Penske second quarter profit jumps 34 percent

BLOOMFIELD HILLS (AP) -- Penske Automotive Group Inc. said last Thursday its second-quarter earnings jumped 34 percent with higher sales and prices for new and used vehicles. The auto dealership chain earned $39.6 million, or 43 cents per share, compared with $29.4 million, or 32 cents per share, in the same quarter last year. Revenue rose 11 percent to $2.89 billion from $2.61 billion in the second quarter of 2010. Analysts were expecting earnings of 38 cents per share on $2.98 billion in revenue. Penske saw total unit sales rose 6.3 percent in the quarter. Average selling prices on both new and used cars and trucks also rose. The company added that its parts and service business also showed revenue improvement of 7.5 percent. "Although we faced a challenging inventory situation as a result of the Japan earthquake, our business model continued to prove its resiliency and delivered another solid quarter," Chairman Roger Penske said in a statement. He said equipment manufacturing partners in Japan "have made substantial progress in their ability to increase production earlier than originally anticipated." Penske still expects supply disruptions in the third quarter, but it predicts the situation in Japan will continue to improve. Shares dropped 13 cents in afternoon trading to reach $23.27. Published: Mon, Jul 25, 2011