CHARLOTTE, N.C. -

Sonic Automotive’s used-vehicle department continues to be a catalyst for overall success as the company now has generated 10 consecutive quarters of double-digit growth in both used revenue and volume.

Company executives highlighted Tuesday that their third-quarter used vehicle revenue shot up 17 percent year-over-year, while used volume climbed 16 percent.

The used-vehicle performance helped Sonic to register third quarter earnings from continuing operations of 33 cents per diluted share, compared to 25 cents per diluted share in the prior-year quarter.   

All told, Sonic calculated that its continuing operations profits spiked 39 percent as earnings per share soared 32 percent higher. The company’s third-quarter total revenue also was 13 percent higher than a year ago, coming in at $1.933 billion.

Despite inventory constraints from its Japanese brands, Sonic also enjoyed gains with its new-vehicle operations.The company said third-quarter new-vehicle revenue moved 13 percent higher year-over-year, and new-vehicle volume ticked 8 percent higher.

Another positive highlight was Sonic’s parts and service revenue, which climbed by 5 percent during the third quarter.

“We saw continued growth both in the overall industry trends and in Sonic’s third quarter results,” recapped Jeff Dyke, Sonic’s executive vice president of operations,

“New- and used-vehicle revenue saw double digit growth, which translated into a 39-percent increase in continuing operations profit, compared to the same period last year,” Dyke continued.

“Our higher-margin parts and service business continues to increase as we grow our customer base and continue the implementation of operating playbooks in this area,” he went on to say.

Taking a broad look, Sonic president Scott Smith remarked that, “The automotive retail industry continued its steady rebound throughout the third quarter.

“We saw sales volume increase as we progressed through the quarter as a result of the recovery in the Japanese production capability,” Smith continued. “We expect this momentum to continue into the fourth quarter as these brands return to a normal production cycle.”

Based on third-quarter performance, Smith indicated Sonic remains fixed on an industry target of 12.5 million new-vehicle sales this year.

“As a result of the growth we’ve seen in our base business through the successful integration of our various operating playbooks and our favorable brand mix, we are increasing our expected 2011 earnings from continuing operations to $1.33 to $1.37 per share,” Smith projected.

“Our operating strategy is simple and successful,” Smith told investment analysts during a conference call Tuesday when Sonic revealed its third-quarter financial data.

“Our focus on creating repeatable and sustainable processes in our dealerships are producing results in every area of our business,” Smith went on to say. “As we continue to focus our attention on developing our culture and leaders at all levels of our team, our new and used volumes are exceeding the industry growth."

Dyke elaborated on Smith’s point when specifically asked about Sonic’s operating costs and potential personnel moves.

“We don’t have to hire any more people,” Dyke insisted. “With our structure in the way we are today, the traditional volumes that you get out of each sales associate in this company and the technology and the things we’ve been doing with our culture, the SAAR can go up to 14.5 million or 15 million, we are not going to need to hire any more people to get the job done.

“We made that investment two years ago when we were going through all of this stuff,” Dyke went on to say. “We’re set. We can keep riding the wave. That’s why we’re so excited about ’12 and ’13. It should be a lot of fun.”