Sonic Automotive established nine new quarterly or annual performance records, and the dealer group’s used-vehicle department led the way.

According to Sonic’s latest financial statement released on Tuesday, the company retailed 6.4 percent more used vehicles in 2015 than it did a year earlier, turning 117,123 units. That figure included the metal moved at its EchoPark stores, locations that focus on only used vehicles. Sonic retailed 3,225 units at EchoPark.

All those used sales helped Sonic set a record in pre-owned gross profit, which ticked up 3.1 percent year-over-year to $162.0 million.

The company’s annual total gross profit also set a record, coming in at $1.415 billion. Part of that figure came from a new record for annual fixed operations gross profit of $655.4 million.

Sonic also set a new annual record when retailing new vehicles. The dealer group retailed 138,129 new units in 2015, up 1.6 percent over the prior year.

When looking at only the fourth quarter, Sonic closed with four more record-setting performance that sparked the year-end tallies, including the following listed by Sonic: 

— Record Q4 pre-owned units and gross profit of 28,220 and $38.8 million, respectively

— Record Q4 new retail units of 35,228, up 1.4 percent over the prior-year quarter

— Record Q4 fixed operations gross profit of $169.1 million, up 8.2 percent over the prior-year quarter

— Record Q4 total gross profit of $363.8 million, up 4.4 percent over the prior-year quarter

Sonic reported full-year adjusted net income from continuing operations of $100.2 million, or $1.97 per diluted share, that includes expenses of $16.3 million, or $0.19 per diluted share, related to the company’s EchoPark operations.  For all of 2014, Sonic reported adjusted net income from continuing operations of $100.0 million, or $1.90 per diluted share, that includes expenses of $15.7 million, or $0.18 per diluted share, related to EchoPark.

For just Q4, Sonic generated adjusted net income of $30.9 million, or $0.61 per diluted share. Included in these adjusted amounts are pre-tax expenses of $3.6 million, or $0.04 per diluted share, related to EchoPark operations.  To close 2014, the company posted $32.5 million, or $0.63 per diluted share in adjusted net income.

“The year ended up being a great year for Sonic and EchoPark,” Sonic’s executive vice president of operations Jeff Dyke. “I am very proud of our team as we progressed together on our long-term strategy to redefine the automotive guest experience. This is a huge undertaking that we are confident will reward our guests, associates and long-term shareholders. 

“We have been able to grow gross across all of our revenue streams with the exception of new vehicles, which is a direct reflection of manufacturers' inventory growth in particular in the luxury category.  Some of the OEM's have simply over produced and it has caused competitive and margin pressures that we have not experienced in several years,” Dyke continued.

“However, the stability and strength of our pre-owned revenue stream has continued to allow us to drive additional profitability in that area,” he went on to say. “In addition, we have overcome the warranty mix issues from earlier in the year, and we were able to increase same store fixed operations gross profit 9.6 percent in the fourth quarter of 2015 compared to the fourth quarter of 2014. 

“Our focus on increasing customer pay, up 7.8 percent on a same store basis during the fourth quarter, was key to achieving this level of growth,” Dyke added.

Dyke called the upcoming growth for EchoPark as “exciting.” Sonic plans to open two more locations in the Denver market during the first half of this year with a pair coming on board in the beginning portion of 2017.

“We also have plans in place to add additional stores in at least two different markets beginning in Q4 2016 depending on real-estate closing dates,” Dyke said.

Editor’s note: For more details about EchoPark and Sonic’s technology investments, watch for a report coming later this week as a part of Auto Remarketing Today.