Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group reported $49.2 million in
net income for the three months ending Sept. 30, up from $30.1 million in the
third quarter of 2009. Rental revenue grew 1.6 percent year-over-over, thanks
primarily to a 1.4 percent increase in transaction days, president and CEO
Scott Thompson said, adding that the company is "pleased with our forward
bookings" and expects rental revenue to grow in the fourth quarter by between
2 percent and 4 percent, year over year.
DTAG said its record net income was negatively impacted by
$11.9 million in merger-related expenses. DTAG's shareholders on Sept. 30
rejected an acquisition offer from Hertz, which left Avis Budget Group in pursuit
of a deal with Dollar Thrifty.
Though Dollar Thrifty shied away from addressing merger and
acquisition activity during its earnings call on Tuesday, Thompson addressed a
shareholder question on the topic thusly: "We've been a stand-alone
company for 60 years," he said. "We were a stand-alone company this
time last year when we received an unsolicited offer. So, that unsolicited
offer failed, and during that period we stayed focused on operating the
business, I think, as evidenced by the numbers we produced. What I would tell
you is we never got unfocused on being a stand-alone company. That's always
been the strategy, but at the same time, we certainly have equity interest and
we certainly understand our fiduciary duty to our shareholders to maximize shareholder
value. And if we see a strategic alternative that we think is in the best
interest of the shareholders, we certainly will entertain it and work on it
diligently."