Penske first quarter net income rises 23 percent

BLOOMFIELD HILLS (AP) -- Penske Automotive Group Inc. said Monday that its first-quarter net income rose 23 percent, helped by higher U.S. demand for vehicles. The Bloomfield Hills, Mich.-based auto retailer posted net income attributable to common shareholders of $57.7 million, or 64 cents per share, up from $46.8 million, or 52 cents per share, in the same quarter of 2012. Excluding discontinued operations, the company earned 63 cents per share for the recent quarter. Revenue rose 7.7 percent to $3.4 billion from $3.16 billion. Analysts, on average, expected earnings of 62 cents per share on $3.48 billion in revenue, according to FactSet. The company said its revenue at dealerships open at least a year increased 7.4 percent. The metric is a key measure of a retailer's health, because it excludes revenue at dealerships that recently opened or closed. Total retail unit sales increased 9.9 percent, or 6.8 percent on a same-store basis, the company said. U.S. sales increased 12.7 percent, while international sales rose 4.5 percent. Retail sales of new vehicles rose 9.7 percent, while sales of used vehicles increased 10.2 percent. Published: Wed, May 1, 2013