Sonic Automotive Reports All-Time Record Quarterly Revenues

Sonic Automotive, Inc. (“Sonic Automotive,” “Sonic,” the “Company,” "we," "us" or "our") (NYSE:SAH), one of the nation’s largest automotive retailers, today reported financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2023.

Second Quarter 2023 Financial Summary

• All-time record quarterly revenues of $3.7 billion, up 4% year-over-year; quarterly gross profit of $568.9 million, down 3% year-over-year
• Reported second quarter net income of $23.4 million, down 75% year-over-year ($0.65 earnings per diluted share, down 72% year-over-year)
  • Adjusted second quarter net income* was $66.0 million, down 33% year-over-year ($1.83 adjusted earnings per diluted share*, down 25% year-over-year)
• Reported selling, general and administrative (“SG&A”) expenses as a percentage of gross profit of 68.9% (59.7% on a Franchised Dealerships Segment basis)
  • Adjusted SG&A expenses as a percentage of gross profit* of 70.5% (63.3% on a Franchised Dealerships Segment basis)
• EchoPark Segment revenues of $600.6 million, down 9% year-over-year; EchoPark Segment gross profit of $26.8 million, down 44% year-over-year; EchoPark Segment retail used vehicle unit sales volume of 17,084, up 4% year-over-year

EchoPark Update

• Completed previously announced plan to indefinitely suspend operations at eight EchoPark retail hub locations and 14 related EchoPark delivery/buy centers, plus three Northwest Motorsport locations within the EchoPark Segment (collectively, the "closed EchoPark stores"), representing a total of $13.2 million of segment loss in the second quarter of 2023
• Recorded a second quarter 2023 charge related to the closed EchoPark stores of approximately $75.2 million, including $62.6 million of non-cash impairment charges, $2.2 million of severance, $0.4 million of non-cash lease exit charges and $10.0 million of non-cash inventory valuation adjustments (of which $7.7 million relates to stores with ongoing operations)
• Expect ongoing expenses associated with the closed EchoPark stores of approximately $2.5 million to $3.0 million per quarter
• Reiterate previously issued guidance of an expected return to breakeven EchoPark Segment adjusted EBITDA* in the first quarter of 2024

* Represents a non-GAAP financial measure - please refer to the discussion and reconciliation of non-GAAP financial measures below.

Management Commentary

David Smith, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Sonic Automotive, stated, “Our team remains focused on executing our strategic plan and adapting our business to an evolving industry backdrop. I am extremely proud of our team's continued efforts to maximize profitability in the near-term, while positioning Sonic for long-term success. We believe the strategic investments in our business and our teammates will allow us to continue to deliver an exceptional guest experience while generating returns for our stockholders in the long run.”

Jeff Dyke, President of Sonic Automotive, commented, “Our team's combined decades of experience in the automotive retail industry has taught us that making tough business decisions in the short-term can pay dividends over time. We remain confident in the long-term potential for EchoPark and believe that the steps we have taken to improve near-term financial performance will position us to achieve our strategic goals. In the meantime, our franchised dealerships and powersports teams continue to perform at a high level, maintaining our focus on profitability enhancements and cash flow generation as market conditions begin to normalize.”

Heath Byrd, Chief Financial Officer of Sonic Automotive, added, “Our strong balance sheet and cash flows provide us with the flexibility to continue to enhance our diversified business model and adapt to changes in the macroeconomic and industry backdrop. As of June 30, 2023, we had $864 million of liquidity, including $407 million in cash and floor plan deposits on hand. With the improvements we have made to the EchoPark cost structure, we believe we remain well-positioned to achieve our financial goals and continue to deliver long-term returns for our stockholders.”

Second Quarter 2023 Segment Highlights

The financial measures discussed below are results for the second quarter of 2023 with comparisons made to the second quarter of 2022, unless otherwise noted.

• Franchised Dealerships Segment operating results include:
  • Same store revenues up 6%; same store gross profit down 2%
  • Same store retail new vehicle unit sales volume up 12%; same store retail new vehicle gross profit per unit down 25%, to $4,986
  • Same store retail used vehicle unit sales volume down 10%; same store retail used vehicle gross profit per unit down 3%, to $1,618
  • Same store parts, service and collision repair (“Fixed Operations”) gross profit up 9%; same store customer pay gross profit up 11%; same store warranty gross profit up 6%; same store Fixed Operations gross margin down 10 basis points, to 49.6%
  • Same store finance and insurance ("F&I") gross profit up 4%; same store F&I gross profit per retail unit of $2,522, up 4% (all-time record quarterly Franchised Dealerships Segment F&I per unit of $2,516, up 2%)
  • On a trailing quarter cost of sales basis, the Franchised Dealerships Segment had 30 days’ supply of new vehicle inventory (including in-transit) and 31 days’ supply of used vehicle inventory
• EchoPark Segment operating results include:
  • Revenues of $600.6 million, down 9%; gross profit of $26.8 million, down 44% (reported gross profit includes a $10.0 million charge related to used vehicle inventory valuation adjustments)
    • Revenues from the closed EchoPark stores were $74.4 million, down 30%; gross profit from the closed EchoPark stores was $3.1, down 37%
  • Retail used vehicle unit sales volume of 17,084, up 4%
    • Retail used vehicle unit sales volume from the closed EchoPark stores was 2,324 units (14% of EchoPark Segment retail used vehicle unit sales volume)
  • Reported segment loss of $52.8 million, adjusted segment loss* of $40.0 million, and adjusted EBITDA* loss of $31.8 million
    • Reported segment loss from the closed EchoPark stores was $13.2 million
  • Retail used vehicle unit sales volume was comprised of 82% 1-4-year-old vehicles and 18% 5-plus-year-old vehicles, with 23% of retail used vehicle unit sales volume sourced from non-auction sources
  • On a trailing quarter cost of sales basis, the EchoPark Segment had 39 days’ supply of used vehicle inventory
• Powersports Segment operating results include:
  • Revenues of $45.0 million, gross profit of $12.8 million, gross margin of 28.5%
  • Segment income of $2.0 million and adjusted EBITDA* of $3.4 million
  • Year-over-year comparative financial results are not meaningful due to the timing of acquisitions of Horny Toad Harley-Davidson in Temple, Texas (one store acquired in January 2022), Team Mancuso Powersports in Houston, Texas (seven stores acquired in August 2022), and Black Hills Harley-Davidson in Sturgis, South Dakota (five stores acquired in February 2023)

* Represents a non-GAAP financial measure - please refer to the discussion and reconciliation of non-GAAP financial measures below.

Acquisition and Disposition Activity

During the second quarter of 2023, Sonic disposed of three franchised dealerships in Alabama and North Carolina, which generated net cash from disposition of approximately $52.3 million and a net gain on disposition of approximately $20.9 million. These disposed stores represent projected annualized revenues of approximately $170 million and projected annualized pre-tax income of approximately $5 million.

Dividend

Sonic’s Board of Directors approved a quarterly cash dividend of $0.29 per share, payable on October 13, 2023 to all stockholders of record on September 15, 2023.

Second Quarter 2023 Earnings Conference Call

Senior management will hold a conference call today at 11:00 A.M. (Eastern). Investor presentation and earnings press release materials will be accessible beginning prior to the conference call on the Company’s website at ir.sonicautomotive.com.

To access the live webcast of the conference call, please go to ir.sonicautomotive.com and select the webcast link at the top of the page. For telephone access to this conference call, please dial (866) 682-6100 (domestic) or +1 (862) 298-0702 (international) and ask to be connected to the Sonic Automotive Second Quarter 2023 Earnings Conference Call. Dial-in access remains available throughout the live call; however, to ensure you are connected for the full call we suggest dialing in at least 10 minutes before the start of the call. A webcast replay will be available following the call for 14 days at ir.sonicautomotive.com.

About Sonic Automotive

Sonic Automotive, Inc., a Fortune 500 company based in Charlotte, North Carolina, is on a quest to become the most valuable automotive retailer and service brand in America. Our Company culture thrives on creating, innovating, and providing industry-leading guest experiences, driven by strategic investments in technology, teammates, and ideas that ultimately fulfill ownership dreams, enrich lives, and deliver happiness to our guests and teammates. As one of the largest automotive retailers in America, we are committed to delivering on this goal while pursuing expansive growth and taking progressive measures to be the leader in this category. Our new platforms, programs, and people are set to drive the next generation of automotive experiences. More information about Sonic Automotive can be found at www.sonicautomotive.com and ir.sonicautomotive.com.

About EchoPark Automotive

EchoPark Automotive is one of the most comprehensive retailers of nearly new pre-owned vehicles in America today. Our unique business model offers a best-in-class shopping and utilizes one of the most innovative technology-enabled sales strategies in our industry. Our approach provides a personalized and proven guest-centric buying process that consistently delivers award-winning guest experiences and superior value to car buyers nationwide, with savings of up to $3,000 versus the competition. Consumers have responded by putting EchoPark at number one among national pre-owned vehicle retailers in products, sales, and service based on Google Reviews between April 2021 through April 2022, while receiving the 2023 Consumer Satisfaction Award from DealerRater. EchoPark’s mission is in the name: Every Car, Happy Owner. This drives the experience for guests and differentiates EchoPark from the competition. More information about EchoPark Automotive can be found at www.echopark.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

Included herein are forward-looking statements, including statements regarding anticipated future EchoPark profitability, anticipated future EchoPark adjusted EBITDA, and anticipated future expenses related to closed locations. There are many factors that affect management’s views about future events and trends of the Company’s business. These factors involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results or trends to differ materially from management’s views, including, without limitation, economic conditions in the markets in which we operate, supply chain disruptions and manufacturing delays, labor shortages, the impacts of inflation and increases in interest rates, new and used vehicle industry sales volume, future levels of consumer demand for new and used vehicles, anticipated future growth in each of our operating segments, the success of our operational strategies, the rate and timing of overall economic expansion or contraction, the integration of recent or future acquisitions, and the risk factors described in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022 and other reports and information filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”). The Company does not undertake any obligation to update forward-looking information, except as required under federal securities laws and the rules and regulations of the SEC.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

This press release and the attached financial tables contain certain non-GAAP financial measures as defined under SEC rules, such as adjusted net income, adjusted earnings per diluted share, adjusted SG&A expenses as a percentage of gross profit, adjusted segment loss, and adjusted EBITDA. As required by SEC rules, the Company has provided reconciliations of these non-GAAP financial measures to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures in the schedules included in this press release. The Company believes that these non-GAAP financial measures improve the transparency of the Company’s disclosures and provide a meaningful presentation of the Company’s results.