CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Sonic Automotive Inc. reported a 24 percent profit increase in the first quarter, earning $19.5 million from continuing operations. Same-store revenues grew 9 percent from a year ago, a record for the dealer group.

New-vehicle retail revenue rose 12.1 percent, while used-vehicle revenue jumped 9 percent from the year-ago period.

F&I revenue increased by 20.7 percent from the year-ago period, while parts and service revenue rose by 5.1 percent.

"As a result of our operating disciplines, we achieved record first quarter revenues of nearly $2 billion with our current complement of stores,” said Jeff Dyke, executive vice president of operations. “Our-new vehicle retail unit volume, which increased 11.2 percent versus the first quarter of 2011, outpaced the new-vehicle retail industry volume increase. We are excited about the possibilities of further improvement resulting from our continued focus on efficient execution of our selling and customer service processes."