Asbury Automotive Group Reports First Quarter Income from Continuing Operations of $0.07 per Diluted Share

DULUTH, Ga., April 29 -- Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. , one of the largest automotive retail and service companies in the U.S., today reported financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2009.

Income from continuing operations for the first quarter was $2.2 million, or $0.07 per diluted share, compared to $10.4 million, or $0.32 per diluted share, in the corresponding period last year. Results for both periods included non-core items, as disclosed in the attached tables, which had no material impact on the current quarter's results, and reduced income from continuing operations for last year's first quarter by $0.01 per diluted share. Net income for the quarter totaled $0.3 million, or $0.01 per diluted share, compared with $10.1 million, or $0.31 per diluted share, a year ago.

"In light of the extraordinary conditions in the automotive retail market, we are very pleased and encouraged with our first quarter results," said Charles R. Oglesby, Asbury's President and CEO. "Delivering income from continuing operations of $0.07 per diluted share, compared with our operating loss in the fourth quarter of 2008, is a tremendous accomplishment in view of the further sequential decline in U.S. new vehicle sales. Over the past twelve months, we have made the difficult but necessary decisions to streamline our organization. We are realizing the cost saving benefits from our corporate relocation and have announced the elimination of our regional management structure, as well as accelerated our efforts to improve the productivity and profitability in our dealerships. Combined, these initiatives have enabled us to reduce same-store operating expenses by $34 million compared to the first quarter of 2008, which represents further progress in reducing our cost structure relative to the fourth quarter of last year."

Mr. Oglesby added, "As we complete our restructuring program this year, we will be centralizing many of the management functions that had previously been handled by our regional organizations. It's important to note that this is not merely a temporary response to the current sales environment -- we are rebuilding Asbury, creating the optimal structure for the future of our organization. This will help us not only to weather the current storm, but also to be much more efficient and profitable when vehicle sales eventually rebound."

Craig T. Monaghan, Asbury's Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, said, "We are currently in compliance with all of our covenants, and our liquidity position is strong. As of March 31st, we had $36 million in cash on hand and $163 million in available borrowing capacity under our credit facilities. With no major debt maturities until 2012, the Company has the financial flexibility to adapt and respond as necessary to the current market headwinds."

Asbury will host a conference call to discuss its first quarter results this afternoon at 2:00 p.m. Eastern Time. The call will be simulcast live on the Internet and can be accessed by logging onto http://www.asburyauto.com/ or http://www.ccbn.com/. In addition, a live audio of the call will be accessible to the public by calling (877) 795-3646 (domestic), or (719) 325-4839 (international); passcode - 9438944. Callers should dial in approximately 5 to 10 minutes before the call begins.