Asbury Automotive Group, Inc., one of the largest automotive retail and service companies in the U.S., today reported income from continuing operations for the first quarter 2015 of $35.9 million, or $1.30 per diluted share, versus income from continuing operations in the first quarter 2014 of $31.5 million, or $1.03 per diluted share, a 26% increase per diluted share. There were no adjustments for either the first quarter of 2015 or 2014. Net income for the first quarter 2015 was $35.9 million, or $1.30 per diluted share, compared to $31.4 million, or $1.02per diluted share in the prior year period.

First Quarter 2015 Operational Highlights (compared to the prior year period):

• Total revenues increased 14% to $1.5 billion
• Total gross profit up 11% with increases from all business lines 
• New vehicle retail revenues up 14%; gross profit up 9% 
• Used vehicle retail revenues up 14%; gross profit up 7% 
• Finance and insurance revenues up 15% 
• Parts and service revenue up 11%; gross profit up 13% 
• SG&A expense as a percent of gross profit improved 90 basis points to 68.5% 
• Operating margin of 4.7% remained the same

First Quarter 2015 Strategic Highlights:

• Repurchased $102 million of common stock 
• Secured a $100 million mortgage real estate facility

"Asbury is pleased to announce another record first quarter EPS from continuing operations," said Craig Monaghan, Asbury's President and Chief Executive Officer. "The overall automotive retail, service and lending environments remain strong.  We will continue to execute our two part strategy: to drive operational excellence and to deploy capital to its highest returns."

"Our current quarter results demonstrate, once again, the strength and diversity of our business model," said Asbury's Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, David Hult. "Although we experienced some weather related issues early in the quarter, we were able to drive growth across all of our business lines."

The conference call will be simulcast live and can be accessed by logging onto www.asburyauto.com or www.ccbn.com.  A replay will be available at these sites for 30 days.  In addition, a live audio of the call will be accessible to the public by calling (888) 523-1228 (domestic), or (719) 325-2281 (international); passcode - 2023700.  Callers should dial in approximately 5 to 10 minutes before the call begins. A conference call replay will be available two hours following the call for seven days, and can be accessed by calling (888) 203-1112 (domestic), or (719) 457-0820 (international); passcode - 2023700.