Q3 2024 Avis Budget Group Inc Earnings Call Transcript
Key Points
- Avis Budget Group Inc (CAR) reported strong third-quarter revenue of nearly $3.5 billion and adjusted EBITDA of $503 million.
- The company successfully improved vehicle utilization, with the Americas segment achieving a utilization rate of nearly 72%, more than 1 point higher than the third quarter of 2023.
- The model year 2025 fleet buy is progressing well, with expected holding costs below recent years, positioning the company for a more profitable future.
- International operations saw a 5% increase in rental days and a 14% growth in higher-margin inbound and intra-European cross-border volumes.
- The company launched a new customer app in October, enhancing user experience and aiming to increase app downloads, boost conversion rates, and drive revenue growth through direct channel reservations.
- Price was down 2% for the quarter overall, with the Americas nearly flat, indicating pricing pressures in the market.
- The company faced a $40 million loss from pulling forward vehicle sales in the quarter, compared to $145 million of gains last year, resulting in a significant year-over-year variance.
- Straight-line depreciation increased, resulting in more than $100 million in incremental fleet expense year-over-year.
- Vehicle interest was a $33 million headwind in the quarter, with expectations for similar impacts in the fourth quarter.
- Rental days were slightly less than anticipated, leading to a nearly $85 million reduction in year-over-year revenue.
Greetings, and welcome to the Avis Budget Group third-quarter 2024 earnings conference call. (Operator Instructions) As a reminder, this conference is being recorded. At this time, it is now my pleasure to introduce David Calabria, Treasurer and Senior Vice President, Corporate Finance. Thank you, sir. You may begin.
Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us. On the call with me are Joe Ferraro, our Chief Executive Officer; and Izzy Martins, our Chief Financial Officer. Before we begin, I would like to remind everyone that we will be discussing forward-looking information, including potential future financial performance, which is subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions that could cause actual results to differ materially from such forward-looking statements and information.
Such risks and assumptions, uncertainties and other factors are identified in our earnings release and our periodic filings with the SEC as well as the Investor Relations section
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