LeasePlan posts 13% profit growth in 2011
By Grant Collinson
31 January 2012
European fleet giant and the twelfth-largest
leasing company in Europe, LeasePlan recorded a 13% jump in profit
in 2011 to €225m.
The Netherlands-based firm increased profit
from the €199m recorded in 2010, according to its preliminary
annual report.
The number of vehicles on LeasePlan’s books
increased 2.7% to 1.3m owing chiefly to an acquisition in Portugal
as well as growth across the global lessor’s largest markets,
according to chairman and chief executive Vahid Daemi.
“LeasePlan once again delivered impressive
results in an economic environment that continues to present many
challenges,” said Daemi.
In a company statement, Daemi attributed the
profit increase, which grew despite a drop in return on equity from
11.2% to 10.9%, to substantial improvements in traditional interest
margins as well as stable performance in other diversified income
streams.
“Our ability to deliver consistently strong
profitability from a range of sources reflects the scale advantages
of our business model,” he said.
LeasePlan Bank, the group’s online bank in the
Netherlands reached nearly €2.8bn in deposits which, along with the
securitisation of lease assets through private and public
placements which yielded a further €1.3bn, has generated a diverse
funding pool.
The company also announced it ended 2011 with
a liquidity buffer of over €3bn of committed facilities and over
€1.5bn in cash.
Last year did see a year-on-year increase in
contract terminations for LeasePlan which the company put down to
limited economic recovery and ongoing market uncertainties.
Terminated vehicles, said Daemi, were sold
with a loss, with a marked deterioration in the second half of the
year.
With continuing market uncertainty, Daemi is
cautious about LeasePlan’s performance this year: “Although we look
ahead with cautious optimism about the level of performance we can
achieve during 2012, we recognise that future performance and
growth opportunities will be in the context of ongoing
uncertainties of global economic conditions and volatility of
financial markets.”
grant.collinson@vrlfinancialnews.com