Avis Budget Tracks Lower Start After In-Line Results and Guidance Adjustment (CAR)

Story Stocks^® Archive

Last Update: 08-Aug-18 08:59 ET

Avis Budget (CAR 34.87, -3.86, -9.97%) is lower after reporting in-line results.

The vehicle rental agency reported in-line second quarter earnings of $0.57 per share on a 4.0% year/year increase in revenue to $2.33 bln, which was just below expectations.

Second quarter revenue growth was fueled by higher volume and higher underlying pricing in the Americas segment. Favorable currency exchange rates also contributed to the increase in sales.

Looking at the segment breakdown, revenue in the Americas increased 1.6% to $1.59 bln while rental days increased 2.4%. Volume grew 2.0% while revenue per day declined 1.0% due to lower ancillary revenue and changes to loyalty accounting. Per-unit fleet costs declined 7.0% to $322 while utilization improved by 70 basis points to 69.8%. Segment adjusted EBITDA increased 11.0% to $107 mln.

International revenue grew 9.7% to $738 mln with rental days increasing 5.9%. Volume grew 6.0% while revenue per day declined 2.0%. Per-unit fleet costs increased 0.5% to $217 while utilization improved by 10 basis points to 70.9%. Segment adjusted EBITDA grew 20.0% to $71 mln.

In addition to reporting earnings, the company announced an increase to its share repurchase authorization. The authorization was increased by $250 mln, giving the company room to repurchase $283 mln worth of shares.

The company increased its earnings guidance and narrowed its revenue guidance for the full year. Earnings are expected between $3.00 per share and $3.85 per share, up from previous guidance for earnings between $2.90 per share and $3.75 per share. Avis Budget expects revenue between $9.05 bln and $9.30 bln, down from the previous forecast for sales between $9.20 bln and $9.45 bln.