SEC Company Response from HERC HOLDINGS INC (HRI) (CIK 0001364479) (HRI) — May 21, 2008
HERC HOLDINGS INC (HRI) (CIK 0001364479)
Date: May 21, 2008 · CIK: 0001364479 · Accession: 0001104659-08-035029
AI Filing Summary & Sentiment
File numbers found in text: 001-06075, 001-07541
Referenced dates: June 13, 2003
Show Raw Text
CORRESP 1 filename1.htm May 21, 2008 VIA EDGAR Mr. Michael Fay Branch Chief Securities and Exchange Commission Division of Corporation Finance 100 F Street, N.E. Washington, D.C. 20549-3561 Re: Hertz Global Holdings, Inc. The Hertz Corporation Form 10-K for the Year Ended December 31, 2007 Form 8-K Furnished on February 21, 2008 File Numbers: 001-06075, 001-07541 Dear Mr. Fay: This letter sets forth the responses of Hertz Global Holdings, Inc. (the “Company”) to the comments contained in your letter, dated April 8, 2008, relating to the Hertz Global Holdings, Inc. Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2007 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) on February 29, 2008, The Hertz Corporation Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2007 filed with the Commission on March 6, 2008, and the Hertz Global Holdings, Inc. and The Hertz Corporation Form 8-Ks furnished to the Commission on February 21, 2008. The comments of the Commission are set forth in bold/italicized text below, and the Company’s responses are set forth in plain text immediately beneath each comment. Hertz Global Holdings, Inc. Form 10-K for the Year Ended December 31, 2007 Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis…page 63 Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates, page 66 1. In regard to each critical item indicated, please expand your disclosures to disclose the events that may occur that could force changes in the significant estimates or assumptions employed and your history with the accuracy of prior estimates or assumptions to actual amounts recorded. Refer to Section V of FR-72 dated December 19, 2003 (release number 33-8350) for further guidance. In response to the Staff’s comment, the Company will expand its Critical Accounting Policy and Estimates disclosures in future filings to disclose such events and our historical accuracy with respect to the significant estimates and assumptions employed. The Company has provided the Staff with a copy of its proposed expanded disclosure as an addendum to this letter with the additional information noted in bold, italicized text and deleted information noted with a strikethrough. 2. In regard to “Revenue Earning Equipment,” we note that you have revised depreciation rates in each of the last three fiscal years. To help investors better understand the basis for such changes, please expand your disclosure to disclose in more detail the significant factors that affect the determination of the holding period and the amount of residual values, particularly those for non- program cars, and how such affect the depreciation rate employed. Also, disclose in more specificity the correlation between depreciation rates (and its related factors) and your objective of minimizing gain or loss upon disposal of revenue earning equipment and the related timing of when disposal occurs. Provide us with a copy of your intended expanded disclosure. In response to the Staff’s comment, the Company has provided the Staff with a copy of its proposed expanded disclosure within the addendum to this letter with the additional information noted in bold, italicized text and deleted information noted with a strikethrough. 3. In regard to “Derivatives,” please expand your disclosure to identify the significant factors that affect amounts reported in your financial statements, particularly those in assessing effectiveness. In response to the Staff’s comment, the Company will expand its disclosure in future filings to identify significant factors that affect reported amounts, particularly those impacting our assessment of effectiveness. The Company supplementally advises the staff that the most significant factors that affect the amount reported in our financial statements related to our interest rate swaps are the current yield curve and the credit default swap spread of the Company based upon its current credit rating. Both of these are considered to be market observable data and are subject to change based on movements in LIBOR and the Company’s credit standing. The Company has provided the Staff with a copy of its proposed expanded disclosure within the addendum to this letter with the additional information noted in bold, italicized text and deleted information noted with a strikethrough. 4. In regard to “Revenue Earning Equipment,” “Pensions” and “Stock-Based Compensation,” please expand your disclosure to include the sensitivity to change of the most significant factors affecting reported amounts. In response to the Staff’s comment, the Company will expand its disclosure in future filings to include the sensitivity of changes in the most significant factors on reported amounts for the material items. In regard to “Revenue Earning Equipment,” the Company supplementally advises the Staff that the residual values are affected by many different variables, as noted within the addendum to this letter, which makes it impractical to identify the sensitivity of changes in these underlying causes. Additionally, the Company supplementally advises the Staff that it monitors the sensitivity of changes to factors affecting “Pensions” and “Stock-Based Compensation” and, historically, the impact has been immaterial due in part to the relatively small annual expense amounts (e.g., less than $50 million annually for “Pensions” and $30 million for “Stock-Based Compensation”). For example, a 25 basis point change in the expected rate of return and discount rate assumptions would change pension expense by approximately $1 million and $2 million, respectively, per year. Due to the relatively low dollar impact to “Pension” and “Stock-Based Compensation” expense, the Company has not included the sensitivity in our past filings. If the impact on “Pensions” and “Stock-Based Compensation” becomes more significant, we will include disclosure as to the sensitivities in future filings, as appropriate. Results of Operations, page 69 Selected Car Rental, Equipment Rental…Table, page 72 5. Refer to footnote (b) to the table. We note that the non-GAAP measure “car rental rate revenue” includes optional insurance products, which appears you consider to be ancillary revenue items, but excludes other ancillary revenue items that are material (greater than 10% of car rental revenues reported in the statement of operations for each respective period presented). In this regard, please explain to us and disclose in all filings in which this measure is presented, as appropriate, the rationale for this distinction in regard to this measure and its related ratio, and why such distinction is appropriate to the measure and how it is meaningful to investors. In response to the Staff’s comment, the Company will expand its disclosure in future filings to further explain that the optional insurance products are packaged within certain negotiated corporate, government and membership programs and within certain retail rates being charged. Based upon these existing programs and rate packages, management believes that these optional insurance products should be included in the daily pricing of car rental transactions. On the other hand, non-rental rate revenue items such as refueling and concession pass-through expense items are driven by factors beyond the control of management; (i.e. the price of fuel and the concession fees charged by airports). Additionally, NeverLost units are an optional revenue product which management does not consider to be part of their daily pricing of car rental transactions. The Company supplementally advises the Staff that the above disclosure was included within the Company’s Form 10-Q filed with the Commission on May 9, 2008. We believe “car rental rate revenue,” as a supplemental measure, is meaningful to both management and investors in that it highlights the impact that management has over the daily pricing of car rental transactions and therefore provides an additional level of transparency for investors. 6. Refer to footnote (c) to the table. We believe that presentation of “adjusted pre-tax income (loss) for “corporate and other” in this fashion is an impermissible non-GAAP financial measure in that it is not specifically in regard to a reportable segment (on this point refer to comment number 11 below), and also in that it readily leads to a consolidated sum, even if not specifically presented, that would be considered an impermissible non-GAAP measure (on this point refer to Question 21 in the staff’s “Frequently Ask Questions Regarding the Use of Non-GAAP Measures” dated June 13, 2003). Accordingly, please remove disclosure of “adjusted pre-tax income (loss)” for “corporate and other” in this fashion, and conform related presentations in this filing and other filings (for example, press releases in regard to results of operations furnished in Form 8-Ks). In response to the Staff’s comment, the Company will change this presentation in all future filings, to be clear that the Company has only two reportable segments. “Corporate and other” was not intended to be a reportable segment and has now been labeled “other reconciling items” in the Company’s FAS 131 required reconciliation of its reportable segments to the consolidated Company amounts in the Company’s segment footnote. In the Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (“MD&A:) section of our filings, the Company will only present adjusted pre-tax income (loss) for its reportable segments and, as such “corporate and other” will be removed in all future filings. Further, the Company will disclose that “other reconciling items” include general corporate expenses, certain interest expense (including, net interest on corporate debt), as well as other business activities, such as our third party claim management services. It should be noted that these other business activities comprise less than one percent of total revenues and are deemed immaterial by the Company. The Company supplementally advises the Staff that the above disclosure was included within the Company’s Form 10-Q filed with the Commission on May 9, 2008. Additionally, the Company requests that the Staff refer to our response to comment 9 below for further information on our segments. Year Ended December 31, 2007 Compared with Year Ended December 31, 2006, page 79 Adjusted Pre-Tax Income (Loss), page 81 7. We note from the segment note (note 9) of the notes to the consolidated financial statements that adjusted pre-tax income (loss) as a percent of revenues significantly differs between your reportable segments for each period presented. In this regard, please expand your disclosure here to address the significant factors that affect this ratio for each reportable segment and the relationship of this ratio between reportable segments. We believe this disclosure will help investors better understand your operations and the contributions by each segment to your consolidated results. Provide us with a copy of your intended disclosure. In response to the Staff’s comment, the Company proposes the following expanded disclosure with the additional information noted in bold, italicized text and deleted information noted with a strikethrough. Adjusted pre-tax income for our car rental segment of $609.1 million increased 29.0% from $472.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2006. The increase was primarily due to transaction day improvement and lower total expenses as a percentage of revenues. Adjustments to our car rental GAAP pre-tax amount for the years ended December 31, 2007 and 2006 totaled $140.5 million and $98.8 million, respectively. See our “Results of Operations” footnote c for a summary and description of these adjustments. Adjusted pre-tax income for our car rental segment as a percent of its revenues increased from 7.4% to 8.8%. Adjusted pre-tax income for our equipment rental segment of $373.8 million increased 8.2% from $345.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2006. The increase was primarily due to increased rental volumes and lower total expenses as a percentage of revenues. Adjustments to our equipment rental GAAP pre-tax amount for the years ended December 31, 2007 and 2006 totaled $65.3 million and $76.0 million, respectively. See our “Results of Operations” footnote c for a summary and description of these adjustments. Adjusted pre-tax income for our equipment rental segment as a percent of its revenues increased from 20.7% to 21.3%, Adjusted pre-tax loss for “Corporate and other” of $322.2 million decreased 2.7% from $331.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2006. The decrease was primarily due to a decrease in interest expense, partly offset by an increase in selling, general and administrative expenses. The ratio of adjusted pre-tax income to revenues for our two segments reflects the different environments in which they operate. Our infrastructure costs are higher within our car rental segment due to the number and type of locations in which it operates and the corresponding headcount. Within the equipment rental segment, our revenue earning equipment generates lower depreciation expense due to its longer estimated useful life. The Company supplementally advises the Staff that disclosure similar to that noted above was included within the Company’s Form 10-Q filed with the Commission on May 9, 2008. For the Staff’s convenience, the Company has included below a copy of footnote c being referred to above. Year Ended December 31, 2007 Car Rental Equipment Rental Income (loss) before income taxes and minority interest $ 468.6 $ 308.5 Adjustments: Purchase accounting(1) 35.3 58.1 Non-cash debt charges(2) 66.5 11.2 Restructuring charges 64.5 4.9 Vacation accrual adjustment(3) (25.8 ) (8.9 ) Adjusted pre-tax income (loss) $ 609.1 $ 373.8 Year Ended December 31, 2006 Car Rental Equipment Rental Income (loss) before income taxes and minority interest $ 373.5 $ 269.5 Adjustments: Purchase accounting(1) 23.8 64.7 Non-cash debt charges(2) 75.0 11.3 Adjusted pre-tax income (loss) $ 472.3 $ 345.5 (1) Includes the purchase accounting effects of the Acquisition and any subsequent acquisitions on our results of operations relating to increased depreciation and amortization of tangible and intangible assets and accretion of revalued workers’ compensation and public liability and property damage liabilities. (2) Non-cash debt charges represent the amortization of deferred debt financing costs and debt discounts. During the year ended December 31, 2007, also includes $20.4 million associated with the ineffectiveness of our HVF swaps and the write-off of $16.2 million of unamortized debt costs associated with a debt modification. During the year ended December 31, 2006, also includes $1.0 million associated with the reversal of the ineffectiveness of our HVF swaps. (3) Represents a decrease in the employee vacation accrual during the year ended December 31, 2007, relating to a change in our U.S. vacation policy which now provides for vacation entitlement to be earned ratably throughout the year versus the previous policy which provided for full vesting on January 1 each year. 8. In the discussion of the results of your reportable segments, expand your disclosure to address all significant amounts affecting each segment, including all material items that reconcile the segment measure of profit and loss to the comparable GAAP and consolidated results, for all periods presented. For example, it appears that non-cash debt charges for car rental for 2007 and 2006 and purchase accountin