Lithia Motors Rises As Quarterly Results Exceed Estimates

(RTTNews) - Shares of auto retailer Lithia Motors, Inc. (LAD) are up more than 7% Wednesday morning following upbeat second-quarter results.

Net income in the second quarter increased 292% to $305 million or $10.75 per share from $78 million or $3.38 per share in the same quarter a year ago.

Excluding items, earnings of $11.12 per share, beat the average estimate of analysts polled by Thomson Reuters at $5.85 per share.

Revenue for the quarter increased 117.8% year-over-year to $6 billion on strong demand. The consensus estimate was for $4.99 billion.

The company's sales for new vehicles increased 130% and for used vehicles grew 95.7% in the second quarter.

The company's sales and average gross profit for new vehicles surged 130% and 58%, respectively. Sales from used vehicles nearly doubled, with average gross profit jumping 47%.

LAD, currently at $380.51, has traded in the range of $173- $417.98 in the last one year.