Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group Announces Share Repurchase Program

TULSA, Okla., Feb. 24, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE: DTG) today announced that the Company's Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program providing for the repurchase of up to $100 million of DTG stock.  The share repurchase program is discretionary and has no expiration date.  Shares will be repurchased at times and amounts based on market conditions and other factors.  Additionally, share repurchases will be subject to applicable purchase limitations under the Company's senior secured credit facilities.  The share repurchase program may be suspended or discontinued at any time.

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"Over the past few years, the Company has demonstrated the ability to generate significant and sustainable cash flow.  While our primary focus is to invest in the business in a manner that generates a high return on assets, we will evaluate all appropriate alternatives for investment of cash, including the potential return of excess cash to our shareholders through the program we are announcing today," said Scott L. Thompson, President and CEO.

Subject to applicable law, the Company may repurchase shares directly in the open market, in privately negotiated transactions, or pursuant to derivative instruments or plans complying with SEC Rule 10b5-1, among other types of transactions and arrangements.  

About Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group, Inc.

Through its Dollar Rent A Car and Thrifty Car Rental brands, the Company has been serving value-conscious leisure and business travelers since 1950.  The Company maintains a strong presence in domestic leisure travel in virtually all of the top U.S. and Canadian airport markets, and also derives a significant portion of its revenue from international travelers to the U.S. under contracts with various international tour operators.  Dollar and Thrifty have approximately 300 corporate locations in the United States and Canada, with approximately 6,000 employees located mainly in North America.  In addition to its corporate operations, the Company maintains global service capabilities through an expansive franchise network of approximately 1,275 franchises in 82 countries.  For additional information, visit www.dtag.com or the brand sites at www.dollar.com and www.thrifty.com.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains "forward-looking statements" about our expectations, plans and performance. These statements use such words as "may," "will," "expect," "believe," "intend," "should," "could," "anticipate," "estimate," "forecast," "project," "plan" and similar expressions.  These statements do not guarantee future performance and Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group, Inc. assumes no obligation to update them.  Risks and uncertainties relating to our business that could materially affect our future results include:

• the impact of persistent pricing and demand pressures on our results and our low cost structure, particularly in light of the continuing volatility in the global financial and credit markets, and concerns about global economic prospects and the timing and strength of a recovery, and whether consumer confidence and spending levels will continue to improve;
• whether ongoing governmental and regulatory initiatives in the United States and elsewhere to stimulate economic growth will be successful and the impact of developments outside the United States, such as the sovereign credit issues in certain countries in the European Union, which could affect the relative volatility of global credit markets generally, and the continuing significant political unrest in the Middle East, which could cause prices for petroleum products, including gasoline, to rise and adversely affect both broader economic conditions and consumer discretionary spending patterns;
• our ability to manage our fleet mix to match demand and meet our target for vehicle depreciation costs, particularly in light of the significant increase in the level of risk vehicles (i.e., those vehicles not acquired through a guaranteed residual value program) in our fleet and our exposure to the used vehicle market;
• the cost and other terms of acquiring and disposing of automobiles and the impact of conditions in the used vehicle market on our vehicle cost, including the impact on our results of expected increases in our vehicle depreciation costs in 2011 based on our current expectations with respect to the used vehicle market, and our ability to reduce our fleet capacity as and when projected by our plans;
• the impact of pricing and other actions by competitors, particularly as they increase fleet sizes in anticipation of seasonal activity;
• the strength of a recovery in the U.S. automotive industry, particularly in light of our dependence on vehicle supply from U.S. automotive manufacturers, and whether the recovery is sustained;
• airline travel patterns, including disruptions or reductions in air travel resulting from industry consolidation, capacity reductions, pricing actions, severe weather conditions or other events, such as airline bankruptcies, particularly given our dependence on leisure travel;
• access to reservation distribution channels, particularly as the role of the Internet increases in the marketing and sale of travel-related services;
• our ability to obtain cost-effective financing as needed (including replacement of asset-backed notes and other indebtedness as it comes due) without unduly restricting our operational flexibility;
• our ability to manage the consequences under our financing agreements of an event of bankruptcy with respect to any of the monoline insurers that provide credit support for our asset-backed financing structures ("Monolines"), including Financial Guaranty Insurance Company and Ambac Assurance Corporation;
• our ability to comply with financial covenants, including the new financial covenants included in our amended senior secured credit facilities, and the impact of those covenants on our operating and financial flexibility;
• whether our preliminary expectations about our federal income tax position, after giving effect to the impact of the Tax Relief Act, are affected by changes in our expected fleet size or operations or further legislative initiatives relating to taxes in the United States or elsewhere, and whether the Company will, as expected, recover previous overpayments in respect of U.S. federal income taxes in 2011;
• the cost of regulatory compliance, costs and other effects of potential future initiatives, including those directed at climate change and its effects, and the costs and outcome of pending litigation;
• disruptions in the operation or development of information and communication systems that we rely on, including those relating to methods of payment;
• local market conditions where we and our franchisees do business, including whether franchisees will continue to have access to capital as needed;
• the effectiveness of actions we take to manage costs and liquidity; and
• the impact of other events that can disrupt consumer travel, such as natural and man-made catastrophes, pandemics and actual and perceived threats or acts of terrorism.

We are also subject to risks relating to a potential business combination transaction, including the following:

• whether Avis Budget Group, Inc. ("Avis Budget") would obtain regulatory approval to engage in a business combination transaction with us and, if so, the conditions upon which such approval would be granted (including potential divestitures of assets or businesses of either company), whether we and Avis Budget would reach agreement on the terms of such a transaction, whether our stockholders would approve the transaction and whether other conditions to consummation of the transaction would be satisfied or waived;
• the impact on our results and liquidity if we become obligated to pay a termination fee to Hertz Global Holdings, Inc. ("Hertz") upon the Company's entry into a definitive agreement for, or its completion or recommendation of, a qualifying business combination transaction within 12 months of the October 1, 2010 termination date of our merger agreement with Hertz, and whether and the extent to which the relevant third party would bear all or any portion of that fee;
• the risks to our business and prospects pending any future business combination transaction, diversion of management's attention from day-to-day operations, a loss of key personnel, disruption of our operations, and the impact of pending or future litigation relating to any business combination transaction; and
• the risks to our business and growth prospects as a stand-alone company, in light of our dependence on future growth of the economy as a whole to achieve meaningful revenue growth in the key airport and local markets we serve, high barriers to entry in the insurance replacement market, and capital and other constraints to expanding company-owned stores internationally.

Forward-looking statements should be considered in light of information in this press release and other filings we make with the Securities and Exchange Commission.  

SOURCE Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group, Inc.