Pre-tax profits at Hertz rise 69%

THE MAIN Irish-based firm of car-hire giant Hertz has said that last year it exceeded expectations after it increased pre-tax profits by 69 per cent to €12.4 million.

Accounts just returned to the Companies Office show that Hertz Europe Services Centre Ltd’s (HESC) increased profits after its revenues went up by 6 per cent from €53.1 million to €56.3 million in the 12 months to the end of December last. The figures also show that the firm paid a dividend of €52 million during the year.

The filings confirm that employees at HESC’s European Shared Services centre in Dublin last year fell from 909 to 889 while staff costs fell marginally from €36.8 million to €36.7 million.

According to the directors’ report, “despite the economic headwinds that we have faced in the past year we have once again exceeded our performance indicators during 2011. For the year ahead, we are continuing to invest in our people and systems in order to take advantage of any new opportunities which may arise in the future.”

The profits last year take account of a non-cash depreciation cost of €2.5 million. After the dividend payout and last year’s profit, the company’s accumulated profits last year were reduced to €77.6 million.

The firm recorded administrative expenses of €52.6 million with its revenues boosted by other operating income of €7.9 million that includes €3.6 million in foreign exchange gain. This resulted in an operating profit of €11.6 million.

Remuneration to the directors increased from €553,000 to €643,000, including salaries of €539,000, directors’ pension scheme contribution of €97,000 and benefits of kind of €7,000.