Zipcar shares rise on higher net income
By Ira Kantor/ BostonHerald.com
Friday, November 9, 2012Zipcar Inc. shares spiked by nearly 30 percent today after the Cambridge-based car-sharing service reported third quarter net income of $4.3 million, compared to $651,000 for the same period a year ago.
Company stock, which closed yesterday at $6.04 a share, opened at $7.43 a share this morning and reached a high of $7.84 a share in early trading.
The company’s revenue increased 15 percent to $78.2 million in the third quarter, compared to $68 million in the prior year period. Revenue growth resulted primarily from an 18 percent increase in membership to more than 767,000 members at quarter end, Zipcar said.
In Zipcar’s established markets — Boston, New York, Washington, D.C. and San Francisco — third quarter revenue rose 15 percent to $45 million due primarily to new member additions, the company said.
Zipcar, which launched Miami as its 20th major metro market and surpassed the 300 mark of campuses participating in the Zipcar for University program, said it expects its full-year revenue to be in the range of $275 million to $279 million, while its full-year net income to be between $1 million to $4 million.
“With our strong results in the quarter, we have raised our full-year guidance and we are on track to deliver 2012 as Zipcar’s first full year of profitability on a U.S. GAAP basis. This is an exciting milestone for our company,” said Zipcar chairman and CEO Scott Griffith. “We expanded our global leadership position by integrating our operations in Barcelona and by acquiring a leading car-sharing provider in Austria. Additionally, we have strengthened our technology edge with the successful launch of a new platform and have enhanced both our membership marketing programs and offerings, including a further rollout of our Zipvan cargo van service that is expected to be available in all of our major North American markets in 2013.”
( -— ira.kantor@bostonherald.com )
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