Europcar announced Nov. 14 its financial results for the third quarter of 2012, in which its consolidated revenue was slightly down at €616.6 million compared to €630.5 million in the third quarter of last year — this is a 2.2% decrease.

Volume in rental days was up +0.7% while revenue per day (RPD) was down 3.4% as a combined effect of competitive pricing and the recently launched "Value for Money" (VFM) offer, which generated growth in southern European markets over the quarter. The company continued to improve its fleet utilization rate over the third quarter, which amounted to 78.9%, compared with 77.3% in the same period last year.

Despite continued competitive pressure on pricing, Europcar said its leisure segment helped to compensate its business rentals.

"Over the third quarter, we maintained our performance versus last year, despite a very difficult economic climate and fierce competition,” said Roland Keppler, CEO of Europcar Group. “We observed weaker demand in business houses but managed to compensate this with strong performance in the leisure segments. At the same time, Fast Lane 2014 initiatives, especially with respect to e-commerce and revenue capacity management started to pay off, allowing us to be resilient despite the Eurozone crisis and our transformation in the making."

For the nine months ending Sept. 30, 2012, Europcar's consolidated revenue decreased by 2.8% compared to the same nine-month period in 2011.

To see Europcar's  second quarter results for 2012, click here.