Hertz Global (HTZ) Shares Up On Q2 Earnings & Revenues Beat

Hertz Global Holdings, Inc’s (NYSE:HTZ) second-quarter 2019 adjusted earnings (excluding 34 cents from non-recurring items) of 74 cents handsomely surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 22 cents. In the year ago quarter, the company incurred a loss. Higher revenues, increased productivity and efficient fleet management benefited results.

Also, quarterly revenues of $2.51 billion came above the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.45 billion. Moreover, the top line improved 5.1% on impressive performance of the U.S. Rental Car segment.

Following this robust performance, shares of the company rose more than 5% in after-hours trading on Aug 6.

Segmental Performance

In the quarter under review, the U.S. Rental Car segment generated revenues of $1.78 billion, up 10% year over year. This upside can be attributed to higher demand and favorable pricing.

Vehicle utilization increased to 82% from 81% a year ago. In second-quarter 2019 direct vehicle operating expenses inched up 3% to $1.05 billion while selling, general and administrative interest expense was marginally up year over year.

The International Rental Car segment generated revenues of $560 million, down 5% year over year. The downside was due to decreased volumes as a result of weakness in the European market. Meanwhile, segmental revenues were flat excluding foreign currency impact. Total revenue per transaction day (RPD) inched up 1% to $42.97 million.

Segmental direct vehicle operating costs climbed 2.5% year over year to $330 million, while selling, general and administrative interest expense declined 12.7%. Meanwhile, revenues from all other operations dipped 3% to $167 million.

Balance Sheet and Cash Flow

This Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) company exited the second quarter with cash and cash equivalents of $415 million compared with $1.13 billion at the end of 2018. Restricted cash and cash equivalents at the end of the period totaled $239 million compared with $283 million at 2018 end. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

As of Jun 30, 2019, total debt amounted to $19.35 billion compared with $16.32 billion as of Dec 31, 2018. Cash flows provided by operating activities at the end of the second quarter totaled $1.05 billion, up from $942 million in the prior-year period.

Upcoming Releases

Investors interested in the broader Transportation sector are keenly awaiting second-quarter earnings reports from key players, namely Azul (NYSE:AZUL) , Air Lease Corporation (NYSE:AL) and Uber Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:UBER) . Each of the companies will report financial numbers on Aug 8.

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