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Hertz Global's (HTZ) Q3 Earnings Surpass Estimates, Rise Y/Y

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Hertz Global Holdings (HTZ - Free Report) performed impressively in the third quarter of 2018, reporting better-than-expected earnings and revenues.

The company’s earnings came in at $2.14 per share (excluding 46 cents from non-recurring items), which surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.78. The bottom line also increased significantly on a year-over-year basis. Results were aided by higher revenues.

Quarterly revenues of $2.76 billion outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.64 billion and improved 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. Strength across majority of the segments drove the top line.

Segmental Performance

In the quarter under review, the U.S. Rental Car segment generated revenues of $1,852 million, up 10% year over year. The improvement can be attributed to increased volumes and pricing both on and off airport.

Vehicle utilization improved 30 basis points to 81% on the back of efficient fleet management. Excluding fleet dedicated to transportation network companies ("TNC") rentals, revenues increased 8%. In third-quarter 2018, direct vehicle operating and selling, general and administrative costs (as a % of total segmental revenues) increased to 65% from 63% a year ago.

The International Rental Car segment generated revenues of $732 million, up 1% year over year (3% excluding foreign currency impact). Total revenue per transaction day (RPD) rose3%.

Segmental direct vehicle operating and selling, general and administrative costs (as a % of total segmental revenues) increased to 61% from 60% a year ago. Revenues from all other operations improved 9% to $174 million.

Hertz Global Holdings, Inc Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

 

Hertz Global Holdings, Inc Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise | Hertz Global Holdings, Inc Quote

Balance Sheet and Cash Flow

Hertz Global, sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), exited third-quarter 2018 with cash and cash equivalents of $761 million compared with $1,072 million at the end of 2017. Restricted cash at the end of the quarter was $265 million compared with $432 million at the end of 2017. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

As of Sep 30, 2018, total debt amounted to $17,158 million compared with $14,865 million as of Dec 31, 2017. Cash flows provided by operating activitiesfor the first nine months of the year totaled $2,017 million compared with $1,977 million in the year-ago comparable period.

Upcoming Releases

Investors interested in the broader Transportation sector are keenly awaiting quarterly results from key players like Copa Holdings S.A. (CPA - Free Report) , Teekay Tankers Ltd. (TNK - Free Report) and Frontline Ltd. (FRO - Free Report) . While Copa Holdings will report third-quarter earnings on Nov 14, Teekay Tankers and Frontline will do the same on Nov 15 and Nov 30, respectively.

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