Hertz Global Holdings Inc. said its second-quarter profit dropped 39 percent, attributing the drop in profit to higher restructuring costs.

Hertz also attributed the drop in profit to the non-cash write-off of deferred debt costs related to its European fleet financing arrangement, and the change in the mark-to-market values on its interest rate derivative contracts.

Hertz said it posted a profit of $51.2 million, or 16 cents per share, compared with $83.7 million, or 26 cents per share, for the same quarter in 2007.

Revenue rose 4.6 percent to $2.28 billion from $2.18 billion in the year-ago period.

Hertz Chairman and CEO Mark Frissora said the second quarter was challenging for the rental industry because of a difficult economic environment as evidenced by lackluster GDP growth and lower consumer confidence.

But he said the company maintained a strong focus on cost control and efficiency as well as cash management, which enabled it to offset the industry-wide softer volume and pricing pressures experienced in the quarter.

0 Comments