FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Pushed up heavily by substantial improvement in both the used and new sides of its business, AutoNation posted a sizable gain in second-quarter income, the company said Thursday.

Specifically, AutoNation tallied net income of $47.2 million, up 28.6 percent year-over-year.

The company's adjusted net income from continuing operations was $62 million, compared to $50 million in the same period of 2009.

The most recent period does not include $12 million (after-tax) in debt refinancing expenses, and the year-ago period does not include a $4 million after-tax gain from asset sales.

So, on a GAAP basis, net income from continuing operations in the most recent period would be $50 million, and the 2009 second quarter would be at $54 million.

The company's quarterly revenue climbed from about $2.6 billion to roughly $3.1 billion on a year-over-year basis. This hike was spurred by a 25.3-percent gain in new- and used-retail revenues.

More specifically, used-retail revenue was up 27.8 percent, used-unit sales saw a 19.5-percent gain and there was also a 7-percent upswing in revenue per retail used unit sold.

Overall used revenue — including wholesale — was $785.3 million, a 24.8-percent gain.

On the new side, revenue climbed 24.3 percent. New retail unit sales improved 19.7 percent, and revenue per new retail unit sold was up 3.8 percent.

Parts and service revenue was at $548.5 million, compared to $533.7 million in the year-ago period. F&I net revenue was $104.9 million, up from $88.6 million.

"We delivered strong double-digit growth in the second quarter, which was driven by both new- and used-vehicle unit sales and revenue.  We continue to expect full-year industry new-vehicle unit sales to be in the range of 11.5 million new units," stated Mike Jackson, the company's chairman and chief executive officer.

"We expect third-quarter new-vehicle industry sales will equal or surpass third quarter 2009 new-vehicle industry sales, even though the prior year included the highly successful Cash for Clunkers program. We continue to see a solid automotive recovery going forward," he added.

Breaking down data in AutoNation's three operating segments — domestic, import and premium luxury — all showed year-over-year gains.

Beginning with the domestic segment — which includes the stores bearing Big 3 franchises — its income was $41.2 million, up $16.9 million year-over-year. There was a 29.7-percent jump in these stores' retail new-vehicle unit sales.

Noting a "solid performance" among its domestic dealerships, AutoNation specifically touted its Ford and Chevrolet stores.

Continuing on, AutoNation reported $52.4 million in import income, an improvement of $10.9 million. These stores saw their retail new-vehicle unit sales climb 15.6 percent.

Finally, the premium luxury segment saw income of $48.5 million, an upswing of $5.7 million. These stores enjoyed an upswing in retail new-vehicle unit sales of 15.1 percent.