BLOOMFIELD HILLS, Mich. -

Penske Automotive Group’s significant uptick in used sales helped overcome what was a modest drop in new sales, as the company enjoyed a “solid quarter” despite the inventory pressures it faced in the aftermath of the Japanese earthquake.

Reporting second-quarter results Thursday, Penske said it achieved $39.9 million in income from continuing operations attributable to common shareholders, up from $31 million in the year-ago period.

This occurred on revenues of $2.9 billion, which were up 10.5 percent year-over-year.

What Penske called a highlight of the revenue surge was the increase in average new- and used-vehicle transaction prices.

Penske achieved a 6.3-percent lift in total retail unit sales, which came in at 70,873 vehicles sold globally. Used retail sales climbed 16.1 percent, while new unit sales dipped 1.1 percent.

Breaking it down, total retail unit sales were up 7.4 percent in the U.S. and 3.7 percent internationally.

Moving along, Penske saw a 9.8-percent increase in same-store retail revenue, with its U.S. operations being up 7.5 percent and an international gain of 13.6 percent.

Used same-store retail revenue surged 17.6 percent, with the new side up 6.2 percent, F&I climbing 10.8 percent and service and parts showing a 6-percent gain.

Average gross profit per unit for used vehicles jumped 6 percent and came in at $2,194, and gross margins for used units were at 8.2 percent.

On the new-car side, average gross profits were $3,196 per unit, which marked a 12.4-percent rise. New-vehicle gross margins were 8.5 percent.

"Although we faced a challenging inventory situation as a result of the Japan earthquake, our business model continued to prove its resiliency and delivered another solid quarter," said company chairman Roger Penske. "We offset the 1.1-percent decline in new retail unit sales with a 16.1-percent increase in used retail vehicle sales and higher gross profit per new and used retail unit sold.

“Additionally, the company’s premium luxury brand mix in the U.K. continued to perform well, as same-store retail sales of new units outperformed overall U.K market registrations, which declined by 5.2 percent in the second quarter according to industry data,” Penske added.

He also shared some insight into how the disasters in Japan impacted the dealer group.

“Our OEM partners have made substantial progress in their ability to increase production earlier than originally anticipated,” Penske noted. “We continue to expect supply challenges of certain brands during the third quarter; however, we expect the situation to continue improving and remain confident in our ability to manage through any continued supply disruption.”

First-Half Results

Moving along, Penske offered its results from the first half of the year. Its revenue came in at $5.7 billion, a 12.8-percent lift.

It reported a 41.7-percent increase in income from continuing operations attributable to common shareholders, which reached $78 million.