ALD see 71% rise in income in 2021

ALD reported record net income of €873.1m in its most recent published full year results, up by 71% on 2020. Used car sales also soared, reaching € 437.7 million, compared to €61.1 million the previous year, of which €160 million took place in Q4 2021 alone.

In the final year prior to its merger with LeasePlan, ALD said 1.726 million contracts were managed worldwide at the end of December 2021, with the funded fleet standing at 1.427 million vehicles, up 4% on the year before.

Leasing contract margin reached €732.8 million and services margin €650 million, making a total of €1,382.8 million, up 10.1% over the previous year, marking a 2.9% excluding the impacts of fleet revaluation.

Helped by the semi conductor shortages creating pressure in the new car market, ALD managed to sell 308,000 used units in 2021, of which 61,000 were sold in Q4, leaving used car stock at a low level

With a three-fold increase in orders of Tesla cars in 2021, ALD now ranks as the number one leasing company for Tesla in Europe. The company said it expects its share of electric vehicles to be above 30% in 2022

Tim Albertsen, ALD CEO, commenting on the full year 2021 group results, stated: “Following a 2020 marked by the pandemic and sharp economic downturns, 2021 saw the rebound of economies, albeit still penalised by disruptions in supply chains. Against this backdrop, ALD continued to deliver on its Move 2025 roadmap, even reaching in advance its fleet electrification objective and improving the recognition of its ESG commitments. ALD’s results in 2021 are outstanding, reflecting strong fleet and margin growth, and buoyed by record used car sales results. We expect the industry’s strong fundamentals to continue into 2022.”

LeasePlan acquisition

At the beginning of the year, ALD announced plans to acquire LeasePlan in a €4.9 billion deal aimed at creating a dominant force in the global mobility market. ALD said the move will drive strong growth across all client categories and lift annual fleet growth to at least 6% post-integration. It also expects to cut its cost/income ratio to 45% by 2025, compared to 53% pro forma across both groups currently.

Annual procurement and cost synergies are estimated at around €380 million before tax and would be expected to fully materialize by 2025.

Albertsen stated: “The combined entity, resulting from the two companies joining forces, would be best positioned to lead the transformation of the industry by leveraging on the mobility sector’s growth, offering the most innovative solutions to our clients as well as exciting development opportunities to our employees. This highly synergetic combination would also create significant value for the shareholders. Our teams are thrilled about these prospects and an Integration Management Office, which will combine the best talents of the two entities, will be set up soon, to finalize the plan for a successful integration of LeasePlan at the end of 2022.”

Mobility developments

Other highlights of last year included an increase in the ALD Flex fleet to 44,000 vehicles, a 32%-hike compared to the previous year, with a high utilization rate at 80%.

In remarketing, ALD strengthened the foothold of its digital remarketing platform ALD Carmarket, which attracted more than 27,000 bidders in 2021, a 27%-increase compared to the previous year.

The year also saw two acquisitions: Fleetpool, a leading German car subscription company with a portfolio of around 9.500 vehicles, and Skipr, a Belgian mobility as a service (MaaS) startup.

ALD said it intends to expand the commercial reach of its mobility solutions to over 10 European countries in the coming years.