Sonic Automotive Inc. (SAH) has announced that it expects adjusted earnings per share for full-year 2012 in the band of $1.65 to $1.70. This represents an increase from the earlier guidance of $1.62 to $1.70.
The adjusted earnings guidance excludes the costs associated with the retirement of the outstanding 5.0% Convertible Senior Notes due 2029 and tax benefits associated with the settlement of tax matters incurred in the second and third quarters of 2012. Including these items, the company expects earnings per share from continuing operations to be in the range of $1.49 to $1.54.
Sonic Automotive will report its third quarter 2012 results on October 23. The company expects adjusted earnings per share for the quarter to be 40 cents. It expects third quarter results to be driven by double-digit retail volume expansion and cost efficiency. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the third quarter is 46 cents per share.
Sonic Automotive, in the second quarter of 2012, recorded a 16% growth in adjusted earnings per share to 43 cents from 37 cents per share in the year-ago quarter. The results surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 41 cents per share. Reported earnings from continuing operation were $27.5 million or 46 cents per share compared with $22.9 million or 38 cents per share registered a year ago.
Total revenues went up 12.3% year over year to $2,185.2 million from $1,945.9 million in the year-ago quarter, exceeding the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2,168 million. The increase was driven by good performance across all businesses as well as improved unit sales of used vehicles.
Charlotte, North Carolina-based Sonic Automotive is a Fortune 500 company. It is one of the largest automotive retailers in the U.S. The company operates 100 dealerships spread across 15 states and 26 major metropolitan markets. It represents about 30 different automotive brands with the majority of the dealerships being luxury and import brands. It competes with AutoNation Inc. (AN) and CarMax Inc. (KMX).
Currently, Sonic Automotive retains a Zacks #2 Rank, which translates into a short-term (1 to 3 months) Buy rating.
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SONIC AUTOMOTVE (SAH): Free Stock Analysis Report
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