FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -

Automotive retailer AutoNation revealed Thursday it finished the year off on a strong note breaking all-time company records, as well as posting fourth quarter gains for 2011.

The numbers reveal that rises in used-vehicle sales during the last three months of 2011, as well as the overall year, contributed to a climb in both adjusted net income and revenue.

For the fourth quarter ending Dec. 31, AutoNation posted used sales of 41,224 million, rising 2,118 million year-over year from 39,106 million sales in 2010.
And used-vehicle sales for the whole year rose significantly, as well. The company saw 167,563 million used sales in 2011, rising a total of 7,437 million when compared to 2010.

The climbing volume of used sales this past year also translated into significant revenue increases for the retailer.

For the fourth quarter ending Dec. 31, revenue from used vehicles rose to $888.2 million, compared to $788.4 million in 2010.

And the whole year posted gains for the used segment, as well. Revenue from used-vehicle sales rose to $3,512.8 million from $3,116.1 million in 2010.

Overall Financial Results

The company also posted all-time records for both the full year and fourth quarter of 2011.

The company reported that adjusted earnings per share for the fourth quarter from continuing operations hit an all-time record at $0.51, up 13 percent year-over-year.

And for the fourth quarter, operating income came in at $144 million, an increase of 7 percent compared to the year-ago period. Total revenue was also up 13 percent year-over-year for the fourth quarter of 2011, coming in at $3.7 billion.

Moving on to highlight the full year results, adjusted earnings per share also hit an all-time high for this period.

Adjusted earnings per share from continuing operations sat at $1.94, up 24 percent compared to full year 2010 of $1.56.

For the full year, operating income came in at $572 million, an increase of 15 percent compared to 2010

And wrapping up the results, total revenue was up 11 percent year-over-year, totaling $13.8 billion.

Commenting on these results, company officials have high hopes for 2012.

Mike Jackson, chairman and chief executive officer, said, "We continued to deliver impressive results, setting another record for the highest ever annual and quarterly adjusted EPS from continuing operations. We are pleased with our strong year-over-year growth across all areas of our business.

"We are looking forward to the continued recovery in auto retail, buoyed by accelerated product offerings, robust consumer credit and strong replacement demand. We expect industry new vehicle sales to be approximately 14 million units in 2012,” he continued.

Breaking it Down by Segment

Continuing with the good news, AutoNation noted that the company also saw gains for the fourth quarter of 2011 in each one of their three operating segments: domestic, import and premium luxury.

Domestic segment income was $44 million, compared to the year-ago segment income of $37 million. And fourth quarter domestic retail new vehicle unit sales increased by 21 percent.

The import segment also saw a rise. Import segment income came in at $53 million, compared to year-ago segment income of $46 million.  Fourth quarter import retail new vehicle unit sales increased 3 by three percent.

And lastly, the premium luxury  segment income rose $4 million, coming in at  $70 million, compared to year-ago segment income of $66 million.  Furthermore, fourth quarter premium luxury retail new vehicle unit sales increased by 28 percent.

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 and Nissan; and the premium luxury segment is comprised of stores that sell vehicles manufactured primarily by Mercedes, BMW and Lexus, the company explained.

Stock Repurchase

Lastly, the company also reported that during the fourth quarter of 2011, it repurchased 6.3 million shares for an aggregate purchase price of $217.8 million.
Furthermore, from Jan. 1 of this year through Jan. 25, the company  repurchased 3.5 million shares for an aggregate purchase price of $122.1 million.

It also revealed the board of directors authorized the repurchase of up to an additional $250 million of AutoNation common stock.

“With the increased authorization, as of Jan. 25, 2012, AutoNation had approximately $278 million remaining board authorization for share repurchase,” officials shared.

As of Jan. 25, there was approximately 132 million shares outstanding, they concluded.