Car rental company Sixt enjoyed its best-ever quarter in the three months between July and September as the company looks set for a “record” year in 2022.
Germany-based Sixt enjoyed “buoyant demand” during the key summer months, with revenue rising by 24.8 per cent year-on-year to €997 million during the third quarter and pre-tax profit rising to €283 million.
For the first nine months of this year, Sixt’s revenue rose to €2.32 billion, an increase of 42.4 per cent on the same period of 2021 and a 21.4 per cent rise compared with 2019. Sixt’s pre-tax profit also went up by 59.5 per cent year-on-year to €506.3 million.
Sixt experienced strong growth in its European markets, outside its home market of Germany, with revenue up by 47 per cent to €1 billion for the first nine months of 2022. This was driven by “strong summer business” in France, Spain and Italy after travel restrictions were lifted earlier in the year.
The company’s sales in Germany also increased by 22 per cent to €641.3 million over the same period.
Sixt is now forecasting that revenue for the whole of 2022 will be between €2.8 billion and €3.1 billion, and for pre-tax profit to be at the “upper end” of the €500 million and €550 million range.
Kai Andrejewski, Sixt’s chief financial officer, said: “Although we are heading for a record year in 2022, we are also monitoring the economic trend very closely and are not immune to respective risks beginning at the end of the year.
“Nevertheless, we have a high degree of resilience and the capacity to invest counter-cyclical in our brand, the expansion of our network and our technology.”
Sixt said it had made investments in “premium quality and innovation” this year, including adding 1,000 new employees since January and further expanding its fleet, which has now increased by 13 per cent year-on-year to 136,500 vehicles “despite the difficult procurement situation”.
Andrejewski added: “Sixt’s premium strategy is resonating with its customers. We have also benefited from a persistently positive market environment in terms of demand and prices.
“Sixt is already very diversified, both geographically and in terms of its products, financed very solidly and continues to actively drive the digitalisation of its products and services.”
The company said it would continue with the electrification of its fleet, with the goal of having electric vehicles (EVs) make up between 70 and 90 per cent of its European fleet by 2030. EVs currently make up 11 per cent of Sixt’s fleet – up from just 1 per cent in 2019.
It is also spending €50 million on new charging points for EVs and plans to expand its Sixt app to allow the booking of “climate friendly” products.