TULSA, Okla. —
Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group Inc.’s first-quarter profit more than doubled partly due to increased rental revenue and lower expenses.
The car rental company said on Wednesday that its net income rose to $40.4 million, or $1.35 per share, for the three months ended March 31, up from $16.5 million, or 53 cent per share, a year ago.
The results met the expectations of analysts polled by FactSet.
Chairman, President and CEO Scott Thompson said in a statement that it was the biggest first-quarter profit in the Tulsa, Okla., company’s history.
Total costs and expenses dropped to $288.6 million from $322.4 million.
Revenue rose 2 percent to $356.3 million from $348.3 million, topping Wall Street’s estimate of $354.5 million.
Vehicle rental revenue rose to $339.1 million from $332.3 million, benefiting from a 6.5 percent increase in rental days. Vehicle usage climbed to 81 percent from 79.7 percent.
Fleet cost per car dropped to $136 per month from $251 per month mostly because of lower depreciation rates.
Dollar Thrifty maintained its full-year earnings outlook of $5 to $5.60 per share. The company raised its guidance in late April, when it increased the low end of its first-quarter earnings forecast.
Analysts expect 2012 earnings of $5.32 per share.
Dollar Thrifty shares finished at $80.53 on Tuesday. They are up 58 percent from their 52-week low of $50.94 in October, and are approaching their high of $84.27 set last May.
Dollar Thrifty had been the target of competing takeover attempts by Avis Budget Group Inc. and Hertz Global Holdings Inc. a year ago. It avoided a takeover in part by adopting a shareholder rights plan, known as a “poison pill,” in May 2011.
Business
Dollar Thrifty 1Q net income more than doubles
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