BLOOMFIELD HILLS, Mich. -

Penske Automotive Group announced Wednesday it just concluded the best quarter and six months in company history.

Second-quarter revenue was up 12.3 percent to $4.9 billion, while year-to-date revenue soared by 11.8 percent to come in at $9.4 billion. The company explained this revenue spike was driven by a 7.1-percent increase in retail auto sales, including a 6.1-percent bump on a same-store basis.

And overall gross profit for Q2 improved 11.4 percent to $729.6 million, while operating income increased 17.2 percent to $159.1 million.

"We just completed the best quarter and six-month period in the history of our company," said chairman Roger Penske. "The performance of our business continues to demonstrate the flexibility and resiliency of the company's brand mix and business model.  The record second quarter results were driven by a 7.5-percent increase in retail automotive unit sales, a 50-basis point increase in automotive retail service and parts gross margin and a reduction of 110 basis points in selling, general and administrative expenses as a percent of gross profit."

As Penske said, much of the quarterly and 6-month success was due to an impressive automotive retail performance.

Total retail unit sales were up by 7.5 percent to 108,288, and numbers were up 3.3 percent in the U.S., in particular.

Taking a look at the company’s used performance, overall used retail sales were up 8.8 percent, for a total of 58,758 used retail vehicles sold in Q2. And year-to-date the company has sold 112,051 used retail vehicles, up from 105,262 sold during the first half of 2014.

Used retail revenue was on the way up, as well, accounting for 30.3 percent of the total retail automotive revenue mix. In Q2, Penske’s retail revenue for used vehicles came in at $1.4 billion, up from $1.3 billion during the same quarter of 2014. The company has brought in $2.7 billion in revenue from used vehicles retailed so far this year.

Taking a look at gross profit, used retail vehicles brought in $88 million in Q2, down slightly from the $89.8 million earned in Q2 of 2014. Numbers are down a bit year-to-date, as well; used retail gross profit is at $172.5 million so far this year, down from $176.3 secured in the first half of 2014. Used retail vehicle gross profit accounted for 13.3 percent of the total retail automotive gross profit mix.

Here are a few more used stats for the quarter:

  • Revenue per used vehicle retailed came in at $27,771, which is down 0.2 percent year-over-year.
  • Gross profit for used vehicle retailed for Q2 came in at an average of $1,777, down $197 year-over-year for a gross margin of 6.4 percent.
  • Same-store used retail revenue increased by 8.2 percent.

On top of successful quarter for retail sales, company management also shared a 50-basis point increase in automotive retail service and parts gross margin worked to boost performance.

The service and parts business brought in $121.9 million in gross profit during the second quarter, up from $111.9 in Q2 2014. So far this year, service and parts make up $233 million in gross profit, up from $216.4 notched during the first six months of last year.

The service and parts business made up 41.4  percent of the retail automotive gross profit mix for the company in Q2, up from 40.7 percent during the same period of 2014.

Editor’s Note: For a more in-depth look into Penske’s Q2 performance, see upcoming AR Today newsletters.