Sixt has posted latest financial results, revealing new records for revenues and fleet size.

Sixt posted its highest second quarter revenue in company history

The rental giant generated a revenue of €925.1m (£798.5m) in the second quarter, up 24.4% year on year and the highest second quarter revenue in company history.

Consolidated earnings before taxes (EBT) rose to a record level of €131.9m (£113.8m) in the second quarter, increasing 1.6% on the €129.8m (£112m) in Q2 2022. The EBT margin was at 14.3% and significantly above the record figures from the pre-Covid period (Q2 2019: 11.7%).

Fleet size (excluding franchises) jumped to 166,300 rental vehicles, a 24.6% rise compared to Q2 2022.

The brand said it had benefited from continued strong demand for travel at the start of the summer period and rental car prices that remain well above 2019 levels. Its B2B segment and the long-term rental business also contributed disproportionately to revenue growth in the second quarter.

Alexander Sixt, co-CEO, commented: “We are on track thanks to the dedication of our employees and the trust our customers have in us. We achieved a record result in the second quarter, and we continue to target a significant increase in revenue as well as EBT within our EBT forecast of €430m to €550m (£371.1m to £474.7m) for the full year. Our earnings will thus be significantly above our pre-Covid year 2019.”

But he added: “The current uncertain macroeconomic situation for Europe, especially for Germany, may influence the course of the second half of the year and we are therefore also cautious with regard to our fleet purchasing for 2024.”

First-half figures include a 22.3% increase in revenue, with the figure of €1.62bn (£1.4bn) showing the strongest figure for a first half-year to date.

Sixt also increased its global fleet of rental vehicles in its corporate countries (which exclude franchises) over the first half of 2023 to a record level of 157,700 vehicles on average, supported by strong availability of vehicles and relationships with both German OEMs and new international partners. The premium share, measured in terms of the value of the fleet introductions of the BMW (incl. Mini), Mercedes-Benz and Audi brands, was close to 60%. At the same time, there were more premium vehicles in the Sixt fleet in the first six months of 2023 than in any previous half-year.

Sixt also remains on track when fleet electrification plans. In the first quarter, the company achieved an electrification rate (incl. plug-in and mild hybrids) of more than 20% in the European corporate countries, a first for the company and maintained in the second quarter. It’s aiming to have an electric share of 70-90% in Europe by 2030. The fully electric fleet includes models such as the BMW iX, Audi E-Tron, Mercedes-Benz EQS, BYD Atto 3, Tesla Model 3, Volvo XC40, the Maxus eDeliver 3 van and the Nio ET7.

Sixt also continues to expand its own charging infrastructure. By the end of the year, the company intends to have equipped the vast majority of its branches in Germany and its European corporate countries with its own charging points.