David W. Hult will be the new chief operating officer of Asbury Automotive Group, the company announced on Thursday, effective November 3rd.
Hult has extensive experience in the automotive retail industry both with large private organizations as well as a number of years with public automotive retail companies, including Group 1 Automotive and Penske Automotive Group, according to a company press release.
Current COO Michael Kearney will step down from his position and continue in his role of executive vice president until he retires in March of 2015.
The announcement comes just days after the company announced its 3rd quarter earnings, with total revenues up 8% to 1.5 billion. New vehicle retail revenues were at $821.3 million, up from $759.9 from the same time last year, while used revenues were at $457 million, also up from $421.7 million last year. Finance and Insurance was at $59 million for the three months ended September 30, up from $54.7 million at the same time last year.
“Our strategy and practice within the F&I segment of our business remains unchanged,” Kearney said during the company’s conference call. “Disciplined execution of F&I sales, processes and training creates solid sustainable growth and results. Third quarter F&I revenues grew 7% compared to the prior year period. F&I PVR (per vehicle sold) for the quarter was $1337, up $22 on a year-over-year basis, and the lending environment remains favorable.”
