The Avis Budget Group during the fourth quarter of 2014 increased corporate car rental pricing in North America 0.5 percent year over year, the company reported on Thursday.
During the company's fourth-quarter earnings call, Avis Budget chairman and CEO Ronald Nelson said that while price gains in the fourth quarter were "more moderate" than the rest of the year, prices increased across all brands and sectors. North America pricing overall was up 1 percent.
For the full year, both commercial and overall pricing in North America increased 2 percent, and 75 percent of corporate contracts renewed in 2014 maintained pricing levels or had rate increases, according to Nelson.
Throughout 2014, Avis Budget pushed for across-the-board pricing increases 15 times to varying success, Nelson said. Full-year revenue increased 7 percent to $8.5 billion, driven by a 7 percent increase in rental days and a 13 percent increase in ancillary revenues.
The company plans to be aggressive on pricing this year, according to Nelson.
"All signals from our competitors is that they're moving to raise prices, as they have the same cost pressures we do," he said. "From the first few weeks [of this year], pricing has been improving across all the brands and across both commercial and leisure rentals."
Avis Budget's fourth-quarter net income was $23 million, compared with a loss of $28 million in the fourth quarter of 2013. For the full year, net income was $245 million, up from $16 million in 2013.