Asbury Automotive Group Approves New Stock Repurchase Authorization of $250 Million
May 26 2023 - 06:50AM
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.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230526005042/en/
Investors & Reporters May Contact: Joe Sorice
Manager, Investor Relations (770) 418-8211 ir@asburyauto.com
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