Earnings soar at Dollar Thrifty

Thursday, July 29th 2004, 12:22 pm

By: News On 6

TULSA, Okla. (AP) _ Acquisitions of franchisee-owned stores and record rental revenues helped boost second-quarter earnings at Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group Inc. by 183 percent.

The Tulsa-based car rental company earned $17.9 million or 68 cents per share in the quarter ended June 30, compared with $6.3 million or 25 cents per share a year earlier, Dollar Thrifty said Thursday.

An analyst surveyed by Thomson First Call expected earnings of 60 cents per share.

Stock of Dollar Thrifty, which operates the Dollar and Thrifty rental car brands, rose 22 cents to $24.34 Thursday morning on the New York Stock Exchange.

``We were very pleased with another quarter of exceptional revenue growth and profit performance,'' said Gary L. Paxton, the company's president and chief executive. ``During the second quarter, we benefited from strong same-store growth and increased revenue from our franchise acquisition program.''

Revenues rose to $354.9 million for the period from $304.1 million on a 35 percent increase in rental days that was driven largely by acquisitions of franchisee-owned stores and somewhat by same-store sales growth, Dollar Thrifty said.