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Avis Budget Group 10-K 2011 Documents found in this filing:Table of Contents
UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549
FORM 10-K x ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2010 OR ¨ TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 For the transition period from to COMMISSION FILE NO. 1-10308
AVIS BUDGET GROUP, INC. (Exact name of Registrant as specified in its charter)
973-496-4700 (Registrant’s telephone number, including area code) SECURITIES REGISTERED PURSUANT TO SECTION 12(b) OF THE ACT:
SECURITIES REGISTERED PURSUANT TO SECTION 12(g) OF THE ACT: None Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes þ No ¨ Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act. Yes ¨ No þ Indicate by check mark whether the Registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the Registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes þ No ¨ Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Web site, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§ 232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files). Yes þ No ¨ Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K (§229.405 of this chapter) is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of Registrant’s knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K. þ Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer or a smaller reporting company. See definition of “large accelerated filer”, “accelerated filer” and “smaller reporting company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Act). Yes ¨ No þ The aggregate market value of the Registrant’s common stock held by non-affiliates of the Registrant on June 30, 2010 was $1,001,279,006 based on the closing price of our common stock on the New York Stock Exchange. All executive officers and directors of the registrant have been deemed, solely for the purpose of the foregoing calculation, to be “affiliates” of the registrant. The number of shares outstanding of the Registrant’s common stock was 103,654,955 as of January 31, 2011. DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE Portions of the Registrant’s definitive proxy statement to be mailed to stockholders in connection with the Registrant’s annual stockholders’ meeting scheduled to be held on May 20, 2011 (the “Annual Proxy Statement”) are incorporated by reference into Part III hereof.
Table of ContentsTABLE OF CONTENTS
Table of ContentsFORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS The forward-looking statements contained herein are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based on various facts and were derived utilizing numerous important assumptions and other important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements include the information concerning our future financial performance, business strategy, projected plans and objectives. Statements preceded by, followed by or that otherwise include the words “believes”, “expects”, “anticipates”, “intends”, “projects”, “estimates”, “plans”, “may increase”, “may fluctuate” and similar expressions or future or conditional verbs such as “will”, “should”, “would”, “may” and “could” are generally forward-looking in nature and not historical facts. You should understand that the following important factors and assumptions could affect our future results and could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in such forward-looking statements:
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Other factors and assumptions not identified above, including those described under “Risk Factors” set forth in Item 1A herein, were also involved in the derivation of these forward-looking statements, and the failure of such other assumptions to be realized, as well as other factors, may also cause actual results to differ materially from those projected. Most of these factors are difficult to predict accurately and are generally beyond our control. You should consider the areas of risk described above, as well as those described under “Risk Factors” set forth in Item 1A herein and those that may be disclosed from time to time in filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”), in connection with any forward-looking statements that may be made by us and our businesses generally. Except to the extent of our obligations under the federal securities laws, we undertake no obligation to release any revisions to any forward-looking statements, to report events or to report the occurrence of unanticipated events. For any forward-looking statements contained in any document, we claim the protection of the safe harbor for forward-looking statements contained in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
Table of ContentsPART I
Except as expressly indicated or unless the context otherwise requires, the “Company”, “Avis Budget”, “we”, “our” or “us” means Avis Budget Group, Inc., and its subsidiaries and “Avis Budget Car Rental” or “ABCR” means Avis Budget Car Rental, LLC, and its subsidiaries, the companies that comprise our vehicle rental operations. “Avis” and “Budget” refer to our Avis and Budget operations, respectively, and do not include the operations of our licensees, including Avis Europe and its affiliates, as further discussed below. Overview We operate two of the most recognized brands in the global vehicle rental industry through Avis and Budget. Avis is a leading rental car supplier positioned to serve the premium commercial and leisure segments of the travel industry and Budget is a leading rental car supplier focused primarily on more value-conscious segments of the industry. We are a leading vehicle rental operator in North America, Australia, New Zealand and certain other regions we serve and our licensees operate the Avis and Budget brands in more than 100 countries throughout the world. We generally maintain a leading share of airport car rental revenue and we operate one of the leading truck rental businesses in the United States. Our car rental business enjoys significant benefits from operating two distinct brands that target different industry segments but share the same fleet, maintenance facilities, systems, technology and administrative infrastructure. We believe that Avis and Budget both enjoy complementary demand patterns with mid-week commercial demand balanced by weekend leisure demand. In 2010, we generated total revenues of $5,185 million. The Avis, Budget and Budget Truck brands accounted for approximately 62%, 31% and 7% of our revenue, respectively, in 2010. On average, our rental fleet totaled more than 345,000 vehicles, and we completed more than 22 million vehicle rental transactions worldwide in 2010. In the United States, in 2010, we derived approximately 81% of our nearly $4.0 billion in total car rental revenue from on-airport locations and approximately 19% of our revenue from off-airport locations, which we refer to as our local market business. We also license the use of the Avis and Budget trademarks to licensees in areas in which we do not operate directly. Our brands have an extended global reach that include more than 10,000 car and truck rental locations throughout the world, including approximately 2,000 company-operated car rental locations primarily in the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Argentina and approximately 5,800 car rental locations operated by licensees. We rent our fleet of approximately 27,000 Budget trucks through a network of approximately 2,250 dealer-operated and 200 company-operated locations throughout the continental United States. Segment Information We categorize our operations in three operating segments: domestic car rental, consisting of our Avis and Budget U.S. car rental operations; international car rental, consisting of our international Avis and Budget vehicle rental operations; and truck rental, consisting of our Budget truck rental operations in the United States. In 2010:
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Table of ContentsIn 2010, while our rental day volumes increased modestly as travel demand began to rebound from the recent recession, our earnings increased substantially. To position our company for improving economic conditions, we continued the implementation of our five-point cost-reduction and efficiency-improvement plan, which we introduced in November 2008, and our Performance Excellence process improvement initiative to reduce expenses. The five-point plan has enabled us to realize cost savings since its initial implementation through:
In 2010, we not only completed more than 22 million vehicle rental transactions worldwide, but also made significant progress toward our strategic objectives. We retained approximately 99% of our commercial contracts and maintained, expanded or entered into new marketing alliances with key marketing partners, including with several major airlines. In 2010, Avis was again named the leading car rental company in customer loyalty by the Brand Keys Customer Loyalty Engagement Index and was also named North America’s Leading Car Hire and World’s Leading Business Car Rental Company for the fifth consecutive year by the World Travel Awards. We achieved significant increases in customer satisfaction, as measured by post-transaction surveys completed by more than 500,000 of our customers in 2010. We also continued our long-standing tradition of being an innovator in the car rental industry, piloting automated check-out kiosks, offering portable satellite radio rentals and delivering more than 7 million electronic receipts to our customers. In 2010, as a result of our continued focus on car class upgrades and sales of ancillary products and services, we increased the revenues per rental day that we generate from car class upgrades, where2 GPS navigation unit rentals, loss damage waivers and insurance products, and other ancillary services. In 2010, we maintained a diverse car rental fleet, in which no vehicle manufacturer represented more than 28% of our 2010 U.S. fleet purchases and we continued to adjust our fleet levels to be consistent with demand. We continue to utilize sophisticated yield-management technology to optimize our pricing and fleet planning, and we continue to analyze and streamline our operations to gain efficiencies. In addition, our more than 21,000 employees continue to provide reliable, high-quality vehicle rental services that foster customer satisfaction and customer loyalty. Market Conditions and Outlook For 2011, our objective is to focus on growing our business profitably, strengthening our position as a leading provider of vehicle rental services and maintaining and enhancing efficiencies achieved through process improvement and other actions. We expect to achieve our goals by focusing our efforts on the following core strategic initiatives:
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Table of ContentsCompany History Avis Budget Group’s operations consist of two of the most recognized brands in the global vehicle rental industry through Avis Budget Car Rental, LLC, the parent of Avis Rent A Car System, LLC, Budget Rent A Car System, Inc. and Budget Truck Rental, LLC. Founded in 1946, Avis is believed to be the first company to rent cars from airport locations. Avis expanded its geographic reach throughout the United States in the 1950s and 1960s. In 1963, Avis introduced its award winning “We try harder” advertising campaign, which is considered one of the top ten advertising campaigns of the 20th century by Advertising Age magazine. Budget was founded in 1958. The company name was chosen to appeal to the “budget-minded” or “value-conscious” vehicle rental customer. Avis possesses a long history of using proprietary information technology systems in its business, and its established, but continually updated, Wizard System remains the backbone of our operations. We acquired the Avis brand in 1996, Avis’ capital stock in 2001, and the Budget brand and substantially all of the domestic and certain international assets of Budget’s predecessor in 2002. We were created through a merger with HFS Incorporated in December 1997 with the resultant corporation being renamed Cendant Corporation. On August 23, 2006, Cendant completed a separation into four separate companies (the “Separation”), one for each of its former Real Estate Services businesses (Realogy Corporation), its former Hospitality Services businesses (Wyndham Worldwide Corporation), its former Travel Distribution Services businesses (Travelport) and its Vehicle Rental businesses (Cendant, now Avis Budget Group). Following completion of the Separation, Cendant changed its name to Avis Budget Group, Inc. Our common stock currently trades on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol “CAR”. In addition to our vehicle rental operations, we continue to manage the administration of certain legacy items which remain following the completion of the Separation. In connection with the Separation, we entered into certain agreements, including the Separation and Distribution Agreement dated as of July 27, 2006 (the “Separation Agreement”), with Realogy, Wyndham and Travelport governing our relationships following the separation, including the assumption by Realogy and Wyndham of 62.5% and 37.5%, respectively, of certain contingent and other liabilities of Cendant. Car rental business Operations—Avis We operate or license the Avis car rental system (the “Avis System”), which is comprised of approximately 5,050 locations worldwide and represents one of the largest car rental systems in the world. The Avis System encompasses locations at most of the largest airports and cities in the United States and internationally. We operate approximately 1,250 Avis car rental locations in both the on-airport and local rental segments in North America, Australia, New Zealand, Latin America and the Caribbean. In 2010, our Avis operations generated total revenue of approximately $3.2 billion, of which approximately 80% (or $2.6 billion) was derived from U.S. operations. The Avis System in Europe, Africa, the Middle East and parts of Asia is primarily operated under royalty-free license agreements with a subsidiary of Avis Europe plc (“Avis Europe”), an independent third party, which generally expire in 2036, and is comprised of approximately 2,900 locations (as disclosed by Avis Europe) operated by Avis Europe and its sub-licensees. In addition, we license the Avis System to other independent business owners in approximately 900 locations throughout the United States, Canada, Latin America, the Caribbean, Australia, New Zealand and parts of Asia. In 2010, approximately 95% of the Avis System total U.S. revenue was generated by our locations and the remainder was generated by locations operated by independent licensees, which generally pay royalty fees to us based on a percentage of applicable revenue.
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Table of ContentsThe table below presents the approximate number of locations that make up the Avis System: Avis System Locations *
In 2010, Avis derived approximately 60% and 40% of its U.S. time and mileage revenue from commercial and leisure customers, respectively, and 79% and 21% of its U.S. revenue from customers renting at airports and locally, respectively. The Avis brand provides high-quality car rental services at price points generally above non-branded and value-branded national car rental companies. We offer Avis customers a variety of premium services, including:
Operations—Budget We operate or license the Budget vehicle rental system (the “Budget System”), which is comprised of approximately 2,750 car rental locations and represents one of the largest car rental systems in the world. The Budget System encompasses locations at most of the largest airports and cities in the United States and internationally. We operate approximately 750 Budget car rental locations in the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico, Australia and New Zealand. In 2010, our Budget car rental operations generated total revenue of approximately $1.6 billion, of which 83% (or $1.3 billion) was derived from U.S. operations. The Budget System in Europe, Africa and the Middle East is primarily operated under a royalty-free license agreement, which generally expires in
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Table of Contents2036, with a subsidiary of Avis Europe, and is comprised of approximately 1,050 locations (as disclosed by Avis Europe) operated by such subsidiary of Avis Europe and its sub-licensees. We also license the Budget System to independent business owners who operate approximately 950 locations throughout the United States, Canada, Latin America, the Caribbean and parts of Asia. In 2010, approximately 84% of the Budget System total U.S. revenue was generated by our locations with the remainder generated by locations operated by independent licensees, which generally pay royalty fees to us based on a percentage of revenues. The table below presents the approximate number of locations that make up the Budget System: Budget System Locations *
In 2010, Budget derived approximately 30% and 70% of its U.S. time and mileage car rental revenue from commercial and leisure customers, respectively, and 80% and 20% of its U.S. car rental revenue from customers renting at airports and locally, respectively. Budget is a leading rental car supplier to more value-conscious segments of the industry. Budget offers its customers Fastbreak, an expedited rental service for frequent travelers, which operates much like Avis Preferred, as well as where2 navigation units and Roving Rapid Return, as described above. Budget also offers the Budget Small Business Program, a program for small businesses that provides discounted rates and central billing options, and Unlimited Budget, a loyalty program for travel professionals established by Budget over ten years ago. Reservations Customers can make Avis and Budget reservations through our Avis and Budget websites at avis.com and budget.com, through our reservation centers (also referred to as contact centers) toll-free at 1-888-777-AVIS and 1-800-BUDGET7, respectively, through online travel portals, through selected partners, including many major airlines utilizing direct connect technology, through travel agents, or by calling a location directly. Travel agents can access our reservation systems through all major global distribution systems (GDSs) and can obtain information with respect to rental locations, vehicle availability and applicable rate structures through these systems. In 2010, we introduced a voice reservation system which allows customers to conduct certain transactions such as confirmation, cancellation and modification of reservations using self-service voice response technology. We also launched an enhanced version of our Apple mobile application allowing customers to make, view, modify or cancel reservations or automatically include their profile using their iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch. Marketing Avis and Budget support their premium and value-conscious brand positions through a range of marketing channels and campaigns, including traditional media, such as television, radio and print advertising, as well as Internet and direct marketing. Avis focuses its marketing around its industry-leading customer loyalty and its award-winning “We try harder” marketing campaign. Budget builds its marketing around retail advertising, key partnerships and online marketing campaigns. We maintain strong links to the travel industry. Avis and Budget offer customers the ability to earn frequent traveler points with most major airlines’ frequent traveler programs. In 2010, we renewed and expanded our
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Table of Contentspartnership agreement with American Airlines and we also entered into new partnership agreements with Jet Blue’s and Frontier Airlines’ frequent flyer programs. Avis and Budget are also affiliated with the frequency programs of major hotel companies, including Hilton Hotels Corporation, Hyatt Corporation, Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide, Inc. and Wyndham Worldwide. These arrangements provide incentives to program participants and cooperative marketing opportunities, including call transfer programs and online links with various partners’ websites. Avis has an agreement with Wyndham Worldwide’s lodging brands whereby lodging customers making reservations by telephone may be transferred to Avis if they desire to rent a vehicle. In 2010, approximately 83% of domestic vehicle rental transactions from our owned and operated Avis locations in the United States were generated by travelers who rented from Avis under contracts between Avis and the travelers’ employers or through membership in an organization with whom Avis has a contractual affiliation (such as AARP or Costco). Avis also has marketing relationships with organizations such as American Express Company, Mastercard International Incorporated and Sears Holding Corp., through which we are able to provide customers of these entities with incentives to rent from Avis. Avis licensees also generally have the option to participate in these affiliations. For commercial and leisure travelers who are unaffiliated with any of the employers or organizations that we contract with, Avis solicits business through media, direct mail, e-mail and Internet advertising. Avis conducts various loyalty programs through direct marketing campaigns, including Avis Preferred, which allows customers to bypass the rental counter when renting a vehicle, and Avis First, which offers our customers enhanced benefits for frequent rentals. Additionally, Budget offers “Unlimited Budget”, a loyalty incentive program for travel agents, which had approximately 18,000 travel agents actively enrolled as of December 31, 2010 and which was expanded in 2010 to include Avis as a partner. Budget also offers the Budget Small Business Program, a program for small businesses that offers discounted rates, central billing options and rebates to members. Budget has contractual arrangements with American Express Company, Mastercard International Incorporated and other organizations, which offer members of these groups incentives to rent from Budget. In connection with its focus on value-conscious customers, Budget primarily relies on retail advertising, including Internet advertising, and on value pricing to drive customers to our Budget website, our call centers and other distribution channels. Budget also offers proprietary marketing programs such as Fastbreak, an expedited rental service for frequent renters. Our international Avis and Budget operations maintain close relationships with the travel industry through participation in several non-U.S. based frequent traveler programs with airlines such as Qantas Airways Limited, Air New Zealand and Air Canada. We have been selected as Qantas Airways’ exclusive car rental partner for its frequent flyer program, and have expanded our marketing agreement with Air Canada. We also participate in Avis Europe’s programs with British Airways Plc, Deutsche Lufthansa AG and other carriers. Licensing Revenue derived from our car rental licensees in 2010 totaled $45 million, including $43 million of royalties. Licensed locations range from large operations at major airport locations and territories encompassing an entire country to relatively small operations in suburban locations. Our licensees maintain separate independently owned fleets. Royalties generated from licensing provide us with a source of high margin revenue because there are relatively limited additional fixed costs associated with fees paid by licensees to us. Although licensed locations represent approximately 25% of the domestic Avis and Budget car rental locations, domestic locations operated by licensees represent only approximately 9% of total domestic revenue generated by the Avis and Budget Systems, because the average licensed operation is significantly smaller than the average corporate-operated location. We facilitate one-way car rentals between corporate-owned and licensed locations in the United States, Canada and Australia that enable us to operate as an integrated network of locations. We generally enjoy good relationships with our licensees and meet regularly with them at regional, national and international meetings. Our relationships with licensees are governed by license agreements that grant the licensee the right to operate Avis or Budget car and/or truck rental businesses exclusively in certain territories. These agreements impose obligations on the licensee regarding its operations and most restrict the licensee’s
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Table of Contentsability to transfer its license agreement and capital stock. Licensees are generally required to adhere to our system standards for each brand as updated and supplemented by our policy bulletins, brand manuals and service programs. We maintain the right to monitor the operations of licensees and, when applicable, can declare a licensee to be in default under its license agreement. We can terminate license agreements for certain defaults, including failure to pay royalties and failure to adhere to our operational standards. Under agreements that predate our ownership of Avis or Budget, a limited number of licensees in the United States are also separately licensed to sell used cars under the Avis or Budget brand in certain territories. Our current domestic license agreements provide for a 20-year term and renewal terms, for no additional fee, so long as the licensee is not in default and provided that certain conditions are met. Some of our older domestic license agreements do not contain a fixed term, or provide for renewal terms for no additional fee so long as the licensee is not in default. Upon renewal, the terms and conditions of the license agreement may generally be amended from those contained in the expiring license agreements, while language in certain older license agreements may limit our ability to do so. The car rental royalty fee payable to us under license agreements is generally 5% to 8% of gross rental revenue but certain licensees of each brand, both internationally and domestically, have license agreements with different royalty fee structures, including Avis Europe, which operates for the most part under royalty-free license agreements. Pursuant to their license agreements, some licensees must meet certain minimal requirements relating to the number of rental locations in their licensed territory, the number of vehicles available for rental and the amount of their advertising and promotional expenditures. In general, each license agreement provides that the licensee must not engage in any other vehicle rental business within the licensed territory during the term of such agreement and, in the Budget license agreement, for 12 months thereafter. Upon termination of a license, the licensee is also prohibited from using the Avis or Budget name and related marks in any business. In the United States, these license relationships constitute “franchises” under most federal and state laws regulating the offer and sale of franchises and the relationship of the parties to a franchise agreement. Other Revenue In addition to revenue from vehicle rentals and licensee royalties, we generate revenue from Avis and Budget customers through the sale and/or rental of optional products and services. Our employees offer products to customers that will better suit their rental experience, including loss damage waivers, insurance products such as additional/supplemental liability insurance or personal accident/effects insurance, products for driving convenience such as where2 GPS navigation units, optional emergency roadside assistance, fuel service options and electronic toll collection, and other ancillary products and services as described above, such as rentals of satellite radio units and child safety seats. In 2010, approximately 4% of our domestic vehicle rental operations revenue was generated by the sale of loss damage waivers, under which we agree to relieve a customer from financial responsibility arising from vehicle damage incurred during the rental period if the customer has not breached the rental agreement. In addition, we receive reimbursement from our customers for certain operating expenses we incur, including gasoline and vehicle licensing fees, as well as airport concession fees, which we pay in exchange for the right to operate at airports and other locations. Websites Avis and Budget have strong brand presence on the Internet through their websites, avis.com and budget.com, as well as third-party websites. Both Avis and Budget have agreements to promote their car rental services with major online travel agencies such as Expedia, Travelocity and Orbitz, and have a strong advertising presence on various search engines. Bookings over the Internet accounted for 36% of Avis’ 2010 domestic rentals, with 28% derived from bookings on avis.com, and for 54% of Budget’s 2010 domestic rentals, with 31% derived from bookings on budget.com.
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Table of ContentsThe Wizard System We own the Wizard System, our worldwide reservation, rental, data processing and information management system. The Wizard System enables us to process millions of incoming customer inquiries each day, providing our customers with accurate and timely information about our locations, rental rates and vehicle availability, as well as the ability to place or modify reservations. Additionally, the Wizard System is linked to all major travel distribution networks worldwide and provides real-time processing for travel agents, travel industry partners (such as airlines), corporate travel departments and individual consumers through our websites or calls to our contact centers. The Wizard System also provides personal profile information to our reservation and rental agents to help us better serve our customers. We also use data supplied from the Wizard System and airline reservation systems in certain proprietary information management systems to maintain centralized control of major business processes such as fleet acquisition and logistics, sales to corporate accounts and determination of rental rates. The principal components of the systems we employ include:
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Fleet We maintain a single fleet of vehicles for Avis and Budget. We rent a wide variety of vehicles, including luxury and specialty vehicles. Our fleet consists primarily of vehicles from the current and immediately preceding model year. We participate in a variety of vehicle purchase programs with major domestic and foreign vehicle manufacturers. General Motors is the featured supplier for Avis, and Ford is the featured supplier for Budget. During 2010, approximately 28%, 26% and 14% of the cars acquired for our U.S. car rental fleet were manufactured by General Motors, Ford and Chrysler, respectively, compared to 32%, 20% and 14% manufactured by General Motors, Ford and Hyundai, respectively, in 2009. During 2010, we also purchased BMW, Hyundai, Kia, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Subaru, Suzuki, Toyota and Volkswagen vehicles. We have continued to maintain a diverse fleet, with a mix of vehicles sourced from both domestic and foreign manufacturers, with 32% of vehicles acquired for our fleet sourced from foreign manufacturers. We generally hold a vehicle in our domestic fleet for a term of four to 16 months. In 2010, on average approximately 47% of our domestic rental car fleet was comprised of vehicles subject to agreements requiring automobile manufacturers to repurchase them or guarantee our rate of depreciation during a specified period of time. Cars subject to these agreements are sometimes referred to as “program” cars and cars not subject to these agreements are sometimes referred to as “risk” cars. The programs in which we participate currently require that the program vehicles be maintained in our fleet for a minimum number of months (typically four to 11 months) and impose return conditions, including those related to mileage and condition. At the time of return to the manufacturer, we receive the price guaranteed at the time of purchase and are thus protected from fluctuations in the prices of previously-owned vehicles in the wholesale market at the time of disposition. The future percentages of program and risk vehicles in our fleet will be dependent on the availability and attractiveness of manufacturers’ repurchase and guaranteed depreciation programs. We dispose of our risk vehicles largely through automobile auctions, including auctions that enable dealers to purchase vehicles online more quickly than through traditional auctions. Of the approximately 294,000 cars from our rental car fleet that we sold in 2010 (compared to 348,000 that we sold in 2009), we sold approximately 55% pursuant to repurchase or guaranteed depreciation programs and the rest were sold through third-party channels such as wholesale auctions. Our car rental business is subject to seasonal variations in customer demand, with the summer vacation period representing the peak season. The seasonal variation in demand, along with more localized changes in demand at each of our locations, causes us to vary our fleet size over the course of the year. For 2010, our average monthly car rental fleet size in the U.S. ranged from a low of approximately 233,000 vehicles in January to a high of approximately 300,000 vehicles in July. Compared to 2009, our average fleet size decreased approximately 1% in 2010. Average domestic fleet utilization for 2010, which is based on the number of rental days (or portion thereof) that vehicles are rented compared to the total amount of time that vehicles are available for rent, ranged from 78% in August to 65% in December and averaged 73% for 2010, which was generally consistent with 2009 levels. Our calculation of utilization may not be comparable to other companies’ calculation of similarly titled statistics.
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Table of ContentsWe place a strong emphasis on vehicle maintenance for customer safety and customer satisfaction reasons, as well as because quick and proper repairs are critical to fleet utilization. To accomplish this task we employ a fully-certified National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence (“ASE”) technician instructor at our headquarters. This instructor has developed a specialized training program for our 338 technicians who operate in approximately 85 maintenance and damage repair centers for both Avis and Budget in the United States. We use advanced diagnostic equipment, including General Motors’ Global Diagnostic System, Ford’s Integrated Diagnostic System, Chrysler’s wiTECH scan tool and Hyundai’s Global Diagnostic System. Our technician training department also prepares its own technical service bulletins that can be retrieved electronically at all of our repair locations. Approximately 84% of our technicians are ASE-certified. Customer Service We believe our commitment to delivering a consistently high level of customer service across all of our brands is a critical element of our success and strategy. In 2010, we initiated our Customer Led, Service Driven™ program, through which we intend to examine our customers’ service preferences and satisfaction levels, with a focus on improving the overall customer experience through the use of our customer relationship management system and enhanced employee training. We track customer satisfaction levels by sending daily location-specific surveys to recent customers. In 2010, we received over 500,000 responses to our online customer satisfaction survey (the Voice of the Customer Survey). The Voice of the Customer Survey asks customers to evaluate their overall satisfaction with their rental experience, among other things. Results are analyzed generally and by location to help further enhance our service levels to our customers. Management receives Voice of the Customer statistics and customer feedback daily via an on-line portal. In addition, we utilize a toll-free “800” number and a dedicated customer service e-mail address to allow customers of both Avis and Budget to report problems directly to our customer relations department. Location associates and managers also receive training and are empowered to resolve most customer issues at the location level. We prepare weekly and monthly reports on the types and number of complaints received for use by location management in conjunction with the customer satisfaction reports as feedback regarding customer service delivery. Environmental Initiatives Over the past several years, we have launched a number of initiatives to manage the environmental aspects of our business. We have focused on and expect to continue to focus on the environmental profile of our car rental fleet, as measured using the United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) SmartWay Certification program. Many of the 2010 model year rental cars in our fleet met the standards for EPA SmartWay Certification. We also offer gas/electric hybrid cars for rent and flex fuel cars for rent for those seeking to minimize environmental impact through use of E-85 ethanol fuel, where available. We also offer a significant number of vehicles equipped for electronic toll collection, which published research indicates, reduces hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide emissions as well as emissions of nitrogen oxides through reduced wait times at toll booths. We are creating formal Environmental Management Systems (EMS) for key airport locations in accordance with ISO 14001 international standards. We use these standards to quantify the various environmental aspects of our business operations, and to manage these aspects, reducing our impact when and where practicable. For example, new car washes installed at our Avis and Budget facilities now recycle and reuse at least 80% of their wastewater. We also offer corporate customers a carbon footprint calculator designed to work with our data warehouse and compute the emissions from their rental car use. We then offer our corporate customers a program to help them reduce their carbon impact, including through driver education, and the opportunity to use carbon offset credits aimed at making their rental car use carbon neutral. We have an alliance with Carbonfund.org, a leading non-profit provider of carbon offset credits, to enable both renters and corporate customers to offset the emissions from their rental car use.
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Table of ContentsAirport Concession Fees In general, concession fees for on-airport locations are based on a percentage of total commissionable revenue (as defined by each airport authority), subject to minimum annual guaranteed amounts. Concessions are typically awarded by airport authorities every three to five years based upon competitive bids. Our concession agreements with the various airport authorities generally impose certain minimum operating requirements, provide for relocation in the event of future construction and provide for abatement of the minimum annual guarantee in the event of extended low passenger volume. Competition The car rental industry is characterized by intense price and service competition. Competition in our vehicle rental operations is based primarily upon price, reliability, vehicle availability, national distribution, usability of booking systems, ease of rental and return, and other elements of customer service. In addition, competition is influenced strongly by advertising, marketing and brand reputation. We compete primarily with the following car rental companies: Hertz Global Holdings, Inc., which operates the Hertz and Advantage brands; Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group, Inc.; Enterprise Rent-A-Car Company, which also operates the National Car Rental and Alamo brands; and Europcar. Truck rental business Operations Budget’s truck rental business is one of the largest local and one-way truck rental businesses in the United States. The Budget truck rental business has a combined fleet of approximately 27,000 trucks, with an average truck age of five years, which is rented through a network of approximately 2,250 dealers and 200 company-operated locations throughout the continental United States. A certain number of our dealer locations are operated by our Budget car rental licensees. The Budget truck rental business serves both the consumer and light commercial sectors. The consumer sector consists primarily of individuals who rent trucks to move household goods on either a one-way or local basis. The light commercial sector consists of a wide range of businesses that rent light- to medium-duty trucks, which we define as trucks having a gross vehicle weight of less than 26,000 pounds, for a variety of commercial applications. In 2010, the Budget truck rental business generated total revenue of approximately $367 million. We advertise in “yellow pages” telephone directories and purchase online ad placements and keywords to help promote our truck rental business to new and existing customers. Budget truck rental customers can make reservations through the Budget truck rental reservation center at 1-800-GO-BUDGET, through our Budget truck rental website at budgettruck.com, or by calling a location directly. In 2010, we entered into a multi-year agreement under which we have the exclusive right to advertise truck rental services in the Mover’s Guide, an official U.S. Postal Service change of address product. We also began a targeted email marketing campaign to reach new customers. In addition, we have relationships with businesses and websites like moving.com and Pep Boys, a leading automotive aftermarket service and retail chain, to promote Budget’s truck rental business, as well as a relationship with AARP offering reduced rates to members. Distribution Budget’s truck rental business is offered through a national network, which included approximately 2,250 dealers as of December 31, 2010. These independently-owned dealers primarily operate self-storage facilities, rental centers, hardware stores, service stations and other similar retail service businesses. In addition to their principal businesses, the dealers rent our light- and medium-duty trucks to consumers and to our commercial accounts and are responsible for collecting payments on our behalf. The dealers receive a commission on all truck rentals and ancillary equipment rentals. Generally, agreements with dealers may be terminated by either party upon 30 to 90 days’ prior written notice.
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Table of ContentsCompetition The truck rental industry is characterized by intense price and service competition as well as competition based on location (proximity to customer). We compete with a large number of truck rental companies throughout the country, including U-Haul International, Inc., Penske Truck Leasing Corporation, Ryder System, Inc., Enterprise Rent-A-Car Company and many others. Seasonality Our truck rental operations are subject to seasonal demand patterns, with generally higher levels of demand occurring during the late spring and summer months when most self-moves occur, with the third quarter typically being our busiest quarter. Generally, December is also a strong month due to increased retail sales activity and package deliveries. Ancillary Products and Insurance Coverages We supplement our daily truck rental revenue by offering customers a range of ancillary optional products. We rent automobile towing equipment and other moving accessories such as hand trucks, furniture pads and moving supplies, as well as where2 GPS navigation units. We also make available to customers a range of optional liability-limiting products and coverages such as physical damage waivers, automobile towing protection, personal accident and cargo insurance, and supplemental liability insurance. These ancillary products enhance our appeal to consumers by offering customers “one-stop” moving services. INSURANCE We generally assume the risk of liability to third parties arising from vehicle rental services in the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, in accordance with the minimum financial responsibility requirements (“MFRs”) and primacy of coverage laws of the relevant jurisdiction. In certain cases, we assume liability above applicable MFRs, but to no more than $1 million, pursuant to contractual obligations. In cases where we assume liability above applicable MFRs or in cases involving a negligent act on the part of the Company, we retain exposure for up to $1 million per occurrence and up to $10 million per occurrence, respectively, through a combination of (i) self-insurance and (ii) insurance coverage provided by an unaffiliated insurance carrier and reinsured by us. We provide such reinsurance through our captive insurance subsidiary, Constellation Reinsurance Co., Ltd. We purchase insurance coverage for exposures of more than $10 million per occurrence from a combination of unaffiliated excess carriers. When a customer elects to purchase supplemental liability insurance, with limits of either $1 million or $2 million, we largely retain economic exposure to loss, since the insurance is provided by an unaffiliated carrier that is reinsured by our Constellation Reinsurance Co., Ltd. subsidiary. We insure the risk of liability to third parties in Argentina, Australia and New Zealand through a combination of unaffiliated carriers and one of our affiliates. These carriers provide coverage supplemental to minimum local requirements. POTENTIAL ACQUISITION OF DOLLAR THRIFTY AUTOMOTIVE GROUP, INC. In September 2010, we announced an offer to purchase Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group, Inc. (“Dollar Thrifty”) for a combination of $45.79 in cash (which would include the proceeds of a pre-closing special dividend to be paid by Dollar Thrifty) and 0.6543 shares of our common stock per Dollar Thrifty share, or approximately $1.5 billion in aggregate (based on the price of our common stock at the close of trading on the New York Stock Exchange on October 6, 2010). We expect that the cash portion of our offer would be funded through a combination of available cash and debt financing. We and Dollar Thrifty have agreed to cooperate with respect to
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Table of Contentsour efforts to pursue antitrust clearance. There can be no assurance as to the timing or outcome of the efforts to secure antitrust clearance for a potential acquisition of Dollar Thrifty, that any agreement with respect to a transaction will be reached, or as to the timing or terms thereof. INTEREST IN CAREY HOLDINGS, INC. We are an investor in Carey Holdings, Inc., the parent company of Carey International, Inc., a leading worldwide provider of chauffeured ground transportation services which operates directly or through licensees in approximately 550 cities and 60 countries around the world. As a result of a restructuring by Carey Holdings in January 2011, our percentage ownership was reduced to 1.2% of the company’s outstanding common stock. TRADEMARKS AND INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY The service marks “Avis” and “Budget”, related marks incorporating the words “Avis” or “Budget”, and related logos and marks such as “We try harder” are material to our vehicle rental business. Our subsidiaries and licensees actively use these marks. All of the material marks used by the Avis and Budget Systems are registered (or have applications pending for registration) with the United States Patent and Trademark Office as well as in over 100 countries. Our subsidiaries own the marks and other intellectual property, including the Wizard System, used in our business. FINANCIAL DATA OF SEGMENTS AND GEOGRAPHIC AREAS Financial data for our segments and geographic areas are reported in Note 21—Segment Information to our Consolidated Financial Statements included in Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. REGULATION We are subject to federal, state and local laws and regulations, including those relating to taxing and licensing of vehicles, trademark licensing, consumer credit, consumer protection, environmental protection, insurance, privacy and labor matters. Environmental The principal environmental regulatory requirements applicable to our vehicle rental operations relate to the ownership or use of tanks for the storage of petroleum products, such as gasoline, diesel fuel and waste oils; the treatment or discharge of waste waters; and the generation, storage, transportation and off-site treatment or disposal of solid or liquid wastes. We operate 395 Avis and Budget locations worldwide at which petroleum products are stored in underground or above-ground tanks and maintain a storage tank liability insurance policy covering these locations. We have instituted an environmental compliance program designed to ensure that these tanks are in compliance with applicable technical and operational requirements, including the replacement and upgrade of underground tanks to comply with the December 1998 EPA upgrade mandate and periodic testing and leak monitoring of underground storage tanks. We believe that the locations where we currently operate are in compliance, in all material respects, with such regulatory requirements. We may also be subject to requirements related to the remediation of, or the liability for remediation of, substances that have been released into the environment at properties owned or operated by us or at properties to which we send substances for treatment or disposal. Such remediation requirements may be imposed without regard to fault, and liability for environmental remediation can be substantial. We may be eligible for reimbursement or payment of remediation costs associated with future releases from regulated underground storage tanks and have established funds to assist in the payment of remediation costs for releases from certain registered underground tanks. Subject to certain deductibles, the availability of funds,
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Table of Contentscompliance status of the tanks and the nature of the release, these tank funds may be available to us for use in remediating future releases from our tank systems. Loss Damage Waivers Twenty-four states have enacted legislation which requires disclosure to each customer at the time of rental that damage to the rented vehicle may be covered to some extent by the customer’s personal automobile insurance and that loss damage waivers may not be necessary. In addition, four states have statutes which establish or cap the daily rate that can be charged for loss damage waivers. Insurance As a result of our reinsurance of the optional insurance coverages that we offer through an unaffiliated third party insurance company as well as other insurance obligations, we are subject to regulation under the insurance statutes, including insurance holding company statutes, of the jurisdictions in which our insurance company subsidiaries are domiciled. These regulations vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, but generally require insurance holding companies and insurers that are subsidiaries of insurance holding companies to register and file certain reports, including information concerning their capital structure, ownership, financial condition and general business operations with the regulatory authority of the applicable jurisdiction, and require prior regulatory agency approval of changes in control of an insurer and intra-corporate transfers of assets within the holding company structure. Such insurance statutes may also require that we obtain limited licenses to sell optional insurance coverage to our customers at the time of rental. Franchise Regulation The aspect of our business that involves licensing third parties to operate locations under the Avis or Budget name, in exchange for the payment of a royalty, is regulated by various state franchising laws, as well as by the Federal Trade Commission (the “FTC”). The FTC requires that we make extensive disclosure to prospective licensees but does not require registration. A number of states require registration and/or disclosure in connection with licensing offers and sales. In addition, several states have “franchise relationship laws” that could limit our ability to, among other things, terminate license agreements or withhold consent to the renewal or transfer of these agreements. Although our licensing operations have not been materially adversely affected by such existing regulations, we cannot predict the effect of any future federal, state or local legislation or regulation. Privacy Laws in some countries and jurisdictions limit the types of information we may collect about individuals with whom we deal or propose to deal, as well as how we collect, retain and use the information that we are permitted to collect, some of which is non-public personally identifiable information. The centralized nature of our information systems requires the routine flow of information about customers and potential customers across national borders, particularly into the United States. If this flow of information were to become illegal, or subject to onerous restrictions, our ability to serve our customers could be seriously impaired for an extended period of time. In addition, our failure to maintain the security of the data we hold, whether as a result of our own error or the actions of others, could harm our reputation or give rise to legal liabilities leading to lower revenue, increased costs and otherwise adversely impact our results of operations. In addition, the Payment Card Industry (the “PCI”) imposes strict customer credit card data security standards to ensure that customers’ credit card information is protected. Failure to meet the PCI data security standards could result in substantial increased fees to credit card companies, other liabilities and/or loss of the right to collect credit card payments. EMPLOYEES As of December 31, 2010, we employed approximately 21,000 employees, of which approximately 7,000 were employed on a part-time basis. Approximately 28% of our employees are covered by collective bargaining agreements. We believe our employee relations are satisfactory. We have never experienced a large-scale work stoppage.
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Table of ContentsCOMPANY INFORMATION Our principal executive office is located at 6 Sylvan Way, Parsippany, New Jersey 07054 (telephone number: (973) 496-4700). We are subject to the informational requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and in accordance therewith, we file reports, proxy and information statements and other information with the Commission and certain of our officers and directors file statements of changes in beneficial ownership on Form 4 with the Commission. Such reports (including our annual reports on Form 10-K, our quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, our current reports on Form 8-K and any amendments to such reports), proxy statements, other information and Form 4s can be accessed on our website at www.avisbudget.com as soon as reasonably practicable after we electronically file such material with, or furnish it to, the Commission. A copy of our Codes of Conduct and Ethics, as defined under Item 406 of Regulation S-K, including any amendments thereto or waivers thereof, Corporate Governance Guidelines, Director Independence Criteria and Board Committee Charters can also be accessed on our website.
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You should carefully consider each of the following risks and all of the other information set forth in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Based on the information currently known to us, we believe that the following information identifies the most significant risk factors affecting our Company in each of these categories of risk. Past financial performance may not be a reliable indicator of future performance and historical trends should not be used to anticipate results or trends in future periods. Risks related to our business The high level of competition in the vehicle rental industry may lead to reduced rental volumes and increased pricing pressure, which could have an adverse impact on our results of operations. The vehicle rental industry in which we operate is highly competitive. We believe that price is one of the primary competitive factors in the vehicle rental industry. Our competitors, some of whom may have access to substantial capital, may seek to compete aggressively on the basis of pricing. To the extent our competitors reduce their pricing, price increases we may seek to implement are not competitive or we do not match or remain within a reasonable competitive margin of our competitors’ pricing, we may lose rental volume. We could be further impacted if we are unable to adjust the size of our rental fleet in response to fluctuations in demand. The risk of competition on the basis of pricing in the truck rental industry can be even more intense than in the car rental industry because it can be more difficult to reduce the size of our truck rental fleet in response to reduced demand. The Internet has increased pricing transparency among vehicle rental companies by enabling cost-conscious customers to more easily obtain and compare the rates available from various vehicle rental companies for any given rental. This transparency may increase the prevalence and intensity of price competition in the future. We face risks of increased fleet costs, both generally and due to the possibility that manufacturers could change or cease their repurchase or guaranteed depreciation programs. Fleet costs, which represent our largest single expense, represented approximately 25% of our aggregate expenses for 2010 and can vary from year to year based on the prices at which we are able to purchase and dispose of rental vehicles. In 2010, on average approximately 47% of our domestic rental car fleet was comprised of vehicles subject to agreements requiring automobile manufacturers to repurchase them or guarantee the depreciation rate for a specified period of time. We refer to such agreements as “programs” and to cars subject to such agreements as “program cars”. Under these programs, automobile manufacturers agree to repurchase cars at a specified price during a specified time period or guarantee the rate of depreciation for a specified period of time, typically subject to certain car condition and mileage requirements. These programs therefore enable us to determine, in advance, our depreciation expense, which is a significant component of our fleet costs. Programs also limit the risk to us that the market value of a car, at the time of its disposition, will be less than its estimated residual (or depreciated) value; however, such programs result in additional exposure to the manufacturers with whom we have such agreements. See “We face risks related to the financial condition of automobile manufacturers and the used vehicle marketplace”. Automobile manufacturers may not continue to sell program cars to us at all or on terms consistent with past practice. The overall cost of program cars could also increase if the manufacturers were to make changes to such programs, particularly if such changes were to result in an adverse impact in the repurchase price or guaranteed depreciation without a corresponding decrease to the original purchase price. Programs also generally provide us with flexibility to reduce the size of our fleet rapidly in response to an economic slowdown or changes in demand by disposing of cars sooner than originally expected. This flexibility may be reduced in the future to the extent we reduce the percentage of program cars in our car rental fleet or this feature of the programs is altered.
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Table of ContentsOur per-unit fleet costs could also increase if we decide to purchase fewer vehicles than previously agreed to, as we receive payments from manufacturers, known as “incentive payments”, once certain conditions are met such as reaching certain purchase volumes, or if manufacturers eliminate or reduce the terms of these incentive programs. Any increase in our per-unit fleet costs could adversely impact our financial condition and results of operations. We face risks related to the financial condition of automobile manufacturers and the used vehicle marketplace. Approximately 28%, 26% and 14% of the cars we acquired for our domestic fleet in 2010 were manufactured by General Motors, Ford and Chrysler, respectively. A majority of these cars, and a portion of our cars manufactured by foreign manufacturers, are program cars. If a manufacturer were to default under its agreements with us as a result of bankruptcy proceedings or otherwise, we could incur material expenses if the prices at which we were able to dispose of program cars were less than the specified prices under the applicable program. This effect may be magnified because we typically pay the manufacturer of a program car more than we would pay to buy the same car as a non-program, or “risk”, vehicle and because we depreciate a program car to the repurchase price or the guaranteed depreciation agreed to by the manufacturer. This price does not take into consideration conditions in such marketplace and is usually therefore higher than the price that would be available in the used car marketplace. On average approximately 47% of our domestic rental car fleet in 2010 was comprised of program cars and we also receive incentive payments from manufacturers following the purchase of some of our vehicles once certain conditions are met such as reaching certain purchase volumes. Failure by a manufacturer to fulfill its obligations under any program agreement or incentive payment obligation could leave us with a substantial unpaid claim against the manufacturer particularly with respect to program cars that were either (i) resold for an amount less than the amount guaranteed under the applicable program and therefore subject to a “true-up” payment obligation from the manufacturer or (ii) returned to the manufacturer but for which we were not yet paid and therefore we could incur a substantial loss as a result of such failure to perform. We currently sell non-program vehicles through auctions, third-party resellers and other channels in the used vehicle marketplace. Such channels may not produce stable used vehicle prices. A reduction in residual values for non-program cars and trucks in our vehicle rental fleet could cause us to sustain a substantial loss on the ultimate sale of such vehicles or require us to depreciate those vehicles at a more accelerated rate while we own them. Any reduction in the market value of the vehicles in our fleet could effectively increase our fleet costs, adversely impact our profitability and potentially lead to decreased capacity in our asset backed car rental funding facilities due to the collateral requirements for such facilities which effectively increase as market values for vehicles decrease. In addition, if our ability to sell vehicles in the used vehicle marketplace were to become severely limited at a time when required collateral levels were rising, principal under our asset-backed financing facilities may be required to be repaid sooner than anticipated with vehicle disposition proceeds and lease payments we make to our vehicle program subsidiaries. If that were to occur, the holders of our asset-backed debt may have the ability to exercise their right to instruct the trustee to direct the return of program vehicles and/or the sale of non-program vehicles to generate proceeds sufficient to repay such debt. We face risks associated with sourcing vehicles for our fleet and potential safety recalls affecting vehicles in our fleet. We currently source our vehicles from both U.S. and non-U.S. auto manufacturers, including General Motors, Ford, Chrysler, Hyundai, Nissan, Kia, Subaru, Suzuki and Toyota. To the extent these or other auto manufacturers significantly curtail production, or determine to curtail sales to us or the vehicle rental industry for any reason, we may not be able to obtain a sufficient number of vehicles to operate our business without
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Table of Contentssignificantly increasing our fleet costs. In addition, our vehicles may be subject to safety recalls by their manufacturers, which could have a similar impact on our business if we remove such recalled vehicles from our rentable fleet. If a large number of cars were to be the subject of simultaneous recalls, or if needed replacement parts are not in adequate supply, we may not be able to re-rent recalled cars for a significant period of time. We could also face liability claims related to vehicles subject to a safety recall. Depending on the nature and severity of the recall, it could adversely affect our revenues, create customer service problems, reduce the residual value of the cars involved, harm our general reputation and/or have an adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations. Weakness in general economic conditions in the United States and worldwide, weakness in travel demand and the housing market, and/or a significant increase in fuel costs can adversely impact our business. Historically, our results of operations have declined during periods of general economic weakness, and our results were adversely impacted in 2008 and 2009 due to the economic recession. If economic conditions in the United States and worldwide were to weaken, our financial condition and results of operations could be adversely impacted in 2011 and beyond. In 2010, we generated approximately 81% of our domestic car rental revenue from our on-airport locations; therefore, a decline in airline travel will typically have a direct adverse impact on our results of operations. Significant airline capacity reductions, airfare or related fee increases, any event that disrupts or reduces business or leisure air travel such as work stoppages, military conflicts, terrorist incidents, natural disasters, epidemic diseases, or the response of governments to any of these events, could result in reduced air travel and have an adverse effect on our results of operations. Significant increases in fuel prices, a severe protracted disruption in fuel supplies or rationing of fuel could discourage customers from renting cars or reduce or disrupt air travel. Our truck rental business can also be impacted by the housing market. If conditions in the housing market were to weaken, we may see a decline in truck rental transactions, which could have an adverse impact on our business. We may not be successful in implementing our business strategies. For 2011, our objective is to focus on growing our business profitably, strengthening our position as a leading provider of vehicle rental services and maintaining and enhancing efficiencies achieved through process improvement and other actions, including certain core strategic initiatives, such as optimizing our two-brand strategy, expanding our revenue sources, capturing incremental profit opportunities, and controlling costs and promoting efficiencies. If we are not successful in these initiatives, our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows could be adversely affected. We are dependent on third-party distribution channels, and the success of our business depends in significant part on these relationships. We generate approximately 47% of our domestic car rental reservations through third-party distribution channels, which include:
In 2010, approximately 18% and 2% of our domestic car rental reservations came through our largest GDS source and our largest non-GDS third-party source of reservations, respectively. The operators of some third-
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Table of Contentsparty distribution channels can cancel or modify their agreements with us upon relatively short notice. Changes in our pricing agreements, commission schedules or arrangements with third-party distribution channels, the termination of any of our relationships or a reduction in the transaction volume of such channels, or a GDS’s inability to process and communicate reservations to us could have an adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Our business is seasonal, and a disruption in rental activity during our peak season could adversely affect our results of operations. Seasonal changes in our revenues do not alter certain of our expenses, like rent and insurance, that are fixed in the short run, typically resulting in higher profitability in periods when our revenues are higher and lower profitability in periods when our revenues are lower. In our business, the third quarter of the year has historically been our strongest quarter due to the increased level of leisure travel and household moving activity. In 2010, the third quarter accounted for 29% of our total revenue for each of our Domestic Car Rental, International Car Rental and Truck Rental segments and was our most profitable quarter for each of our segments as measured by Adjusted EBITDA. Any circumstance or occurrence that disrupts rental activity during the third quarter could have a disproportionately adverse impact on our financial condition and our results of operations. Our derivative instruments may impact our results of operations. We typically utilize derivative instruments to manage a portion of our risk related to fluctuations in interest rates, gas prices and foreign exchange rates. The derivative instruments we use are usually in the form of interest rate and commodity swaps and foreign exchange forwards. Periodically, we are required to determine the change in fair value, called the “mark to market,” of some of these derivative instruments, which can result in a non-cash charge or gain being recognized in our financial results. Significant changes or shifts in interest rates, gas prices and foreign exchange rates will impact the valuation of our derivatives and therefore could expose us to substantial mark-to-market losses or gains if such rates or prices fluctuate materially from the time the derivatives were entered into. Accordingly, a fluctuation in such rates or prices may impact our financial position, results of operations and current or future cash flows. In addition, volatility in rates and prices can also impact the cost and effectiveness of our derivative instruments in managing our risks. To the extent any of our derivatives were to result in a gain upon settlement, we would be exposed to credit risk of the counterparties to such derivatives, which are typically large financial institutions. We are exposed to fluctuations in foreign exchange rates, which may adversely affect our results of operations. Certain of our international operations generate revenue and incur operating costs in currencies other than the U.S. dollar, including our operations in Australia, Canada and New Zealand. In addition, the financial position and results of operations of some of our foreign subsidiaries are reported in the relevant local currency and then translated to U.S. dollars at the applicable currency exchange rate for inclusion in our consolidated financial statements. Changes in exchange rates between these foreign currencies and the U.S. dollar will affect the recorded levels of our assets and liabilities, to the extent such figures reflect the inclusion of foreign assets and liabilities that are translated into U.S. dollars for presentation in our financial statements, as well as our results of operations. While we take steps to manage our currency exposure, we cannot accurately predict the nature or extent of future exchange rate variability, which could adversely impact our results of operations and financial position. We face risks arising from our heavy reliance on communications networks and centralized information systems. We rely heavily on information systems, including our reservation system, to accept reservations, process rental and sales transactions, manage our fleet of vehicles, account for our activities and otherwise conduct our
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Table of Contentsbusiness. We have centralized our information systems, and we rely on communications service providers to link our systems with the business locations these systems serve. A failure of a major system, or a major disruption of communications between the system and the locations it serves, could cause a loss of reservations, interfere with our ability to manage our fleet, slow rental and sales processes, and otherwise adversely affect our ability to manage our business effectively. Our systems’ business continuity plans and insurance programs seek to mitigate such a risk, not eliminate it. We face risks related to liability and insurance. Our businesses expose us to claims for personal injury, death and property damage related to the use of our vehicles and for workers’ compensation claims and other employment-related claims by our employees. We may become exposed to uninsured liability at levels in excess of our historical levels resulting from unusually high losses or otherwise. In addition, liabilities in respect of existing or future claims may exceed the level of our reserves and/or our insurance, which could adversely impact our financial condition and results of operations. Furthermore, insurance with unaffiliated carriers may not continue to be available to us on economically reasonable terms or at all. We face risks related to our locations. We lease or have vehicle rental concessions for both the Avis and Budget brands at locations throughout the world, including at airports both in the United States and internationally where vehicle rental companies are frequently required to bid periodically for the available locations. If we were to lose any lease or vehicle rental concession, particularly at an airport in a major metropolitan area, there can be no assurance that we would be able to find a suitable replacement on reasonable terms or at all and our business could be adversely affected. Environmental regulations could subject us to liability for fines or damages. We are subject to federal, state, local and foreign environmental laws and regulations in connection with our operations, including, among other things, with respect to the ownership and operation of tanks for the storage of petroleum products, such as gasoline, diesel fuel and motor and waste oils. We have established a compliance program for our tank systems that is intended to ensure that the tanks are properly registered with the state or other jurisdiction in which the tanks are located and have been either replaced or upgraded to meet applicable leak detection and spill, overfill, corrosion protection and vapor recovery requirements. These tank systems may not at all times remain free from undetected leaks, and the use of these tanks may result in significant spills, which may expose us to material liabilities. We have made, and will continue to make, expenditures to comply with environmental laws and regulations, including, among others, expenditures for the cleanup of contamination at our owned and leased properties, as well as contamination at other locations at which our wastes have reportedly been identified. Our compliance with existing or future environmental laws and regulations may, however, require material expenditures by us or otherwise have an adverse impact on our financial position, results of operations and cash flows. Changes in the U.S. and foreign legal and regulatory environment that affect our operations, including laws and regulations relating to the environment, insurance products we sell, consumer privacy, data security, employment matters, taxes, automobile-related liability and insurance rates, could disrupt our business, increase our expenses or otherwise have an adverse impact on our results of operations. We are subject to a wide variety of laws and regulations in the United States and the other countries and jurisdictions in which we operate, and changes in the level of government regulation of our business have the potential to materially alter our business practices, financial position and results of operations. Depending on the jurisdiction, those changes may come about through the issuance of new laws and regulations, or changes in the interpretation of existing laws and regulations by a court, regulatory body or governmental official.
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Table of ContentsOptional insurance products, including, but not limited to, supplemental liability insurance, personal accident insurance and personal effects protection, we offer to renters providing various insurance coverages in our domestic vehicle rental operations, are regulated under state laws governing such products. In our international car rental operations, our offering of optional products providing insurance coverages historically has not been regulated. Any changes in U.S. or foreign law that change our operating requirements with respect to optional insurance products could increase our costs of compliance or make it uneconomical to offer such products, which would lead to a reduction in revenue and profitability. If customers decline to purchase supplemental liability insurance products from us as a result of any changes in these laws or otherwise, our results of operations could be adversely affected. In almost every state, we recover from consumers various costs associated with the title and registration of our vehicles. In addition, where permitted, we also recover from consumers certain costs, including concession costs imposed by an airport authority or the owner and/or operator of the premises from which our vehicle is rented. Our long-standing business practice has been to separately state the existence of these additional costs in our rental agreements and invoices, and disclose to consumers additional surcharges used to recover such costs together with an estimated total price, inclusive of these surcharges, in all distribution channels. We believe that this standard practice comports with the Federal Trade Commission Act and has been upheld by several courts. We may in the future be subject to potential legislative changes or administrative action which could limit, restrict or prohibit our ability to separately state, charge and recover such costs, which would result in an adverse cost reallocation. If any such changes were to be enacted there may be an adverse impact or limitation on our ability to recover all of the surcharges we currently charge, which could adversely impact our profitability and results of operations. In 2005, federal legislation was enacted that pre-empted state laws which imputed tort liability solely based on ownership of a vehicle involved in an accident. If the current law were to change, our insurance liability exposure could materially increase. The U.S. Congress and other legislative and regulatory authorities in the United States and internationally have considered, and will likely continue to consider, numerous measures related to climate change and greenhouse gas emissions. Should rules establishing limitations on greenhouse gas emissions or rules imposing fees on entities deemed to be responsible for greenhouse gas emissions become effective, demand for our services could be affected, our fleet and/or other costs could increase, and our business could be adversely affected. We may be held responsible by regulators, courts or others for the actions of, or failures to act by, our licensees, dealers or independent operators, which exposes us to possible fines, other liabilities and negative publicity. Our car and truck rental licensee and dealer locations are independently owned and operated. We also operate many of our corporate locations through agreements with “agency operators,” which are third-party independent contractors who receive commissions to operate such locations. Our agreements with our licensees, dealers and agency operators (“third-party operators”) generally require that they comply with all laws and regulations applicable to their businesses, including our internal policies and standards. Under these agreements, third-party operators retain control over the employment and management of all personnel. Regulators, courts or others may seek to hold us responsible for the actions of, or failures to act by third-party operators. Although we actively monitor the operations of these third-party operators, and under certain circumstances have the ability to terminate their agreements for failure to adhere to contracted operational standards, we are unlikely to detect all problems. Moreover, there are occasions when the actions and activities of third-party operators may not be clearly distinguishable from our own. It is our policy to vigorously seek to be dismissed from any such claims and to pursue indemnity for any adverse outcomes. Failure of third-party operators to comply with laws and regulations may expose us to liability, damages and publicity that may adversely affect our business.
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Table of ContentsAny failure by us to protect confidential information of our customers against security breaches could damage our reputation and substantially harm our business and results of operations. Third parties may have the technology or expertise to breach the security of our customer transaction data and our security measures may not prevent such breaches, which could result in substantial harm to our business and results of operations and damage to our reputation. We rely on encryption and/or authentication technology licensed from third parties to effect secure transmission of confidential information, including credit card numbers. Advances in computer capabilities, new discoveries in the field of cryptography, or other developments may result in a compromise or breach of the technology we use to protect customer transaction data. In addition, anyone who is able to circumvent our security measures could misappropriate proprietary information or cause interruptions in our operations. Any such compromise of our security could damage our reputation and brand and expose us to a risk of loss or litigation and possible liability, which would substantially harm our business and results of operations. In addition, the PCI imposes strict customer credit card data security standards to ensure that our customers’ credit card information is protected. Failure to meet the PCI data security standards could result in substantial increased fees to credit card companies, other liabilities and/or loss of the right to collect credit card payments, which could adversely impact operations. Failure to protect customer credit card and other information can also result in governmental investigations or material civil or criminal liability. We face risks associated with our like-kind exchange program. We utilize a like-kind exchange program whereby we replace vehicles in a manner that allows tax gains on disposed vehicles to be deferred. The program has resulted in a material deferral of federal and state income taxes beginning in 2004. The benefit of deferral is dependent on reinvestment of vehicle disposition proceeds in replacement vehicles within a prescribed period of time (usually six months). An extended downsizing of our fleet could result in reduced deferrals, utilization of tax attributes and increased payment of federal and state income taxes, which could require us to make material cash payments. Such a downsizing or reduction in purchases would likely occur if, and to the extent, we are unable to obtain financing when our asset backed rental car financings mature and could also occur in connection with a significant decrease in demand for vehicle rentals. Therefore, we cannot offer assurance that the expected tax deferral will continue or that the relevant law concerning the program will remain in its current form. Risks related to our potential acquisition of Dollar Thrifty and other potential acquisitions or investments There are risks associated with our potential acquisition of Dollar Thrifty. In addition to the risks we face in connection with acquisitions and indebtedness generally as described herein, we face risks associated with the proposed acquisition of Dollar Thrifty, each of which may have an adverse impact on our business, financial condition, operating results and prospects. Such risks include: our level of indebtedness and/or our cost of indebtedness following an acquisition of Dollar Thrifty will be higher than our existing indebtedness and/or cost of indebtedness and may subject us to additional restrictive covenants; any issuance of our shares in such an acquisition will result in dilution to our existing stockholders; our credit ratings may be adversely affected, which may impact the cost of future borrowings; the potential need for approval by Dollar Thrifty’s shareholders may delay, prevent or otherwise adversely impact an acquisition of Dollar Thrifty; the market price of our common stock or other securities may decline as a result of a proposed or actual acquisition of Dollar Thrifty; costs associated with a proposed or actual acquisition of Dollar Thrifty, including potential liability for termination fees; and a proposed or actual acquisition of Dollar Thrifty, or our failure to complete such an acquisition, may result in our being subject to unknown liabilities and litigation, including pending or future litigation involving the sale of Dollar Thrifty. There can be no assurance as to the timing or outcome of the efforts to secure antitrust clearance for the proposed acquisition of Dollar Thrifty, that any agreement with respect to a transaction will be reached, or as to the timing or terms thereof.
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Table of ContentsIn the event we consummate the proposed acquisition of Dollar Thrifty, we may not be able to successfully integrate Dollar Thrifty or realize the potential benefits of the proposed acquisition, which could cause our business to suffer. We may not be able to combine successfully the operations of Dollar Thrifty with our operations if the proposed acquisition of Dollar Thrifty is consummated and, even if such integration is accomplished, the potential benefits of the proposed acquisition of Dollar Thrifty may be less than we currently expect, or may not be realized at all. The integration of Dollar Thrifty with our operations will require significant attention from management and may impose substantial demands on our operations or other projects. The difficulties of integrating Dollar Thrifty’s operations with our operations include, among other things:
Any of these factors could cause delays or increased costs of combining the companies could adversely affect our operations, financial results and liquidity. Our ability to consummate the proposed acquisition of Dollar Thrifty on terms that are favorable to us may also be limited by internal demands on our resources and our ability to obtain financing. We must obtain governmental and regulatory consents to consummate the proposed acquisition of Dollar Thrifty, which, if delayed, not granted or granted with unacceptable conditions, may jeopardize or delay the proposed acquisition, result in additional expenditures of money and resources and/or reduce the anticipated benefits of the combination contemplated by the proposed acquisition. The proposed acquisition of Dollar Thrifty is conditioned on the receipt of all material governmental authorizations, consents, orders and approvals, including U.S. antitrust clearance. If we do not receive these approvals, or do not receive them on terms that satisfy the conditions set forth in any definitive acquisition agreement, or offer, then we may not be able to consummate the proposed acquisition of Dollar Thrifty. The governmental agencies from which we will seek these approvals have broad discretion in administering the governing regulations. As a condition to their approval of the proposed acquisition of Dollar Thrifty, agencies may impose requirements, limitations or costs or require divestitures or place restrictions on the conduct of the combined company’s business. These requirements, limitations, costs, divestitures or restrictions could jeopardize or delay the consummation of the proposed acquisition of Dollar Thrifty and/or may reduce the anticipated benefits of the combination contemplated by the proposed acquisition of Dollar Thrifty. Further, no assurance can be given that the required consents and approvals will be obtained, and, if all required consents and
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Table of Contentsapprovals are obtained, no assurance can be given as to the terms, conditions and timing of the approvals. Such terms and conditions could result in a failure to complete the proposed acquisition of Dollar Thrifty or have an adverse effect on the business and results of operations of the combined company. Acquisitions of existing Avis or Budget licensees, or acquisitions or investments in other businesses could have an adverse impact on our results of operations. We have acquired and may acquire existing licensees and/or other businesses in the future and have invested in and may further invest in other businesses. These acquisitions and investments may involve numerous risks, including those associated with integrating operations, technology and personnel into our business, potential disruption of our ongoing business and distraction of management, and exposure to existing as well as unknown liabilities, including litigation involving the acquired entity. Such acquisitions and/or investments may not be accretive to our earnings and may negatively impact our financial condition and results of operations. Risks related to our indebtedness We have a substantial amount of debt, which could impair our financial condition and adversely affect our ability to react to changes in our business. As of December 31, 2010, our total debt was approximately $7.0 billion and we had $797 million of available letter of credit and borrowing capacity under our senior credit facilities. Our substantial indebtedness could have important consequences, including:
Our ability to make payments on and refinance our debt depends on our ability to generate cash flow and financial market conditions. To some extent, this is subject to prevailing economic and competitive conditions and to certain financial, business and other factors, many of which are beyond our control. Our business may not generate cash flow from operations at levels sufficient to permit us to pay principal, premium, if any, and interest on our indebtedness, and our cash needs may increase. If we are unable to generate sufficient cash flow from operations to service our debt and meet our other cash needs, we may be forced to reduce or delay capital expenditures, sell or curtail assets or operations, seek additional capital, or seek to restructure or refinance our indebtedness. If we must sell or curtail our assets or operations, it may negatively affect our ability to generate revenue. Despite our current indebtedness levels, we may still be able to incur substantially more debt. This could further exacerbate the risks associated with our substantial indebtedness. Subject to the specified limitations referred to above, the indentures governing our senior unsecured notes limit, but do not prohibit, us from incurring additional indebtedness in the future. As noted above, as of December 31, 2010, our revolving senior credit facilities provided us with aggregate capacity of up to $1,175 million, $797 million of which was available for borrowings. All of those borrowings would be secured and the lenders under our senior credit facilities would have a prior claim to the assets that secure such indebtedness. If new debt is added to our current debt levels, the risks described above could intensify.
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Table of ContentsWe may be unable to remain in compliance with the financial or other covenants contained in our debt instruments, including our senior credit facilities. Many of our debt instruments, including our senior credit facilities, contain financial and other covenants that impose significant requirements on us and limit our ability to engage in certain transactions or activities. There can be no assurance that we will be able to generate sufficient earnings to enable us to satisfy the financial covenants included in our debt instruments. Our failure to comply with these covenants, if not waived, would cause a default under the senior credit facilities and could result in principal under our $2.05 billion of asset-backed conduit facilities being required to be repaid from a portion of vehicle disposition proceeds and lease payments we make to our vehicle program subsidiaries. If such a failure were to occur, there can be no assurance that we would be able to refinance or obtain a replacement for such facilities and in certain circumstances such failure could also give rise to a default under the instruments that govern our other indebtedness. We can be adversely impacted by disruptions in the credit and asset-backed securities markets, which could lead to increases in interest rates and could disrupt our ability to obtain financing for our operations, which require substantial capital. We rely upon financing for our operations, particularly asset-backed financing, through asset-backed securities and the lending market, for our vehicle fleet. Our total asset-backed debt as of December 31, 2010 was approximately $4.5 billion, with available capacity of approximately $2.4 billion. Our $2.05 billion asset-backed domestic rental car conduit facility (under which $30 million was outstanding at December 31, 2010) consists of a 364-day facility which matures in October 2011 and a two-year facility which matures in October 2012, each with a maximum available amount of $1.025 billion. If the asset-backed financing market is disrupted for any reason, we may be unable to obtain refinancing for our operations at current levels, or at all, when our asset-backed rental car financings mature, and any new financing or refinancing of our existing financing could increase our borrowing costs, including due to an increase in required collateral levels. In addition, we could be subject to increased collateral requirements to the extent we request any amendment or renewal of any of our existing financing. Ambac Assurance Corporation and MBIA Insurance Corporation provide financial guaranties for approximately $900 million and $300 million, respectively, of our approximately $4.0 billion of domestic term asset-backed car rental financing outstanding at December 31, 2010. The debt ratings of these financial guaranty firms have been downgraded significantly from the time in which the guarantees were entered into, and the firms have substantially curtailed their issuance of new guaranties. Therefore we are unlikely to be able to offer similar financial guaranties in connection with any refinancing we pursue for our term asset-backed financings. Assured Guaranty Corp. is also the provider of a financial guaranty for $250 million of our term asset-backed car rental financing. Certain insolvency events in respect of the financial guarantors of our outstanding term asset-backed financings would result in principal of the related financing being required to be repaid sooner than anticipated from a portion of the proceeds of ordinary course vehicle disposition and lease payments we make to our vehicle program subsidiaries. If such financings were not so repaid, these financial guarantor insolvency events could also result in the noteholders of the series of asset-backed notes guaranteed by the insolvent financial guarantor instructing the trustee to direct the return of program vehicles and/or the sale of non-program vehicles to generate proceeds sufficient to repay such series of notes. If such a financial guarantor insolvency event were to occur, there can be no assurance that we would be able to replace the relevant financings on reasonable terms or at all. An increase in interest rates would increase the cost of servicing our debt and could reduce our profitability. A portion of our borrowings, primarily our vehicle-backed borrowings, bear interest at variable rates and expose us to interest rate risk. If interest rates increase, whether because of an increase in market interest rates or an increase in our own cost of borrowing, our debt service obligations for our variable rate indebtedness would increase even though the amount of borrowings remained the same, and our results of operations could be adversely affected. As of December 31, 2010, our total outstanding debt of approximately $7.0 billion included
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Table of Contentsunhedged interest rate sensitive debt of approximately $754 million. During our seasonal borrowing peak in 2010, outstanding unhedged interest rate sensitive debt totaled approximately $2.5 billion. Restrictive covenants in agreements and instruments governing our debt may adversely affect our ability to operate our business. The terms of certain of our indebtedness, including the indentures governing our senior unsecured notes and the agreement governing our senior credit facilities contain, and our future debt instruments may contain, various provisions that limit our ability to, among other things:
Risks related to the Separation We are relying on Realogy, Wyndham Worldwide and Travelport to fulfill their obligations under the Separation Agreement and other agreements. Pursuant to the Separation Agreement and related agreements (including a tax sharing agreement, the “Tax Sharing Agreement”), Realogy and Wyndham Worldwide are responsible for 62.5% and 37.5%, respectively, of certain contingent and other of our corporate liabilities including those relating to unresolved tax and legal matters as well as 100% of certain liabilities that relate to their respective businesses (the “Assumed Obligations”). More specifically, Realogy and Wyndham Worldwide have generally assumed and are responsible for the payment of their specified percentage of (i) all taxes imposed on us and certain of our subsidiaries and (ii) certain of our contingent and other corporate liabilities and/or those of our subsidiaries to the extent incurred prior to August 23, 2006. If either Realogy or Wyndham were to default in its payment, when due, of any such Assumed Obligations, each non-defaulting party, including us, would be required to pay an equal portion of the defaulted amounts, and any such default may adversely impact our results of operations, financial condition or cash flows. Realogy was acquired by an affiliate of Apollo Management VI, L.P. following the Separation. While the acquisition did not affect Realogy’s obligation to satisfy its specified percentage of its Assumed Obligations, as a
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Table of Contentsresult of the acquisition, Realogy has greater debt obligations and its ability to satisfy its portion of such Assumed Obligations may be adversely impacted. In accordance with the terms of the Separation Agreement, Realogy posted a letter of credit for the benefit of the Company to cover its estimated share of the Assumed Obligations. In conjunction with such Assumed Obligations, we had recorded receivables from Realogy of approximately $100 million as of December 31, 2010; the amount of the letter of credit posted by Realogy is designed to approximate the amount of such receivables and is subject to adjustment from time to time. There can be no assurance that such letter of credit will be sufficient or effective to cover Realogy’s actual obligations if and when they arise. In addition, the Separation Agreement effectively provides Realogy with the right to control the process for resolving disputes related to many of the Assumed Obligations. Realogy, Wyndham Worldwide and/or Travelport (the “separated companies”) are required to indemnify us in respect of certain liabilities that related to their respective businesses, including certain effective guarantees that result from either us or one of our subsidiaries remaining a named lessee on real estate leases pertaining to properties occupied by the separated companies as well as certain litigation that pertains to the businesses of such companies in which we are also named. Any failure by the separated companies to pay any of their assumed liabilities when due or to indemnify us when required may adversely impact our results of operations, financial condition or cash flows. Risks related to our common stock The market price of our shares may fluctuate widely. We cannot predict the prices at which our common stock will trade. The market price of our common stock experienced substantial volatility in the past and may fluctuate widely, depending upon many factors, some of which may be beyond our control, including:
Shareholders’ percentage ownership may be diluted in the future. Shareholders’ percentage ownership may be diluted in the future because of equity issuances, conversion of our convertible senior notes due 2014, exercise of the warrants we issued in 2009 or equity awards that we granted or will grant to our directors, officers and employees. Holders of our convertible senior notes may convert their notes into up to 21.2 million shares of our common stock. In 2010, we granted approximately 160,000 stock options and approximately 2.0 million restricted stock units, and in January 2011, we granted approximately 975,000 restricted stock units. We also expect to grant restricted stock units, stock options and/or other types of equity awards in the future.
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Table of ContentsProvisions in our certificate of incorporation and by-laws, and of Delaware law may prevent or delay an acquisition of our Company, which could decrease the trading price of our common stock. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, amended and restated by-laws and Delaware law contain provisions that are intended to deter coercive takeover practices and inadequate takeover bids by making such practices or bids unacceptably expensive to the prospective acquirer and to encourage prospective acquirers to negotiate with our Board of Directors rather than to attempt a hostile takeover. These provisions include, among others:
Delaware law also imposes some restrictions on mergers and other business combinations between us and any holder of 15% or more of our outstanding common stock. We believe these provisions protect our stockholders from coercive or otherwise unfair takeover tactics by requiring potential acquirors to negotiate with our Board and by providing our Board with more time to assess any acquisition proposal. These provisions are not intended to make our Company immune from takeovers. However, these provisions apply even if the offer may be considered beneficial by some stockholders and could delay or prevent an acquisition that our Board determines is not in the best interests of our Company and our stockholders. Conversion of our convertible senior notes due 2014, and the note hedge and warrant transactions entered into in connection with the issuance of the notes, may have an adverse impact on the price of our common stock. Any of the following transactions and activities could adversely affect the value of our common stock in connection with our issuance of $345 million of 3.5% convertible senior notes due 2014 and the note hedge and warrant transactions entered into in connection with such issuance:
Not applicable.
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Our principal executive offices are located at leased offices at 6 Sylvan Way, Parsippany, New Jersey 07054 pursuant to a lease expiring in 2023. Supplemental office space that we previously occupied at 10 Sylvan Way and 3 Century Drive in Parsippany, New Jersey is currently vacant, and the related leases will expire or may be terminated in 2011 and 2013, respectively. We also own a facility in Virginia Beach, Virginia, which serves as a satellite administrative facility for our car and truck rental operations. Office space is also leased in Greenwood Village, Colorado and Tulsa, Oklahoma pursuant to leases expiring in 2015 and 2022, respectively. These locations primarily provide operational services for both brands, including contact center operations. In addition, there are approximately seven other leased office locations in the United States used for administrative activities, regional sales and operations activities. We lease or have vehicle rental concessions for both the Avis and Budget brands at locations throughout the world. Avis operates approximately 950 locations in the United States and approximately 300 locations outside the United States. Of those locations, approximately 225 in the United States and approximately 100 outside the United States are at airports. Budget operates at approximately 600 locations in the United States of which approximately 180 are at airports. Budget also operates at approximately 150 locations outside the United States of which approximately 60 are at airports. Typically, an airport receives a percentage of vehicle rental revenue, with a guaranteed minimum. Because there is a limit to the number of vehicle rental locations in an airport, vehicle rental companies frequently bid for the available locations, usually on the basis of the size of the guaranteed minimums. We believe that our properties are sufficient to meet our present needs and we do not anticipate any difficulty in securing additional space, as needed, on acceptable terms.
Vehicle Rental Litigation We, along with our subsidiaries, are involved from time to time in legal proceedings in the ordinary course of business, including the cases described below. On November 14, 2007, two California residents filed a putative class action lawsuit, captioned Michael Shames et al. v. The Hertz Corp. et al., No. 07 CV 2174H (S.D. Cal.), against the Company, six other rental car companies, the California Travel and Tourism Commission (the “CTTC”) and the CTTC’s Executive Director, alleging that the defendants violated federal antitrust law and California’s Unfair Competition Law and False Advertising Law by allegedly agreeing to pass on airport concession fees and a state tourism commission assessment to passenger car renters in California. The plaintiffs are seeking treble damages, injunctive relief and attorneys’ fees and costs. We filed a motion to dismiss the Shames suit, and on April 8, 2008, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California granted the motions to dismiss the putative class action lawsuit, on the ground that plaintiffs failed to state claims for which relief could be granted. An amended complaint was filed in May 2008 against the Company and six other rental car companies, as well as the CTTC, and contained claims that the defendants had violated federal antitrust law and California’s Unfair Competition Law and False Advertising Law by allegedly agreeing to pass on airport concession fees and a state tourism commission assessment to passenger car renters in California. In July 2008, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California granted the CTTC’s motion to dismiss all claims asserted against it, granted our motions to dismiss with respect to the state law claims and denied our motion to dismiss with respect to the federal antitrust claim. We are currently undergoing discovery. In June 2010 the Ninth Circuit affirmed the dismissal of the claims against the CTTC. In August 2010, the Company and the other rental car companies named in the suit filed a motion to dismiss in district court. In November 2010, the Ninth Circuit reversed its prior dismissal of all claims against the CTTC, and replaced its June 2010 opinion with a superseding opinion reversing the district court’s dismissal of claims against the CTTC, making the CTTC again a party to the district court proceedings. The Company has denied the allegations and intends to continue to defend the case.
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Table of ContentsIn December 2007, class action lawsuits, now known as In re Tourism Assessment Fee Litigation were filed against the Company, 12 other rental car companies, the CTTC and California’s Secretary of Business, Transportation and Housing. This action challenged the tourism commission assessment fees imposed on certain renters in California as of January 1, 2007. The action sought declaratory and injunctive relief, a refund of all California tourism commission assessment fees collected by the rental car defendants, attorneys’ fees and costs, and unspecified damages. The defendants moved to dismiss and transfer the action to the Southern District of California. In September 2008, the transfer motion was granted and the action was subsequently transferred to the Southern District of California. In February 2009, the court granted defendants’ motions to dismiss plaintiffs’ federal law claims, declined to exercise supplemental jurisdiction over plaintiffs’ state law claims, and dismissed plaintiffs’ amended complaint with prejudice. In March 2009, the plaintiffs filed a motion seeking leave to file a motion for relief from the judgment and/or for leave to file a second amended complaint; the court denied such motion; and plaintiffs filed a Notice of Appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit from the final judgment and from the denial of their motion. The plaintiffs’ appeal was denied in August 2010. The plaintiffs have not moved for reconsideration of the opinion. The Company is involved in legal proceedings related to wage and hour claims, including the following: In May 2008, a civil collective action complaint currently captioned Matt Ravenell v. Avis Budget Group, Inc., Avis Budget Car Rental, LLC and Avis Rent A Car System, LLC, No. 08 CV 02113 (E.D.N.Y.) was filed against us alleging that the Company violated the Fair Labor Standards Act and the New York Labor Law by misclassifying shift managers as employees exempt from overtime. The plaintiffs, former Avis shift managers, seek to recover, on behalf of themselves and all other individuals who are similarly situated, alleged unpaid overtime compensation, as well as attorneys’ fees and costs. In addition, two of the named plaintiffs assert individual claims of retaliation against the Company. Conditional class certification with respect to Plaintiff’s Fair Labor Standards Act claims was granted to plaintiffs in July 2010. The parties are currently conducting discovery on the merits. A civil collective action complaint, similar to the Ravenell matter, was also filed against the Company in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida in September 2010, alleging misclassification of shift managers as exempt from overtime in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act. A civil collective action complaint was also filed against us in the District of New Jersey in July 2009, alleging misclassification of airport managers as exempt from overtime under the Fair Labor Standards Act. The New Jersey plaintiff’s motion for conditional class certification and the Company’s motion for summary judgment are currently pending in the district court. Two putative class actions are also pending against us in California alleging violations of state law regarding meal breaks, among other claims. Both California cases are currently subject to a court-ordered stay pending a decision by the California Supreme Court in an existing case not involving the Company. We intend to vigorously defend each of these suits. Corporate Litigation Avis Budget Legal Proceedings In October 2009, a judgment was entered against us for damages related to breach of contract in the amount of $16 million in Alaska Rent A Car, Inc. v. Cendant Corp., et al. in the United States District Court for the District of Alaska. The lawsuit, which was filed in 2003 by our licensee, Alaska Rent-A-Car, involved breach of contract and other claims related to the acquisition of our Budget vehicle rental business in 2002. In addition to the judgment for damages, in June 2010 the district court also entered an order against the Company in the amount of $3.3 million, in favor of the plaintiff’s motions for pre-judgment interest and attorneys’ fees. We have filed an appeal of the judgment and the award of attorneys’ fees with the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Cendant Legal Proceedings Pursuant to the Separation Agreement, Realogy has assumed 62.5% and Wyndham Worldwide has assumed 37.5% of certain contingent and other corporate liabilities (and related costs and expenses), including legal
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Table of Contentsmatters and related disputes, of the Company or its subsidiaries which are not primarily related to any of the respective businesses of Realogy, Wyndham Worldwide, Travelport and/or the Company’s vehicle rental operations, in each case incurred or allegedly incurred on or prior to the date of the separation of Travelport from the Company. Such litigation includes the Credentials Litigation described below. CSI Investment et. al. v. Cendant et. al., (Case No. 1:00-CV-01422 (DAB-DFE) (S.D.N.Y.)) (the “Credentials Litigation”, an action for breach of contract and fraud arising out of Cendant’s acquisition of the Credentials business in 1998, where plaintiffs sought, among other things, payment of certain “hold back” monies, as well as a contingent payment based upon future performance. In September 2007, the Court granted summary judgment to dismiss the fraud claims and to grant plaintiffs’ motion for the hold back monies and for breach of contract, and in July 2009, the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit affirmed the ruling of the district court and judgment was entered in favor of the plaintiffs in the amount of approximately $98 million, plus post-judgment interest and reasonable attorneys’ fees. As a result of payments made by Realogy and Wyndham in July 2009, the Court entered a satisfaction of judgment. In September 2009, the plaintiffs filed a motion requesting an aggregate of $33 million in attorneys’ fees and costs comprised of $6 million in hourly fees and costs, a $25 million success fee and $2 million in pre-judgment interest. Both parties filed briefs with respect to the motion and in January 2010, the Court issued a summary order referring the matter to a Magistrate for a determination of the proper amount of attorneys’ fees. In December 2010 the parties reached a settlement of the dispute concerning attorneys’ fees. Realogy and Wyndham are responsible for 62.5% and 37.5%, respectively, of the liability arising from the Credentials Litigation, and paid the settlement amounts on December 31, 2010. There was no net impact to our financial statements or cash balances as a result of the judgment or settlement. Realogy, Wyndham Worldwide and Travelport have also assumed under the Separation Agreement certain contingent and other corporate liabilities (and related costs and expenses), which include legal proceedings where we are named as a defendant but are primarily related to each of their respective businesses.
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Table of ContentsPART II
Market Price of Common Stock Our common stock is currently traded on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol “CAR”. Prior to December 31, 2010, our common stock was listed on the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”), and the following table sets forth the quarterly high and low sales prices per share of our common stock as reported by NYSE for 2010 and 2009. At January 31, 2011, the number of stockholders of record was approximately 3,823.
Dividend Policy We paid no cash dividends on our common stock in 2010 and 2009 and we do not anticipate paying dividends on our common stock for the foreseeable future. Our ability to pay dividends to holders of our common stock is limited by the Company’s senior credit facilities, the indentures governing our senior notes and our vehicle financing programs, insofar as we may seek to pay dividends out of funds made available to Avis Budget Group by Avis Budget Car Rental and/or its subsidiaries. The declaration and payment of future dividends to holders of our common stock will be at the discretion of our Board of Directors and will depend upon many factors, including our financial condition, earnings, capital requirements of our businesses, covenants associated with certain debt obligations, legal requirements, regulatory constraints, industry practice and other factors that the Board of Directors deems relevant.
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Table of ContentsSecurities Authorized for Issuance under Equity Compensation Plans The following table provides information about shares of our common stock that may be issued upon the exercise of options, stock settled stock appreciation rights and restricted stock units under all of our existing equity compensation plans as of December 31, 2010. The table excludes 2.5 million shares of our common stock available for issuance pursuant to the 2009 Employee Stock Purchase Plan, approved by stockholders. Of the approximately 8.9 million shares of our common stock to be issued upon exercise of outstanding options, stock settled stock appreciation rights and restricted stock units, approximately 1.3 million shares are related to stock option grants that were made by Cendant Corporation to employees of Cendant Corporation prior to the spin-offs of Realogy and Wyndham, 94% of which have strike prices in excess of our closing stock price of $15.56 on December 31, 2010.
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Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities None.
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Table of ContentsPerformance Graph The following graph assumes $100 invested on December 31, 2005 and compares (A) the yearly percentage change in our cumulative total stockholder return on our common stock (as measured by dividing (i) the sum of (a) the cumulative amount of dividends, assuming dividend reinvestment, during the five years commencing on the last trading day before January 1, 2005 and ending on December 31, 2010, and (b) the difference between our stock price at the end and the beginning of the periods presented by (ii) the share price at the beginning of the periods presented with (B) the Standard & Poor’s MidCap 400 Index and the Dow Jones U.S. Transportation Average Index.
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Table of ContentsITEM 6. SELECTED FINANCIAL DATA
In presenting the financial data above in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles, we are required to make estimates and assumptions that affect the amounts reported. See “Critical Accounting Policies” under Item 7 included elsewhere herein for a detailed discussion of the accounting policies that we believe require subjective and complex judgments that could potentially affect reported results. Restructuring and Other Items During 2010, we recorded $11 million of restructuring charges related to initiatives within our Domestic Car Rental segment. In 2009 and 2008, we recorded $20 million and $28 million, respectively, of charges related to restructuring initiatives within each of our segments. In 2006, we recorded $10 million of restructuring charges related to restructuring initiatives within our Truck Rental and Domestic Car Rental segments. See Note 4 to our Consolidated Financial Statements.
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Table of ContentsDuring 2010, we recorded $52 million of expense related to the early extinguishment of a portion of our corporate debt and associated interest rate swaps. In 2009, we recorded an approximately $33 million ($20 million, net of tax) non-cash charge primarily for the impairment of our investment in Carey Holdings, Inc. (“Carey”), to reflect the other-than-temporary decline of the investment’s fair value below its carrying value. In 2008, we recorded a $1,262 million ($1,053 million, net of tax) non-cash charge to reflect (i) the impairment of goodwill, (ii) the impairment of the Company’s tradenames assets and (iii) the impairment of our investment in Carey. These charges reflect the decline in their fair value below their carrying value, primarily as a result of reduced market valuations for vehicle services and other companies, as well as reduced profit forecasts due to soft economic conditions and increased financing costs. In 2007, we recorded a $1,195 million ($1,073 million, net of tax) non-cash charge for the impairment of goodwill at each of our reporting units to reflect the decline in their fair value as evidenced by a decline in the market value of our common stock. See Note 2 to our Consolidated Financial Statements. In 2006, we recorded a non-cash impairment charge of approximately $1.3 billion within discontinued operations to reflect the difference between Travelport’s carrying value and its estimated fair value, less costs to dispose. In 2006, we incurred separation-related costs of $574 million in connection with the spin-offs of Realogy and Wyndham and the sale of Travelport. During 2010, 2009, 2008 and 2007, separation-related costs incurred were insignificant. These costs consisted primarily of legal, accounting, other professional and consulting fees, various employee expenses and for 2006, included costs associated with the retirement of corporate debt. Income (loss) from discontinued operations, net of tax, includes the after tax results of the following disposed businesses for all periods presented (through their dates of disposition): (i) Travelport, which we sold in August 2006, and (ii) Realogy and Wyndham, which were spun-off on July 31, 2006. Income (loss) from discontinued operations, net of tax, also includes a tax benefit realized as a result of certain elections made in connection with the disposition of Travelport on income tax returns filed during 2007 and the after tax losses on the sale of Travelport and the spin-offs of Realogy and Wyndham in 2006. In 2006, we incurred $40 million of litigation and related costs primarily in connection with the 1998 discovery of accounting irregularities in the former business units of CUC International, Inc. In 2010, 2009, and 2008 and 2007, these costs were immaterial. In 2006, we recorded a $103 million ($64 million, net of tax) non-cash charge to reflect the cumulative effect of accounting changes related to (i) real estate time-share transactions at our former Hospitality Services and Timeshare Resorts segment and (ii) stock-based compensation awards.
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Table of ContentsITEM 7. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS The following discussion should be read in conjunction with our Consolidated Financial Statements and accompanying Notes thereto included elsewhere herein. Unless otherwise noted, all dollar amounts in tables are in millions and those relating to our results of operations are presented before taxes. We operate two of the most recognized brands in the global vehicle rental industry through Avis Rent A Car System, LLC and Budget Rent A Car System, Inc. We provide car and truck rentals and ancillary services to businesses and consumers in the United States and internationally. We operate in the following business segments:
Our revenues are derived principally from car and truck rentals in our Company-owned operations and include (i) time and mileage (“T&M”) fees charged to our customers for vehicle rentals, (ii) reimbursement from our customers for certain operating expenses we incur, including gasoline and vehicle licensing fees, as well as airport concession fees, which we pay in exchange for the right to operate at airports and other locations, and (iii) sales of loss damage waivers and insurance and rentals of navigation units and other items in conjunction with vehicle rentals. We also earn royalty revenue from certain of our licensees in the United States and internationally in conjunction with their vehicle rental transactions. Car rental volumes are closely associated with the travel industry, particularly airline passenger volumes, or enplanements. Because we operate primarily in the United States and generate a significant portion of our revenue from our on-airport operations, we expect that our ability to generate revenue growth will be somewhat dependent on increases in domestic enplanements. Our ability to achieve profit margins consistent with prior periods remains dependent on our ability to successfully manage our costs and our revenues per vehicle. Our vehicle rental operations are seasonal. Historically, the third quarter of the year has been our strongest quarter due to the increased level of leisure travel and household moving activity. Any occurrence that disrupts rental activity during the third quarter could have a disproportionate adverse effect on our results of operations. We have a partially variable cost structure and routinely adjust the size and, therefore, the cost of our rental fleet in response to fluctuations in demand. However, certain expenses, such as rent, are fixed and cannot be reduced in response to seasonal fluctuations in our operations. We believe that the following factors, among others, may affect and/or have impacted our financial condition and results of operations:
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We believe that the economic recovery in the U.S. and worldwide economies during 2010 favorably impacted demand for vehicle rental services, but that such demand nonetheless remained below levels seen prior to the 2008-09 recession. Historically, our results of operations have declined during periods of general economic weakness. If economic conditions in the United States were to weaken, our results of operations could be materially and adversely impacted in 2011 and beyond. In our cost-reduction initiatives and restructuring activities, we are driving process improvements to reduce costs, enhance service to our customers and improve our operations. We are pursuing an acquisition of Dollar Thrifty, which, if completed, could have a material impact on our operations, financial condition and liquidity. There can be no assurances as to the timing to accomplish such acquisition or the terms thereof and the ability and timing to obtain required regulatory approval and financing (and any conditions thereto). Due to uncertainties related to our business, there can be no assurance that we will be able to satisfy the covenants contained in our senior credit facilities and our asset-backed car rental conduit facilities. Failure to comply with such covenants could significantly impact our liquidity if we were unable to obtain an amendment or waiver or were unable to refinance or replace such facilities. See “Risk Factors—Risks related to our indebtedness”. There can also be no assurance that 2010 results will be indicative of results we will achieve in 2011 or other future periods. RESULTS OF OPERATIONS Discussed below are our consolidated results of operations and the results of operations for each of our reportable segments. We measure performance using the following key operating statistics: (i) rental days, which represents the total number of days (or portion thereof) a vehicle was rented, and (ii) T&M revenue per rental day, which represents the average daily revenue we earned from rental and mileage fees charged to our customers. Our car rental operating statistics (rental days and T&M revenue per rental day) are all calculated based on the actual rental of the vehicle during a 24-hour period. We believe that this methodology, while conservative, provides our management with the most relevant statistics in order to manage the business. Our calculation may not be comparable to other companies’ calculation of similarly-titled statistics. The reportable segments presented below represent our operating segments for which separate financial information is available and is utilized on a regular basis by our chief operating decision maker to assess performance and allocate resources. In identifying our reportable segments, we also consider the nature of services provided by our operating segments. Management evaluates the operating results of each of our reportable segments based upon revenue and “Adjusted EBITDA”, which we define as income from continuing operations before non-vehicle related depreciation and amortization, any impairment charge, non-vehicle related interest and income taxes. Our presentation of Adjusted EBITDA may not be comparable to similarly-titled measures used by other companies.
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Table of ContentsYear Ended December 31, 2010 vs. Year Ended December 31, 2009 Our consolidated results of operations comprised the following:
During 2010, our net revenues increased $54 million (1%) principally due to a 6% increase in ancillary and other revenues, such as sales of loss damage waivers and insurance products, gasoline sales and fees charged to customers. This increase in ancillary revenue was partially offset by a 1% decrease in T&M revenue in our car rental operations, resulting primarily from a 2% decline in domestic and international car rental days partially mitigated by a 1% increase in T&M revenue per rental day. In addition, the increase in revenue reflected a $97 million favorable effect related to the translation of our international operations’ results into U.S. dollars. Total expenses decreased $95 million (2%) principally due to (i) a $138 million (10%) decrease in vehicle depreciation and lease charges resulting from a 9% decline in car per-unit fleet costs and a 1% decline in our average car rental fleet; (ii) the absence of the $33 million in impairment charges recorded in 2009; (iii) a $20 million (1%) decrease in direct operating expenses largely resulting from the 2% decrease in car rental days, reduced staffing levels, other cost-saving actions and the absence of the $18 million charge recorded in 2009 for a litigation judgment against us related to the 2002 acquisition of our Budget vehicle rental business; and (iv) a $9 million decrease in restructuring costs. These year-over-year decreases were partially offset by (i) a $52 million expense related to the early extinguishment of a portion of our corporate debt and associated interest rate swaps; (ii) a $32 million increase in selling, general and administrative expenses primarily related to increased marketing and commission expenditures, but also including $14 million of due diligence and other costs associated with the potential acquisition of Dollar Thrifty; (iii) a $17 million increase in interest expense on corporate debt; and (iv) a $10 million increase in vehicle interest. The decrease in total expenses includes an adverse impact from foreign currency exchange rates of $80 million. As a result of these items, offset by a $48 million increase in our provision for income taxes, our net income increased by $101 million during 2010 compared to 2009. Our effective tax rate was a provision of 25.0% for 2010, which differed from the U.S. federal statutory rate primarily due to a benefit relating to additional tax depreciation within the Company’s operations in Australia. For 2009, our effective tax rate was a benefit of 39.0%.
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Table of ContentsFollowing is a more detailed discussion of the results of each of our reportable segments:
Domestic Car Rental Revenues decreased $74 million (2%) in 2010 compared with 2009 primarily due to decreased car rental volumes, while Adjusted EBITDA increased $117 million (108%), primarily due to reduced fleet costs and lower operating expenses. The year-over-year change in revenue was comprised of a $107 million (3%) decrease in T&M revenue and a $33 million (4%) increase in ancillary and other revenues. The decrease in T&M revenue was principally the result of a 2% decrease in rental days, entirely in the first half of the year, and a 1% decrease in T&M revenue per day. The increase in ancillary revenue was primarily due to (i) a $15 million increase in sales of loss damage waivers, insurance products and emergency roadside services, and fees charged to customers, (ii) a $9 million increase in gasoline sales, which was more than offset in Adjusted EBITDA by $13 million of higher gasoline expense, and (iii) a $9 million increase in airport concession and vehicle licensing revenue. Adjusted EBITDA benefited from $147 million (13%) of decreased fleet depreciation and lease charges, reflecting a 12% decrease in per-unit fleet costs and a 1% decrease in the average size of our domestic rental fleet. We continued to achieve significant cost savings during 2010 as a result of our cost-saving initiatives, as Adjusted EBITDA also reflected a $56 million (2%) decrease in operating expenses, including (i) a $57 million decrease in expenses related to car rental volume including maintenance and damage, agency operator commissions, credit card fees, and other costs, and (ii) a $26 million decrease in employee costs, rents and other expenses related primarily to reduced staffing levels and the closure of unprofitable locations. These cost decreases were partially offset by (i) a $17 million increase in vehicle interest primarily driven by higher vehicle-backed debt balances, (ii) a $6 million increase in selling, general and administrative expenses primarily for marketing expenditures, and (iii) a $7 million increase in insurance related costs.
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Table of ContentsInternational Car Rental Revenues and Adjusted EBITDA increased $114 million (14%) and $29 million (23%), respectively, in 2010 compared with 2009, primarily due to the impact of foreign currency exchange movements, increased ancillary revenues and lower fleet costs on a constant-currency basis. The revenue increase was comprised of a $70 million (13%) increase in T&M revenue and a $44 million (17%) increase in ancillary and other revenues. The total increase in revenue includes a $97 million increase related to foreign currency exchange rates, impacting T&M revenue by $66 million and ancillary and other revenues by $31 million, and was largely offset in Adjusted EBITDA by the impact of exchange-rate movements on expenses of $80 million. The increase in T&M revenue was principally driven by a 13% increase in T&M revenue per rental day (1% excluding exchange-rate effects), while rental days remained essentially unchanged. Adjusted EBITDA reflected a $67 million (13%) increase in operating expenses and an $18 million (10%) increase in fleet depreciation and lease charges, primarily due to foreign-exchange effects. Our per-unit fleet costs decreased 1% excluding the impact of currency exchange rates, and the average size of our international rental fleet remained essentially unchanged. Truck Rental Revenues and Adjusted EBITDA increased $13 million (4%) and $21 million, respectively, in 2010 compared with 2009. T&M revenue increased $13 million as a result of a 5% increase in rental days, primarily from increased commercial volume, while T&M revenue per day remained unchanged. Adjusted EBITDA benefited from the increase in revenue and a $15 million (17%) decline in fleet depreciation, interest and lease charges, reflecting a 10% decline in per-unit fleet costs and an 8% decline in our average truck rental fleet. Corporate and Other Revenues and Adjusted EBITDA increased $1 million and $12 million, in 2010 compared with 2009. Adjusted EBITDA increased primarily due to the absence of expenses recorded in 2009 for (i) an $18 million charge related to a litigation judgment against us related to the 2002 acquisition of our Budget vehicle rental business and (ii) the Company’s share of Carey’s 2009 operating results. Adjusted EBITDA in 2010 reflected $14 million of expenses associated with the potential acquisition of Dollar Thrifty. Year Ended December 31, 2009 vs. Year Ended December 31, 2008 Our consolidated results of operations comprised the following:
In 2009, our net revenues decreased $853 million (14%) principally due to (i) a 15% decrease in T&M revenue in our car rental operations, resulting primarily from a 20% decrease in domestic and international car rental days, partially offset by a 6% increase in T&M revenue per rental day, and (ii) a 14% decrease in ancillary revenues,
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Table of Contentsalso resulting from decreased car rental days. In addition, the total revenue decrease includes a negative impact of $58 million related to the effect of foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations on the translation of our international operations’ results into U.S. dollars. Total expenses decreased $2,119 million (29%) principally due to (i) a $1,229 million (97%) decrease in impairment charges, (ii) a $511 million (16%) decrease in direct operating expenses largely resulting from the 20% decrease in car rental days, reduced staffing levels and other cost-saving actions, (iii) $272 million (16%) lower vehicle depreciation and lease charges resulting from a 19% decline in our average car rental fleet, partially offset by a 3% increase in per-unit fleet costs, and (iv) a $104 million (16%) decrease in selling, general and administrative expenses mainly related to reduced marketing and commission costs in light of lower rental volumes. The decrease in total expenses includes a positive impact from foreign currency exchange rates of $42 million and also reflects numerous actions taken in late 2008 and throughout 2009 to reduce both volume-related and non-volume-related expenses. As a result of our expense reductions, partially offset by a $189 million decrease in our benefit from income taxes, net loss decreased $1,077 million during 2009 compared to 2008. Our effective tax rate was a benefit of 39.0% and 16.3% for 2009 and 2008, respectively. The tax benefit for 2009 included a foreign investment allowance relating to additional tax depreciation in Australia. The unusually low rate for 2008 was primarily due to the non-deductible portion of the impairment charges we incurred. Following is a more detailed discussion of the results of each of our reportable segments:
Domestic Car Rental Revenues decreased $728 million (16%) in 2009 compared with 2008 primarily due to decreased demand for car rental services, while Adjusted EBITDA increased $96 million due to our actions to significantly reduce costs and increase prices. The revenue decrease of $728 million was comprised of a $563 million (15%) decrease in T&M revenue and a $165 million (16%) decrease in ancillary revenues. The decrease in T&M revenue was principally the result of a 21% decrease in rental days, partially offset by a 7% year-over-year increase in T&M revenue per rental day.
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Table of ContentsThe $165 million decrease in ancillary revenues was also primarily due to the decline in rental days and reflected (i) an $80 million decrease in gasoline sales, which was more than offset in Adjusted EBITDA by $137 million of decreased gasoline expense, (ii) a $44 million decrease in airport concession and vehicle licensing revenues, which was partially offset by $32 million lower airport concession and vehicle licensing fees remitted to airport and other regulatory authorities, and (iii) a $41 million decrease in counter sales of insurance, GPS rentals and other items (although revenues per transaction increased year-over-year). We aggressively reduced costs during 2009 in response to the sharp decline in demand. Adjusted EBITDA reflected a $425 million (16%) decrease in operating expenses, including (i) a $218 million decrease in maintenance and damage, agency operator commissions, shuttling, credit card fees, and other costs amid lower rental volumes, (ii) a $90 million decrease in selling, general and administrative expenses related to decreases in marketing and commission expenditures, most of which are volume-related, and other items due primarily to management’s actions to reduce expenditures, (iii) an $80 million decrease in employee costs, rents and other expenses related primarily to reduced staffing levels and the closure of unprofitable locations, (iv) a $15 million decrease in insurance related costs, primarily due to the 21% decrease in rental days, (v) a $12 million decrease in vehicle interest related to lower fleet levels, and (vi) a $7 million decrease in restructuring costs. Adjusted EBITDA also benefited from $231 million (16%) of decreased fleet depreciation and lease charges reflecting a 20% decrease in the average size of our domestic rental fleet and a 5% increase in per-unit fleet costs. International Car Rental Revenues and Adjusted EBITDA decreased $96 million (11%) and $15 million (11%), respectively, in 2009 compared with 2008, primarily due to the impact of foreign currency exchange rate movements and lower demand for car rentals. The revenue decrease of $96 million was comprised of a $72 million (12%) decrease in T&M revenue and a $24 million (9%) decrease in ancillary revenues. The total decline in revenue includes a $58 million decrease related to foreign currency exchange rates, impacting T&M revenue by $41 million and ancillary revenues by $17 million, and was largely offset in Adjusted EBITDA by the opposite impact of foreign exchange on expenses of $42 million. The decrease in T&M revenue was principally driven by (i) a 2% decrease in T&M revenue per rental day, all of which was due to the 7% negative impact of movements in foreign currency exchange rates, and (ii) a 9% decrease in rental days. The $25 million decrease in ancillary revenues was primarily due to the decline in rental days and reflected (i) a $15 million decrease in counter sales of insurance, GPS rentals and other items, and (ii) a $9 million decrease in gasoline sales, which was completely offset in Adjusted EBITDA by lower gasoline costs. Adjusted EBITDA reflects a $42 million (10%) decrease in operating expenses, including (i) a $29 million decrease in agency operator commissions, maintenance and damage, vehicle licensing, credit card fees and other costs amid lower rental volumes, (ii) a $7 million decrease in vehicle interest related to lower fleet levels, (iii) a $6 million decrease in selling, general and administrative expenses related primarily to decreased marketing and commission expenditures, and (iv) a $1 million decrease in restructuring costs year-over-year. Adjusted EBITDA also benefited from a $27 million decrease in fleet depreciation and lease charges, reflecting a 10% reduction in the average size of our international rental fleet and a 3% decrease in per-unit fleet costs. Truck Rental Revenues decreased $28 million (7%) while Adjusted EBITDA increased $17 million in 2009 compared with 2008. The revenue decrease was primarily due to a decline of $23 million (8%) in T&M revenue and a $5 million (6%) decrease in ancillary revenues. The decrease in T&M revenue was principally driven by a 7% decrease in rental days and a 1% decrease in T&M revenue per rental day in 2009 compared with 2008. The unfavorable effect of decreased revenue on Adjusted EBITDA was offset by (i) a decrease of $24 million (8%) in operating
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Table of Contentsexpenses primarily due to lower volume-related expenses and reduced employee costs related to lower staffing levels and (ii) $21 million (19%) less fleet depreciation, interest and lease charges, reflecting lower per-unit fleet costs and a 3% decrease in the average size of our truck rental fleet. Corporate and Other Revenue and Adjusted EBITDA declined $1 million and $29 million, respectively, in 2009 compared with 2008. Adjusted EBITDA decreased primarily due to (i) an $18 million charge recorded during third quarter 2009 related to a judgment against us related to the 2002 acquisition of our Budget vehicle rental business and (ii) an $11 million loss representing the Company’s share of Carey’s 2009 operating results. FINANCIAL CONDITION, LIQUIDITY AND CAPITAL RESOURCES We present separately the financial data of our vehicle programs. These programs are distinct from our other activities as the assets under vehicle programs are generally funded through the issuance of debt that is collateralized by such assets. The income generated by these assets is used, in part, to repay the principal and interest associated with the debt. Cash inflows and outflows relating to the generation or acquisition of such assets and the principal debt repayment or financing of such assets are classified as activities of our vehicle programs. We believe it is appropriate to segregate the financial data of our vehicle programs because, ultimately, the source of repayment of such debt is the realization of such assets. FINANCIAL CONDITION
Total assets exclusive of assets under vehicle programs decreased $109 million principally due to a $569 million decrease in other current assets primarily related to a $608 million reduction in receivables due from Realogy and Wyndham primarily related to the conclusion of the Internal Revenue Services (“IRS”) audit with respect to its examination of the Company’s taxable years 2003 through 2006, the year of the Cendant Separation, for which we were entitled to indemnification by Realogy and Wyndham. The decrease was partially offset by a $429 million increase in cash and cash equivalents (see “Liquidity and Capital Resources—Cash Flows”) and a $25 million increase in accounts receivable. Total liabilities exclusive of liabilities under vehicle programs decreased $71 million primarily due to a $507 million reduction in tax liabilities principally related to the conclusion of the IRS audit, offset by a $371 million increase in corporate debt (see “Liquidity and Capital Resources—Debt and Financing Arrangements” for a detailed account of the change in our corporate debt) and a $58 million increase in accounts payable. Assets under vehicle programs increased $343 million mainly due to a $455 million increase in our net vehicles, related primarily to an increase in our domestic car rental fleet, and a $62 million increase in our investment in Avis Budget Rental Car Funding (AESOP) LLC due to mark-to-market gains on derivatives, offset by a $153 million decrease in our program cash mainly due to the repayment of certain term notes reaching maturity during the year. Liabilities under vehicle programs increased $117 million reflecting additional borrowing in support of the increase in our domestic vehicle rental fleet. See “Liquidity and Capital Resources—Debt and Financing Arrangements” for a detailed account of the change in our debt related to vehicle programs.
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Table of ContentsStockholders’ equity increased $188 million primarily due to net income of $54 million for 2010 and a $129 million increase in accumulated other comprehensive income primarily resulting from (i) a $71 million increase in currency translation, (ii) $36 million of net unrealized gains on our cash flow hedges, and (iii) the reclassification of $24 million of unrealized losses on our interest rate swaps to earnings, primarily in connection with the extinguishment of a portion of our floating rate term loan in 2010. LIQUIDITY AND CAPITAL RESOURCES Overview Our principal sources of liquidity are cash on hand and our ability to generate cash through operations and financing activities, as well as available funding arrangements and committed credit facilities, each of which is discussed below. During 2010, we issued approximately $1.1 billion in senior notes, using the proceeds to partially repay and amend the terms of our floating rate term loan, redeem some of our earlier maturing senior notes and have cash available for use toward our potential acquisition of Dollar Thrifty or to redeem additional corporate indebtedness. Cash Flows Year Ended December 31, 2010 vs. Year Ended December 31, 2009 At December 31, 2010, we had $911 million of cash on hand, an increase of $429 million from $482 million at December 31, 2009. The following table summarizes such increase:
During 2010, we generated $149 million more cash from operating activities compared with 2009. The change principally resulted from the reimbursement from Wyndham for the use of certain of our tax attributes in connection with the conclusion of the IRS audit and improved operating results, partially offset by the termination of interest rate swaps during 2010. We used approximately $1.8 billion more cash in investing activities during 2010 compared with 2009. This change primarily reflects the activities of our vehicle programs, which used approximately $1.3 billion more cash to purchase vehicles and received $825 million less in proceeds from the disposition of vehicles. The use of cash in investing activities in 2010 reflects a more typical pattern for us, whereas the 2009 result reflects the effects of our reducing our fleet size in response to particularly weak economic conditions and demand for travel services. We anticipate that our non-rental vehicle capital expenditures will approximate $85-95 million in 2011. We generated approximately $1.8 billion more cash from financing activities during 2010 compared with 2009. This change primarily reflects an approximately $1.8 billion net increase in cash provided from our vehicle programs’ financing activities due to our use of cash in financing activities in 2009 for significant debt repayment associated with reducing our fleet size in response to weak economic conditions as discussed above.
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Table of ContentsYear Ended December 31, 2009 vs. Year Ended December 31, 2008 At December 31, 2009, we had $482 million of cash on hand, an increase of $224 million from $258 million at December 31, 2008. The following table summarizes such increase:
In 2009, we generated $213 million less cash from operating activities than in 2008 as a result of having a year-over-year increase in earnings before income taxes and impairment costs that was smaller than the year-over-year reduction in depreciation expense. We used approximately $2.3 billion less cash in investing activities during 2009 compared with 2008. This change primarily reflects the activities of our vehicle programs, which (i) used approximately $1.8 billion less cash to purchase vehicles during the year as we strategically maintained a smaller car rental fleet and (ii) recorded a $422 million increase in proceeds on disposition of vehicles. Additionally, we reduced spending by $144 million related to acquisitions of vehicle rental franchises, property, plant and equipment and other items during 2009. We generated approximately $1.9 billion less cash from financing activities during 2009 compared to 2008. This change primarily reflects an approximately $2.3 billion net decrease in cash provided under our vehicle programs’ financing activities, primarily due to reduced vehicle-backed debt borrowings offset by $311 million in net proceeds primarily from the issuance of our convertible notes, a warrant transaction and a convertible note hedge in 2009. Debt and Financing Arrangements At December 31, 2010, we had approximately $7.0 billion of indebtedness (including corporate indebtedness of approximately $2.5 billion and debt under vehicle programs of approximately $4.5 billion).
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Table of ContentsCorporate indebtedness consisted of:
The following table summarizes the components of our debt under vehicle programs (including related party debt due to Avis Budget Rental Car Funding (AESOP) LLC (“Avis Budget Rental Car Funding”)):
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The following table provides the contractual maturities for our corporate debt and our debt under vehicle programs (including related party debt due to Avis Budget Rental Car Funding) at December 31, 2010:
At December 31, 2010, we had approximately $3.2 billion of available funding under our various financing arrangements (comprised of $797 million of availability under our revolving credit facility and approximately $2.4 billion available for use in our vehicle programs). As of December 31, 2010, the committed credit facilities available to us and/or our subsidiaries at the corporate or Avis Budget Car Rental level included:
The following table presents available funding under our debt arrangements related to our vehicle programs at December 31, 2010:
The significant terms for our outstanding debt instruments, credit facilities and available funding arrangements as of December 31, 2010 can be found in Notes 14 and 15 to our Consolidated Financial Statements.
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Table of ContentsLIQUIDITY RISK Our primary liquidity needs include the payment of operating expenses, servicing of corporate and vehicle related debt and procurement of rental vehicles to be used in our operations. Our primary sources of funding are operating revenue, cash received upon sale of vehicles, borrowings under our vehicle-backed borrowing arrangements and our revolving credit facility, and other financing activities. As we discussed above, as of December 31, 2010, we have cash and cash equivalents of $911 million, available borrowing capacity under our revolving credit facility of $797 million, and available capacity under our vehicle programs of approximately $2.4 billion. Of our cash and cash equivalents as of December 31, 2010, $349 million is held either to repay outstanding corporate indebtedness or to help fund the potential acquisition of Dollar Thrifty. Our liquidity position may be negatively affected by financial market disruptions or a downturn in the U.S. and worldwide economies, which may result in unfavorable conditions in the vehicle rental industry, in the asset-backed financing market, and in the credit markets generally. We believe these factors have affected and could affect the debt ratings assigned to us by credit rating agencies and the cost of our borrowings. Additionally, a downturn in the U.S. economy or a disruption in the credit markets could impact our liquidity due to (i) decreased demand and pricing for vehicles in the used vehicle market, (ii) increased costs associated with, and/or reduced capacity or increased collateral needs under, our financings, (iii) the adverse impact of vehicle manufacturers, including General Motors Company, Ford Motor Company, Chrysler Group LLC, Hyundai Motor America, or Kia Motors America, being unable or unwilling to honor its obligations to repurchase or guarantee the depreciation on the related program vehicles, (iv) disruption in our ability to obtain financing due to negative credit events specific to us or affecting the overall debt market, (v) the impact of an insolvency event or actual or potential default by any of the financial guaranty firms that have insured a portion of our outstanding vehicle-backed debt and (vi) the effect of any of Realogy, Wyndham or Travelport being unable or unwilling to honor its obligations under the Separation Agreement and the Tax Sharing Agreement. Financial guaranty firms Ambac Assurance Corporation, MBIA Insurance Corporation, and Assured Guaranty Corp. currently provide financial guaranties for approximately $900 million (expiring in 2012), $300 million (expiring in 2011) and $250 million (expiring in 2012), respectively, of our domestic term asset-backed car rental financing. Certain insolvency events by these financial guarantors would result in principal of the related financings being required to be repaid sooner than anticipated. Our liquidity position also may be negatively affected if we are unable to remain in compliance with the financial and other covenants associated with our senior credit facilities and other borrowings. The financial covenants of our senior credit facilities include maximum leverage and minimum coverage ratio requirements. As of December 31, 2010, we were in compliance with the financial covenants in our senior credit facilities. Contractual Obligations The following table summarizes our principal future contractual obligations as of December 31, 2010:
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For more information regarding guarantees and indemnifications, see Note 16 to our Consolidated Financial Statements. ACCOUNTING POLICIES Critical Accounting Policies In presenting our financial statements in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles, we are required to make estimates and assumptions that affect the amounts reported therein. Several of the estimates and assumptions we are required to make relate to matters that are inherently uncertain as they pertain to future events and/or events that are outside of our control. If there is a significant unfavorable change to current conditions, it could result in a material adverse impact to our consolidated results of operations, financial position and liquidity. We believe that the estimates and assumptions we used when preparing our financial statements were the most appropriate at that time. Presented below are those accounting policies that we believe require subjective and complex judgments that could potentially affect reported results. However, our businesses operate in environments where we are paid a fee for a service performed, and therefore the results of the majority of our recurring operations are recorded in our financial statements using accounting policies that are not particularly subjective, nor complex. Goodwill and Other Indefinite-lived Intangible Assets. We have reviewed the carrying value of our goodwill and other indefinite-lived intangible assets for impairment. In performing this review, we are required to make an assessment of fair value for our goodwill and other indefinite-lived intangible assets. When determining fair value, we utilize various consistent assumptions, including the fair market trading price of our common stock and management’s projections of future cash flows. A change in these underlying assumptions will cause a change in the results of the tests and, as such, could cause the fair value to be less than the respective carrying amount. In such event, we would then be required to record a charge, which would impact earnings. We review the carrying value of goodwill and other indefinite-lived intangible assets for impairment annually, or more frequently if circumstances indicate impairment may have occurred. Our goodwill and other indefinite-lived intangible assets are allocated among three reporting units. During 2010 and 2009, there was no impairment of goodwill or other intangible assets. In 2008, a $1,244 million charge was recorded to reflect the impairment of goodwill and the impairment of our tradenames assets. These charges reflect the decline in their fair value below their carrying value, primarily as a result of reduced market valuations for vehicle services and other companies, as well as reduced profit forecasts due to soft economic conditions and increased financing costs. Domestic Car Rental operations recorded $882 million and International Car Rental recorded $275 million, for goodwill and tradename impairment, and Truck Rental recorded $87 million for goodwill impairment.
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Table of ContentsVehicles. We present vehicles at cost, net of accumulated depreciation, on the Consolidated Balance Sheets. We record the initial cost of the vehicle net of incentives and allowances from manufactures. We acquire our rental vehicles either through repurchase and guaranteed depreciation programs with certain automobile manufacturers or outside of such programs. For rental vehicles purchased under such programs, we depreciate the vehicles such that the net book value on the date of sale or return to the manufacturers is intended to equal the contractual guaranteed residual values. For vehicles acquired outside of manufacturer repurchase and guaranteed depreciation programs, we depreciate based on the vehicles’ estimated residual market values and their expected dates of disposition. See Note 2 to our Consolidated Financial Statements. Income Taxes. We account for income taxes under the asset and liability method, which requires the recognition of deferred tax assets and liabilities for the expected future tax consequences of events that have been included in the financial statements. Under this method, deferred tax assets and liabilities are determined based on the differences between the financial statement and tax bases of assets and liabilities using enacted tax rates in effect for the year in which the differences are expected to reverse. The effect of a change in tax rates on deferred tax assets and liabilities is recognized in income in the period that includes the enactment date. We record net deferred tax assets to the extent we believe these assets will more likely than not be realized. In making such determination, we consider all available positive and negative evidence, including scheduled reversals of deferred tax liabilities, projected future taxable income, tax planning strategies and recent results of operations. In the event we were to determine that we would be able to realize deferred income tax assets in the future in excess of their net recorded amount, we would make an adjustment to the valuation allowance which would reduce the provision for income taxes. Currently we do not record valuation allowances on the majority of our tax loss carryforwards as there are adequate deferred tax liabilities that could be realized within the carryforward period. We are subject to income taxes in the United States and numerous foreign jurisdictions. Significant judgment is required to determine our worldwide provision for income taxes and to record the related assets and liabilities. In the ordinary course of business, there are many transactions and calculations where the ultimate tax determination is uncertain. Pursuant to the Tax Sharing Agreement entered into in connection with the Separation and the Separation Agreement, we are entitled to indemnification for non-Avis Budget Car Rental tax contingencies for taxable periods prior to and including the Separation. The rules governing taxation are complex and subject to varying interpretations. Therefore, our tax accruals reflect a series of complex judgments about future events and rely heavily on estimates and assumptions. Although we believe the estimates and assumptions supporting our tax accruals are reasonable, the potential result of an audit or litigation related to tax could include a range of outcomes, and could result in tax liabilities for the Company that are materially different than those reflected in the Consolidated Financial Statements. See Notes 2 and 8 to our Consolidated Financial Statements for more information regarding income taxes. Financial Instruments. We estimate fair values for each of our financial instruments, including derivative instruments. Most of these financial instruments are not publicly traded on an organized exchange. In the absence of quoted market prices, we must develop an estimate of fair value using dealer quotes, present value cash flow models, option pricing models or other valuation methods, as appropriate. The use of these fair value techniques involves significant judgments and assumptions, including estimates of future interest rate levels based on interest rate yield curves, credit spreads of the Company and counterparties, volatility factors, and an estimation of the timing of future cash flows. The use of different assumptions may have a material effect on the estimated fair value amounts recorded in the financial statements, which are disclosed in Note 20 to our Consolidated Financial Statements. In addition, hedge accounting requires that, at the beginning of each hedge period, we justify an expectation that the relationship between the changes in fair value of derivatives designated as hedges compared to changes in the fair value of the underlying hedged items will be highly effective. This effectiveness assessment, which is performed at least quarterly, involves an estimation of changes in fair value resulting from
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Table of Contentschanges in interest rates, as well as the probability of the occurrence of transactions for cash flow hedges. The use of different assumptions and changing market conditions may impact the results of the effectiveness assessment and ultimately the timing of when changes in derivative fair values and the underlying hedged items are recorded in earnings. See “Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk” for a discussion of the effect of hypothetical changes to these assumptions. Public Liability, Property Damage and Other Insurance Liabilities. Insurance liabilities on our Consolidated Balance Sheets include supplemental liability insurance, personal effects protection insurance, public liability, property damage and personal accident insurance claims for which we are self-insured. We estimate the required liability of such claims on an undiscounted basis utilizing an actuarial method that is based upon various assumptions which include, but are not limited to, our historical loss experience and projected loss development factors. The required liability is also subject to adjustment in the future based upon changes in claims experience, including changes in the number of incidents and changes in the ultimate cost per incident. Adoption of New Accounting Pronouncements During 2010, we adopted the following standards as a result of the issuance of new accounting pronouncements:
We will adopt the following recently issued accounting pronouncements as required:
For detailed information regarding these pronouncements and the impact thereof on our business, see Notes 1 and 2 to our Consolidated Financial Statements. ITEM 7A. QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK We are exposed to a variety of market risks, including changes in foreign currency exchange rates, interest rates and gasoline prices. We manage our exposure to market risks through our regular operating and financing activities and, when deemed appropriate, through the use of derivative financial instruments, particularly swap contracts, futures and options contracts, to manage and reduce the interest rate risk related to our debt; foreign currency forwards to manage and reduce foreign currency exchange rate risk; and derivative commodity instruments to manage and reduce the risk of changing unleaded gasoline prices. We are exclusively an end user of these instruments. We do not engage in trading, market-making or other speculative activities in the derivatives markets. We manage our exposure to counterparty credit risk related to our use of derivatives through specific minimum credit standards, diversification of counterparties, and procedures to monitor concentrations of credit risk. Our counterparties are substantial investment and commercial banks with significant experience providing such derivative instruments. Our total market risk is influenced by a wide variety of factors including the volatility present within the markets and the liquidity of the markets. There are certain limitations inherent in the sensitivity analyses presented. These “shock tests” are constrained by several factors, including the necessity to conduct the analysis based on a single
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Table of Contentspoint in time and the inability to include the complex market reactions that normally would arise from the market shifts modeled. For additional information regarding our long term borrowings and financial instruments, see Notes 14, 15 and 20 to our Consolidated Financial Statements. Foreign Currency Risk Management We have foreign currency rate exposure to exchange rate fluctuations worldwide and particularly with respect to the Australian dollar, Canadian dollar and the New Zealand dollar. We use foreign currency forward contracts and foreign currency swaps to manage foreign exchange risk that arises from certain intercompany transactions and from non-functional currency denominated assets and liabilities and earnings denominated in non-U.S. dollar currencies. Our foreign currency forward contracts are often not designated as hedges and therefore changes in the fair value of these derivatives are recognized in earnings as they occur. We anticipate that such foreign currency exchange rate risk will remain a market risk exposure for the foreseeable future. We assess our market risk based on changes in foreign currency exchange rates utilizing a sensitivity analysis. The sensitivity analysis measures the potential impact on earnings, cash flows and fair values based on a hypothetical 10% appreciation or depreciation in the value of the underlying currencies being hedged, against the U.S. dollar at December 31, 2010. With all other variables held constant, a hypothetical 10% change (increase or decrease) in foreign currency exchange rates would not have a material impact on our earnings at December 31, 2010. Because unrealized gains or losses related to foreign currency forward and swap contracts are expected to be offset by corresponding gains or losses on the underlying exposures being hedged, when combined, these foreign currency contracts and the offsetting underlying commitments do not create a material impact to our consolidated financial statements. Interest Rate Risk Management Our primary interest rate exposure at December 31, 2010 was interest rate fluctuations in the United States, specifically LIBOR and commercial paper interest rates due to their impact on variable rate borrowings and other interest rate sensitive liabilities. We use interest rate swaps and caps to manage our exposure to interest rate movements. We anticipate that LIBOR and commercial paper rates will remain a primary market risk exposure for the foreseeable future. We assess our market risk based on changes in interest rates utilizing a sensitivity analysis. Based on our interest rate derivatives as of December 31, 2010, we estimate that a 10% change in interest rates would not have a material impact on our earnings. Because gains or losses related to interest rate derivatives are expected to be offset by corresponding gains or losses on the underlying exposures being hedged, when combined, these interest rate contracts and the offsetting underlying commitments do not create a material impact to our consolidated financial statements. Commodity Risk Management We have commodity price exposure related to fluctuations in the price of unleaded gasoline. We anticipate that such commodity risk will remain a market risk exposure for the foreseeable future. We determined that a hypothetical 10% change in the price of unleaded gasoline, would not have a material impact on our earnings at December 31, 2010. ITEM 8. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTARY DATA See Consolidated Financial Statements and Consolidated Financial Statement Index commencing on Page F-1 hereof.
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Table of ContentsITEM 9. CHANGES IN AND DISAGREEMENTS WITH ACCOUNTANTS ON ACCOUNTING AND FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE None. ITEM 9A. CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES
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Table of ContentsREPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM To the Board of Directors and Stockholders of Avis Budget Group, Inc. Parsippany, New Jersey We have audited the internal control over financial reporting of Avis Budget Group, Inc. and subsidiaries (the “Company”) as of December 31, 2010, based on criteria established in Internal Control—Integrated Framework issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission. The Company’s management is responsible for maintaining effective internal control over financial reporting and for its assessment of the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting, included in the accompanying Management’s Annual Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company’s internal control over financial reporting based on our audit. We conducted our audit in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States). Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether effective internal control over financial reporting was maintained in all material respects. Our audit included obtaining an understanding of internal control over financial reporting, assessing the risk that a material weakness exists, testing and evaluating the design and operating effectiveness of internal control based on the assessed risk, and performing such other procedures as we considered necessary in the circumstances. We believe that our audit provides a reasonable basis for our opinion. A company’s internal control over financial reporting is a process designed by, or under the supervision of, the company’s principal executive and principal financial officers, or persons performing similar functions, and effected by the company’s board of directors, management, and other personnel to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. A company’s internal control over financial reporting includes those policies and procedures that (1) pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of the assets of the company; (2) provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, and that receipts and expenditures of the company are being made only in accordance with authorizations of management and directors of the company; and (3) provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use, or disposition of the company’s assets that could have a material effect on the financial statements. Because of the inherent limitations of internal control over financial reporting, including the possibility of collusion or improper management override of controls, material misstatements due to error or fraud may not be prevented or detected on a timely basis. Also, projections of any evaluation of the effectiveness of the internal control over financial reporting to future periods are subject to the risk that the controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate. In our opinion, the Company maintained, in all material respects, effective internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2010, based on the criteria established in Internal Control—Integrated Framework issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission. We have also audited, in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States), the consolidated financial statements and financial statement schedule as of and for the year ended December 31, 2010 of the Company and our report dated February 24, 2011 expressed an unqualified opinion on those financial statements and financial statement schedule. /s/ DELOITTE & TOUCHE LLP New York, New York February 24, 2011
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None. ITEM 10. DIRECTORS, EXECUTIVE OFFICERS AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE The information contained in the Company’s Annual Proxy Statement under the sections titled “Board of Directors”, “Executive Officers” and “Section 16(a) Beneficial Ownership Reporting Compliance” is incorporated herein by reference in response to this item. ITEM 11. EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION The information contained in the Company’s Annual Proxy Statement under the section titled “Executive Compensation” is incorporated herein by reference in response to this item.
The information contained in the Company’s Annual Proxy Statement under the section titled “Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners” is incorporated herein by reference in response to this item. Information concerning our equity compensation plans is included in Part II of this report under the caption “Securities Authorized For Issuance Under Equity Compensation Plans”.
The information contained in the Company’s Annual Proxy Statement under the section titled “Certain Relationships and Related Transactions” and “Board of Directors” is incorporated herein by reference in response to this item. ITEM 14. PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTANT FEES AND SERVICES The information contained in the Company’s Annual Proxy Statement under the section titled “Ratification of Appointment of Auditors” is incorporated herein by reference in response to this item. ITEM 15. EXHIBITS AND FINANCIAL STATEMENT SCHEDULES ITEM 15(A)(1) FINANCIAL STATEMENTS See Consolidated Financial Statements and Consolidated Financial Statements Index commencing on page F-1 hereof. ITEM 15(A)(2) FINANCIAL STATEMENT SCHEDULES See Schedule II—Valuation and Qualifying Account for the years ended December 31, 2010, 2009, and 2008 commencing on page G-1 hereof. ITEM 15(A)(3) EXHIBITS See Exhibit Index commencing on page H-1 hereof.
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Table of ContentsSIGNATURES Pursuant to the requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, this report has been signed below by the following persons on behalf of the Registrant and in the capacities and on the dates indicated.
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Table of ContentsINDEX TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Table of ContentsREPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM To the Board of Directors and Stockholders of Avis Budget Group, Inc. Parsippany, New Jersey We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of Avis Budget Group, Inc. and subsidiaries (the “Company”) as of December 31, 2010 and 2009, and the related consolidated statements of operations, stockholders’ equity, and cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2010. Our audits also included the financial statement schedule listed in the Index at Item 15. These financial statements and financial statement schedule are the responsibility of the Company’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the financial statements and financial statement schedule based on our audits. We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States). Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement. An audit includes examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. An audit also includes assessing the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall financial statement presentation. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion. In our opinion, such consolidated financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company as of December 31, 2010 and 2009, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2010, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. Also, in our opinion, such financial statement schedule, when considered in relation to the basic consolidated financial statements taken as a whole, presents fairly, in all material respects, the information set forth therein. We have also audited, in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States), the Company’s internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2010, based on the criteria established in Internal Control—Integrated Framework issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission and our report dated February 24, 2011 expressed an unqualified opinion on the Company’s internal control over financial reporting. /s/ DELOITTE & TOUCHE LLP New York, New York February 24, 2011
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Table of ContentsCONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS (In millions, except per share data)
See Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.
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Table of ContentsCONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS (In millions, except share data)
See Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.
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Table of ContentsCONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS (In millions)
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Table of ContentsAvis Budget Group, Inc. CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS (Continued) (In millions)
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