Leaseurope released its latest quarterly index report for Q2/12, which showed a continued deterioration across all indicators compared to the same quarter of the previous year, with the exception of operating costs which improved for the first time since the start of this data collection exercise. However, these negative results are not widespread and can be attributed to the significantly weaker performance of a small group of firms in the sample.

Total new leasing volumes reported by the sample of firms increased in comparison to the previous quarter to €19 billion, although still not reaching the levels seen in 2011.

With a few firms in the sample experiencing losses in the quarter, total pre-tax profit of all the companies decreased by 32.7% for Q2/12 in comparison to Q2/11. Although the average profitability ratio dropped from 36.7% in Q2/11 to 26.1% in Q2/12, when the handful of loss-making firms is excluded from the sample, the ratio actually held strong. This trend is also observable in the quartiles, which show a median profitability ratio of 35.8% representing the “typical” firm in the sample.

To read the full report click here.