an international, Fortune 300 automotive retailer with 202 dealerships located in the U.S. and U.K., today reported the highest fourth quarter revenue and earnings per share in company history.

"The record profits achieved in 2021 were a function of an agile management team responding to constant challenges created by the pandemic, along with a very powerful service operation and strong cost control," said Earl J. Hesterberg, Group 1's President and Chief Executive Officer.  "Despite these choppy operational waters, I am very pleased that we were able to dramatically increase the size of our company with the acquisition of $2.5 billion in additional annual revenues, while at the same time returning significant capital to our shareholders via share repurchases.  The acquisition of the Prime Auto Group in the northeastern U.S., along with the pending sale of our Brazilian operations, which is scheduled to close in Q2, puts us in a strong position to continue this type of flexible capital allocation in the year ahead."

Financial Reporting Revisions for Pending Disposition of Brazilian Operations

On November 12, 2021, the Company announced the expected disposition of its Brazilian operations. Until closing, the related assets, liabilities and operating results will be reported as discontinued operations and excluded from continuing operations for all periods presented. As a result of the transaction, the Company will no longer report Brazil as a separate reportable segment and will only present the remaining United States and United Kingdom reportable segments. Corporate-related overhead costs are recorded separately and included in consolidated continuing operations.  The sale is expected to result in a non-cash loss of $77.5 million, due to non-cash historical foreign exchange translation adjustments of $125.7 million recorded within Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income, which are required to be recognized in earnings upon sale of a foreign entity. The Brazilian Real ("BRL") to U.S. Dollar ("USD") foreign exchange rate devalued from the date of our original acquisition, from approximately $1 USD to $2 BRL in February 2013 to approximately $1 USD to $5 BRL in December 2021.

Fourth Quarter 2021 and Full Year 2021 Results Overview – Continuing and Discontinued Operations

Fourth quarter 2021 ("current quarter") and full year 2021 ("current year") net income were $87.1 million and $552.1 million, respectively. Current quarter and current year adjusted net income (a non-GAAP measure) were $171.7 million and $642.1 million, respectively. 

Current quarter and current year diluted earnings per common share were $4.84 and $30.11, respectively. Current quarter and current year adjusted diluted earnings per common share (a non-GAAP measure) were $9.54 and $35.02, respectively. 

Reconciliations for financial results, non-GAAP metrics, and diluted earnings per common share between continuing and discontinued operations are included in the accompanying financial tables. 

Fourth Quarter 2021 Results Overview – Continuing Operations

Current quarter total revenues were $3.5 billion, a 19.4% increase compared to total revenues of $2.9 billion for the fourth quarter of 2020 ("prior year quarter"). 

Current quarter net income from continuing operations was $163.2 million, a 65.2% increase compared to net income from continuing operations of $98.8 million for the prior year quarter.  Current quarter adjusted net income from continuing operations (a non-GAAP measure) was $169.9 million, a 64.8% increase compared to adjusted net income from continuing operations of $103.1 million for the prior year quarter.

Current quarter diluted earnings per common share from continuing operations was $9.06, a 69.0% increase over diluted earnings per common share from continuing operations of $5.36 for the prior year quarter.  Current quarter adjusted diluted earnings per common share from continuing operations (a non-GAAP measure) was an all-time quarterly record of $9.43, a 68.6% increase over adjusted diluted earnings per common share from continuing operations of $5.59 for the prior year quarter. Current quarter and prior year quarter adjusted diluted earnings per common share from continuing operations excludes adjusted diluted earnings per common share from discontinued operations of $0.10 and $0.07, respectively.

Full Year 2021 Results Overview — Continuing Operations

Current year total revenues were $13.5 billion, a 27.2% increase compared to total revenues of $10.6 billion for the full year 2020 ("prior year"). 

Current year net income from continuing operations was $625.4 million, a 110.8% increase compared to net income from continuing operations of $296.7 million for the prior year.  Full year 2021 adjusted net income from continuing operations (a non-GAAP measure) was $633.7 million, a 90.3% increase compared to adjusted net income from continuing operations of $333.0 million for the prior year.

Current year diluted earnings per common share from continuing operations was $34.11, a 112.3% increase over  diluted earnings per common share from continuing operations of $16.06 for the prior year. Current year adjusted net income per diluted common share from continuing operations (a non-GAAP measure) was $34.55, a 91.6% increase over adjusted diluted earnings per common share from continuing operations of $18.03 for the prior year.  Current year and prior year adjusted diluted earnings per common share from continuing operations excludes adjusted diluted earnings per common share from discontinued operations of $0.46 and $0.03, respectively.

Share Repurchase

During the current quarter, the Company repurchased 978,348 shares at an average price per common share of $196.20, for a total of $191.9 million.  During the current year, the Company repurchased 1,103,417 common shares, representing approximately 6.0% of the Company's outstanding common shares, at an average price of $190.82, for a total of $210.6 million.  The Company has $74.3 million remaining on its Board authorized common share repurchase program.  As of December 31, 2021, the Company had 17.2 million common shares outstanding.  Future repurchases may be made from time to time, based on market conditions, legal requirements, and other corporate considerations, in the open market or in privately negotiated transactions, and subject to Board approval and covenant restrictions.

Corporate Development - Fourth Quarter 2021

In October 2021, the Company acquired two dealerships in Texas and one in California, which are expected to generate approximately $235 million in annualized revenues.

In November 2021, the Company completed the purchase of substantially all the assets, including real estate, of 28 Prime Automotive Group dealerships (41 franchises) and three collision centers.  These stores are anticipated to generate $1.8 billion in annual revenues.  The Company also announced the pending sale of its Brazilian operations in November 2021.  This sale is scheduled to close in the second quarter of 2022. 

Corporate Development - Full Year 2021

In the current year, Group 1 has completed acquisitions representing an expected $2.5 billion of acquired annual revenues, inclusive of the activity noted above, growing the Company's portfolio by 58 franchises, and the Company also disposed of six franchises, which generated approximately $155 million in trailing-twelve-month revenues.  These transactions represent a net $2.3 billion of expected acquired annual revenues.

Fourth Quarter & Full Year 2021 Earnings Conference Call Details

Group 1's senior management will host a conference call today at 10 a.m. ET to discuss the fourth quarter & full year 2021 financial results. The conference call will be simulcast live on the Internet at group1auto.com, then click on 'Investor Relations' and then 'Events' or through this link: group1corp.com/events.  A webcast replay will be available for 30 days.

The conference call will also be available live by dialing in 15 minutes prior to the start of the call at:

A telephonic replay will be available following the call through February 17, 2022, by dialing:

ABOUT GROUP 1 AUTOMOTIVE, INC.

Group 1 owns and operates 202 automotive dealerships, 268 franchises, and 46 collision centers in the United States and the United Kingdom that offer 34 brands of automobiles. Through its dealerships, the Company sells new and used cars and light trucks; arranges related vehicle financing; sells service contracts; provides automotive maintenance and repair services; and sells vehicle parts.

Group 1 discloses additional information about the Company, its business, and its results of operations at www.group1corp.com, www.group1auto.com, www.group1collision.com, www.acceleride.com, www.facebook.com/group1auto, and www.twitter.com/group1auto.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, which are statements related to future, not past, events and are based on our current expectations and assumptions regarding our business, the economy and other future conditions. In this context, the forward-looking statements often include statements regarding our strategic investments, goals, plans, projections and guidance regarding our financial position, results of operations and business strategy, and often contain words such as "expects," "anticipates," "intends," "plans," "believes," "seeks," "should," "foresee," "may" or "will" and similar expressions. While management believes that these forward-looking statements are reasonable as and when made, there can be no assurance that future developments affecting us will be those that we anticipate. Any such forward-looking statements are not assurances of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those set forth in the statements. These risks and uncertainties include, among other things, (a) general economic and business conditions, (b) the level of manufacturer incentives, (c) the future regulatory environment, (d) our ability to obtain an inventory of desirable new and used vehicles, (e) our relationship with our automobile manufacturers and the willingness of manufacturers to approve future acquisitions, (f) our cost of financing and the availability of credit for consumers, (g) our ability to complete acquisitions and dispositions and the risks associated therewith, (h) foreign exchange controls and currency fluctuations, (i) the impacts of COVID-19 on our business, (j) the impacts of any potential global recession, (k) our ability to maintain sufficient liquidity to operate, (l) the risk that proposed transactions will not be consummated in a timely manner, and (m) our ability to successfully integrate recent and future acquisitions. For additional information regarding known material factors that could cause our actual results to differ from our projected results, please see our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and Current Reports on Form 8-K. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements after the date they are made, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

NON-GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES, SAME STORE DATA, AND OTHER DATA

In addition to evaluating the financial condition and results of our operations in accordance with U.S. GAAP, from time to time our management evaluates and analyzes results and any impact on the Company of strategic decisions and actions relating to, among other things, cost reduction, growth, profitability improvement initiatives, and other events outside of normal, or "core," business and operations, by considering alternative financial measures not prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP. In our evaluation of results from time to time, we exclude items that do not arise directly from core operations, such as non-cash asset impairment charges, out-of-period adjustments, legal matters, gains and losses on dealership franchise or real estate transactions, and catastrophic events, such as hailstorms, hurricanes, and snow storms. Because these non-core charges and gains materially affect the Company's financial condition or results in the specific period in which they are recognized, management also evaluates, and makes resource allocation and performance evaluation decisions based on, the related non-GAAP measures excluding such items. This includes evaluating measures such as adjusted selling, general and administrative expenses, adjusted net income, adjusted diluted earnings per share, and constant currency. These adjusted measures are not measures of financial performance under U.S. GAAP, but are instead considered non-GAAP financial performance measures. Non-GAAP measures do not have definitions under U.S. GAAP and may be defined differently by, and not be comparable to similarly titled measures used by, other companies. As a result, any non-GAAP financial measures considered and evaluated by management are reviewed in conjunction with a review of the most directly comparable measures calculated in accordance with U.S. GAAP. We caution investors not to place undue reliance on such non-GAAP measures, but also to consider them with the most directly comparable U.S. GAAP measures.

In addition to using such non-GAAP measures to evaluate results in a specific period, management believes that such measures may provide more complete and consistent comparisons of operational performance on a period-over-period historical basis and a better indication of expected future trends. Our management also uses these adjusted measures in conjunction with U.S. GAAP financial measures to assess our business, including communication with our Board of Directors, investors, and industry analysts concerning financial performance. We disclose these non-GAAP measures, and the related reconciliations, because we believe investors use these metrics in evaluating longer-term period-over-period performance, and to allow investors to better understand and evaluate the information used by management to assess operating performance. The exclusion of certain expenses in the calculation of non-GAAP financial measures should not be construed as an inference that these costs are unusual or infrequent. We anticipate excluding these expenses in the future presentation of our non-GAAP financial measures.

In addition, we evaluate our results of operations on both an as reported and a constant currency basis. The constant currency presentation, which is a non-GAAP measure, excludes the impact of fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates. We believe providing constant currency information provides valuable supplemental information regarding our underlying business and results of operations, consistent with how we evaluate our performance. We calculate constant currency percentages by converting our current period reported results for entities reporting in currencies other than U.S. dollars using comparative period exchange rates rather than the actual exchange rates in effect during the respective periods. The constant currency performance measures should not be considered a substitute for, or superior to, the measures of financial performance prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP. The Same Store amounts presented include the results of dealerships for the identical months in each period presented in comparison, commencing with the first full month in which the dealership was owned by us and, in the case of dispositions, ending with the last full month it was owned by us. Same Store results also include the activities of our corporate headquarters.

Certain amounts in the financial statements may not compute due to rounding.  All computations have been calculated using unrounded amounts for all periods presented.

Investor contacts:
Sheila Roth
Manager, Investor Relations
Group 1 Automotive, Inc.
713-647-5741 | sroth@group1auto.com

Media contacts:
Pete DeLongchamps
Senior Vice President, Manufacturer Relations, Financial Services and Public Affairs
Group 1 Automotive, Inc.
713-647-5770 | pdelongchamps@group1auto.com
or
Clint Woods
Pierpont Communications, Inc.
713-627-2223 | cwoods@piercom.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SOURCE Group 1 Automotive, Inc.