EDMONTON, Alberta -

Eclipsing the $1 billion revenue mark for the first time, AutoCanada pulled in more than $17 million of net earnings in a year that left management “pleased.”

On the used-vehicle side, although the company’s retail sales fell 1 percent for the year, AutoCanada closed its 2011 used operations on a high note, increasing retail used sales 12 percent in the fourth quarter.

Specifically, AutoCanada moved 8,667 retail used units in 2011, compared to 8,755 used sales in 2010.

However, used retail sales jumped from 1,905 in the fourth quarter of 2010 to 2,133 used sales in the same period of 2011.

These figures were just part of the “record” fourth quarter and full-year results AutoCanada reported recently.

Overall, AutoCanada’s full-year net income before other items (reversal of impairment of intangible assets and its related tax effect) reached $17.6 million for the year. Meanwhile, pre-tax earnings before other items (reversal of impairment of intangible assets) more than doubled the year-ago sum and came in at $23.8 million.

Revenue reached $1.01 billion, a 16-percent year-over-year increase, and EBITDA climbed 74 percent year to $29.1 million.

“The company reached a significant milestone this year with sales exceeding the billion dollar threshold for the first time in our history. We achieved record results in 2011 with significant improvements to sales, gross profit and net earnings,” stated Pat Priestner, AutoCanada’s chief executive officer.

“Our management team is very pleased with the performance of our dealerships in 2011 and would like to express our gratitude for the hard work and dedication of the members of our dealership teams, our head office team, our manufacturer partners, and finance providers, all of whom contributed greatly to this achievement,” he continued.

“In addition, management is pleased to be currently pursuing a number of opportunities, which if successful, could provide additional sources of long term shareholder value,” Priestner shared.

As for the fourth quarter, revenue came in at $40.4 million, a 20.4-percent hike. Net earnings before other items (reversal of impairment of intangible assets and its related tax effect) totaled $4.5 million.

AutoCanada pulled in pre-tax earnings before other items (reversal of impairment of intangible assets) of $6.2 million, up from $1.9 million the year before.
EBITDA reached $7.5 million, up 117.6 percent from the fourth quarter of 2010.

“The fourth quarter of 2011 was a very strong quarter for the company with increases in revenue and gross profit in all four business streams. We are pleased to have more than doubled our EBITDA for the quarter and to have increased our dividend for the fourth consecutive quarter, as announced on Feb. 15, 2012,” Priestner stated.