DULUTH, Ga.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE: ABG) (the “Company”), one of the largest automotive retail and service companies in the U.S., today announced its board of directors approved a new authorization to repurchase up to $250 million shares of the Company’s common stock.
“We believe we are a prudent steward of capital. We evaluate on a periodic and ongoing basis our alternate uses of capital – whether it be reduction of leverage, growth through acquisitions, reinvestment in our business or repurchase of shares – to achieve what we believe will generate the best returns for our shareholders over the long-term. We fully exhausted our authorization under our prior stock repurchase program opportunistically. The new authorization reflects our renewed commitment to a key pillar of our balanced capital allocation approach, bolstered by our strong cash flow and balance sheet,” said David Hult, Asbury’s President and Chief Executive Officer.
Year-to-date 2023, the Company has repurchased approximately 1.1 million shares for approximately $211 million. The Company has no remaining availability to repurchase shares of common stock under the previously announced stock repurchase program.
Under the new stock repurchase program, the shares of common stock of the Company may be purchased from time to time in the open market, in privately negotiated transactions or in other manners as permitted by federal securities laws and other legal and contractual requirements. The extent to which the Company repurchases its shares, the number of shares and the timing of any repurchase will depend on such factors as Asbury’s stock price, general economic and market conditions, the potential impact on its capital structure, the expected return on competing uses of capital such as strategic dealership acquisitions and capital investments and other considerations. The new program does not require the Company to repurchase any specific number of shares, and may be modified, suspended or terminated at any time without further notice.
About Asbury Automotive Group, Inc.
Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE: ABG), a Fortune 500 company headquartered in Duluth, GA, is one of the largest automotive retailers in the U.S. In late 2020, Asbury embarked on a five-year plan to increase revenue and profitability strategically through organic and acquisitive growth as well as their innovative Clicklane digital vehicle purchasing platform, with its guest-centric approach as Asbury’s constant North Star. Asbury operates 138 new vehicle dealerships, consisting of 183 franchises, representing 31 domestic and foreign brands of vehicles. Asbury also operates Total Care Auto, Powered by Landcar, a leading provider of service contracts and other vehicle protection products, and 32 collision repair centers. Asbury offers an extensive range of automotive products and services, including new and used vehicles; parts and service, which includes vehicle repair and maintenance services, replacement parts and collision repair services; and finance and insurance products, including arranging vehicle financing through third parties and aftermarket products, such as extended service contracts, guaranteed asset protection debt cancellation, and prepaid maintenance.
For additional information, visit www.asburyauto.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are statements other than historical fact, and may include statements relating to goals, plans, objectives, projections regarding Asbury's financial position, liquidity, results of operations, cash flows, leverage, market position and dealership portfolio, revenue enhancement strategies, operational improvements, projections regarding the expected benefits of Clicklane, management’s plans, projections and objectives for future operations, scale and performance, integration plans and expected synergies from acquisitions, capital allocation strategy and business strategy.
These statements are based on management's current expectations and beliefs and involve significant risks and uncertainties that may cause results to differ materially from those set forth in the statements. These risks and uncertainties include, among other things, our inability to realize the benefits expected from recently completed transactions; our inability to promptly and effectively integrate completed transactions and the diversion of management’s attention from ongoing business and regular business responsibilities; our inability to complete future acquisitions or divestitures and the risks resulting therefrom; any impact from the COVID-19 pandemic on our industry and business, market factors, Asbury's relationships with, and the financial and operational stability of, vehicle manufacturers and other suppliers, acts of God, acts of war or other incidents and the shortage of semiconductor chips and other components, which may adversely impact supply from vehicle manufacturers and/or present retail sales challenges; risks associated with Asbury's indebtedness and our ability to comply with applicable covenants in our various financing agreements, or to obtain waivers of these covenants as necessary; risks related to competition in the automotive retail and service industries, general economic conditions both nationally and locally, governmental regulations, legislation, including changes in automotive state franchise laws, adverse results in litigation and other proceedings, and Asbury's ability to execute its strategic and operational strategies and initiatives, including its five-year strategic plan, Asbury's ability to leverage gains from its dealership portfolio, Asbury's ability to capitalize on opportunities to repurchase its debt and equity securities or purchase properties that it currently leases, and Asbury's ability to stay within its targeted range for capital expenditures. There can be no guarantees that Asbury's plans for future operations will be successfully implemented or that they will prove to be commercially successful.
These and other risk factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in our forward-looking statements are and will be discussed in Asbury's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission from time to time, including its most recent annual report on Form 10-K and any subsequently filed quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. These forward-looking statements and such risks, uncertainties and other factors speak only as of the date of this press release. We undertake no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
