May 4 (SeeNews) - Romanian short-term mobility services provider Autonom Services is aiming for a significant growth of its business this year, and is considering options for new acquisitions, it said on Tuesday.
"We aim for a double-digit growth rate of revenues and much better profitability than in 2020, maybe even better than 2019. In 2021 we expect the market to be similar to 2009, when our business grew significantly. We believe that Autonom's business model is a healthy one and ready to continue to evaluate all opportunities for sustainable growth, both organically and through acquisitions of companies compatible with our strategy," Autonom cofounder and co-shareholder Marius Stefan said in a press release.
So far in 2021, Autonom has recorded growth in all business lines, as companies have a significant interest in investing in operational leasing services, the company noted. Therefore, the company's management expects significant growth of all operational indicators. Despite the negative impact of the pandemic, Autonom increased its turnover from operational leasing by 7.5% compared to 2019, and second-hand car sales by 72.4%, thus compensating for a decrease in the turnover of the rent-a-car division, the company said.
"In 2020, we outperformed all the estimates, which predicted significant declines for the global rent-a-car and operational leasing industries," Autonom co-shareholder Dan Stefan said.
Autonom's net profit fell by 59% year-on-year in 2020 to 7.2 million lei ($1.78 million/1.46 million euro), while consolidated revenues edged down by 3.4% to 327 million lei.
Founded in 2006 in Piatra Neamț by entrepreneurs Marius and Dan Stefan, Autonom is an integrated provider of mobility and funding solutions. Autonom operates a network of 44 agencies based in over 33 cities in Romania, Hungary and Serbia. Autonom Services is part of Autonom International group which has over 500 employees and operates a fleet of over 9,000 cars.
In March, Autonom Services announced that it has completed the absorption of BT Operational Leasing, previously owned by local financial group Banca Transilvania (BT), which it acquired for an undisclosed sum from BT Group in May 2018.
(1 euro=4.9247 lei)