First-quarter U.S. commercial car rental pricing increased
slightly year over year for the Avis Budget Group, though its leisure rates
rose more, the company reported Tuesday.
Rates across both the Avis and Budget brands in the United
States rose 1 percent year over year, chairman and CEO Ronald Nelson said during
the company’s first-quarter earnings call. While U.S. leisure pricing increased
2 percent, commercial pricing rose 0.5 percent as "modest pricing declines
in contracted commercial business offset increases in the other 40 percent of
our commercial segment," he said.
Even so, Nelson noted that 75 percent of Avis Budget's corporate
contract renewals came with either flat or higher rates.
In the Americas, overall car rental pricing stayed flat.
Commercial car rental volume increased 1 percent, compared with an 8 percent
increase in leisure volume. For the full year, the company projects pricing in
the Americas to rise 1 percent to 2 percent in constant currency from 2014
levels.
Avis Budget reported a loss of $9 million in the quarter, compared with net income of $4 million in the first quarter of 2014. The loss included a net tax cost of $21 million related to the acquisition of the Avis and Budget license rights in Norway, Sweden and Denmark.