Paris, 08.03.02 - Europcar International is continuing its course of growth according to the annual business results for 2001. "Despite the highly unfavourable macroeconomic climate, Europcar International has been able to chart a further increase in both revenue and profit", explained Dr. Michael Kern, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Europcar International S.A., speaking to journalists in Paris.

Revenue from the rental business increased by 73 million euros to reach 1.059 billion euros. This represents a growth in turnover of 7.4 percent over the previous year. The pre-tax profit could also be raised once again and amounted to 26.2 million euros for the last business year. This shows a plus of 9 percent in comparison with the previous year, which had yielded an operating result of 24.1 million euros.

As the Europcar CEO reports, the published results were strained above all by the repercussions of the terrorist attacks in the USA. According to Kern, the decline in bookings within the holiday travel sector, in particular, was responsible for severe fluctuations. "What would almost certainly have been an outstanding result in different economic circumstances must be judged a great success under the prevailing conditions. This shows that we are pursuing the right path with our strategy and that our measures to counteract macroeconomic downturns are appropriate", concluded the CEO.

The positive business trend shown by Europcar International can be predominantly attributed to the growth achieved in individual countries, maintained Kern. The CEO particularly singled out Italy, France and Germany in this respect. Other factors with a positive effect he cited were the consistently imposed price increases, the continuous expansion and further optimisation of the call centre network, and the stringent implementation of Yield and Revenue Management.

In terms of capacity utilisation Europcar has also been able to carry on the positive trend of recent years. The Revenue per Day (RPD) rose to 35.2 euros. The number of rental contracts concluded improved from 5.508 million in 2000 to 5.608 million during the year under report. The total rental days increased from 27.5 million in 2000 to 28.9 million during last year.

Europcar's Chief Executive expects this positive development to continue in the current year and anticipates a further increase in turnover and profits. To this end, the company intends to expand further. "Our target is a growth strategy that responds flexibly to market conditions", explained Kern. Europcar International is currently represented in seven corporate countries, which are supplemented by 111 franchisee nations. Both are pillars of the enterprise with an equivalent status. The rental company plans to optimise its network through the addition of up to ten licensee nations each year. Expansion is currently focussing on markets located in the Asia-Pacific region and in South America.

According to its CEO, Europcar International intends to place special attention on brand development. The prerequisite for a constantly high level of customer satisfaction is the distinctive competence embodied in the brand "Europcar". This is evidenced by a broad spectrum of products, by the continuous investment in new technologies and, above all, by the pledge to provide a high standard of service. The signature placed beneath the new, exclusive partnership contract with the Preussag subsidiary, World of TUI, can also be viewed in this light. Last week, Europcar International won the contract to provide the entire vehicle rental requirements for the tourism group over the next three years. As Kern concluded: "In winning the Preussag tender, for which bids were invited in the international arena, the strategy of expansion adopted by Europcar has once again proved its success, even in a year that continues to be classed by analysts as eminently difficult for the automobile sector".

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: wolfch@mail.europcar.com