International car rental company Sixt has said it expects to announce record earnings of between €390 million and €450 million for 2021 on the back of high demand and rising rental rates due to vehicle shortages caused by the global semiconductor supply crisis.
The company’s third quarter earnings, which will be officially announced on 11 November and are expected to reach €253 million before tax, are benefitting from high demand in Europe and particularly in the US, the company said. Sixt also cited “good market price levels….driven by high demand and the limited availability of vehicles due to the shortage of semiconductors”.
The company has pursued an internationalisation strategy in the past year by making strategic investments in important growth markets. In the US, it acquired ten major airport stations in 2020 and is now the fourth largest car rental company in the country.
Alexander Sixt, the company’s co-CEO, said: “The investments in our internationalisation and digitalisation strategy are increasingly paying off and we have been able to further expand our strong market position.”
Professor Dr Kai Andrejewski, CFO of Sixt, said: “Evidently, the catch-up effect on people's travel and mobility after the long corona lockdown is much more pronounced than first expected. Together with the increased market price level, there is a positive effect on the earnings situation of our group.”
He added, “Nevertheless, due to the volatile market environment, we would be well advised not to lose sight of the challenges we will face in the months ahead: The further course of customer demand is just as difficult to forecast as the extent and duration of the supply bottlenecks at vehicle manufacturers caused by the shortage of semiconductors and the associated impact on our business.”
The company’s previous record earnings came in 2019 when it posted an annual result of €308 million.