TULSA, Okla., Feb. 24, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Dollar Thrifty
Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE: DTG) today announced that the
Company's Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase
program providing for the repurchase of up to $100 million of DTG stock. The share
repurchase program is discretionary and has no expiration date.
Shares will be repurchased at times and amounts based on
market conditions and other factors. Additionally, share
repurchases will be subject to applicable purchase limitations
under the Company's senior secured credit facilities. The
share repurchase program may be suspended or discontinued at any
time.
(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20020412/DTGLOGO)
"Over the past few years, the Company has demonstrated the
ability to generate significant and sustainable cash flow.
While our primary focus is to invest in the business in a
manner that generates a high return on assets, we will evaluate all
appropriate alternatives for investment of cash, including the
potential return of excess cash to our shareholders through the
program we are announcing today," said Scott L. Thompson, President and CEO.
Subject to applicable law, the Company may repurchase shares
directly in the open market, in privately negotiated transactions,
or pursuant to derivative instruments or plans complying with SEC
Rule 10b5-1, among other types of transactions and arrangements.
About Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group, Inc.
Through its Dollar Rent A Car and Thrifty Car Rental brands, the
Company has been serving value-conscious leisure and business
travelers since 1950. The Company maintains a strong presence
in domestic leisure travel in virtually all of the top U.S. and
Canadian airport markets, and also derives a significant portion of
its revenue from international travelers to the U.S. under
contracts with various international tour operators. Dollar
and Thrifty have approximately 300 corporate locations in
the United States and Canada, with approximately 6,000 employees
located mainly in North America.
In addition to its corporate operations, the Company
maintains global service capabilities through an expansive
franchise network of approximately 1,275 franchises in 82
countries. For additional information, visit www.dtag.com or
the brand sites at www.dollar.com and www.thrifty.com.
Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking
Statements
This press release contains "forward-looking statements" about
our expectations, plans and performance. These statements use such
words as "may," "will," "expect," "believe," "intend," "should,"
"could," "anticipate," "estimate," "forecast," "project," "plan"
and similar expressions. These statements do not guarantee
future performance and Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group, Inc.
assumes no obligation to update them. Risks and uncertainties
relating to our business that could materially affect our future
results include:
- the impact of persistent pricing and demand pressures on our
results and our low cost structure, particularly in light of the
continuing volatility in the global financial and credit markets,
and concerns about global economic prospects and the timing and
strength of a recovery, and whether consumer confidence and
spending levels will continue to improve;
- whether ongoing governmental and regulatory initiatives in
the United States and elsewhere to
stimulate economic growth will be successful and the impact of
developments outside the United
States, such as the sovereign credit issues in certain
countries in the European Union, which could affect the relative
volatility of global credit markets generally, and the continuing
significant political unrest in the Middle East, which could cause prices for
petroleum products, including gasoline, to rise and adversely
affect both broader economic conditions and consumer discretionary
spending patterns;
- our ability to manage our fleet mix to match demand and meet
our target for vehicle depreciation costs, particularly in light of
the significant increase in the level of risk vehicles (i.e., those
vehicles not acquired through a guaranteed residual value program)
in our fleet and our exposure to the used vehicle market;
- the cost and other terms of acquiring and disposing of
automobiles and the impact of conditions in the used vehicle market
on our vehicle cost, including the impact on our results of
expected increases in our vehicle depreciation costs in 2011 based
on our current expectations with respect to the used vehicle
market, and our ability to reduce our fleet capacity as and when
projected by our plans;
- the impact of pricing and other actions by competitors,
particularly as they increase fleet sizes in anticipation of
seasonal activity;
- the strength of a recovery in the U.S. automotive industry,
particularly in light of our dependence on vehicle supply from U.S.
automotive manufacturers, and whether the recovery is
sustained;
- airline travel patterns, including disruptions or reductions in
air travel resulting from industry consolidation, capacity
reductions, pricing actions, severe weather conditions or other
events, such as airline bankruptcies, particularly given our
dependence on leisure travel;
- access to reservation distribution channels, particularly as
the role of the Internet increases in the marketing and sale of
travel-related services;
- our ability to obtain cost-effective financing as needed
(including replacement of asset-backed notes and other indebtedness
as it comes due) without unduly restricting our operational
flexibility;
- our ability to manage the consequences under our financing
agreements of an event of bankruptcy with respect to any of the
monoline insurers that provide credit support for our asset-backed
financing structures ("Monolines"), including Financial Guaranty
Insurance Company and Ambac Assurance Corporation;
- our ability to comply with financial covenants, including the
new financial covenants included in our amended senior secured
credit facilities, and the impact of those covenants on our
operating and financial flexibility;
- whether our preliminary expectations about our federal income
tax position, after giving effect to the impact of the Tax Relief
Act, are affected by changes in our expected fleet size or
operations or further legislative initiatives relating to taxes in
the United States or elsewhere,
and whether the Company will, as expected, recover previous
overpayments in respect of U.S. federal income taxes in 2011;
- the cost of regulatory compliance, costs and other effects of
potential future initiatives, including those directed at climate
change and its effects, and the costs and outcome of pending
litigation;
- disruptions in the operation or development of information and
communication systems that we rely on, including those relating to
methods of payment;
- local market conditions where we and our franchisees do
business, including whether franchisees will continue to have
access to capital as needed;
- the effectiveness of actions we take to manage costs and
liquidity; and
- the impact of other events that can disrupt consumer travel,
such as natural and man-made catastrophes, pandemics and actual and
perceived threats or acts of terrorism.
We are also subject to risks relating to a potential business
combination transaction, including the following:
- whether Avis Budget Group, Inc. ("Avis Budget") would obtain
regulatory approval to engage in a business combination transaction
with us and, if so, the conditions upon which such approval would
be granted (including potential divestitures of assets or
businesses of either company), whether we and Avis Budget would
reach agreement on the terms of such a transaction, whether our
stockholders would approve the transaction and whether other
conditions to consummation of the transaction would be satisfied or
waived;
- the impact on our results and liquidity if we become obligated
to pay a termination fee to Hertz Global Holdings, Inc. ("Hertz")
upon the Company's entry into a definitive agreement for, or its
completion or recommendation of, a qualifying business combination
transaction within 12 months of the October
1, 2010 termination date of our merger agreement with Hertz,
and whether and the extent to which the relevant third party would
bear all or any portion of that fee;
- the risks to our business and prospects pending any future
business combination transaction, diversion of management's
attention from day-to-day operations, a loss of key personnel,
disruption of our operations, and the impact of pending or future
litigation relating to any business combination transaction;
and
- the risks to our business and growth prospects as a stand-alone
company, in light of our dependence on future growth of the economy
as a whole to achieve meaningful revenue growth in the key airport
and local markets we serve, high barriers to entry in the insurance
replacement market, and capital and other constraints to expanding
company-owned stores internationally.
Forward-looking statements should be considered in light of
information in this press release and other filings we make with
the Securities and Exchange Commission.
SOURCE Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group, Inc.