On June 16, there will be a generational change at Germany's largest car rental company. At the end of the Annual General Meeting taking place on that day, Erich Sixt steps down as CEO of the eponymous company. Shortly before his 77th birthday, he hands over the reins to his two sons, Alexander and Konstantin, and moves to the supervisory board himself. Thus, the management remains in the hands of the founding family. Erich Sixt had joined the company, founded 57 years earlier, in 1969 as the third generation. The charismatic patriarch has turned the Munich-based car rental company into a globally active mobility service provider. In addition to its core business, the group is active in the emerging sectors of car-sharing and ride services. Erich Sixt took the company public in 1986. 35 years after its initial listing, both share classes are trading at record levels. With a gain of almost a third, Sixt shares are among the top 15 performers in the 70-member SDAX to date in 2021.
The rally cannot hide the fact that the last months of his tenure once again demanded everything from Erich Sixt. With general mobility, the Corona pandemic strangled the service provider's business. For 2020, Sixt posted a decline in consolidated revenues of almost 39% to EUR 1.53 billion. Thanks to the sale of the leasing subsidiary and with the help of the austerity measures adopted, the CEO was able to avoid the red. The bottom line was a plus of EUR 2 million. "I would have hated to leave with a huge loss," Erich Sixt declared with relief at the presentation of the balance sheet at the beginning of March. At the same time, the family entrepreneur raised hopes for better times: "We see the dawn after a long night." This impression has since been confirmed by the outgoing boss. Admittedly, Sixt reported a 32% decline in revenues and a negative result for Q1 2021. In March, however, revenues were already back at the previous year's level and consolidated earnings before taxes (EBT) were positive.
According to Sixt, this trend continued in April. Especially in the U.S., an advanced vaccination campaign and the general easing of restrictions led to more business in the stations. "It turns out that once COVID-19 restrictions are relaxed, people have an unbridled urge to be individually mobile and to travel," the CEO noted. However, he did not want to give the all-clear. Because of the continuing uncertainties, the management does not dare to give a forecast for the full year. Nevertheless, the Sixt share has once again increased the pace after the publication of the interim report. With a gain of almost 13% in May alone, the small cap has broken out of a trend corridor to the upside. However, among other things, the striking distance to the 200-day line shows that the stock is visibly overbought.
Particularly against this background, it could make sense to bet on Sixt with a partially protected investment solution. Shortly before the change of baton at the Munich headquarters, Leonteq launched Softcallable Barrier Reverse Convertible on the Small Cap. The new issue is available in EUR and CHF. The product currency remains the only distinguishing feature. The coupon is 8.00% p.a. in each case. While the distribution is paid out quarterly irrespective of the further development of the share price, the redemption of the nominal value is linked to the performance of the underlying. As long as Sixt does not fall to or below the barrier at 65% of the initial level, the maximum yield corresponding to the coupon is fixed. Otherwise, the partial protection expires and the structured product is exposed to the full risk of the Sixt ordinary share. A final note: During the term of 15 months, early termination and redemption of this issue is possible.
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