Finance 18 Mar 2019

Sixt SE: In 2018 SIXT achieves the most successful fiscal year in the Company’s history and becomes the largest European mobility service provider

  • Consolidated revenue up by 12.6% to EUR 2.93 billion
  • SIXT Group generates highest earnings before taxes (EBT) in its history at EUR 534.6 million
  • Successful continuation of US expansion and strengthening of market position
  • Dividend to increase to EUR 2.15 for ordinary shares and EUR 2.17 for preference shares
  • SIXT drives digitisation of its business forward with the world’s first integrated mobility platform ONE and launches new app
  • Positive outlook for fiscal year 2019
  • Erich Sixt, CEO of SIXT SE: “Economically, SIXT has never been as strong as it is today. 2018 was the fifth record year in succession. We are excellently equipped to play a key role in shaping the global mobility market. In terms of Group revenue, we are now the largest European mobility service provider in our industry.”

Pullach, 18 March 2019 – SIXT SE once again showed record figures for revenue, earnings and profitability in fiscal year 2018, based on preliminary calculations. In the Company’s most successful fiscal year ever, consolidated revenue rose 12.6% to EUR 2.93 billion. Earnings before taxes (EBT) came to EUR 534.6 million, some 86.1% higher than the previous year’s figure of EUR 287.3 million. Adjusted by the income from the sale of the stake in the carsharing company DriveNow, EBT comes to EUR 336.7 million. This is equivalent to an increase of 17.2%. This means that in relation to revenue development, the purely operating business once again generated significant above-average growth in earnings. The operating return on revenue came to 13%. Based on the strong business development, the Managing Board is planning to increase the dividend to EUR 2.15 for ordinary shares (2018: EUR 1.95) and EUR 2.17 for preference shares (2018: EUR 1.97, both without special dividend).

SIXT benefits from increasing demand
In its home market in Germany, the SIXT Group increased its revenue by 7% to EUR 1.62 billion with both business units, Vehicle Rental and Leasing, contributing to this development. Outside Germany, SIXT is growing due to its expansion activities in the Vehicle Rental Business Unit and generated consolidated revenue of EUR 1.31 billion in the past fiscal year. This equals an increase of 20% compared with the fiscal year 2017. In the Vehicle Rental Business Unit, SIXT was able to further expand its market leadership in Germany and win over additional market shares in such core markets as France, Spain and Great Britain. In Italy, SIXT has also shown a profit in the second year since its market entry. In the USA, the world’s largest vehicle rental market, SIXT successfully continued its expansion and expanded its position as number four in the market. Revenues rose by almost 19% to EUR 382.4 million. The expansion of the US station network was successfully continued with seven new locations. The earnings situation continued to improve in fiscal year 2018, following last year’s first positive result since market entry.

Key Group figures for fiscal year 2018

  • SIXT Group’s total revenue rose 12.6% to EUR 2.93 billion (2017: EUR 2.60 billion).
  • Consolidated operating revenue (excluding revenue from the sale of used leasing vehicles) rose 12.5% to EUR 2.60 billion (2017: EUR 2.31 billion). The driving factor here was the ongoing strong growth in the Vehicle Rental Business Unit in Western Europe and the USA. The share of foreign business in consolidated operating revenue continued to increase to 49.6% (2017: 46.1%)
  • The Vehicle Rental Business Unit’s operating revenue rose 14.2% to EUR 2.13 billion (2017: EUR 1.87 billion). Foreign business operations gained 22.8% and operating revenue in Germany climbed 4.3%. The share of foreign business came to 57.8% (2017: 53.8%).
  • Operating revenue for the Leasing Business Unit (excluding revenue from the sale of used leasing vehicles) came to EUR 467.9 million, a gain of 5.4% on the previous year (EUR 443.9 million).
  • Consolidated earnings before taxes (EBT), the SIXT Group’s principal success parameter, rose 86.1% to a record level of EUR 534.6 million (2017: EUR 287.3 million). Discounting the one-time effect (EUR 197.8 million) from the sale of the DriveNow stake, EBT came to EUR 336.7 million, which, compared to revenue growth, is an above-average gain of 17.2%. The positive earnings development is essentially due to the earnings contributions from France, Italy, Spain and the USA.
  • The EBT margin – in relation to consolidated operating revenue – came to 20.6%, and after adjustment for the one-time effect it came to 13.0%, thus once more exceeding the already very good figure of 12.4% from the previous year.
  • Consolidated profit (including minority interests) more than doubled from EUR 204.4 million in 2017 to EUR 438.9 million.

Managing Board proposes dividend increase
Subject to the approval of the Supervisory Board, the Managing Board will propose to the Annual General Meeting on 4 June 2019 an increase in the dividend for fiscal year 2018 to EUR 2.15 for ordinary shares (2018: EUR 1.95) and EUR 2.17 for preference shares (2018: EUR 1.97). In 2018 the Company paid out an additional special dividend of EUR 2.05 for both share categories for the sale of the DriveNow stake. The total dividend payout for fiscal year 2018 will thus come to EUR 101 million.

New SIXT app offers additional growth opportunities
At the end of February 2019 SIXT introduced its new app with digital vehicle rental, carsharing and ride-hailing products, all based on the mobility platform SIXT ONE. SIXT now offers its customers the products SIXT rent, SIXT share and SIXT ride all under the roof of one app. Since its launch, the app climbed from position 56 into the TOP 10 of the app download charts in the “Travel” category. SIXT share already started successfully in Berlin and will be available for customers as of today in Hamburg. The offer is set to expand into further business areas in Germany and abroad.

By merging vehicle rental and carsharing, SIXT is breaking up the boundaries of today’s existing services. SIXT rent turns the SIXT app into a digital counter. SIXT share offers customers the freedom to pick up their car whenever and wherever they want and to return it flexibly across business areas and in future in all of SIXT share’s business areas, as well as at around 2,200 SIXT stations worldwide. With SIXT ride, customers can make advance or instant bookings for taxis, drive and transfer services. To this end, the Company is cooperating with more than 1,500 partners worldwide and can thus provide its own customers a network of well over one million drivers. The platform is open for future partners, who in turn will gain access to the approximately 20 million SIXT customers.

Positive outlook for fiscal year 2019
SIXT looks confidently forward to the fiscal year 2019, even though experts consider the macroeconomic conditions to be generally weaker than they considered them in 2018. For 2019 the Managing Board expects to see ongoing growth in demand, which continues to be driven primarily by foreign business in the Vehicle Rental Business Unit. To this end, SIXT will continue to pursue a demand-driven fleet policy. The further expansion in the European countries outside Germany and in the USA, the continuous digital interlinking of the fleet and the gradual implementation of the service range in the SIXT app will require further investments in the medium term. At the same time, however, SIXT expects additional growth impulses as a result. Against this background and assuming that the overall economic environment does not deteriorate significantly, the Managing Board expects consolidated operating revenues to rise significantly and consolidated EBT to be stable in 2019 compared with the previous year (excluding the sale of the DriveNow stake in the previous year).

Notes:

The data given correspond to the current, still provisional state of affairs. SIXT SE’s final Consolidated Financial Statements for 2018 will be published on 17 April 2019. Key preliminary fiscal year figures for the Group are available as of today from the website http://ir.sixt.eu under the section “Financial Reports”.

About SIXT

Sixt SE with its registered office in Pullach near Munich, is a leading international provider of high-quality mobility services. With its products SIXT rent, SIXT share, SIXT ride and SIXT+ on the mobility platform ONE the company offers a uniquely integrated premium mobility service across the fields of vehicle and commercial vehicle rental, car sharing, ride hailing and car subscriptions. The products can be booked through the SIXT App, which also integrates the services of its renowned mobility partners. SIXT has a presence in more than 100 countries around the globe. The company stands for consistent customer orientation, a lived culture of innovation with strong technological competence, a high proportion of premium vehicles in the fleet and an attractive price-performance ratio. In 2023 Sixt Group achieved consolidated pre-tax earnings of EUR 464.3 million and another significant increase in consolidated revenue to EUR 3.62 billion. Sixt SE has been listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange since 1986 (ISIN ordinary share: DE0007231326, ISIN preference share: DE0007231334).

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