ANNUAL REPORT

Transcription

1 38 ANNUAL REPORT 2000

2 Short term car rental - AVIS EUROPE Strong growth of activities in all customer segments and key markets Reinforcement of partnership agreements, in particular with the travel industry Diversification of the reservation channels and improvement in Avis Europe s operating efficiencies thanks to advanced communication technology Rise in fleet costs partially offset by cost control and further improvements in productivity Results affected by extraordinary charges associated mainly with 3 Arrows CAR RENTAL 39

3 Activities and Results BREAKDOWN OF REVENUE BY SEGMENT Corporate 25% Leisure 38% Replacement 18% Other 19% Revenue (in million ) 1,222.4 BREAKDOWN OF REVENUE BY MARKET Avis Europe continued to deliver strong revenue growth in This amounted to 1,222.4 million, up 20.9% from the 1999 level. Like-for-like revenue growth was 17.5% (which excludes the acquisition of a German sub-licensee in August 1999, and the licensee in Holland in January 2000). Revenue growth was driven by a significant increase in volume (+ 14.5% in number of billed days), together with a rise in rental length (+ 4.5%) and, to a lesser extent, in prices (+ 2.6%). The growth in volume of activity is much larger than the rise in the main economic indicators (GDP and airport traffic) used in evaluating the car rental sector. Consequently, Avis Europe once more reinforced its leading position, despite the more competitive environment. Its activities expanded at a sustained rate in the five major European markets (United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy and Spain) and in all customer segments. In terms of results, the operating profit made by Avis Europe amounted to million, an increase of 11.5%. The operating margin reached 20.2%, impacted by higher fleet costs in some markets, incremental investments in e-commerce and call centres, and the effects of fuel tax protests during the second half The impact of higher fleet costs was partially mitigated by a better overhead cost control and further improvements in employee productivity, as measured by the number of rentals per person employed. This figure grew by 1.8%, having been temporarily affected by double staffing during the call centre integration process and by investment in manpower in France to complete the structural change necessary to meet the new legal requirements for all companies to operate a 35-hour working week. France 17% Germany 18% Italy 14% Spain 12% United Kingdom 23% Other 16% 1,200 1, REVENUE (in million ) 1, , OPERATING PROFIT (in million ) Revenue (in million ) 1, ANNUAL REPORT 2000

4 The increase in fleet costs reflects the higher costs of cars, increased insurance costs and lower residual values in some markets. In response to rising fleet costs, Avis Europe continued to source vehicles from a large number of suppliers (30 in 2000) and to have extensive guaranteed buy-back agreements with manufacturers (80% of the Avis Europe fleet was covered by this type of arrangement in 2000). Avis Europe also made tangible progress in damage management through a number of enhanced recovery procedures at major locations, achieving like-for-like savings of 4.0 million. Finally, the development of e-business also holds out interesting prospects for controlling fleet costs, in particular as regards on-line nearly-new car sales from the Avis Europe fleet. Avis Europe recorded extraordinary charges of 36.3 million, due mainly to its subsidiary 3 Arrows. Acquired by Avis Europe in December 1998, 3 Arrows is an important UK company in the credit hire and non-fault claims management business. Following legal rulings in 2000 over industry pricing and compliance with the Consumer Credit Act, 3 Arrows has been obliged to make significant adjustments to its accounts receivable from insurance companies. One of these legal rulings endorsed the right of consumers to a replacement car when they are non-fault accident victims - thus confirming the significant development potential of this industry. CAR RENTAL 41

5 Achievements and Developments Avis Europe pursued its programme of consolidating its European activities, by acquiring in January 2000 all the shares in the Dutch joint venture (International Car Rental b.v). It now has direct control over activities in all the European markets considered to be strategic. At the same time, Avis Europe continued to lay the foundations for future growth in Asian markets. Avis Europe is already present in 19 countries on this continent, where it continues its expansion in Japan in particular through the signature of partnership agreements with Japan Airlines and the Japanese Automobile Federation. Further operating efficiencies remain an important area of strategic priority for Avis Europe. Incremental investments during 2000 supported key initiatives, particularly in order to diversify reservation channels, improve the management of the network, optimise the fleet management and make the quality of its service uniform throughout Europe. Reservation centre - Barcelona 42 ANNUAL REPORT 2000

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7 In response to the rapid growth in the volume of reservations made through call centres, Avis Europe concentrated nine of these into two multi-lingual, pan-european reservation centres, situated in Barcelona and Manchester respectively, where 400 people now handle some 90,000 calls a week. This transition has already enabled Avis Europe to create 10% more reservations through a higher percentage of customer calls converted to reservations, while at the same time reducing the unit cost of reservations. The total amount of this investment is 22 million over five years, with a projected return of more than 20%. Internet sales are accelerating. Customers booking through this channel are set to increase significantly and are expected to account for at least 10% of all business by the end of Several enhanced country sites were launched. They provide local language promotions and travel trade links. Avis Europe strengthened its presence in the on-line business-to-business market with direct links from Avis on-line booking facility to over 200 key corporate customers and partner sites. Avis Europe further pursued its policy of partnership in 2000, by securing exclusive new partnerships, as well as renewing some established relationships. It expanded its links with the travel industry, in particular by signing an exclusive partnership agreement with SAir Group (comprising the Swissair and Sabena airlines), and by renewing its collaboration with bmi british midland and with the French and Spanish rail companies, SNCF and RENFE. Thanks to the exclusive contract with Thomas Cook, Avis Europe now has agreements with two of the UK s top three travel groups. Finally, Avis Europe made a partnership agreement with LeasePlan to become its preferred supplier in replacement cars in eight countries. 44 ANNUAL REPORT 2000

8 Prospects Against the background of expected slower GDP growth in the European economies, Avis Europe anticipates somewhat lower volume growth in the year ahead, but a favourable outlook for pricing. The further integration of the recent acquisitions and the active policy of partnership will contribute to the expansion of Avis Europe. The expected increase in fleet costs will be partially offset by the ongoing efforts towards higher productivity, economies of scale produced by recent investments, and the light cost structure achieved by very good management of overheads. The use of communication technologies will also help to keep fleet costs under control. The car rental market should continue to expand in future, spurred on by the increasing desire for travel and the greater readiness of consumers to adopt car rental as part of their habitual patterns of mobility. At present, the car rental habit is only half as developed in Europe as in the USA, and so Avis Europe counts on large growth potential in its European markets. In the meantime, the trend towards consolidation of the sector will continue, with the big operators such as Avis Europe gaining control of increasingly large parts of the strategic markets. CAR RENTAL 45