Car rental firm Avis Europe said today it had narrowed its first-half loss and that full-year results would take a €2 million hit from malpractice in its Portuguese subsidiary.
The group first-half underlying loss before tax was €1.9 million, compared to a €4.5 million loss a year earlier.
It said its expectations for the year remained unchanged, with analysts forecasting year underlying pretax profit of €33 million to €35 million, down from €38.9 million last year after it disposed of its Greek business.
Avis said volumes of both leisure and corporate business were growing well but that it was feeling the pressure from higher interest charges, fleet costs and a tough rental price environment.
Avis said in June it had uncovered possible irregularities in Portugal and commissioned a forensic investigation by auditors KPMG.
The group was forced to restate its net assets in Portugal for 2005 and 2006 and predicted a €2 million impact on underlying pretax profit in the current financial year, less than the €3 million it had previously forecast.
Shares in the group rose 1.7 per cent to 46 pence by earlier this morning, valuing the group at around £423 million (€621.85 million).