Hertz Reports Record Fourth Quarter Earnings
20 January 1999
Hertz Reports Record Fourth Quarter Earnings, Up 37%; Fifth Consecutive Year of Record Profits
PARK RIDGE, N.J., Jan. 20 -- The Hertz Corporation
, the world's largest car rental company and a leading industrial
and construction equipment rental business, reported record earnings for 1998
of $277.0 million, up 37 percent from 1997 earnings of $201.6 million.
Earnings per share on a diluted basis for the year were $2.55, up from
$1.86 for the previous year.
It was the company's fifth consecutive year of record earnings and seventh
consecutive year of increased earnings.
Net income for the fourth quarter 1998 was $47.9 million or 44 cents per
share on a diluted basis, up 38 percent from the $34.6 million or 32 cents per
share on a diluted basis reported for the same period in 1997, making it a
record fourth quarter for the company.
Hertz achieved record revenues of $4.238 billion in 1998, up 8.9 percent
from $3.891 billion in 1997.
Fourth quarter 1998 revenue was a record $1.066 billion, up 14 percent
from the $934.5 million generated for the same period, the prior year.
Headquartered in Park Ridge, New Jersey, Hertz operates from over
5,500 locations in the U.S. and over 140 foreign countries.
THE HERTZ CORPORATION
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF INCOME
(In Thousands of Dollars)
Unaudited
Three Months As % of
Ended December 31, Total Revenue
1998 1997 1998 1997
Revenue $1,066,035 $934,510 100.0% 100.0%
Expenses:
Direct operating 510,504 450,572 47.9% 48.2%
Depreciation of
revenue earning
equipment 281,421 248,821 26.4% 26.6%
Selling, general
and administrative 118,689 110,871 11.1% 11.9%
Interest - net 78,364 69,788 7.4% 7.5%
Total expenses 988,978 879,952 92.8% 94.2%
Income before
income taxes 77,057 54,558 7.2% 5.8%
Income taxes 29,190 19,994 2.7% 2.1%
Net income $47,867 $34,564 4.5% 3.7%
Earnings per share
Basic $O.44 $0.32 -- --
Diluted $0.44 $0.32 -- --
Weighted average
number of shares
outstanding:
Basic 107,920,692 108,206,160 -- --
Diluted 108,314,527 108,671,831 -- --
Twelve Months As % of
Ended December 31, Total Revenue
1998 1997 1998 1997
Revenue $4,238,333 $3,891,320 100.0% 100.0%
Expenses:
Direct operating 1,925,737 1,826,720 45.5% 46.9%
Depreciation of
revenue earning
equipment 1,078,009 979,560 25.4% 25.2%
Selling, general and
administrative 462,921 439,558 10.9% 11.3%
Interest - net 306,274 302,212 7.2% 7.8%
Total expenses 3,772,941 3,548,050 89.0% 91.2%
Income before
income taxes 465,392 343,270 11.0% 8.8%
Income taxes 188,383 141,652 4.5% 3.6%
Net income $277,009 $201,618 6.5% 5.2%
Earnings per share
Basic $2.56 $1.86 -- --
Diluted $2.55 $1.86 -- --
Weighted average
number of shares
outstanding:
Basic 108,067,850 108,227,916 -- --
Diluted 108,561,352 108,630,236 -- --
BALANCE SHEET DATA
(In Thousands of Dollars)
Unaudited
December 31,
1998 1997
Revenue earning equipment:
Cars $4,472,508 $4,039,818
Other equipment 1,309,525 852,048
Total assets 8,872,558 7,435,521
Total debt 5,759,783 4,715,668
Stockholders' equity 1,393,823 1,136,197