Latest Results Support Economic Recovery Claims

RSC Holdings Inc., Phoenix, Ariz., has announced financial results for the quarter ended December 31, 2010. Total revenue was $339 million and rental revenue was $287 million, compared with $290 million and $244 million, respectively, for the same period last year. The company’s fourth quarter net loss narrowed to $7 million, or $0.07 per diluted share, compared with a net loss of $29 million, or $0.28 per diluted share, for the fourth quarter 2009.

Adjusted EBITDA was $116 million for the quarter, compared with $91 million for the same period last year. Adjusted EBITDA margin was 34.4% for the fourth quarter, compared with 31.3% in 2009. The change in profitability and margins primarily reflects increased volume, partially offset by lower pricing caused by excess industry fleet levels.

"We generated exceptional volume growth of 20% and solid positive sequential pricing of 0.8% in the quarter," said Erik Olsson, president and CEO of RSC Holdings. "This is clear evidence that we are executing well and taking full advantage of an improving economic environment.

"During the challenging 2009 and 2010 periods, our strategic focus was on preparing every facet of our business for the anticipated recovery by investing in our fleet, footprint, people and technology. This preparation positioned us well as economic conditions improved, yielding volume growth, incremental price increases and margin expansion. We are excited about our prospects as our markets continue to benefit from the economic recovery.

"We see continued strengthening in the industrial markets and signs that the non-residential markets are bottoming and beginning to turn. At the same time, we are benefitting from a trend in the industry that favors renting equipment over committing capital to buy. Demand increases are broadly distributed over geographies and equipment types. As a result, we expect continued favorable year-over-year comparisons in the first quarter and are optimistic that these positive trends will continue throughout the year."