Lithia Motors Inc.’s first quarter net income more than doubled, soaring 119 percent to $342 million as the expanding retailer saw increases in new- and used-vehicle sales, strong gross profit per vehicle and rising average vehicle selling prices.
Revenue for the Medford, Ore., retailer climbed 54 percent to $6.7 billion, a first-quarter record, Lithia said.
Lithia’s new- and used-vehicle sales increased 23 percent in the first quarter. Lithia said the average selling price for a new vehicle in the first quarter was $47,146, up 16 percent, while the average selling price for a used vehicle was $30,323, a jump of 32 percent.
The average gross profit per unit on new vehicles more than doubled to $6,179 in the first quarter, Lithia said. The average gross profit per unit for used vehicles and finance and insurance also increased.
Lithia, which went on a dealership acquisition tear in 2021, made two acquisitions in the first quarter.
At the end of January, Lithia bought three dealerships in Northern California. In late March, Lithia acquired three Stellantis dealerships in Las Vegas.
Lithia on Wednesday said the three-store Nevada deal will add an expected $400 million to its annual revenue. Lithia’s first-quarter dealership acquisitions combined are expected to generate annual revenue of $1.1 billion, the company said.
The retailer noted that it has acquired $11.5 billion in annualized revenues since July 2020, which is when it revealed its five-year plan to reach $50 billion in annual revenue by 2025— nearly quadruple 2019’s revenue of $12.67 billion.
Meanwhile, the group closed its BMW of Utica dealership in New York in January and sold its Lithia Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep-Ram-Fiat of Santa Rosa in California in March. Earlier this month Lithia divested of a Honda dealership in west-central Texas.
Lithia now has 267 dealerships in the U.S. and 13 in Canada.
Lithia shares closed up 4.4 percent on Tuesday to $308.78.
Q1 revenue: $6.7 billion, up 54 percent from a year earlier
Q1 net income: $342 million, up 119 percent from a year earlier
Q1 adjusted income: $356 million, up 125 percent from a year earlier
Vehicle sales: Lithia sold 138,631 vehicles, new and used, in the first quarter, up 23 percent. On a same-store basis, Lithia sold 97,045 new and used vehicles in the first quarter, down 8.8 percent.
Records: First-quarter revenue
Ranking: Lithia ranks No. 2 on Automotive News‘ list of the top 150 dealership groups based in the U.S., retailing 260,738 new vehicles in 2021.
