WRAPUP 1-U.S. auto dealers post profit, outlook cautious

* Auto dealerships post Q3 profit, but cautious on Q4

* Shares of Group 1 down 12 pct; Sonic closes down 17 pct

* Sonic sees flat '10 sales, Group 1 Q4 view disappoints

By Kevin Krolicki

DETROIT, Oct 27 (Reuters) - Group 1 Automotive Inc (GPI.N), the No. 4 U.S. auto dealership, posted a quarterly profit on Tuesday that was double the year-earlier figure, but its cautious outlook for the current quarter sent its shares down 12 percent.

Sonic Automotive Inc (SAH.N), the No. 3, dealership, also reported a third-quarter profit compared with a year-earlier loss after refinancing its debt in late September.

But Sonic also projected 2010 sales would be flat from this year's depressed levels of near 10.5 million vehicles in the U.S. market.

The shares of Charlotte, North Carolina-based Sonic closed down 17 percent.

Both auto dealerships saw their results boosted by the one- time boom in auto sales created by the U.S. government's "Cash for Clunkers" trade-in incentive program this summer.

But investor attention has shifted to the prospect of a slow finish to 2009. Industry-wide auto sales have dropped 27 percent through September.

Sonic projected 2010 U.S. auto sales would be about flat from 2009 levels at 10.5 million vehicles. That is sharply lower than the outlook of industry tracking services that have projected a double-digit percentage rebound in U.S. sales.

CSM Worldwide has forecast industry-wide U.S. sales of 11.8 million cars and light trucks. J.D. Power forecasts 11.5 million vehicle sales in 2010.

"If the other guys are right, we'll take that too. We're just planning our business conservatively," said Sonic Chief Financial Officer Dave Cosper.

Houston-based Group One offered a full-year 2009 profit forecast that implied fourth-quarter earnings could be lower than the current consensus among analysts tracking the stock.

The company, which operates 96 dealerships, expected flat revenue from its parts and service operations, an area that contributed almost half of its gross earnings in the third quarter.

For the full year, Group One forecast earnings per share of $1.66 to $1.76. That would imply fourth-quarter earnings of between 31 cents and 41 cents per share. Analysts on average had been expecting fourth-quarter earnings of 39 cents per share.