Avis Budget Group Inc. reported results for its fourth quarter and full year, which ended December 31, 2009. Avis reported full-year revenue of $5.1 billion and a pretax loss of $77 million, including $20 million of restructuring charges and $33 million of non-cash impairment charges.

For the fourth quarter, Avis reported revenue of $1.2 billion and a pretax loss of $88 million, including $5 million of restructuring charges and a $32 million non-cash impairment charge.

Excluding unusual items, Avis generated full-year EBITDA of $243 million and a pretax loss of $6 million, and fourth quarter EBITDA of $14 million and a pretax loss of $51 million.

"In the fourth quarter, we saw a continuation of trends from the third quarter, specifically, strong pricing, tepid demand, a healthy used-car market and rigorous cost control throughout our operations. This enabled us to post significant year-over-year improvement in earnings," said Ronald L. Nelson, Avis Budget Group Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "Our decisions to remain tight-fleeted and further reduce unprofitable transactions helped us increase our Domestic Car Rental EBITDA by more than $80 million versus the prior-year quarter, despite lower revenues and lower rental volumes. Our ongoing cost reductions were also critical to our improved results.

"As we look into 2010, we expect year-over-year rental volume comparisons to improve over the course of the year, cost-saving initiatives to provide incremental benefits and the used car market to remain healthy. We also expect our per-unit fleet costs to decline year-over-year as we add more model-year 2010 vehicles to our fleet," Nelson said.

To read complete fourth quarter 2009 and full-year report, click here.