HOUSTON -

Group 1 Automotive generated notable increases within its used-vehicle department in the United States both during the fourth quarter and for all of 2019.

And when company leaders held a conference call to discuss those performances a little more than 30 days into 2020, they shared a positive outlook for Group 1 to post similar results this year, too.

During the fourth quarter, Group 1 reported that its U.S. retail used-vehicle revenues jumped 9.2%, fueled in part by a 6.6% rise in used unit sales. The company also enjoyed a 13.5% rise in retail used-vehicle gross profit during the closing quarter of the year, pushing its total used-vehicle gross profit in the U.S. during Q4 to $36.6 million, representing a lift of 12.5%.

Breaking down the figures deeper, Group 1 shared that it improved gross profit per used vehicle retailed in the U.S. by $75 year-over-year to come in at $1,229 per unit.

Those improvements arrived as Group 1 turned 29,717 used vehicles at its U.S. dealerships during the fourth quarter.

Also aiding the company’s used performance was F&I gross profit per retail unit, which registered in at $1,835, marking a lift of $57 year-over-year.

Turning to full-year results, Group 1’s U.S dealerships retailed 121,016 used vehicles, helping to generate an array of overall improvements.

Used-vehicle retail gross profit jumped 14.1% to $161.7 million. On a per-unit basis, the year-over-year gross increase came in at $1,336, representing a 5.4% lift.

And in the F&I department, gross profit per unit sold rose $72 year-over-year to land at $1,782.

Group 1 president and chief executive officer Earl Hesterberg told investment analysts that company dealerships already are on their way toward similar results.

“With only one month under our belt, the market is quite stable, and I don’t see any major shifts occurring at the moment. So the way we’re approaching the business is kind of steady as she goes relative to what we did last year,” Hesterberg said.

“There’s a great used-car market that’s been out there for more than a year and a lot of that has to do with the relative value of a used car compared to the rising prices of new cars,” he continued.

Later in the call, Group 1 president of U.S. operations Daryl Kenningham offered a bit more insight as to why company dealerships are on a positive trajectory.

“One area of significant focus for us is we price our vehicles to the market from the day that they are available for sale,” Kenningham said. “And in concert with that, we try to limit the discounts that we offer following that.

“So the better you price your vehicles to market and then the fewer discounts you offer, the better your gross profit is, and we saw some improvement in that during the quarter,” he continued. “We continue to work on sourcing efforts and that’s a continual focus for, us as well. Those were two of the larger drivers in that gross profit improvement in the U.S.”

Combining its new-vehicle activities as well as enterprises in Brazil and the United Kingdom, Group 1 reported:

— Fourth quarter net income of $48.1 million
— Diluted earnings per common share of $2.57
— Adjusted net income (a non-GAAP measure) of $56.3 million
— Adjusted diluted earnings per common share (a non-GAAP measure) of $3.01

The company’s fourth-quarter total revenue represented a new record for the closing quarter of a year, totaling $3.1 billion.

For the full year, Group 1 said its net income increased 10.3% year-over-year to $174.0 million while diluted earnings per common share increased 19.3% to $9.34.

The company reported its full-year adjusted net income rose 13.4% to $203.6 million and adjusted diluted earnings per common share jumped 22.7% to $10.93.

Fueled by that record fourth quarter, Group 1 also highlighted that its total revenue grew 3.8% year-over-year to $12.0 billion, also a record.

“We are delighted to report a record year based on an extremely strong performance by our U.S. operating team,” Hesterberg said in a news release.

“Despite a softer U.S. and U.K. market for new vehicles, we drove our company forward with strong focus on used vehicles, service, finance & insurance and cost control,” he continued. “Growing our adjusted earnings by 13.4% and adjusted EPS by 22.7% demonstrates the strength of our business model and our operating team.”