November 19, 2015 // Franchising.com // Pullach – The Sixt Group recorded a highly successful third quarter that clearly exceeded internal expectations and once more accelerated the speed of growth compared to the first half of the year. The ongoing strong growth outside of Germany, in addition to the increasing demand for vehicle rental from business and commercial customers and the high utilisation rate of the rental fleet, have seen rental revenues for the first nine months climbing 22.5% to EUR 1.04 billion. Following this development, operating revenues increased by 17.9% to EUR 1.46 billion.
With earnings before taxes of EUR 153.8 million after only three quarters, the international mobility service provider almost reached the EBT of the full year 2014 (EUR 157.0 million), despite higher additional expenses for strategic expansion measures, and is thus on track to achieving another record year. The third-quarter EBT of EUR 79.0 million is the highest quarterly earnings result in the Company’s history and is substantially above internal expectations. As was previously announced on 26 October 2015, the Managing Board now expects consolidated EBT to reach at least EUR 180 million for the full fiscal year 2015.
Erich Sixt, Chairman of the Managing Board of Sixt SE: “The first nine months, and in particular the third quarter, by far exceeded our expectations. The Sixt engine is running in high gear. The growth rates that we achieved during the first nine months let us leave our competitors more and more behind and gain ever more market share. The quality of earnings must be appreciated all the more, given the substantial additional expenses we incurred with our international expansion, among other developments.”
Over the first nine months the Group added around 153,200 vehicles to the rental and leasing fleet
(9M 2014: 132,200 vehicles) with a total value of EUR 4.09 billion (9M 2014: EUR 3.31 billion). These increased rates reflect the strong growth of the operating business.
At the reporting date, 30 September 2015, the Group’s equity was EUR 1.04 billion and climbed for the first time above the EUR 1 billion threshold. From yearend 2014 (EUR 741.6 million) equity has therefore risen by EUR 294.6 million or 39.7%. Alongside the profit for the period under review, it was, above all, the cash inflow from the IPO of Sixt Leasing AG (EUR 233.9 million) that contributed to this development. However, the record dividend of EUR 58.0 million paid out in June 2015 for fiscal year 2014 countered this trend. At the end of September 2015 the equity ratio was 27.8% (31 December 2014: 26.3%). Consequently, the equity ratio was well above the targeted long-term minimum value of 20%.
Following a third-quarter business performance that clearly outstripped internal expectations, and given the previous experience of fourth-quarter business development, the Managing Board projects consolidated EBT for the full fiscal year 2015 to reach at least EUR 180 million, which would be significantly higher than the previous year’s total of EUR 157.0 million. So far the Managing Board had assumed Group’s EBT to increase slightly. With regard to the 2015 consolidated operating revenue, the expectations remain as before and foresee a substantial increase on the previous year’s figure.
Sixt is represented with its own subsidiaries in the core European countries of Germany, France, Spain, the UK, the Netherlands, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium, Luxembourg, and Monaco (Sixt corporate countries). This means that the Company covers the largest part of the European rental market and is one of the continent’s leading vehicle rental companies. In the USA Sixt has been active since 2011. In addition, Sixt is represented in numerous countries around the globe through efficient and strong franchise and cooperation partners (Sixt franchise countries).
As of 30 September 2015, the number of Sixt rental stations amounted to 2,185 worldwide (Company offices and franchisees), against the yearend 2014, with 2,177 stations. The number of stations in the Sixt corporate countries increased by 60 to 1,114 (31 December 2014: 1,054 stations). The network of stations within Germany at the end of the third quarter consisted of 515 offices, an increase of 32 (31 December 2014: 483 stations). In the United States, the world’s largest vehicle rental market, the station network also expanded during the third quarter. As of 30 September 2015, the number of stations was 66, following 50 at the end of 2014. Thirty of these stations were situated at airports.
DriveNow, the premium carsharing joint venture operated jointly with the BMW Group, continued on its growth track. The company started operations in the Swedish metropolis Stockholm in October. Across Europe, the joint venture currently has around 540,000 customers with access to a total of 3,600 vehicles. Furthermore the brand DriveNow is represented through a franchisee in Copenhagen since August.
The average number of vehicles in the Vehicle Rental Business Unit (in Germany and abroad, excluding franchisees) for the period January to September 2015 came to around 98,000 vehicles, an increase of 15.9% against the average figure for the same period in 2014 (approx. 84,600 vehicles).
Rental revenue generated by the Business Unit during the first nine months of 2015 gained 22.5% to EUR 1.04 billion (9M 2014: EUR 845.2 million). The strong international expansion led to increasing rental revenues of EUR 510.7 million generated abroad (9M 2014: EUR 375.5 million; +36.0%). In Germany the revenue climbed by 11.6% to EUR 524.4 million (9M 2014: 469.7 million). In total, the Vehicle Rental Business Unit reported a revenue growth of 23.3% for the first nine months, climbing to EUR 1.14 billion (9M 2014: EUR 924.3 million).
The Business Unit’s earnings before taxes for the period January to September grew by 14.9% to EUR 135.8 million (9M 2014: EUR 118.2 million).
Sixt Leasing AG, which bundles all of the Sixt Group’s activities in fleet leasing, online retail leasing and fleet management, is one of Germany’s leading bank and vendor-neutral leasing companies. The focus of business activities is on fleet management and full-service leasing for corporate and business clients. This covers a wealth of further services alongside the classic finance function. Another strong growing business field is lease financing agreements. These are offered via the online platform www.sixt-neuwagen.de to private as well as commercial customers.
Leasing revenue after the first three quarters of 2015 was up by 2.1% to EUR 316.9 million (9M 2014: EUR 310.5 million), and revenue rose both in Germany and abroad. Revenue from the sale of used leasing vehicles increased significantly by 72.6% to EUR 173.9 million (9M 2014: EUR 100.8 million). This was due to the expansion of the contract portfolio over the last few years, which at the end of the leasing contract’s term leads to correspondingly more vehicle returns that come in with a certain time lag. After nine months the entire revenue of the Business Unit reached EUR 490.8 million, an increase of 19.3% (9M 2014: EUR 411.3 million).
The Leasing business’s EBT improved significantly after nine months from EUR 15.7 million to EUR 21.7 million (+38.5%). Key factors contributing to this increase in earnings were the revenue growth in finance leasing, the improved margins in the contract portfolio, and the lower financing costs.
SOURCE Sixt
Frank Elsner
Sixt Central Press Office
Tel.: +49 (0) 89 / 99 24 96 - 30
Fax: +49 (0) 89 / 99 24 96 - 32
E-mail: pressrelations(at)sixt.com
Family-owned and operated since 1912, Sixt rent a car began business with only three car rentals: two Mercedes and a Luxus-Deutz-Landaulet.