Vehicle leasing giant Ayvens has reported pre-tax profits of €289.4 million (£247.5m) for the first quarter of the year (Q1 2024).

While it is a 38.4% decline on pre-tax profits achieved in Q1 2023 (€441.7m) – prior to the acquisition of LeasePlan – it is a significant increase on the €57.6m (£49.2m) achieved in the previous quarter (Q4 2023).  

The business was created after ALD completed its £4.1bn (€4.8bn) acquisition of LeasePlan by a consortium led by TDR Capital in May 2023. 

It brought together two of the UK’s biggest leasing companies to take top slot in last year’s FN50 with a risk fleet of 313,149 cars and vans.

As of the end of Q1, its global fleet stood at 3.38m a 1.1% year-on-year increase, but marginally down on the 3.42m reported at the end of the previous quarter (Q4 2023).

Ayvens says that the figures represent its strategy to “prioritise sustainable profitability over volume growth and to allocate its resources according to its financial targets”.

Fleet management contracts, meanwhile, decreased by 3.4% compared to March 2023, to reach 686,000 vehicles at the end of the last quarter and was marginally down on the 710,000 vehicles reported in Q4 2023.

Full-service leasing contracts reached 2.69m vehicles as at end March 2024, up 2.4% increase year-on-year on a like-for-like basis, but marginally down on the 2.7m reported at the end of last year.

Ayvens says that thanks to increased registrations of new cars, the order book continued its normalisation from the peak observed at the end of 2022, while remaining at a high level.

Ayvens’ BEV and plug-in hybrid (PHEV) penetration stood at 22% and 14% respectively in the quarter.

Tim Albertsen (pictured), CEO of Ayvens, said: “I am glad that Ayvens started 2024 on a positive note in several aspects, which puts us in a strong position to achieve our objectives.

“First, in a mixed economic environment, where demand slowed, we recorded good Q1 2024 financial results and a clear upturn on the previous quarter, despite the weakening of the BEV used car market.

“This promising performance reflects the solidity of our business model, as well as our agility and our capacity to swiftly implement our strategic roadmap.

“Meanwhile, we recorded synergies from the LeasePlan acquisition for the first time in our income statement this quarter. This demonstrates the power of scale and the high potential for value creation for our stakeholders.

“Thanks to our unrivalled leadership, not only are we buying and selling more efficiently, but we’re also strengthening our competitive edge.

“Finally, the obtention in March, of regulatory approvals to proceed with the merger and streamlining of our operations is a key milestone, allowing us to accelerate the integration and to deliver further synergies.

“All this has been achieved thanks to the hard work of our teams, who have demonstrated the utmost team spirit and commitment to this transformational journey.”

Ayvens continues to be called ALD LeasePlan in the UK with rebranding expected to take place later this year.