EX-99.2 3 exhibit2.htm EX-99.2 EX-99.2

NEWS RELEASE 950 Echo Lane, Suite 100 Houston, TX 77024

             
AT GROUP 1:
  President and CEO   Earl J. Hesterberg   (713) 647-5700
 
  Senior Vice President and
CFO
 
John C. Rickel
 
(713) 647-5700
 
  Manager, Investor Relations   Kim Paper Canning   (713) 647-5700
AT Fleishman-Hillard:
  Investors   John Roper   (713) 513-9505
AT Pierpont Communications:
  Media   Clint L. Woods   (713) 627-2223
 
           

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
TUESDAY, FEB. 26, 2008

GROUP 1 AUTOMOTIVE DECLARES QUARTERLY CASH DIVIDEND

HOUSTON, Feb. 26, 2008 — Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE: GPI), a Fortune 500 automotive retailer, today announced that its board of directors approved a quarterly cash dividend of $0.14 per share payable on March 17, 2008, to stockholders of record on March 7, 2008.

About Group 1 Automotive, Inc.
Group 1 owns and operates 104 automotive dealerships, 143 franchises, and 26 collision service centers in the United States and United Kingdom that offer 32 brands of automobiles. Through its dealerships, the company sells new and used cars and light trucks; arranges related financing, vehicle service and insurance contracts; provides maintenance and repair services; and sells replacement parts.

Group 1 Automotive can be reached on the Internet at www.group1auto.com.

This press release contains “forward-looking statements,” which are statements related to future, not past, events. In this context, the forward-looking statements often include statements regarding our goals, plans, projections and guidance regarding our financial position, results of operations, market position, pending and potential future acquisitions and business strategy, and often contain words such as “expects,” “anticipates,” “intends,” “plans,” “believes,” “seeks” or “will.” Any such forward-looking statements are not assurances of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties that may cause results to differ materially from those set forth in the statements. These risks and uncertainties include, among other things, (a) general economic and business conditions, (b) the level of manufacturer incentives, (c) the future regulatory environment, (d) our ability to obtain an inventory of desirable new and used vehicles, (e) our relationship with our automobile manufacturers and the willingness of manufacturers to approve future acquisitions, (f) our cost of financing and the availability of credit for consumers, (g) our ability to complete acquisitions and dispositions and the risks associated therewith, (h) foreign exchange controls and currency fluctuations, and (i) our ability to retain key personnel. These factors, as well as additional factors that could affect our forward-looking statements, are described in our Form 10-K under the headings “Business—Risk Factors” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.” We urge you to carefully consider this information. We undertake no duty to update our forward-looking statements, including our earnings outlook.