The car rental company Sixt continued strong demand for its rental cars in Europe and the United States in the second quarter United States benefits. Sixt was able to charge higher rental prices because people are traveling significantly more again after two years of the corona pandemic and are therefore booking rental cars more often. In addition, the vehicle supply on the market is still scarce because the car manufacturers are struggling with production restrictions. Overall, the quarter developed significantly better than analysts had on average on the slip.
However, investors on the stock exchange were not impressed by the numbers. Sixt’s ordinary shares, which have been listed in the MDax since March, fell by up to 8 percent in early trading. The papers had increased significantly in the past few weeks.
Background: The tourism in Germany is gradually returning to its pre-crisis level. This is also evident from figures that the Federal Statistical Office also published on Wednesday. According to this, German accommodation providers booked almost 49 million overnight stays in June of this year. Compared to the previous year, this was an increase of 60.5 percent. The pre-crisis level of June 2019 was only just missed with a difference of 3.4 percent.
Overall, however, a positive trend can be seen, the statisticians explained. The difference to the pre-crisis level in the number of overnight stays has decreased steadily since the beginning of the year: while it was still a good 38 percent in January, it fell to 11.5 percent in April and also to 3.4 percent in May.
Sixt revenues grow by almost half
The development also strengthened the business of the car rental company Sixt. Its revenue between April and June increased by almost half compared to the previous year to almost 744 million euros, as the company further announced. Not only in Germany, but also in southern Europe in particular, the board recorded a high level travel volume, after corona-related restrictions have been lifted in many countries. Despite the shortage of available vehicles, management was able to expand the fleet, it said. In fact, however, investments in the number of vehicles fell by around 44 percent, and the investment volume also declined.
Expansion in USA planned, European business growing
In its USA strategy, Sixt has primarily targeted airports and business centers: the expansion of rental stations, particularly at the major hubs of American airlines, should ensure that more corporate customers make reservations with the Pullachers. The company currently operates stations at 36 of the top 50 US airports. In Canada half of the ten most important airports should be focused on using the same procedure.
In the second quarter, the United States and Germany each accounted for less than 30 percent of consolidated sales. Meanwhile, the development of revenues in the Europe segment was much more impressive: compared to the previous year, the division increased by almost 75 percent. Even then, Europe was the most important segment, but the distance to the other two markets has now increased significantly.
Before taxes, the company’s profit was around 130 million euros, almost two thirds more than in the same quarter of the previous year. After-tax earnings rose by almost half to around 94 million euros.
Management stuck to its sales target and specified the outlook for profitability. The high demand is likely to continue in the summer months. However, Sixt is burdened by the limited availability of vehicles because the car manufacturers are still able to build significantly fewer models due to supply chain problems. In 2022, group sales should nevertheless be significantly higher than the previous year’s figure of 2.28 billion euros. In terms of pre-tax earnings (EBT), the Executive Board now wants to reach the upper end of EUR 380 to 480 million – so far only the range has been mentioned.