Leasing giant Ayvens has posted Q1 2024 financial results, revealing its first synergies following the integration of LeasePlan into the ALD Automotive business.

Ayvens CEO Tim Albertsen

Pre-tax profit stood at €289.4m (£247.7m) – down 34.6% year on year from €442.6m (£379.1m) prior to the LeasePlan acquisition in May 2023 – but up more than five-fold from the €51.8m (£44.4m) in Q4 2023 during the transition year.

The total fleet increased by +1.1%  year on year to 3.4 million; static from Q4 2023.

Fleet management contracts dropped by 3.4% year on year to reach 686,000 vehicles as of the end of March 2024.

Full-service leasing contracts reached 2.7 million vehicles; up +2.4% year-on-year on a like-for-like basis and in line with the Q4 figure.

Ayvens said its order book continued to normalise following the peak at the end of 2022 from the supply constraints across the market.

EV penetration reached 36% of new passenger car registrations in Q1 2024 – up from 30% in Q1 2023. Ayvens’ BEV and PHEV penetration stood at 22% and 14% respectively in Q1 2024.

The leasing and fleet management specialist said the Q1 results marked the first time that synergies from the LeasePlan acquisition had materialised. While most of the €20m (£17.1m) synergies recorded in Q1 2024 came from procurement, other synergy streams such as insurance also contributed – and the firm said it’s on track to achieve €120m (£102.8m) P&L pre-tax synergies over the full year 2024, as per its previous forecast.

The acquisition is also expected to generate synergies of €350m (£299.8m) in 2025 and €440m (£376.8m) in 2026, but with investment costs of €37m (£31.7m) in 2025.

The agreement with Stellantis, signed in March 2024, will also drive efficiencies. The two firms have signed a framework deal for the provision of up to 500,000 vehicles across Europe over three years. Ayvens has said the agreement will ensure more competitive pricing for its clients while supporting the progressive transition to more sustainable mobility.

Tim Albertsen, CEO of Ayvens, said: “I am glad that Ayvens started 2024 on a positive note in several aspects, which puts us in a strong position to achieve our objectives.

“First, in a mixed economic environment, where demand slowed, we recorded good Q1 2024 financial results and a clear upturn on the previous quarter, despite the weakening of the BEV used car market. This promising performance reflects the solidity of our business model, as well as our agility and our capacity to swiftly implement our strategic roadmap.

“Meanwhile, we recorded synergies from the LeasePlan acquisition for the first time in our income statement this quarter. This demonstrates the power of scale and the high potential for value creation for our stakeholders. Thanks to our unrivalled leadership, not only are we buying and selling more efficiently, but we’re also strengthening our competitive edge.

“Finally, the obtention in March, of regulatory approvals to proceed with the merger and streamlining of our operations is a key milestone, allowing us to accelerate the integration and to deliver further synergies.

“All this has been achieved thanks to the hard work of our teams, who have demonstrated the utmost team spirit and commitment to this transformational journey.”