Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group Ups 2012 Guidance

r Thrifty Automotive Group, Inc. DTG today provided preliminary guidance on expected results for the first quarter of 2012. Additionally, the Company provided an update on earnings per share and Corporate Adjusted EBITDA expectations for the full year of 2012. Earnings per share in the first quarter of 2012 is expected to range from $1.30 to $1.40 per diluted share, compared to $0.53 per diluted share in the first quarter of 2011. The Company expects Corporate Adjusted EBITDA to range from $75 million to $80 million for the first quarter of 2012, compared to $36.3 million in the first quarter of 2011. The significant year-over-year improvement in both earnings per share and Corporate Adjusted EBITDA was primarily attributable to very favorable fleet costs, combined with lower interest and selling, general and administrative expenses as compared to the prior-year period. As previously announced, fleet costs for the first quarter of 2012 benefitted from lower base depreciation rates and gains on sales of risk vehicles, driven by the continued strength of the domestic used vehicle market. The Company noted that it expects gains on sales of risk vehicles in the first quarter of 2012 to be approximately $14 million, compared to $8 million in the first quarter of 2011. The Company noted that it expects rental revenue for the first quarter of 2012 to increase approximately two percent compared to the first quarter of 2011. The revenue improvement was driven primarily by improved fleet utilization and transaction days, partially offset by a decline in revenue per day. Revenue per unit per month for the first quarter of 2012 is expected to be in line with the first quarter of 2011. Based on the Company's performance in the first quarter of 2012, and expectations for the domestic used vehicle market and travel volumes during 2012, the Company noted that it is revising its full year guidance for diluted earnings per share to be within a range of $5.00 to $5.60, up from its previous guidance range of $4.60 to $5.20. The Company noted that the revised full year earnings per share estimate is currently based on a diluted share count of approximately 29.5 million shares. Finally, the Company noted that it now expects Corporate Adjusted EBITDA for the full year of 2012 to be within a range of $285 million to $310 million, up from its previously announced range of $275 million to $300 million.