Enterprise Announces Third Year of Record Profitability

car rentalEnterprise Holdings, which owns and operates Enterprise Rent-A-Car, National Car Rental and Alamo Rent A Car, reported $13.5 billion in revenue during fiscal year 2012, a record.

The company said the record revenues - and profitability - was the third year in a row for the company - now the largest  car rental company in the world. Enterprise Holdings also updated its Corporate Sustainability Report.  

“The continued strength of our unsurpassed Enterprise Rent-A-Car brand and the successful integration of the National and Alamo brands at the airport have fueled our ability to extend our reach and serve customers in new markets,” said Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Andrew C. Taylor

“Our performance this past year is, once again, a tribute to our employees. Their unwavering focus on providing consistently exceptional service continues to reward our business with loyal customers, solid growth and a healthy bottom line," Taylor said.

Enterprise Holdings is privately held by the Taylor family of St. Louis, who also owns Enterprise Fleet Management. Together, the two companies accounted for more than $15 billion in revenues this past fiscal year, or 
6 percent in year-over-year combined revenue growth.  

Enterprise Holdings also reported:

Total worldwide assets:  $27.3 billion, an increase of $3.8 billion from a year ago

Global fleet:  more than 1.2 million cars/trucks, the largest fleet of passenger vehicles in the world

Sales of used vehicles:  more than 64,000 directly to consumers through the company’s retail car sales division, now operating more than 130 car sales locations across the country

Corporate travel revenues: more than $2.5 billion

Enterprise Holdings said it has the lowest debt-to-equity ratio and is the only investment-grade company in the U.S. car rental industry. In addition, Enterprise Holdings’ annual revenues place it near the top of the travel industry, exceeding many airlines and most cruise lines, hotels, tour operators and online travel agencies, the company said. (As a privately held business, Enterprise Holdings does not disclose net income.)

“No other car rental provider can match our financial strength, the size and scope of our operations, or our ability to offer a total transportation solution,” said Enterprise Holdings’ President and Chief Operating Officer Pam Nicholson. Nicholson was recently named for the sixth consecutive year to Fortune magazine’s list of America’s 50 Most Powerful Women in Business.

Enterprise Holdings said its industry leadership and financial stability, as well as its hallmark focus on customer service, continued to empower its expansion throughout the world during fiscal 2012. 

The company acquired PSA Peugeot Citroën’s car rental subsidiary, Citer SA in France, and its Spanish subsidiary, Atesa. In addition, Enterprise Holdings entered the Brazilian market with a franchise agreement enabling São Paulo-based Unidas to feature the Alamo Rent A Car and National Car Rental brands.

The parent company of Enterprise Holdings also made a strategic investment in China-based eHi Auto Services. Today, Enterprise Holdings has a presence in 38 countries worldwide, including 7,400 corporate-owned locations and a franchise network throughout the Americas and in Asia Pacific.

Noting its size and reach of its network, Enterprise said it is in a unique position to introduce millions of drivers to new fuel alternatives and vehicle technologies. Earlier this year Enterprise noted it announced the Driving Futures Network, consisting of Enterprise Rent-A-Car branches designed to make electric vehicles and hybrids more accessible and convenient for customers.

In addition, Enterprise reports its automated car sharing continued to expand in municipalities, on military bases, and on corporate and college campuses during the past fiscal year. The company also acquired car-sharing programs in Philadelphia, New York and Boston, and quickly updated and increased those local fleets with newer makes and models, including electric vehicles and hybrids.

As noted in the 2012 Enterprise Holdings sustainability report, the company said it continues to play an active role in addressing such major transportation issues as alternative fuels, emerging automotive technologies, fuel efficiency and emission standards. 

“However, our sustainability strategy isn’t limited to automobiles,” said Taylor, a keynote speaker at the Corporate Eco Forum’s 2012 annual meeting and a member of the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center’s corporate sustainability panel discussion this summer. 

The company’s efforts also include working in close partnership with organizations such as the National League of Cities' Sustainable Cities Institute, the Transportation Sustainability Research Center, the Electrification Coalition and the Department of Energy’s “Clean Cities” initiative. 

“We operate our business in ways that take the sustainability concept further, driving environmental improvements, enhancing the automotive value chain, and helping people and communities move forward,” Taylor said. “Driven by a cross-functional task force, sustainability cuts across every aspect of our company, from reducing energy use to philanthropic support.”

The Enterprise Holdings Foundation provided more than $16.4 million in grants during fiscal 2012. Approximately 80 percent of the giving went to fulfill employee requests to support local community organizations.

Enterprise Holdings says its employees – supported by corporate matching funds from the company Foundation – were the 13th largest corporate campaign contributors to the United Way in North America.

“All of these long-term initiatives add up,” Taylor concluded, “and, over time, they strengthen our traditional ties to the local communities we already serve, as well as prepare us for global opportunities and new business partners in the future.”

Visit www.EnterpriseHoldings.com