Revenue during the quarter went up marginally by 1.58 percent to $1,666.50 million from $1,640.50 million in the previous year period. Total expenses were 95.19 percent of quarterly revenues, down from 95.75 percent for the same period last year. This has led to an improvement of 56 basis points in operating margin to 4.81 percent.

Operating income for the quarter was $80.10 million, compared with $69.70 million in the previous year period.

However, the adjusted operating income from continuing operations for the quarter stood at $74 million compared to $69.70 million in the prior year period. At the same time, adjusted operating margin improved 19 basis points in the quarter to 4.44 percent from 4.25 percent in the last year period.

"We closed 2016 with a strong performance, delivering 19% adjusted EPS growth in the fourth quarter," said Craig Monaghan, Asbury's president and chief executive officer. "We continue to execute our two-part strategy: driving operational excellence and deploying capital to its highest returns. In 2016, in a flat SAAR environment, we strengthened our dealership portfolio, repatriated over $200 million of capital to our shareholders, and grew adjusted EPS 9%."