Press Release Details

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., July 17, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE: AN), America's largest automotive retailer, today reported 2014 second quarter net income from continuing operations of $101 million, or $0.83 per share, compared to net income from continuing operations of $90 million, or $0.73 per share, for the same period in the prior year, a 14% improvement on a per-share basis. 

2014 second quarter revenue totaled $4.8 billion, compared to $4.4 billion in the year-ago period, an increase of 8%, driven by stronger performance in new vehicles, parts and service, and finance and insurance.  In the second quarter of 2014, AutoNation's retail new vehicle unit sales increased 6% on a same store basis and 8% overall. 

Mike Jackson, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, said, "AutoNation delivered its 15^th consecutive quarter of double-digit year-over-year growth in EPS. We reconfirm our expectation of  U.S. industry new vehicle unit sales to increase 3% to 5%, bringing U.S. industry new vehicle sales above 16 million units in 2014."

Acquisitions
In July 2014, AutoNation completed the acquisition of Roundtree Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram in the Mobile, Alabama market.  The annual revenue for this store is approximately $95 million.

Share Repurchase
During the second quarter of 2014, AutoNation repurchased 1.1 million shares of common stock for an aggregate purchase price of $64.1 million. As of July 16, 2014, AutoNation has approximately $336 million remaining Board authorization for share repurchase and 119 million shares outstanding.

Segment results⁽¹⁾ for the second quarter of 2014 were as follows:

• Domestic - Domestic segment income⁽²⁾ was $71 million compared to year-ago segment income of $66 million, an increase of 7%. 
• Import - Import segment income⁽²⁾ was $78 million compared to year-ago segment income of
   $73 million, an increase of 6%.  
• Premium Luxury - Premium Luxury segment income⁽²⁾ was $86 million compared to year-ago segment income of $76 million, an increase of 13%.

For the six-month period ended June 30, 2014, the Company reported adjusted net income from continuing operations of $191 million, or $1.58 per share, compared to net income from continuing operations of $173 million, or $1.41 per share, for the same period in the prior year, an improvement of 12% on a per-share basis.  On a GAAP basis, net income from continuing operations for the six-month period ended June 30, 2014 was $196 million, or $1.62 per share.  Reconciliations of non-GAAP financial measures are included in the attached financial tables. The Company's revenue for the six-month period ended June 30, 2014, totaled $9.2 billion, up 7% compared to $8.5 billion for the same period in the prior year.

The second quarter conference call may be accessed by telephone at (888) 769-8515 (password: AutoNation) at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time or on AutoNation's investor relations website at http://investors.autonation.com.  

The webcast will also be available on our website under "Events & Presentations" following the call. A playback of the conference call will be available after 1:00 p.m. Eastern Time on July 17, 2014, through July 27, 2014 by calling (866) 462-8982 (password 75300).

⁽¹⁾       AutoNation has three reportable segments: Domestic, Import, and Premium Luxury. The Domestic segment is comprised of stores that sell vehicles manufactured by General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler; the Import segment is comprised of stores that sell vehicles manufactured primarily by Toyota, Honda, Nissan, and Hyundai; and the Premium Luxury segment is comprised of stores that sell vehicles manufactured primarily by Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Lexus, and Audi.

⁽²⁾       Segment income represents income for each of our reportable segments and is defined as operating income less floorplan interest expense.

About AutoNation, Inc.

AutoNation is transforming the automotive retail industry through bold leadership. We deliver a superior automotive retail experience through our customer-focused sales and service processes. Owning and operating 273 new vehicle franchises, which sell 33 new vehicle brands across 15 states, AutoNation is America's largest automotive retailer, with state-of-the-art operations and the ability to leverage economies of scale that benefit the customer. As an indication of our leadership position in our industry, AutoNation is a component of the S&P 500 Index.

Please visit investors.autonation.com, www.autonation.com, www.twitter.com/autonation, www.twitter.com/CEOMikeJackson, www.facebook.com/autonation, and www.facebook.com/CEOMikeJackson, where AutoNation discloses additional information about the Company, its business, and its results of operations.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. All statements other than statements of historical fact are, or may be deemed to be, forward-looking statements. Words such as "anticipates," "expects," "intends," "goals," "plans," "believes," "continues," "may," "will," and variations of such words and similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. Statements regarding our expectations for the future performance of our franchises and the automotive retail industry, as well as statements that describe our objectives, goals, or plans, are forward-looking statements. Our forward-looking statements reflect our current expectations concerning future results and events, and they involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that are difficult to predict and may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance and achievements expressed or implied by these statements. These risks, uncertainties and other factors include, among others: our ability to integrate successfully acquired and awarded franchises and to attain planned sales volumes within our expected time frames; economic conditions generally; conditions in the credit markets and changes in interest rates; the success and financial viability of vehicle manufacturers and distributors with which we hold franchises; factors affecting our goodwill and other intangible asset impairment testing; natural disasters and other adverse weather events; restrictions imposed by vehicle manufacturers; the resolution of legal and administrative proceedings; regulatory factors affecting our business; and other factors described in our news releases and filings made under the securities laws, including, among others, our Annual Reports on Form 10-K, our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and our Current Reports on Form 8-K.  Forward-looking statements contained in this news release speak only as of the date of this news release, and we undertake no obligation to update these forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances.

NON-GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES
This press release and the attached financial tables contain certain non-GAAP financial measures as defined under SEC rules, such as adjusted net income and earnings per share from continuing operations, which exclude certain items disclosed in the attached financial tables. As required by SEC rules, the Company provides reconciliations of these measures to the most directly comparable GAAP measures. The Company believes that these non-GAAP financial measures improve the transparency of the Company's disclosure, provide a meaningful presentation of the Company's results from its core business operations excluding the impact of items not related to the Company's ongoing core business operations, and improve the period-to-period comparability of the Company's results from its core business operations.