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.