In order to facilitate its previously announced debt refinancing, KAR Auction Services reported preliminary financial results for the first quarter, including a net income jump of more than $30 million. Executives indicated Wednesday they expect to post $482.7 million in first-quarter revenue, up from the figure in the year-ago quarter of $458.4 million. That rise […] [Read More]

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Along with offering forecasts about how it might fare later in the year, Huntington Bancshares recently revealed that it opened 2011 with a 13-percent jump in auto loans year-over-year, helping its first-quarter net income total climb to $126.4 million or 14 cents per common share. Huntington reported total commercial auto loans came […] [Read More]

IRVINE, Calif. — Consumer Portfolio Services announced this week the closing of its first rated term securitization of the year. The company highlighted the transaction is CPS' second senior subordinate securitization since 1993.  In the transaction, executives explained qualified institutional buyers purchased $100,364,000 of asset-backed notes secured by automobile receivables that were purchased by CPS […] [Read More]

CLEARWATER, Fla. — After being approached about potentially being acquired, Nicholas Financial began a strategic review of its business model to decide the best course of action. With the analysis now complete, management revealed the best course of action for shareholders is to remain a standalone entity. The review process involved, among other things, a consideration […] [Read More]

HOUSTON — As Ken Shilson, founder of the National Alliance of Buy-Here, Pay-Here Dealers, prepares for the upcoming Dealer Academy and annual conference in mid May, he revealed some early benchmark results to SubPrime Auto Finance News. One of the key trends he discovered is that the acquisition of vehicles at competitive costs will be a major […] [Read More]

Fueled by record used-vehicle sales, Sonic Automotive posted a robust first-quarter net-income jump. Company executives reported Tuesday that their net income came in at $14.9 million, up from $4.1 million generated in the first quarter of last year. As a result, Sonic determined first-quarter earnings from continuing operations were 27 cents per diluted share compared […] [Read More]

Close to the turn of the century, Lexus introduced a unique idea — a manufacturer-sponsored certified program that features the same inspection standards no matter the age or model.   The automaker’s management was so confident in the quality of the product, the team was also the first to launch subsidized APRs as well as […] [Read More]

Along with highlighting the company’s double-digit first-quarter net income gains, AutoNation chairman and chief executive officer Mike Jackson offered another assessment of  the Japanese earthquake’s impact on the full-year industry outlook. “While the underlying recovery in consumer demand for autos remains on track in the United States, due to Japanese supply constraints throughout the remainder […] [Read More]

Vehicle registrations by African-Americans climbed by more than 11 percent in 2010 and one brand, in particular, seems to be benefiting, according to Polk. The automaker most popular among African-Americans in 2010 was Toyota. Specifically, Polk discovered that there were 641,090 new-vehicle registrations within the African-American demographic last year. This marks an 11.5-percent gain from the […] [Read More]

Group 1 Automotive enjoyed more than a 48-percent increase in its adjusted net income during the first quarter, and officials seemed relatively optimistic about the dealer group’s ability to weather potentially significant disruptions in the supply chain stemming from the Japanese disaster’s aftermath. Announcing its first-quarter earnings on Tuesday, Group 1 said its adjusted net […] [Read More]