Europcar Mobility Group generated revenues of €553 million in the first quarter of financial 2019, a slight decline of 0.6 per cent when compared to last year.

The car rental company said the fall was driven by an earlier Easter, which fell in April this year.

At the same time, the group experienced a progressive recovery in April, with revenue growth of 5.1 per cent versus the same month last year.

EBITDA stood at €30 million for the three-month period, up €9 million on quarter one last year.

Caroline Parot, chief executive of Europcar Mobility Group, said: “Europcar Mobility Group shows good momentum.

“During the first quarter of 2019, we have focused on the acceleration of our digital transformation, aimed at creating greater value for customers through an enhanced journey, with the upcoming release of Click & Go in quarter two, as well as enabling leaner and more agile operations.

“In line with our roadmap, we have also accelerated the ramp-up of our urban mobility solutions.”

On the operational side, the group improved its performance, with significant progress on two of its key operating metrics: fleet utilisation and fleet cost per unit.

At the group level, the fleet utilisation rate reached 73.5 per cent in quarter one, up four per cent versus early 2018.

The group reduced its fleet cost per unit per month by three per cent over the period when compared to the first quarter of 2018, from €242 to €235.

“Finally, with an increase in rental day volumes and fleet utilisation rate, as well as a decrease in fleet costs per unit, Europcar Mobility Group has delivered a good operational performance despite the Easter effect which, as expected, mostly explains the stable revenue achieved during the first three months of the year.

“This Easter effect was offset by the solid revenue growth delivered in April particularly across our leisure businesses and the south of Europe, which bodes well for the upcoming summer season,” concluded Parot.