We're Hertz. They're Not
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
We’re Hertz. They’re Not. 2006 Annual Report Broad, Balanced Business with Consistent Growth Dear Hertz Stockholders 2006 was a historic year of change for Hertz. 2006 was also a year of continuity – meaning At the end of 2005, Ford Motor Company sold Hertz another year of successful innovation for one of the to a consortium of leading private equity investors world’s iconic brands. Financial performance was — Clayton, Dubilier & Rice, The Carlyle Group, and significantly improved and better than that of our Merrill Lynch Global Private Equity – and, on peer group. Our global platform and complemen- November 16, the Company launched a successful tary businesses continued to set us apart from the initial public offering of common stock traded on competition, with both car and equipment rental the New York Stock Exchange. The Company also making significant contributions to Hertz’s financial welcomed me as its new CEO in July, and I sincerely results. We built on a reputation for leading-edge appreciate our employees’ openness toward me innovation by introducing two new car rental brand and enthusiasm for the exciting initiatives we are segments – The Fun and Green Collections – and implementing together, which should make Hertz further diversified our product offerings and geo- the global industry leader for many years to come. graphical reach in equipment rental. Our customer 2006: A Historic Year Of Change service superiority was widely recognized by cus- The strong operating results reflect revenue tomers. And, perhaps most importantly, our peo- growth from both car and, especially, equipment ple remain unquestionably the best in the business rental, the latter of which grew by 18.2% for the – the most experienced leadership team in car and full year with strong profits in every quarter and equipment rental is supported by the most commit- meaningful contributions coming from operations ted, talented employees. in every country. Also, the Company demonstrat- ed the ability to manage costs, especially in the fourth quarter when total operating expenses 2006 Operating Results were reduced by more than 2 percentage points Demonstrate The Success Of of revenues. Finally, the Company generated Our Business Model1 strong cash flows during the year. Levered after- tax cash flows after fleet growth3 were $284.2 Highlights for the year include: million for the year, an improvement of $733.9 million over 2005, generated from improved • Record worldwide revenues of Corporate EBITDA, a reduction of working capital $8.06 billion, an improvement of during 2006 and a reduced net equity invest- 7.9% over 2005 ment in car rental fleet assets. Our ability to generate significant earnings, and manage cash • Corporate EBITDA2 of $1.38 billion, flows, will enable Hertz to continue to meet up 20.8% stockholders’ expectations of debt reduction. • Income before income taxes and minority interest of $200.6 million, up 54.7%; Footnotes: 1 = All prior year profitability measurements are presented adjusted pre-tax income3 of on a “pro forma” basis, giving effect to the Company’s new capital structure as if the debt associated with the $486.7 million, up 47.1% acquisition of the Company on December 21, 2005 and related purchase accounting adjustments had occurred on January 1, 2005. • Net Income more than doubled to $115.9 million 2 = Indicates a non-GAAP measurement presented and reconciled within Item 7 “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results • Earnings per share more than doubled of Operations – Results of Operations” contained in our Annual Report on Form 10-K, as included in this Annual to $0.48; adjusted earnings per share3 Report to Stockholders. was $0.92 versus $0.62 per share in 2005 3 = Indicates a non-GAAP measurement presented and reconciled within the section of this Annual Report to • Net corporate debt 3 reduced from Stockholders entitled “Definitions and Non-GAAP reconciliations,” which follows our Annual Report $4.8 to $4.5 billion on Form 10-K. Innovation & Service Leadership Worldwide Car Rental – who heads our European operations, lead teams Strong Contributions in All dedicated to providing the best service in the car Major Markets rental business, and together lead the only global- Our worldwide car rental business generated rev- ly integrated car rental company in the world. enue growth for the year of 5.5% on revenues of $6.38 billion, and Corporate EBITDA3 of $650.9 million, a 13.2% improvement. Revenue growth was driven by a 1.1% increase in worldwide trans- action days (volume) and a 2.7% increase in rental revenue per transaction day2 (pricing). These solid results are noteworthy because car costs increased during 2006 and are increasing again in 2007. Our diverse customer base, product and service innovations, new cost reduc- tion and revenue growth ini- tiatives and changes in fleet mix should enable us to over- Diverse, Loyal Customer Base come fleet cost increases. We earn revenue from a highly diverse range Hertz continues to be the lead- of rental customers. Revenue generated from ing car rental brand at airports customers booking rentals at hertz.com exceeded in the United States and the $1 billion for the first time in 2006, and we will Joseph R. Nothwang major European markets. In implement initiatives in 2007 to capture an even Executive Vice President & President, Europe, we also have a strong greater share of the online market. Over 80% of Vehicle Rental & Leasing, presence in the off-airport revenues come from affiliated businesses, includ- The Americas & Pacific market, and in Germany we ing corporate accounts, associations and travel are the market leader, with industry partnerships. Our large corporate cus- over 20% market share, in tomer base is a loyal one – we retain 99% of our short-term truck and van corporate accounts and our commercial relation- rentals. Our US off-airport ships are longstanding with many representing business is profitable and more than 20 years in service. We have achieved a should be a driver of revenue net increase in the number of accounts, with our all- growth for years to come. important Small Business Account sector – corporate Joe Nothwang, who leads our accounts that typically generate less than $10,000 of Michel Taride car rental operations in the rental revenue per year — experiencing revenue Executive Vice Americas and in Asia/Pacific growth of nearly 15% in 2006. We are also lead- President & President, Hertz Europe Limited markets, and Michel Taride, ers in preferred or exclusive car rental partnerships, Reservable Specialty Vehicles with longstanding relationships with widely rec- Reservable Specialty Vehicles ognized associations such as the American Enhance the Rental Experience Automobile Association, exclusive alliances with Hertz also continues to widen its lead in the abil- Ryanair, the fastest growing, low-cost airline in ity to guarantee a specific vehicle for rental, Europe, and Air France, the largest airline in rather than a car class as is the norm in the car Europe, as well as a new preferred partnership with rental industry. Hertz introduced two new col- United Airlines. The Hertz #1 Club Gold program lections of specifically reservable vehicles in 2006, continues to drive growth in both commercial to complement the Prestige Collection of luxury and leisure rentals. vehicles available at 52 locations in North America and another 25 locations across Europe. The Fun Collection of reservable sporty cars and SUVs, launched in April 2006, is available at 20 vacation destinations in the United States. Last The Green Collection, 50,000 vehicles in the US & Europe that have better fuel economy and are environmentally friendly U.S. Off-Airport Expansion Continues fall, we launched the Green Collection of to 7 other language options for our visitors from approximately 50,000 mid-to-full-size vehicles in abroad. Additionally, we have more than 20,000 the U.S. and Europe that have better fuel Sirius Satellite Radio units installed in cars across economy and are also more environmentally the United States, and as a standard feature in friendly, but do not sacrifice roominess and every Fun Collection rental. A new DVD rental comfort that many customers expect from program in Europe is proving popular. a Hertz rental vehicle. We will continue to expand the number and type of vehicles available in all three collections. U.S. Off-Airport Expansion Continues – Bringing the Hertz Rental Experience to Neighborhoods Across the Country During the fourth quarter of 2006 we added 40 new off-airport locations in the U.S., bringing the total off-airport network to more than 1,380, and we expect to open at least 130 more locations in 2007. We expanded our penetration of the insur- Technology Driven Options ance replace- ment market, We also offer more popular technology-driven and Hertz is options than the competition. We have more now an official than 60,000 NeverLost satel- supplier, either on a primary or secondary basis, in lite navigation units in serv- 91 of the largest 157 insurance accounts nation- ice across North America wide. We are growing again in the dealer and at 240 locations in replacement market after ending several Europe, and this past year unprofitable dealer arrangements earlier in 2006. we added three additional As a result, U.S. off-airport revenue grew by languages — Korean, almost 5% to $885 million, and the off-airport Mandarin and Portuguese – business was profitable for the year. The faster We have more than 60,000 NeverLost pace of openings and increased penetration in satellite navigation units in service the replacement accounts should result in across North America and at 240 locations in Europe. accelerated growth in 2007 and beyond. HERC 2006: Record Revenue & Profits Hertz Equipment Rental: rental services that resulted in the aftermath of the Record Revenue and Profits 2005 Gulf Coast hurricanes, which created difficult in 2006 Built on a Platform year-over-year comparisons which HERC neverthe- for Sustained Success less overcame to post record results.