Lithia & Driveway Q3 Earnings Fall, Despite Higher Revenues

(RTTNews) - Lithia Motors, Inc. (LAD), an automotive retailer, on Wednesday reported lower earnings for the third quarter, owing to higher costs and unrealized foreign currency losses.

Revenues increased by 13.5 percent but missed the analyst's estimate.

Quarterly net income decreased 20.7 percent to $261.5 million or $9.46 per share from $329.6 million or $11.92 per share for the same period last year. The company said unrealized foreign currency losses had an impact on earnings per share by $0.28.

Excluding items, earnings fell to $259 million or $9.25 per share from $307 million or $11.08 per share of the previous year. On average, 12 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected earnings of $10.08 per share for the year. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

Total revenues, however, rose to $8.277 billion from $7.295 billion in the prior year. The Street estimate for revenue was $8.2 billion. The cost of sales climbed to $6.906 billion from $5.982 billion last year.

Additionally, the company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share payable on November 17, to shareholders of record on November 10.

In pre-market activity, Lithia & Driveway shares are trading at $247.31 down 0.87% on the New York Stock Exchange.