About Group 1 Automotive, Inc.

Group 1 owns and operates 97 automotive dealerships, 129 franchises, and 24 collision service centers in the United States and the United Kingdom that offer 31 brands of automobiles. Through its dealerships, the company sells new and used cars and light trucks; arranges related financing, vehicle service and insurance contracts; provides maintenance and repair services; and sells replacement parts.

Group 1 Automotive can be reached on the Internet at www.group1auto.com.

Investor contacts:
Kim Paper Canning
Manager, Investor Relations
Group 1 Automotive, Inc.
713-647-5741
Email Contact
or
John Roper
Fleishman-Hillard Inc.
713-513-9505

Media contacts:
Pete DeLongchamps
Vice President, Manufacturer Relations and Public Affairs
Group 1 Automotive, Inc.
713-647-5770
Email Contact
or
Clint Woods
Pierpont Communications, Inc.
713-627-2223

SOURCE: Group 1 Automotive, Inc.

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Group 1 Automotive, Inc., through its subsidiaries, operates in the automotive retail industry selling both new and used cars and providing various services. The company was founded in 1995 and has a market cap of $659 million.

Shares of GPI are up huge over the last 8 months after bottoming out just shy of $8 in mid February. The company's recent third-quarter results, reported on Oct 27 came in better than expected, and while shares did trade lower off the news, the macro-level trend higher is still in tact.

Third-Quarter Results

Sales were down 14% from last year to $1.2 billion, but earnings came in strong at 71 cents per share, one penny ahead of the Zacks Consensus Estimate. The company has beat in each of the last four quarter by an average of 7 cents, or 202%.

Group 1 noted that its results were helped by the cash for clunkers program, but added that it is utilizing more effective inventory management processes and cutting costs to drive its earnings moving forward. At the end of the quarter its new vehicle inventory was $298.7 million, down $76 million from the previous quarter and $370.6 million from last year.

Group 1 also said it aims to reduce its 2009 SGA expenses by $120 million from the previous year.

Estimates Jump

Estimates moved higher on the good quarter and optimistic view, with the current year adding 28 cents and moving to $1.75. The next-year estimate is bullish, pegged at $2.36, a 35% growth projection.

Valuation

In spite of the recent gains, this stock still looks reasonably priced, trading with a forward P/E of 15X, a discount to the overall market.

The Chart

Shares of GPI pulled back a bit on the earnings announcement but have since recovered after rebounding from a long-term trend line. The 52-week high is close at hand just above $35.

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About Group 1 Automotive, Inc.

Group 1 owns and operates 97 automotive dealerships, 129 franchises, and 24 collision service centers in the United States and the United Kingdom that offer 31 brands of automobiles. Through its dealerships, the company sells new and used cars and light trucks; arranges related financing, vehicle service and insurance contracts; provides maintenance and repair services; and sells replacement parts.

Group 1 Automotive can be reached on the Internet at www.group1auto.com.

This press release contains "forward-looking statements," which are statements related to future, not past, events. In this context, the forward-looking statements often include statements regarding our goals, plans, projections and guidance regarding our financial position, results of operations, market position, pending and potential future acquisitions and business strategy, and often contain words such as "expects," "anticipates," "intends," "plans," "believes," "seeks" or "will." Any such forward-looking statements are not assurances of future performance and involve 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, (a) general economic and business conditions, (b) the level of manufacturer incentives, (c) the future regulatory environment, (d) our ability to obtain an inventory of desirable new and used vehicles, (e) our relationship with our automobile manufacturers and the willingness of manufacturers to approve future acquisitions, (f) our cost of financing and the availability of credit for consumers, (g) our ability to complete acquisitions and dispositions and the risks associated therewith, (h) foreign exchange controls and currency fluctuations, and (i) our ability to retain key personnel. These factors, as well as additional factors that could affect our forward-looking statements, are described in our Form 10-K under the headings "Business -- Risk Factors" and "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations." We urge you to carefully consider this information. We undertake no duty to update our forward-looking statements, including our earnings outlook.

Investor contacts:
Kim Paper Canning
Manager, Investor Relations
Group 1 Automotive Inc.
713-647-5741
Email Contact
or
John Roper
Fleishman-Hillard Inc.
713-513-9505

Media contacts:
Pete DeLongchamps
Vice President, Manufacturer Relations and Public Affairs
Group 1 Automotive Inc.
713-647-5770
Email Contact
or
Clint Woods
Pierpont Communications, Inc.
713-627-2223

SOURCE: Group 1 Automotive Inc.

http://www2.marketwire.com/mw/emailprcntct?id=3D6A6975E20623E3
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