Group 1 Automotive Inc.
(
GPI
) announced that it is evaluating the extent of damage at four
dealerships in New Orleans, which were affected by the hail storm
on Feb 24.
According to the assessment, some of the facilities and
inventories consisting of new and used vehicles were damaged. The
company has informed that they are insured but it has to incur
after-tax charges related to deductibles in the range of $1.1
million to $1.4 million or 3 cents per share in the first quarter
of 2013.
Group 1 Automotive plans to replace the damaged inventories in
the near term together with its manufacturing partners. The
affected dealerships of the company will continue to operate,
providing an array of services along with offering vehicle parts
to its customers and collision centers. However, sales operation
will be limited until the inventories are fully replaced.
These four dealerships accounted for 2.5% of new vehicles sales
in 2012 and consist of 5 franchises including
Ford Motor Co.
(
F
), Buick, GMC, Hyundai and
Toyota Motor Corp.
(
TM
).
Headquartered in Memorial City of Houston, Texas, Group 1
Automotive was founded in 1997. The company is one of the largest
automotive retailers in U.S., which provides 35 automotive
brands. It has 142 automotive dealerships, 182 franchises and 36
collision centers in the U.S. and the U.K.
Group 1 Automotive posted a 5.3% rise in earnings per share to 99
cents in the fourth quarter of 2012 from 94 cents in the
prior-year quarter but missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 21
cents. Net income grew 9.4% to $24.0 million from $22.0 million
in the fourth quarter of 2011.
Revenues increased 19.3% to $1.9 billion, driven by strong retail
new vehicle and used vehicle unit sales. The company retains a
Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Lithia Motors
(
LAD
), with a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), is performing well in the industry
where Group 1 Automotive operates.
FORD MOTOR CO (F): Free Stock Analysis Report
GROUP 1 AUTO (GPI): Free Stock Analysis
Report
LITHIA MOTORS (LAD): Free Stock Analysis
Report
TOYOTA MOTOR CP (TM): Free Stock Analysis
Report
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