Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH) Q4 2022 Earnings Conference Call February 15, 2023 11:00 AM ET

Company Participants

David Smith - Chairman & CEO

Jeff Dyke - President

Heath Byrd - CFO

Danny Wieland - VP of IR

Conference Call Participants

John Murphy - Bank of America Merrill Lynch

Daniel Imbro - Stephens

Rajat Gupta - JPMorgan

Bret Jordan - Jefferies

Diego Ortega - Morgan Stanley

Operator

Good morning, and welcome to the Sonic Automotive Fourth Quarter 2022 Earnings Conference Call. This conference call is being recorded today, Wednesday, February 15, 2023. Presentation materials, which accompany management's discussion on the conference call can be accessed at the company's website at ir.sonicautomotive.com.

At this time, I would like to refer to the safe harbor statement of the Private Securities and Litigation Reform Act of 1995. During this conference call, management may discuss financial projections, information or expectations about the company's products or market or otherwise make statements about the future.

Such statements are forward-looking and subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the statements made. These risks and uncertainties are detailed in the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

In addition, management may discuss certain non-GAAP financial measures as defined by the Securities and Exchange Commission. Please refer to the non-GAAP reconciliation tables in the company's current report on Form 8-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission earlier today.

I would now like to introduce Mr. David Smith, Chief Executive Officer, Sonic Automotive. Mr. Smith, you may begin your conference.

David Smith

Thanks very much. Good morning, everyone, and welcome to the Sonic Automotive fourth quarter 2022 earnings call. As you said, I'm David Smith, the company's Chairman and CEO. Joining me on the call today is our President, Mr. Jeff Dyke; our CFO, Mr. Heath Byrd; our EchoPark Chief Operating Officer, Mr. Tim Keen; our Chief Digital Retail Officer, Mr. Steve Wittman; and our Vice President of Investor Relations, Mr. Danny Wieland.

Today, Sonic reported another period of record financial results, including record fourth quarter and full year revenues. Highlights from our fourth quarter performance include all-time record quarterly revenues of $3.6 billion, up 13% year-over-year and record fourth quarter gross profit of $576 million, up 9% year-over-year.

Fourth quarter GAAP EPS reflects a $320 million pre-tax non-cash impairment charge -- again, that's a non-cash impairment charge, resulting in a net loss of $5.22 per share. Excluding the effects of the non-cash impairment charge, and other non-recurring items, we reported adjusted earnings per share of $2.61.