Dollar Thrifty sees fourth quarter rental revenue increasing

Car hire firm Dollar forecast revenue growth for the usually slow fourth quarter, suggesting an improvement in worldwide car rental demand.

The company, which is pushing toward an incredible merger with once bitter rival Avis Budget, expects that it will see its fourth-quarter revenues grow between 2 and 4%, which would be higher than the 1.6% that was reported in the last quarter.

Despite the news, a company executive representing Dollar rushed to the press and warned analysts that those within the car rental firm were still being cautious about how the travel market would bounce back from the previous beating it had had, but that the news was reason to be a little optimistic and positive for the near future at least. After raising its 2010 outlook, which excludes costs of the merger, the company now expects the figure to be around the $250 million mark.

The company, which had Avis and Hertz in a heated battle to take it over, was among the few big car rental outfits to be able to post profits last year. Such companies as these, which pride themselves on offering cheap car rentals, have again become important within the rental industry while consumers try to cut costs and save money in all aspects of life, and not just motoring.

At present, the car rental industry is tied closely to airline ticket demand and hotel bookings – a factor that has been enjoying improving fundamentals as demand strengthens within the US and websites offer all three services within a few clicks of one another.