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Hertz Improves 2009 Earnings Guidance

Hertz has increased adjusted diluted earnings per share guidance more than 40 percent to $0.21-$0.23 for the full year 2009.

by Staff
October 28, 2009
3 min to read


Hertz Global Holdings Inc. announced improved guidance on all financial metrics for full year 2009, due to stronger than forecast financial results in the third quarter and current projections for the fourth quarter of 2009. The company has increased its full year 2009 worldwide forecast for annualized cost savings, revenues, Corporate EBITDA, adjusted pre-tax income and adjusted diluted earnings per share as follows:

Annualized 2009 Cost Savings : 620.0M (Revised Guidance[RG]), $570.0M (Prior Guidance [PG])
Revenues : $7.0 - $7.1B (RG), $6.7 - $7.0B (PG)
Corporate EBITDA(1): $950 - $960M (RG), $900 - $935M (PG)
Adjusted Pre-Tax Income(1): $155 - $165M (RG),$100 - $120M (PG)
Adjusted Diluted Earnings per Share(1)(3): $0.21 - $0.23(RG), $0.12 - $0.15 (PG)

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The company expects to announce full year 2010 guidance when it publishes fourth quarter 2009 earnings. The company said its improved guidance is based on its favorable third quarter performance in its worldwide car rental business, as well as the improving macro outlook for the current (fourth) quarter of 2009. Worldwide car rental adjusted pre-tax income for the third quarter increased 54.6 percent year-over year, and generated an adjusted pre-tax margin of 14.7 percent, a 630 bps improvement year-over-year, on 11.5 percent lower revenue (an 8.9 percent decrease in constant currency). The results were driven, in part by transaction days in the U.S. which decreased only 4 percent compared with the same period last year. Worldwide equipment rental generated a 9 percent adjusted pre-tax margin, and a 41.9 percent Corporate EBITDA(2) margin, on approximately 35 percent lower revenues (about 34 percent in constant currency). The company will provide additional details about its third quarter performance in its earnings release scheduled to be issued on Oct. 29, 2009 and on its earnings conference call scheduled for the morning of Oct. 30, 2009. See details below. (1) Management believes that Corporate EBITDA, adjusted pre-tax income and adjusted diluted earnings per share are useful in measuring the comparable results of the company period-over-period. The GAAP measures most directly comparable to Corporate EBITDA, adjusted pre-tax income and adjusted diluted earnings per share are cash flows from operating activities, pre-tax income and diluted earnings per share. Because of the forward-looking nature of the company's forecasted Corporate EBITDA, adjusted pre-tax income and adjusted diluted earnings per share, specific quantifications of the amounts that would be required to reconcile forecasted cash flows from operating activities, pre-tax income and diluted earnings per share to forecasted Corporate EBITDA, adjusted pre-tax income and adjusted diluted earnings per share are not available. The company believes that there is a degree of volatility with respect to certain of the company's GAAP measures, primarily related to fair value accounting for its financial assets (which includes the company's derivative financial instruments), its income tax reporting and certain adjustments made in order to arrive at the relevant non-GAAP measures, which preclude the company from providing accurate forecasted GAAP to non-GAAP reconciliations. Based on the above, the company believes that providing estimates of the amounts that would be required to reconcile the range of the non-GAAP Corporate EBITDA, adjusted pre-tax income and adjusted diluted earnings per share to forecasted cash flows from operating activities, pre-tax income and diluted earnings per share would imply a degree of precision that could be confusing or misleading to investors for the reasons identified above. (2) Adjusted pre-tax income and Corporate EBITDA are non-GAAP measures. See accompanying tables for reconciliations and definitions for each of these non-GAAP measures and the reasons the company's management believes that these provide useful information to investors regarding the company's financial condition and results of operations. (3) Based upon 407.7 million shares which represents the number of diluted shares outstanding for the year ended Dec. 31, 2008 plus 85 million shares offered in the common stock offerings.

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