Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG) Q4 2022 Earnings Call Transcript

Rajat Gupta: So just want to follow up on the SG&A comments. I understand there was some seasonality from 3Q to 4Q typically, but looks like expenses were down $20 million quarter-over-quarter on a $30 million gross profit decline quarter-over-quarter. Is this kind of a general rule of thumb to think about when looking into 2023 and as GPUs moderate, particularly on the new vehicle side? Just trying to understand like how should we think about that drop through and based on whatever assumptions we make on GPU? And I have a follow up.

David Hult: I would say, we have a history of being very disciplined and cost efficient. We’ve been working for years at our legacy stores at productivity per employee and really getting our transactional cost down for sale. All of our new acquisitions naturally aren’t at the same level that we are from an efficiency standpoint. So we look to work in €˜23 to really get all those efficiencies that we have in the legacy stores, which we believe is a potential slight tailwind for us.

Rajat Gupta: And maybe on parts and services, strong growth again here in the fourth quarter. Curious how we should think about the puts for 2023? What is likely to be the key limit to growth, is it still technician hiring? And also pricing has been a key contributor to growth last couple years. And with product supply improving and maybe some cooling and inflation, how should we think about or how are you planning in terms of growth for that particular business segment this year?

David Hult: I assume, most like us, we never have enough techs and we can always use more. I think what you’re seeing with the dollars increasing has more to do with the aging of the car. As the cars age, they need more work and certainly parts costs go up every year. So as we look at €˜23 from a growth standpoint, at least at this point, we don’t think it’s going to look very similar to what our results were in €˜22 as far as growth. We don’t see it slowing down or leveling off. People are holding onto their cars longer. And if the jobless rate increases over time that will certainly have an impact on parts and service, but we believe that’ll be a positive impact.

Rajat Gupta: Maybe just one last one. You reiterated the $55 EPS plan, we’re still in a somewhat weak used car demand backdrop. You mentioned $14.5 million SAR, it seems like getting to 55 from $38, still 50% EPS growth, it would need a pretty sharp recovery in the industry, both new and used. So outside of Clicklane, what else gives you confidence in this current backdrop where prices are still high, rates are high due to supply for used cars like to get tighter in the medium term. What gives you confidence in those targets? And is it reasonable to assume that you see an earning decline this year before moving higher again, or you don’t see that happening to that path to $55?

David Hult: If I miss a piece, please come back. We think that 90% of the market are stores that are opportunities for acquisition, that it’s really only 10% of the market that’s owned by large groups like ourselves. So there’s plenty of potential for acquisitions. We also think naturally over time in the next few years, the SAR will continue to grow. So between the combination of the SAR growth over the next few years, the opportunity with acquisitions, the efficiencies with Clicklane and our ability to lower SG&A over time, I wouldn’t say so much in €˜23, but over time with the use of software and tools to become even more efficient, we think all those things still give us the potential and the opportunity to get there. Fast forward out, if acquisitions aren’t great the next few years and SAR doesn’t recover, your point is valid.