Operating revenues of Autonom Group grew by 7.6% in the first six months of 2020, despite a 27% decrease in the short-term rent

Operating revenues of Autonom Group grew by 7.6% in the first six months of 2020, despite a 27% decrease in the short-term rent

Bucharest, October 2, 2020 – Autonom Services SA, Romanian entrepreneurial company and integrated provider of mobility and financing services, registered in the first half of 2020 consolidated revenues of approximately 147.5 million lei. Despite the challenging period, caused by the onset of the coronavirus pandemic in Romania, Autonom managed to end the period with a consolidated net profit of 4.1 million lei, proving the resilience of the business model. 

The Group’s results in the first six months of 2020, compared to the same period of last year, are as follows:

• Increase of the operational revenues by 7.6% to 147,354,268 lei;
• Increase of assets by 20.9% to 665,272,069 lei;
• Extremely prudent financial management, resulting in liquidities of 94,181,879 lei;
• Decrease of the revenues of the Rent a Car division by 27.1% to 21,657,931 lei;
• Decrease by -74% in consolidated profit to 4,150,739 lei.

“Analysing the results of the first 6 months of this year, we can say that the decisions taken were the right ones to keep the company’s liquidity and viability in the given context. The results registered in the first half of 2020, such an atypical and unexpected period, show us once again that the organization of Autonom is anti-fragile in volatile contexts and give us confidence that we will end 2020 profitable, with positive cash flow and ready for to take advantage of the opportunities that will appear in the second semester and in the coming year” said Dan Stefan, co-founder and co-shareholder of Autonom. 

The consolidated results of Autonom Services include the performance of two major business lines – operational leasing and short-term rental (rent a car), as well as other additional services provided by Autonom, including the sale of used vehicles. In the first six months of 2020, the revenues of the operational leasing division, the main business line of Autonom, increased by 5%, generating a turnover of 84,021,846 lei, with a share of 57% in the total revenues of the company. The increase of 5% in revenues of Leasing Operational as well as 74% increase in used car sales has however helped the Group tamper the negative effect caused by the coronavirus onset on the Autonom Rent a Car business, which registered a 27% decrease.

“Once again, Autonom’s organizational and operational model, based on sustainability, agility and decentralized decisions, allowed us to act quickly to ensure the protection of our colleagues, clients and the company’s assets. The autonomy of the teams to find and implement quick solutions, as well as transparent communication, kept the team involved and united in the face of the challenges of this period. We are proud of the Autonom team and satisfied with the performance registered in the first half of this year, especially in the given conditions” said Marius Stefan, co-founder and co-shareholder of Autonom.

In the first six months of 2020, the operating leasing division delivered 775 new cars and added 76 new clients to its portfolio. Important partnerships were started with companies in the medical, distribution and telecom fields.

With the declaration of the state of emergency, all Autonom teams were involved in finding ways to optimize costs. Programs have been started to readdress the costs related to car fleets, personnel and administrative costs.

Overall, the cash and cash equivalents of the Group increased between January 1st and June 30th, 2020 by 4,803,744 lei. As a result, the Group ended the semester with important reserves to ensure the development of the activity in the next period.

In December 2019, Autonom Services listed 20 million-euro worth bonds on the Main Market of the Bucharest Stock Exchange. In June 2020, Fitch Ratings, one of the top three global credit rating agencies, has assigned Autonom Services SA a Long-Term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) of ‘B+’.