Commercial car rental pricing and volume for Avis Budget
Group declined year over year during the second quarter, though pricing for its
large corporate customers rose slightly, the company reported Tuesday.
The overall pricing and volume drops stemmed from declines
in unaffiliated rates and rates in Canada, as well as a difficult comparison against
the second quarter of 2014's strong commercial volume growth, Avis Budget CFO
David Wyshner said during the company’s earnings call. Otherwise, commercial
pricing increased in most segments, he said.
In the Americas, pricing for Avis Budget dipped 1 percent
year over year, largely because of currency fluctuations, growth of the
low-cost Payless brand and “modest overfleeting,” chairman and CEO Ron Nelson
said.
Overall revenue declined 1 percent to $2.2 billion, another
result of currency exchange rates. Revenue in the Americas increased 1 percent
to $1.6 billion, and rental days rose 3 percent. Revenue outside the Americas,
however, declined 5 percent to $617 million, even as rental days increased 9
percent, not counting the company’s acquisition of Italian car rental business
Maggiore Group in April.
Avis Budget reported a net income of $143 million, which
included a “significant income tax benefit,” according to the company. A year
prior, the company reported a quarterly net income of $26 million.