Europcar, New European Number 1 in Car Rentals
Press Conference for the Presentation of the 2003 Accounts - Paris (France) March 3rd, 2004
2003, A GOOD YEAR FOR EUROPCAR :
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record profits after they doubled in 2002
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a 6.3% growth in rentals and 1.7% in turnover
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the new leader elected "Best Car Rental Company in Europe"
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EUROPCAR becomes the European leader in car rental
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EUROPCAR announces its best results for 2003.
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EUROPCAR elected "Best Car Rental Company in Europe"
EUROPCAR has been designated "Best Car Rental Company in Europe" by the readers of "Business Traveller Magazine". At the same time, the group has officially been awarded the title of "European Car Rental Leader" by the "World Travel Awards". These titles are the most sought-after awards in the tourism and travel sector, as they are awarded both by users and the professionals in the sector.
Insisting on the importance of "global quality service" in the group’s strategy, Salvatore Catania, Chief Executive Officer of the group, stated: "For Europcar, things are clear : these periods represent real opportunities for investment, in the sense of improving customer relations, where quality is a constant objective".
Three years ago, EUROPCAR announced its intention to become the European leader in the sector. This it has now achieved if various key factors in the car rental business are compared: turnover, profits, the size of the fleet the number of rental desks. With a turnover in 2003 of 1,105 million Euros, Europcar is one of the rare car rental companies to be able to announce positive results (+ 1.7%).
Gerhard Noack, Chief Financial Officer of the group explained : "Thanks to the efforts of the principal countries, mainly the tourist ones, the LEISURE sector has seen significant development which now allows us to compensate for the difficulties in other areas of activity. This means that LEISURE revenue now counts for almost half of our business".
With pre-tax results of € 72 m in 2003, EUROPCAR is continuing to improve its profitability in the car rental market. The result corresponds to 6.5% of revenue, the best figure in the history of Europcar. It is essentially due to the growth in turnover in a stable market and constant control of its costs.
"Our company is the proof that, by knowing what is coming and by setting clear and realistic objectives, it is possible to do well and achieve the aim we set: to become the most profitable company in the European market," declared Mr Salvatore Catania, Chief Executive Officer of the group, talking of the very difficult economic times for car rental companies.
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Contact :
EUROPCAR International S.A.
Christoph Wolf, Director of Communications
Tel : +33 (0) 1 30 44 98 00
Fax : +33 (0) 1 30 44 94 45
E-mail : communication@mail.europcar.com
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