Lithia Reports Record Fourth Quarter Revenue of $7.7 Billion – RVBusiness – Breaking RV Industry News
MEDFORD, Ore., – Lithia & Driveway (NYSE: LAD), one of America’s largest automotive retailers and the parent company of Airstream Adventures, today reported the highest fourth quarter revenue in company history.
Fourth quarter 2023 revenue increased 10% to $7.7 billion from $6.9 billion in the fourth quarter of 2022, according to a release.
Fourth quarter 2023 net income attributable to LAD per diluted share was $7.74, a 14% decrease from $9.00 per diluted share reported in the fourth quarter of 2022. Adjusted fourth quarter 2023 net income attributable to LAD per diluted share was $8.24, a 9% decrease compared to $9.05 per diluted share in the same period of 2022. Unrealized foreign currency gains positively impacted earnings per share by $0.21.
Fourth quarter 2023 net income was $216 million, a 13% decrease compared to net income of $250 million in the same period of 2022. Adjusted fourth quarter 2023 net income was $230 million, a 8% decrease compared to adjusted net income of $251 million for the same period of 2022.
As shown in the attached non-GAAP reconciliation tables, the 2023 fourth quarter adjusted results exclude a $0.50 per diluted share impact resulting from non-core items, specifically acquisition expenses, investment loss, and net loss on sale of stores, partially offset by changes in insurance reserves. The 2022 fourth quarter adjusted results exclude a $0.05 per diluted share net non-core charge related to a net gain on the sale of stores, partially offset by investment loss, acquisition expenses and insurances reserves.
Fourth Quarter-Over-Quarter Comparisons and Fourth Quarter 2023 Performance Highlights:
- Total revenues increased 10%
- New vehicle same store units grew by 9.6 %
- Total vehicle gross profit per unit of $4,973, down $717
- Driveway averaged nearly 2.8 million monthly unique visitors (MUVs) in the quarter
- Driveway Finance Corporation (DFC) originated over $428 million in loans in Q4
- Service, body, and parts revenues increased 14%
- SG&A as a percentage of gross profit was 66.4%, and 65.2% adjusted for non-core items
“2023 completes another successful year of tremendous growth and building strategic diversification. My team and I are excited to turn our efforts to even higher levels of execution in 2024, as we now have all the key components of our long-term growth strategy in place,” said Bryan DeBoer, President and CEO. “Our financial position, combined with the diversity and reach of our network and complementary adjacencies, positions us to continue to positively drive results and return capital to our shareholders, providing a distinctive growth strategy.”
Full year 2023 revenue increased 10% to a record $31.0 billion from $28.2 billion in 2022.
Full year 2023 net income attributable to LAD per diluted share decreased 18% to $36.29 from $44.17 for 2022. Adjusted net income attributable to LAD per diluted share decreased 17% to $36.86 from $44.42 for 2022. Unrealized foreign currency gains positively impacted earnings per share by $0.14. Full year 2023 net income attributable to LAD decreased 20% to $1.0 billion from $1.3 billion for 2022. Adjusted net income attributable to LAD decreased 19% to $1.0 billion for 2023 from $1.3 billion for 2022.
As shown in the attached non-GAAP reconciliation tables, the 2023 adjusted results exclude a $0.57 per diluted share net non-core charge related to an investment loss, acquisition expenses, and insurance reserves, partially offset by a net gain on sale of stores. The 2022 adjusted results exclude a $0.25 per diluted share impact resulting from non-core items, specifically acquisition expenses, one-time contract buyouts, insurance reserves, and investment loss, partially offset by a net gain on the sale of stores.
Full Year-over-Year and 2023 Operating Highlights:
- Record full year revenues of $31.0 billion
- Used vehicle retail sales increased 1.5%
- F&I per unit decreased 5.1% to $2,090
- Total vehicle gross profit per unit decreased 14.8% to $5,367
- GreenCars MUVs increased by 102% to nearly 900,000
- Driveway Finance Corporation scaled portfolio to over $3 billion
Corporate Development
During the fourth quarter, LAD did not acquire any stores. Year-to-date, we have acquired over $3.8 billion in annualized revenues. Since announcing our plan back in July 2020, we have acquired over $17.7 billion in annualized revenues.
Balance Sheet Update
LAD ended the fourth quarter with approximately $1.7 billion in cash and availability on our revolving lines of credit. In addition, unfinanced real estate could provide additional liquidity of approximately $0.4 billion.
Dividend Payment and Share Repurchases
The Board of Directors approved a dividend of $0.50 per share related to fourth quarter 2023 financial results. The dividend is expected to be paid on March 22, 2024 to shareholders of record on March 9, 2024.
During the fourth quarter and for 2023, we repurchased over 142,700 shares at a weighted average price of $240.81. Under the current share repurchase authorization approximately $467.0 million remains available.
Fourth Quarter Earnings Conference Call and Updated Presentation
The fourth quarter 2023 conference call may be accessed at 10:00 a.m. ET today by telephone at 877-407-8029. An updated presentation highlighting the fourth quarter 2023 results has been added to our investor relations website. To listen live on our website or for replay, visit investors.lithiadriveway.com and click on quarterly earnings.
About Lithia & Driveway (LAD)
Lithia & Driveway (NYSE: LAD) is one of the largest global automotive retailers providing a wide array of products and services throughout the vehicle ownership lifecycle. We offer convenient and hassle-free experiences through our comprehensive network of physical locations, e-commerce platforms, captive finance solutions and other synergistic adjacencies. We deliver consistent, profitable growth in a massive and unconsolidated industry. Our highly diversified and competitively differentiated design provides us the flexibility and scale to pursue our vision to modernize personal transportation solutions wherever, whenever and however consumers desire.
