Car rental company Hertz falls on bigger-than-expected loss

[BENGALURU] US car rental company Hertz Global Holdings Inc reported a bigger-than-expected quarterly loss and revenue below estimates, hit by lower pricing in the United States.

The company's shares were down 15.2 per cent at US$12.64 in extended trading on Monday.

"While our performance doesn't yet reflect our investments and may continue to be uneven, we are seeing signs of progress," chief executive Kathryn Marinello said a statement.

In November 2015, the company wrote down the value of some of its fleet after it overbought in the compact car category and overpromised on performance for fiscal 2016.

Since then, billionaire investor Carl Icahn, Hertz's biggest shareholder, has increased his stake in the company, and the company's former CEO, John Tague, has been replaced by Ms Marinello.

Hertz said on Monday that its revenue was also impacted by a tough comparison to the year prior, when 2016's leap day resulted in one extra day in the period. Revenue was also affected by the shift of the Easter holiday into the second quarter this year.

The company's net loss from continuing operations widened to US$223 million, or US$2.69 per share, in the first quarter ended March 31, from US$52 million, or 61 US cents per share, a year earlier.

Hertz booked an impairment charge of US$30 million in the quarter.

Excluding items, the company posted a loss of US$1.61 per share. Revenue fell to US$1.92 billion from US$1.98 billion.

Analysts on average had expected a loss of 91 US cents per share and revenue of US$1.94 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

REUTERS