RNS Number:7290M
Avis Europe PLC
25 June 2003

25 June 2003

                                Avis Europe plc

                        Pre-Close Season Trading Update



Avis Europe, the leading car rental group in Europe, Africa, the Middle East and
Asia, will be holding a conference call with analysts and investors at 12.30pm
today to provide the following trading update ahead of its close period for the
half-year ended 30 June 2003.



Since the end of the conflict in Iraq, Group volume trends have returned to
pre-conflict levels.  Pricing has remained weak during the second quarter,
although we expect some recovery in the second-half as a result of actions to
improve yields, provided demand continues to improve.



Following a good Easter, reservations for intra-European Leisure rentals in the
summer are now running some 10% ahead of last year.  Reservations for Long Haul
travel have started to recover since the Iraq conflict, but are still some 7%
below prior year.  Pricing in the Long Haul segment has been impacted by the
weakness of the dollar.



Corporate related business continues to be below prior year, impacted by the
economic conditions in Europe and compounded by the Iraq conflict.  We expect
demand in this segment to be suppressed for the foreseeable future.



We now anticipate at the half-year revenues to be around 7% less than the same
period last year and with more visibility, our planning assumption for Avis full
year revenues is now in the range of 4-7% lower than prior year, a marginal
improvement on the 5-10% revenue reduction predicted at the AGM in April.  With
continued tight management of fleet utilisation and staff productivity, both
measures being improved over the prior year, there is no change to earnings
expectations for the full year.



The major back office re-structuring programme previously announced is on plan,
including a new shared service centre, which is going to be opened in Budapest.
The integration of Budget is also on schedule and the business is performing in
line with expectations.



In view of the weaker European economic outlook, the Board has decided that it
is prudent to re-base the dividend.  It is the intention to rebuild cover over
the next 2-3 years to a more normal level as trading and security conditions
improve.  Therefore, absent unforeseen circumstances, we expect to declare an
interim dividend of 1.3 pence per share (2.0 pence per share: interim 2002) when
we announce our interim results on 1st September.



-ends-


For further information please contact:
Mark McCafferty, Chief Executive
Martyn Smith, Group Finance Director                 01344 426644
Ben Foster, Financial Dynamics                       020 7269 7247





Interim results will be announced on 1 September 2003.



For further information and details of a conference call for analysts and
investors scheduled for 12.30pm today with Mark McCafferty and Martyn Smith,
please contact Chris Wermann on 01344 417376.



An investor event is being held on 26 June 2003 at Avis Heathrow.  For further
information please contact Chris Wermann. 01344 417376.






                      This information is provided by RNS
            The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
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