BUZZ-Avis skids after swinging to Q4 loss, CEO change

Shares of rental car firm Avis Budget Group CAR.O down 7.8% at $82.73 early Weds after it swung to a qtrly loss and named new CEO

CAR shares hit 1-mth low and tracking biggest one-day pct drop since Sept 3

Parsippany, New Jersey Avis late Tues posted Q4 loss of $1.96 bln, $55.66/sh, compared to profit of $259 mln, or $7.10, a yr ago

Co reported adj EBITDA loss in qtr of $101 mln, while analysts anticipated adj EBITDA gain of $108.3 mln, per LSEG

Rev fell 2% y/y to $2.7 bln, inline with consensus

Loss reflects a change in strategy to accelerate fleet rotations, which resulted in shortening useful life of most of its vehicles in the Americas segment, co said

Financial impact was one-time non-cash impairment of $2.3 bln, co said, adding strategy expected to create more certainty in fleet costs and position it for sustainable growth

Avis also announced CEO Joe Ferraro stepping down and will be succeeded by Brian Choi, its chief transformation officer

Ferraro, who held CEO role since 2020, on Jun 30 will become adviser to the board. Choi to take over on Jul 1

Of 9 analysts covering CAR, recommendation breakdown is 5 "strong buy' or "buy", rest "hold"; median PT of $128 down from $130 a month ago and from $140 on Nov 12

With move on the session, shares off ~36% over the past year. Dow Jones Transport Avg .DJT has risen ~3% over same time frame