Avis Budget Group increased revenue 3 percent year over year
during the second quarter due to higher rental volume and pricing, although
volume and pricing was down for the car rental company's commercial accounts.
In the Americas, Avis Budget grew revenue 2 percent year
over year to $1.6 billion, and the average daily rental cost was up 1 percent
to $40.25 despite a hit from currency exchange rates. Avis Budget president and
CFO David Wyshner said the revenue growth stemmed from a 3 percent increase in
leisure rental days even as commercial rental volume declined 1 percent. In
constant currency, commercial pricing declined 1 percent as leisure pricing
increased 3 percent, he said.
The company pushed up overall pricing through aggressive
fleet management, CEO Larry De Shon said, reducing the number of cars in weaker
markets and selling off excess fleet. The stable used car market resulted
"in industry fleet levels that felt tighter than they've been in quite
some time, which gives us optimism for the remainder of the year," he
said.
Pricing also benefited from Avis Budget's yield management
system, which enables the company to "adjust millions of rates several
times per day in response to changes and opportunities we see in the marketplace,"
De Shon added.
Although commercial volume was down, the company had a more
than 99 percent commercial account retention rate during the quarter and added
some new accounts, he said.
Outside of the Americas, revenue increased 5 percent year
over year to $650 million. Both commercial and leisure volumes were up, with
commercial business growth particularly strong in Spain, Italy and Germany, De Shon
said. International pricing declined 4 percent to $31.76 per rental day.
The company reported a net income of $36 million for the
quarter, down from $143 million in the second quarter of 2015.