• Earnings before taxes (EBT) 39.9% up on last year at EUR 56.8 million, EBT after nine months at EUR 114.6 million
• Q3 rental revenue up by 13.1% due to stronger demand from business and private customers in Germany as well as ongoing dynamic growth abroad
• Significant growth of leasing portfolio
• Consolidated operating revenue after nine months 5.8% higher at EUR 1.14 billion
• Managing Board raises expectations for full year 2013

Pullach, 19 November 2013 – Sixt SE, Germany’s largest car rental company and one of Europe’s leading mobility service providers, recorded a very good business performance for the first nine months of 2013, exceeding the company’s own expectations. The performance can be put down to an exceptional strong third quarter, which saw buoyant domestic demand from business and private customers in the Vehicle Rental Business Unit as well as ongoing dynamic growth abroad.

Benefiting from the positive developments on the demand side, a high utilization of the rental fleet and lower refinancing costs, the Sixt Group recorded earnings before taxes (EBT) of EUR 114.6 million for the first nine months, which is 10.2% more than the same period last year. At EUR 56.8 million, Q3 generated the strongest quarterly result in the company’s history. As a consequence, the Managing Board has upgraded its projections for the full year 2013.

Erich Sixt, Chairman of the Managing Board of Sixt SE: ‘Business performance for the second half of the year has been very encouraging and exceeds our expectations. Once again, Sixt is vindicating its top position for profitability in the industry. Even today it is highly likely that we will close out 2013 with a very good result.’

Group performance in the first nine months of 2013:

• Rental revenue rose 6.7% to EUR 774.6 million (9 months 2012: EUR 725.7 million) on the strength of a significant upturn in domestic demand during Q3. After six months, growth had been a mere 2.9%. In Germany, revenue after nine months was almost level with last year, while the dynamic growth abroad continued unabated.
• Leasing revenue increased by 3.4% to EUR 292.2 million (9 months 2012: EUR 282.6 million). This development was driven by a higher contract portfolio, above all from growth in the segments of Mobility Consulting, Fleet Management and Private Customers.
• Consolidated operating revenue (excluding revenue from the sale of used leasing vehicles) came to EUR 1.14 billion, some 5.8% more than the previous year’s figure for the period of EUR 1.07 billion.
• Total consolidated revenue increased 4.2% from EUR 1,204.9 million to EUR 1,255.5 million.
• Consolidated earnings before taxes (EBT), the Sixt Group’s key earnings indicator, came to EUR 114.6 million, which was almost the total for the full year 2012 (EUR 118.6 million). Compared to the first nine months of the prior year (EUR 104.0 million) this adds up to an increase of 10.2%. Earnings were positively affected by growth in operative business, a high utilization of the rental fleet, low expenses for refinancing as well as one non-recurring effect from the liquidation of interest rate futures contracts. The cost side of this result includes start-up costs for such growth initiatives as the USA car rental business and the premium carsharing service DriveNow.
• After taxes Sixt posted a profit of EUR 79.1 million for the first nine months of 2013, a gain of 9.4% (9 months 2012: EUR 72.3 million).

Group developments in the third quarter of 2013

• Rental revenues rose 13.1% to EUR 308.7 million (Q3 2012: EUR 273.0 million), which was significantly higher than projections.
• Leasing revenue increased by 3.1% to EUR 97.2 million (Q3 2012: EUR 94.3 million).
• Total operating revenue increased 11.3% from EUR 388.3 million to EUR 432.3 million.
• Consolidated revenue for the third quarter amounted to EUR 473.7 million, an increase of 10.7% (Q3 2012: EUR 427.8 million).
• At EUR 56.8 million, EBT reached a new record figure as it increased 39.9% over the same period last year (EUR 40.6 million).

Cautious fleet policy
In the first nine months of 2013 Sixt added a total of 121,500 vehicles with a value of EUR 3.04 billion to the rental and leasing fleets at home and abroad, after an addition of 118,500 vehicles with a value of EUR 2.86 billion over the same period the year before. This equals an increase of 2.5% in the number of vehicles and 6.3% in the value of vehicles. This sees Sixt continue its cautious fleet policy in spite of growing demand.

Further increase in equity
Group equity climbed EUR 30.6 million or almost 5% against the year’s end of 2012, from EUR 632.8 million to EUR 663.4 million as of September 30, 2013. At 26.3% the equity ratio continued to be well above average for the rental and leasing industry (31 December 2012: 29.1%).

Outlook for full-year 2013
Following the exceptionally strong third quarter with revenue and earnings outperforming expectations, the Managing Board has adjusted its targets for the full year 2013.

Based on the rebounding domestic demand in the Vehicle Rental Business Unit and the continued dynamism in international expansion, the Board expects to see a slight growth in rental revenues. In the Leasing Business Unit, Management also expects marginally higher leasing revenues.

In the wake of the strong third quarter, Sixt expects the Group’s EBT to close out above last year’s figure of EUR 118.6 million, consolidating the company’s very good earnings position. The company will stay the course and stick to the principle of giving preference to adequate margins over volume growth (‘Earnings before growth’) as well as maintaining a strictly demand-driven fleet policy.

Developments in the operating business units

Vehicle Rental:
Sixt covers more than 70% of the European rental market through its own subsidiary companies. In addition, since 2011 the Company has been active in the USA with its own rental stations and franchise partners. Sixt is present in other European countries as well as the other regions of the world by maintaining a close-knit network of franchisees.

During the first nine months of 2013 the Rental Business Unit generated rental revenue of EUR 774.6 million, a gain of 6.7% on the same figure from the previous year’s period (EUR 725.7 million). Rental revenue in Germany for the first nine months was EUR 453.2 million, or almost on a par with last year’s level (9 months 2012: EUR 454.7 million; -0.3%). Thanks to Sixt’s ongoing expansion measures in Europe and the USA, rental revenue outside of Germany climbed 18.6% and amounted to EUR 321.4 million (9 months 2012: EUR 271.0 million).

DriveNow continues its encouraging development. The carsharing joint venture with BMW now has around 185,000 registered users already and since the start of November has now also been represented in Hamburg as its fifth location.

For the reporting period from January to September the Business Unit’s EBT came to EUR 104.6 million, some 11.6% higher than the corresponding period the year before (EUR 93.8 million). This result includes start-up costs for various expansion activities, such as the opening of new stations in the USA and Europe. With a further improvement in its return on sales to 12.4% Sixt’s Vehicle Rental Business Unit continues its long-term targeted yield level of at least 10% (9 months 2012: 11.8%)

Leasing:
In Germany Sixt is one of the largest vendor-neutral, non-bank full-service leasing companies, offering corporate and private customers pure finance leasing plus a wide range of ancillary services for managing fleets and individual vehicles to reduce the customers’ mobility costs.

In a continually competitive environment for moveable asset leasing, the business unit managed to increase its contract portfolio at home and abroad (without franchise partner) to 74,000 as of 30 September 2013, 19% more than at the end of 2012 (62,200). This growth is essentially attributable to fleet management, mobility consulting and the private customer business transactions.

Leasing revenue for the first nine months of the year climbed 3.4% to EUR 292.2 million (9 months 2012: EUR 282.6 million). Both German and foreign operations maintained this growth. The Leasing Business Unit’s total revenue (including the revenues from the sale of used leasing vehicles) amounted to EUR 405.4 million after nine months (9 months 2012: EUR 408.1 million; -0.6%).

The business unit improved its EBT to EUR 14.1 million after EUR 12.8 million recorded at the end of Q3 in 2012. Despite a still tense situation with margins in the leasing industry, the business unit’s revenue margin was 4.8% and thus higher than the same period last year (4.5%) and close to the long-term target of 5%.

Further information:
Frank Elsner
Sixt Central Press Office
T +49 – 89 – 992 496 – 30/ – 34
F +49 – 89 – 992 496 – 32
E-Mail: pressrelations@sixt.com

Note:
The Sixt SE report on the first nine months of 2013 can now be downloaded at http://se.sixt.de/interimreport2013Q3.