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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549
FORM 8-K
CURRENT REPORT
Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934
Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported) April 15, 1998
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THE HERTZ CORPORATION
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(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
Delaware 1-7541 13-1938568
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(State or other jurisdiction of (Commission (I.R.S. Employer
incorporation) File Number) Identification No.)
225 Brae Boulevard, Park Ridge, New Jersey 07656-0713
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(Address of principal executive offices) (Zip Code)
Registrant's telephone number, including area code (201) 307-2000
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Not Applicable
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(Former name or former address, if changed since last report)
Page 1 of 6 pages.
The Exhibit Index is on page 3 .
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Item 5. Other Events
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On April 15, 1998, The Hertz Corporation issued a press release with
respect to its first quarter 1998 earnings.
A copy of such press release is attached as Exhibit 99 hereto and
incorporated herein by reference.
Item 7. Financial Statements and Exhibits
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(c) EXHIBITS.
The following Exhibit is filed as part of this Report.
(99) Press release relating to The Hertz Corporation's
first quarter 1998 earnings.
SIGNATURE
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934,
the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the
undersigned hereunto duly authorized.
THE HERTZ CORPORATION
(Registrant)
By: /s/ Richard J. Foti
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Richard J. Foti
Staff Vice President and
Controller
(Principal Accounting Officer)
Dated: April 16, 1998
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Exhibit Index
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Exhibit No. Description Page
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(99) Press release relating to The Hertz 4-5
Corporation's first quarter 1998
earnings
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Financial - Lauren S. Babus
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Media- Joe Russo
(201) 307-2486
HERTZ REPORTS RECORD FIRST QUARTER EARNINGS
OF $35.4 MILLION, UP 79.6%
PARK RIDGE, NJ, April 15, 1998 - The Hertz Corporation (NYSE:HRZ), the world's
largest car rental company and the largest industrial and construction equipment
rental business in the U.S., reported record earnings of $35.4 million for the
first quarter of 1998, up 79.6 percent from the $19.7 million reported for the
same period last year. Earnings per share on a diluted basis were 33 cents per
share for first quarter 1998, up from 18 cents in the first quarter of the prior
year.
Hertz also achieved record first quarter revenues of $898.8 million, up
2.3 percent from the $878.4 million reported for the same period 1997. Before
the impact of changes in foreign exchange rates, the revenue increase would have
been $37 million or 4.3 percent growth over the prior year.
Domestic car rental operations reported revenues for the quarter up 3.0
percent to $601.1 million versus $583.4 in the same quarter last year.
International car rental and leasing reported a 6.8 percent decline in
revenues for the first quarter from $197.4 million in 1997 to $183.9 million in
1998. Before the impact of changes in foreign exchange rates and adjusted for
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HERTZ REPORTS RECORD QUARTER - Page 2
the franchising of previously owned locations, revenue for the quarter would
have been 5.2 percent higher than 1997.
Hertz' worldwide industrial and construction equipment rental operations
generated revenues of $106.6 million for the first quarter 1998, up 18.0 percent
from the $90.3 million in the first quarter last year.
"Hertz continued to benefit from very strong domestic rent-a-car
performance and from pricing improvement in Europe," said Hertz Chairman and
Chief Executive Officer, Frank A. Olson.
Speaking about Hertz' overall strategy, Olson remarked, "We are leveraging
the power of the Hertz brand globally and locally in car rental, local use and
insurance replacement rental, car sales, car leasing and equipment rental. The
combined strength of the brand in these different business segments and its
public visibility in the markets represented by each of these gives greater
strength to the corporation as a whole and offers greater value to our
shareholders."
Headquartered in Park Ridge, New Jersey, Hertz operates from over
5,500 locations throughout the U.S. and in approximately 140 foreign countries.
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THE HERTZ CORPORATION
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF INCOME
(In Thousands of Dollars)
Unaudited
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<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
Three Months As % of
Ended March 31, Total Revenue
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1998 1997 1998 1997
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<S> <C> <C> <C> <C>
Revenue $ 898,796 $ 878,352 100.0% 100.0%
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Expenses:
Direct Operating 435,201 444,063 48.4% 50.5%
Depreciation of revenue
earning equipment 225,300 218,500 25.1% 24.9%
Selling, General and
Administrative 108,937 108,567 12.1% 12.4%
Interest - net 68,632 73,311 7.6% 8.3%
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Total expenses 838,070 844,441 93.2% 96.1%
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Income before income taxes 60,726 33,911 6.8% 3.9%
Income taxes 25,319 14,192 2.9% 1.7%
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Net income $ 35,407 $ 19,719 3.9% 2.2%
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Net income per share
Basic $0.33 $0.18
Diluted $0.33 $0.18
</TABLE>
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