TULSA, Okla. -- Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group reported the company's total revenue for this year's third quarter was $337.7 million, a 9.7% increase over 2001's third quarter. Net income for the quarter was $21.2 million, a 251% percent jump over the $6 million earned for the same quarter last year.

Earnings per share were 85 cents for the 2002 quarter compared to 25 cents for the 2001 quarter. Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group owns Dollar Rent A Car Systems and Thrifty.

For the first nine months of 2002, total revenue was $882.9 million, a 3.9% increase over the first nine months of 2001. Net income for the first nine months of 2002 was $50.9 million, up 84% from the same period in 2001. Earnings per share were $2.05 for the first nine months of 2002, compared to $1.13 for the same period last year.

"We are very pleased with our third-quarter financial results," said Joseph E. Cappy, chairman, CEO and president. "Our company continues to benefit from tight cost controls and our ability to manage our fleet size to market demand, achieving high utilization. As a result, we were able to maximize pricing opportunities and deliver impressive results for our stockholders."

For the 2002 third quarter, Dollar Rent A Car Systems earned revenue of $236.6 million, a 2%increase over the third quarter of 2001. Vehicle rental revenue increased 4.2% over the third quarter of last year. This resulted from a 7% increase in revenue per day, partially offset by a 2.6% decline in rental days.

Dollar reduced its fleet size by 4.8% from last year's third quarter, resulting in higher fleet utilization and pricing.

During the third quarter, 46% of Dollar's reservations came through the Internet with about 19% booked through www.dollar.com. As part of its expanded growth strategy, Dollar began operations at Norfolk International Airport in July.

Thrifty reported record third-quarter revenue of $101.5 million, a 32.9% increase over the 2001 third quarter. The corporate operation of several key markets that were previously franchised, combined with higher rental rates, enabled Thrifty to achieve a 73.8% increase in vehicle rental revenue.

Vehicle leasing revenue grew 16.1% because of increased vehicle orders from franchisees. Thrifty's increase in Internet bookings continued during the third quarter, with 50% of total reservations made online including 23% on www.thrifty.com.

"We are pleased with our company's strong performance, particularly given the difficult operating conditions for travel-related companies," Cappy said. "However, the rental car industry continues to benefit from a rational pricing environment."

But Cappy cited "significant uncertainties regarding the condition of the economy and airline travel patterns" in forecasting the company's performance in the near-future.

"Depending on the travel environment and industry factors, our guidance for the fourth quarter is in the range of a break-even to a 10 cents loss per share, based on Dollar's fourth-quarter revenue per day increasing 7% to 8% and rental days increasing 9% to 10% over very weak conditions in last year's fourth quarter," Cappy said. "This would result in 2002 earnings per share in the range of $1.95 to $2.05. Our prior guidance for the year was a range of $1.90 to $2.10."