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Text: As required by applicable SEC rules, we provide reconciliations of any such non-GAAP financial measures to the most directly comparable GAAP measures on our website.
It is my pleasure to now hand the call over to our CEO, David Hult.
In the fourth quarter, we closed on the transformative acquisitions of Larry H. Miller and Total Care Auto, powered by Landcar, Kahlo Chrysler Jeep Dodge, Arapahoe Hyundai-Genesis and the Stevinson Automotive Group, representing approximately $6.6 billion in annualized revenue.
These acquisitions represent the right brands in high-growth markets and are aligned with Asbury's culture.
We look forward to deploying our joint capabilities and growing together, and I'm excited to have our new team members as part of the Asbury family.
2021 was an all-time record year for Asbury.
For the full year, we grew adjusted EBITDA by 94% and adjusted earnings per share by 112%.
We delivered an operating margin adjusted at 8.1%.
We succeeded in adding great stores in targeted high-growth markets and we completed the rollout of our online transactional tool, Clicklane to all the legacy Asbury stores.
In a challenging new vehicle environment, we delivered record profitability by improving our new vehicle margin, increasing our used vehicle sales and growing our parts and service business, all while maintaining our improved employee productivity levels and using our strong cash flow for acquisitions.
Our multiple business lines allow us to adapt and continue to deliver strong earnings in any business environment.
We will also deploy Total Care Auto into our legacy stores and roll out Clicklane into our recent acquisitions, allowing us to further grow our earnings.
Due to our record performance and strong cash flow, our balance sheet remains solid.
Our adjusted operating cash flow for 2021 was $632 million, an increase of $189 million over 2020.
Our net leverage ended this quarter at 2.7 times.
We will continue to use our free cash flow to manage our leverage and maximize shareholder return through share buybacks and acquisitions.
Now, I'd like to give you a quick update on our five-year plan.
Our same-store adjusted revenue grew almost 12% last year, exceeding expectations.
Clicklane continues to deliver impressive metrics, generating over $570 million in additional revenue for three quarters in 2021.
Despite lower new vehicle levels, inventory levels, Clicklane contributed an incremental 7% to our same-store growth.
As previously noted, we had a very successful year regarding acquisitions.
With these results, we maintain full confidence in the execution of our growth strategy.
Based upon our results in 2021, we will update our five-year plan during our Q1 2022 earnings call.
I will now hand the call over to Dan to discuss our operating performance.
We delivered strong results, enabling us to deliver an impressive gross margin of 20.4%, an all-time record and an expansion of 370 basis points versus the fourth quarter last year.
Our teams continue to maximize productivity per employee, resulting in adjusted SG&A as a percentage of gross profit of 54.3%, a 710 basis point improvement versus prior year.
Our total revenue for the quarter was up 19% year over year and total gross profit was up 46%.
We improved our adjusted operating margins for the quarter from 6% in 2020 to 8.9% in 2021, and we'll continue to optimize our portfolio in the future.
Now, I will turn to our same-store performance compared to the fourth quarter of 2020, unless stated otherwise.
Starting with new vehicles.
Based on current market conditions, we continue to be focused on being opportunistic with our inventory and improving grosses to maximize profit.
Our new average gross profit per vehicle was $6,335, up $3,441 or 119% from the prior-year period.
All segment margins were up significantly from the prior-year period.
At the end of December, our total new vehicle inventory was $207 million and our day supply was at eight days, down 32 days from the prior year.
We expect the days supply to remain low as we progress into 2022, trending up moderately toward the end of the year.
Turning to used vehicles.
Our used retail volume increased 15%, while gross margin was 8.2%, representing an average gross profit per vehicle of $2,623.
As a result of our performance, our retail gross profit was up 64%.
Our total used vehicle inventory ended the quarter at $402 million, which represents a 34-day supply, up three days from the prior year.
Our used to new ratio for the quarter was 109%.
Our strong, consistent and sustainable growth in F&I delivered an increase of $213 to $1,961 per vehicle retailed from the prior-year quarter.
In the fourth quarter, our front-end yield per vehicle increased $2,169 per vehicle to an all-time record of $6,362.
And now to parts and service.
Our parts and service revenue increased 13% in the quarter.
The warranty revenue dropped 19%.
Our customer pay revenue continues its healthy recovery, posting a 17% growth.
We achieved over 149,000 online service appointments, an all-time record and a 16% increase over the prior-year quarter.
Some of the benefits of increasing online service appointments include enhancement to the customer experience, higher customer retention, higher conversion rates, higher margins and higher returns to our shareholders.
With three full quarters of Clicklane at all legacy stores under our belt, we would like to share some performance metrics.
We sold over 5,000 vehicles through Clicklane in Q4, of which 47% of them were new vehicles and 53% used.
91% of our transactions this quarter were with customers that were new to Asbury's dealership network.
Average transaction time continues to be consistent with previous quarter, eight minutes for cash deals and 14 minutes for finance deals.
Total variable front-end yield of $4,298 and F&I front-end yield of $1,846.
Average credit score is higher than the average credit score at our stores.
80% of consumers seeking financing received instant approval, while an additional 10% require some off-line assistance.
90% of those that applied were approved for financing.
43% of Clicklane sales had trade-ins with 78% of such trades reconditioned in retail to consumers with a total front-end yield of $4,490.
And 92% of our Clicklane deliveries are within a 50-mile radius of our stores, thus allowing us the opportunity to retain our new customers in our parts and service departments.
As expected, Clicklane customers are converting at greater rates than traditional Internet leads.
During our first few months after launching Clicklane, approximately 60% of our sales were new vehicles.
Until inventory levels somewhat normalized, we will not be able to fully assess the full potential of Clicklane.
We remain quite excited about the continued growth of Clicklane.
All of you have built tremendous organizations that properly align with our North Star of being the most guest-centric automotive retailer.
Our future is bright, and I look forward to meeting all of you.
I will now hand the call over to Michael to discuss our financial performance.
I would like to provide some financial highlights, which marked yet another record quarter for our company.
Overall, compared to the fourth quarter of last year, our actions to manage gross profit and control expenses resulted in a fourth quarter adjusted operating margin of 8.9%, an increase of 290 basis points above the same period last year and an all-time record.
Adjusted net income increased 89% to $163 million, and adjusted earnings per share increased 68% to $7.46.
Net income for the fourth quarter of 2021 was adjusted for acquisition expenses and acquisition-related financing expenses of $289 million or $1.02 per diluted share.
Net income for the fourth quarter of 2020 was adjusted for a gain on dealership divestiture of $3.9 million or $0.15 per diluted share.
In addition to the net income adjustments mentioned above, our fourth quarter 2021 earnings per share was negatively impacted by the interest and additional shares issued as part of the acquisition financing that was completed prior to the acquisition closing.
If the financing had closed simultaneously with the Larry H. Miller acquisition, our adjusted earnings per share for the fourth quarter would have been positively impacted by $0.87 as a result of lower interest expense and fewer outstanding shares.
Now for the full year 2021 results compared to 2020.
Adjusted operating margin was 8.1%, an increase of 240 basis points at an all-time record.
Adjusted net income increased 120% to $549 million and adjusted earnings per share increased 112% to $27.29.
Our effective tax rate was 23.7% for 2021 compared to 24.8% in 2020.
This quarter, we acquired $6.6 billion in annualized revenue.
In order to finance the acquisitions, we completed debt and equity offerings totaling approximately $2.1 billion, a syndicated mortgage facility of approximately $700 million and borrowed under our upsized syndicated credit facility.
In addition, we spent approximately $34 million of capital expenditures in the quarter.
We generated $632 million of adjusted operating cash flow for the year.
Our balance sheet remains healthy as we ended the quarter with approximately $437 million of liquidity, comprised of cash, excluding cash to Total Care Auto, floorplan offset accounts and availability on both our used line and revolving credit facility.
Also at the end of the quarter, our net leverage ratio stood at 2.7 times, below our targeted net leverage of three times.
As David stated earlier, today, we announced that our board has approved an increase to our share repurchase authorization by $100 million to $200 million.
For 2022, we are planning for a tax rate of approximately 25% to 26% and capex of approximately $150 million.
This amount excludes real estate purchases and potential lease buyout opportunities that we consider to be financing transactions.
Our key objectives are: Continue our smooth transition with all of our new value team members; execute superior allocation of capital to maximize shareholder return; continue the innovation and growth of Clicklane, rolling out this fully transactional tool coast to coast into our recent acquisitions; integrate our insurance and F&I product provider, Total Care Auto, across the entire Asbury platform of dealerships, which will allow us to expand our F&I PVR; execute our companywide training initiative to continue the development and growth of our teammates; and maintain our best-in-class operating margins and SG&A.
I would also like to make a few comments regarding our expectations for this year.
We are excited about 2022.
We see good opportunities for automotive retail, and we expect that demand will continue to exceed supply for most of the year.
We do anticipate a gradual recovery in inventory levels in the second half of '22 as OEM production improves.
As a result, we are planning our business for a SAAR of 15.5 million to 16 million units and vehicle margins consistent with 2021.
We will remain nimble and vigilant to adapt as conditions evolve.
SG&A as a percentage of gross profit should continue to benefit from active expense management and improved employee productivity.
We look forward to continuing to deliver strong results for our shareholders, be outstanding partners with our OEMs to steward their great brands and offer an environment where our team members can thrive while providing the most guest-centric experience in automotive retail.
Finally, I'd like to address all of my teammates at Asbury.
Our ability to add quality stores, who, like us, care about serving our guests and being highly engaged in our communities could not have happened without you.
You all have given us the ability to thoughtfully grow our core business because you align behind our vision.
People make the difference in any organization and you are making us a better place to work, and you are creating an environment where people want to do business.

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increase in company's share repurchase authorization by $100 million, to $200 million.
qtrly used vehicle retail unit volume increased 27%; used vehicle retail revenue increased 53%.
q4 adjusted earnings per share of $7.46 per diluted share.
qtrly revenue of $2.7 billion, an increase of 19%.

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