DULUTH, Ga. -

Reporting second-quarter earnings this morning, Asbury Automotive Group pulled up used retail sales by 6 percent and increased overall used revenue by 7 percent.

This was part of a period when Asbury hit its best-ever quarter earnings per share from continuing operations ($0.69), while increasing net income from $14.2 million to $21.1 million on a year-over-year basis.

During the quarter, the dealer group moved 14,897 used vehicles, compared to 14,036 used sales in the second quarter of 2011.

On the used-vehicle side, total revenue (including retail and wholesale) came in at $339.1 million, compared to $316.7 million in the year-ago period. Used retail revenues climbed from $269.1 million to $287.0 million, while wholesale revenues jumped from $47.6 million to $52.1 million.

That said, the company found that retail margins — including those on the used-car side — were “under pressure," similar to what the rest of the business has experienced. 

Specifically, used retail gross margins for Asbury slid from 10.5 percent in the second quarter of 2011 to 9.1 percent in the most recent period, and new-vehicle gross margins fell from 7.2 percent to 6.5 percent.

However, company management was pleased with the overall results of the quarter.

“Asbury is pleased to announce all-time record quarterly results from continuing operations,” stated Craig Monaghan, Asbury’s president and chief executive officer. "Our second quarter results were achieved through solid operational performance and disciplined expense control. We continue to build a stronger company with the flexibility to capitalize on market opportunities.

Executive vice president and chief operating officer Michael Kearney added: “Consistent with what we are seeing across our industry, retail margins continue to be under pressure as Japanese branded inventory levels and sales volumes recover. However, we again demonstrated the diversity of our business by delivering growth in both F&I and parts and service gross profit.”