Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group's $30.6 million net loss for the fourth quarter of 2007 was more than 11 times higher than it was in the 2006 fourth quarter, according to the company's earnings statement released today.
DTAG's net income for 2007 was $1.2 million, compared to a net income of $51.7 million for 2006.
CFO Steve Hildebrand, in the company's earnings call today, said a weaker used car market and the impact of fleeting issues caused the per-unit vehicle depreciation costs for the fourth quarter to increase 16 percent, higher than the 5 percent the company anticipated.
"The fourth quarter was perhaps the worst we've seen in history, with the exception of 9/11," DTAG COO Jay Foley said last week in an interview with
Business Travel News(BTNonline, Feb. 25), citing shipping problems with car manufacturers, overfleeting and the state of the economy. "Had the economy been stronger, we wouldn't have experienced it as dramatically, but it was a perfect storm. Prices were down, the economy was sluggish, demand was down and we had a lot of risk cars."
Echoing Foley's statements, president and CEO Gary Paxton during the earnings call said the company is focusing on increasing its share of the corporate market.
"We're beginning to move more aggressively into the corporate business segment, specifically targeting the small and medium-sized corporate accounts," he said, adding that the company in 2007 increased its corporate business "over 20 percent of a relatively small base."