Sixt issued the following press release Aug. 22 regarding its second quarter and first half 2011 financial results:

 

PRESS RELEASE

Sixt Group’s pre-tax earnings double to EUR 71.4 million for H1 2011

• Lively demand for mobility services in Germany and other countries

• Rental revenue rises 11.9% for first half

• Best second-quarter earnings in company history

• DriveNow carsharing service off to a successful start

• Solid foundation for achieving full-year goal

Pullach, 22 August 2011 – The Sixt Group recorded a very successful first half in 2011. Consolidated profit before taxes (EBT) doubled to EUR 71.4 million, compared to EUR 34.8 million for the same period last year. And from April to June, the international mobility services provider showed its best second-quarter earnings (EBT) in its history: EUR 39.2 million. The revival in demand for mobility services that had already become evident in the first quarter continued over the entire half. Irrespective of the still-rising general economic risks, management has reconfirmed its previous forecasts for full-year 2011.

Erich Sixt, Chairman of the Managing Board of Sixt AG: “The first half showed once again that Sixt is one of the world's most profitable companies in its field. We not only benefited from the reviving economy, especially in Germany, but also played to our strengths in the market: premium products with an attractive price-performance ratio, good service, a focus on high-margin revenue, and discipline on costs. All of which makes me very confident that we’ll achieve our revenue and earnings targets for 2011.”

 

Developments in the Group in the first six months of 2011:

• Rental revenue increased by 11.9%, to EUR 419.3 million (H1 2010: EUR 374.5 million). Here Sixt especially profited from rising demand, among others because of reviving business travel, and from stable rental prices. Growth outside Germany was 20.0%, to EUR 129.0 million; rental revenue in Germany for the first half grew 8.7%, to EUR 290.3 million.

• Leasing revenue came to EUR 197.0 million, 6.9% below the same period last year (EUR 211.6 million). This figure continues to show the effects of the previous years’ decline of the lease portfolio, as a consequence of concentrating on the higher-margin full-service leasing business.

• Revenue from the sale of used leasing vehicles, in which fluctuations are normal, was down 19.0% from the prior-year equivalent (EUR 115.2 million) to EUR 93.4 million, likewise because of the smaller portfolio of leases.

• The Group’s total revenue, at EUR 755.8 million, was on a par with the same period last year (EUR 759.6 million; –0.5%).

• Consolidated earnings before net finance costs and taxes (EBIT) grew from EUR

63.4 million for the first half of 2010 to EUR 96.7 million (+52.6%), thanks to gains in operations and a generally stable cost structure.

• Consolidated profit before taxes (EBT) doubled from EUR 34.8 million to EUR

71.4 million.

• After taxes, Sixt is reporting a profit for the half of EUR 50.2 million (H1 2010: EUR 25.7 million).

 

Developments in the Group in the second quarter of 2011

• Rental revenue, at EUR 223.7 million, grew 12.7% compared to last year’s equivalent quarter (EUR 198.5 million).

• Leasing revenue, at EUR 100.5 million, was slightly below the figure for Q2 2010 (EUR 104.8 million; –4.1%).

• Revenue from the sale of used leasing vehicles decreased to EUR 44.5 million (Q2 2010: EUR 62.0 million; –28.2%). 

• Total consolidated revenue, at EUR 391.4 million, was on a par with a year ago (Q2 2010: EUR 393.6 million; –0.6%).

• The Group is reporting an EBT of EUR 39.2 million for the second quarter of 2011, a 46.9% gain (Q2 2010: EUR 26.8 million).


Fleet investments expanded

Good demand throughout Europe led Sixt to add 77,600 vehicles to the rental and leasing fleet during the first half of the year, compared to 75,200 for the same period in 2010 – a 3.2% increase. The value of the added vehicles increased 9.9%, to EUR 1.85 billion (H1 2010: EUR 1.68 billion).

 

Capital increase completed, bonus shares issued

Sixt AG took a number of shareholder appreciation steps in the first half of 2011. In addition to a substantial increase in the dividend for fiscal 2010, the Annual General Meeting on 22 June approved a 1-for-1 capital increase out of company funds, converting a portion of retained earnings into share capital yielding dividends. One new share per existing share was issued for each class of shares. Consequently the number of shares and the share capital both doubled, to 50,450,700 shares and EUR 129.2 million, respectively. The new shares carry dividend rights as from 1 January of this year. The capital increase has already had a positive effect on the liquidity and tradability of Sixt stock.

The Sixt Group’s equity at the end of June 2011 came to EUR 551 million, an increase of about 2% from the end of 2010 (EUR 541 million). The equity ratio was at 23% (31 December 2010: 24%), and thus remains substantially higher than the average for the rental and leasing industry in general.

Outlook for full-year 2011

Fundamentally, the Managing Board is optimistic about the Group’s future business performance. Following the very pleasing business performance of the first six months, management continues to expect the Group to achieve its goals for full-year 2011, in spite of the rise in general economic risk. Sixt continues to expect rental revenues to grow, and leasing revenue to remain roughly stable. Consolidated EBT is expected to be higher than last year's figure.

Developments in the operating business units

Vehicle Rental: With their presence in Germany, France, the UK, Spain, the Benelux, Monaco, Austria and Switzerland, Sixt subsidiaries cover more than 70% of the European rental market. Additionally, during H1 2011 the Group took its first step to open a rental business in the United States, in Florida. In other European countries and in other regions of the world, the Sixt brand is represented by a close-knit network of franchisees. Sixt has Vehicle Rental operations in a total of about 105 countries. At the end of the first half of 2011, Sixt had 1,870 rental offices worldwide, 488 of them in Germany.

The highlight of Q2 2011 was the launch of the innovative DriveNow carsharing service. This is a joint venture between the BMW Group and Sixt, each of which holds 50%. Each partner contributes its own particular strengths: BMW brings in vehicles and the latest vehicle technologies, while Sixt adds rental expertise and the necessary IT systems.

DriveNow is the first carsharing concept in Germany that relies on premium vehicles and all-inclusive service. Since the beginning of June, registered users in the Munich downtown area have been able to use 300 expensively outfitted Minis and BMW 1 series. The special advantage over competitors is that the arrangement has no fixed offices or parking lots. A customer can simply rent a vehicle where it is, and park it wherever the customer is going.

Response so far has been well above expectations: DriveNow has already attracted approx. 4,500 users. A launch in Berlin is scheduled for end of September. Further German and European metropolitan areas will be tapped in the coming years.

The Vehicle Rental Business Unit showed rental revenue of EUR 419.3 million for the first half of 2011 (+11.9%). Europe outside Germany (+20%), and especially Spain, performed especially well. The unit’s total revenue for the half grew 7.3%, to EUR 461.5 million (H1 2010: EUR 430.3 million). Lively demand and stable rental prices contributed to raise EBT significantly, to EUR 58.3 million, compared to EUR 27.0 million for the first half of 2010.

Leasing: Sixt is one of Germany’s largest vendor-neutral, non-bank full-service leasing companies, offering corporate and private customers a broad range of supplemental services for managing fleets and individual vehicles, in addition to pure finance leasing.

Again in the first half of 2011, Sixt held firm to the “earnings before revenue” principle, and therefore focused especially on improving lease margins, combined with an avoidance of any new business that would be insufficiently profitable. Nevertheless, the number of leases in Germany and other countries (not including franchising partners) as at 30 June 2011 grew to 56,100, about 4% more than at 31 December 2010 (54,100 leases).

The unit’s leasing revenues for the first six months of 2011 were 6.9% below the level from the same period last year, at EUR 197.0 million. However, the second-quarter decrease was only 4.1% from the same quarter last year. Total revenue in the Leasing unit (including revenue from the sale of used vehicles) came to EUR 290.4 million (–11.1%) for the first half. The clear focus on higher margins showed its worth in the substantial rise in EBT for the half, to EUR 16.7 million, compared to EUR 7.6 million for the first six months of 2010. Part of the increase in earnings resulted from a nonrecurring profit in the first quarter.
 

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