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On Oct.
26, Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group Inc. (DTAG) reported
results for the third quarter ended Sept. 30, 2009.
Net income for the 2009 third quarter was $30.1 million,
or $1.29 per diluted share, compared to net income
of $18.9 million, or $0.87 per diluted share, for
the comparable 2008 quarter. The net income for the
third quarter of 2009 included income of $0.15 per
diluted share, compared to a loss of $0.02 per diluted
share in last year's third quarter, both of which
related to changes in fair value of derivatives.
Non-GAAP
net income for the 2009 third quarter was $26.8 million,
or $1.15 per diluted share, compared to non-GAAP net
income of $19.3 million, or $0.89 per diluted share
for the 2008 third quarter. Non-GAAP net income (loss)
excludes the (increase) decrease in fair value of
derivatives, net of related tax impact. Corporate
Adjusted EBITDA for the third quarter of 2009 was
$54.7 million, compared to $43.4 million in the third
quarter of 2008.
“In
spite of the difficult economic environment, we achieved
our third consecutive quarter of year-over-year improvement
in both non-GAAP net income (loss) and Corporate Adjusted
EBITDA,” said Scott L. Thompson, CEO and president.
“The difficult steps we have taken over the
past 12 months to maximize profitability and cash
flow, combined with improvements in residual values,
positively impacted this quarter. We expect both of
these factors will continue to benefit future operating
results.”
For
the quarter ended Sept. 30, 2009, the company's total
revenue was $438.9 million, as compared to $500.6
million for the comparable 2008 period. The decline
in revenue was primarily driven by a 21.3 percent
decrease in rental days, partially offset by an 11.5
percent improvement in revenue per day. Excluding
the impact of location closures, rental days were
down approximately 17 percent on a same store basis.
The third quarter average fleet was down approximately
20 percent compared to last year's third quarter.
“Revenue
for the quarter was in line with our expectations
and consistent with our strategy of enhancing profitability
by maintaining an optimal balance between transaction
volume and pricing,” said Thompson. “During
the month of September, we experienced rental revenue
declines of only 3 percent compared to September 2008,
and we currently expect year-over-year rental revenue
growth for the month of October as increases in RPD
are expected to fully offset volume declines, making
October the first month since May of 2008 that the
company would experience year-over-year growth in
rental revenue. These trends, augmented by our visibility
into forward reservations, indicate to us that we
may have seen the worst of the rental revenue declines
for this business cycle.”
Per
vehicle depreciation cost of $315 per month in the
third quarter of 2009 was approximately 3 percent
lower than the comparable quarter of 2008. On a sequential
basis, per vehicle depreciation costs declined approximately
14 percent as a result of improved residual values,
longer hold periods, mix optimization and more effective
remarketing. Vehicle utilization, a measure of fleet
efficiency, was 84.2 percent, down 100 basis points
from last year's third quarter. On a sequential basis,
utilization was up 360 basis points from 80.6 percent
in the second quarter of 2009.
Direct
vehicle and operating expenses and selling, general
and administrative expenses were lower in the third
quarter of 2009 compared to the same quarter in 2008
as a result of transaction declines and cost reduction
initiatives. Interest expense for the third quarter
of 2009 declined as debt was reduced by $873 million,
or approximately 33 percent, from September 2008 levels.
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