Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group Reports Third Quarter 2008 Results

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TULSA, Okla., November 5, 2008: Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group, Inc. today reported results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2008. Net income for the 2008 third quarter was $18.9 million, or $0.87 per diluted share, as compared to net income of $11.3 million, or $0.48 per diluted share, for the comparable 2007 quarter. Net income for the third quarter of 2008 included a loss of $0.02 per diluted share related to a decrease in fair value of derivatives, as compared to a loss of $0.54 per diluted share in last year's third quarter.

Non-GAAP net income for the 2008 third quarter was $19.3 million, or $0.89 per diluted share, as compared to non-GAAP net income of $24.1 million, or $1.01 per diluted share for the 2007 third quarter. Non-GAAP net income (loss) excludes the (increase) decrease in fair value of derivatives, net of related tax impact. A reconciliation of non-GAAP to GAAP results is included in Table 3.

"Our third quarter results were negatively affected by challenges in the areas of revenue per day and rental day volume, as well as the bankruptcy of one of the Company's tour operators. Mitigating these factors was an improvement in selling, general and administrative expenses," said Scott L. Thompson, President and Chief Executive Officer.

For the quarter ended September 30, 2008, the Company's total revenue was $500.6 million, as compared to $522.0 million for the comparable 2007 period. Rental revenue for the quarter was $477.1 million, a decrease of 4.8 percent, as compared to the same period in 2007. Over fleeting issues in the industry resulted in a 2.2 percent decrease in revenue per day, combined with a 2.7 percent decline in rental days due to reduced demand.

Per vehicle depreciation costs decreased approximately 1.2 percent in the third quarter of 2008 compared to the third quarter of 2007 as the Company extended the average hold period for the fleet and resolved outstanding incentive negotiations relating to prior model years with the Company's primary vehicle supplier. The third quarter average fleet was down approximately four percent compared with last year's third quarter. Vehicle utilization, a measure of fleet efficiency, was 85.2 percent, an improvement of 80 basis points from last year's third quarter.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

As of September 30, 2008, the Company had $209 million of unrestricted cash and was in compliance with all of the financial covenants under its various financing arrangements with lenders.

The Company is continuing to work with its lenders on modifications of its senior secured credit facility. If no long-term agreement is reached, the Company plans to pay down approximately $16 million of its term debt facility to ensure near term compliance with the leverage ratio test under its senior secured credit facility. Based on the Company's unrestricted cash available at September 30, 2008 and its current operating forecast, the Company believes it has sufficient liquidity to reduce its term debt as needed to ensure continued compliance with the leverage ratio test under the senior secured credit facility.

Outlook

The Company expects operating conditions to be very challenging for the foreseeable future, due to the uncertainty regarding the strength of the economy, domestic automotive and airline industries and the used vehicle and financial markets. Vehicle rental revenues are estimated to be down four to five percent for the full year of 2008, as compared to last year. The Company estimates that vehicle depreciation costs on a per vehicle basis will be approximately 15 percent higher for the full year of 2008 compared to 2007. These factors and their impact on rate per day, transaction volume and residual vehicle values are expected to result in the Company reporting a non- GAAP pre-tax loss significantly in excess of the prior year's fourth quarter loss, which will result in a non-GAAP pre-tax loss for the year ending December 31, 2008.

"We are focused on maximizing cash flow and liquidity and have taken appropriate actions in consideration of the current operating environment. During October, we completed a workforce reduction to adjust our cost structure. We reduced our overall workforce by approximately 6 percent including a 30 percent reduction of the Company's officers, a 15 percent reduction in headquarters staff, and a 5 percent reduction in the field staff. While we will take a fourth quarter charge of approximately $4 million relating to these actions, we believe that they will allow us to streamline our processes, resulting in a more efficient operating structure, and should generate $15 million in annual cost savings beginning in 2009. We will continue to monitor the situation, making adjustments to our plan as new facts and circumstances evolve," Thompson said. "Our employees are doing a remarkable job and I believe are up to the current challenge. The Company's management team is confident in them and their ability to successfully execute our plan."

Nine Month Results

For the nine months ended September 30, 2008, the net loss was $268.2 million, or $12.57 loss per diluted share. For the nine months ended September 30, 2007, net income was $31.8 million, or $1.32 per diluted share. The decrease in net income year over year included a $12.42 loss per diluted share related to the impairment of goodwill and other intangible assets. Total revenue for the period was $1.3 billion, a decrease of 2.1 percent over the comparable nine months of 2007.

The non-GAAP loss per diluted share for the nine months ended September 30, 2008 was $0.09, as compared to $1.76 of non-GAAP earnings per diluted share for the same period in 2007. Non-GAAP net income (loss) excludes the (increase) decrease in fair value of derivatives and the non-cash charges related to the impairment of goodwill and other intangible assets, net of related tax impact. A reconciliation of non-GAAP to GAAP results is included in Table 3.

Web cast and conference call information

The Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group, Inc. third quarter 2008 earnings conference call will be held on Wednesday, November 5, 2008, at 10:00 a.m. (CST). Those interested in listening to the conference call live may access the call via Web cast at the corporate Web site, DTAG, or by dialing 800-988-9640 (domestic) or 210-234-0007 (international) using the pass code "Dollar Thrifty." An audio replay of the conference call will be available through November 19, 2008, by calling 866-465-1311 (domestic) or 203-369-1427 (international). The replay will also be available via the corporate Web site for one year.