International fleet management company LeasePlan saw its net profit rise by 19% (70.5m) year-on-year to 442.5m in 2015.
According to the company the reasons behind the increase are the 9% year-on-year growth of its fleet under management to 1.55m vehicles; a bullish second hand car market in combination with risk mitigating actions ‘paying off’.
In addition, net profit includes a 7m positive impact of currency translation effects.
LeasePlan’s assets increased to 21.4 billion from 19.7 billion in 2014, primarily due to the increase of its fleet.
The SME segment has become LeasePlan’s fastest-growing client segment, seeing growth of over 12% in 2015. By the end of 2015, LeasePlan operations in 22 countries were serving SMEs and four more were in the process of setting up local dedicated SME activities.
Another market segment that Leaseplan witnessed good growth was the private leasing one.
"Individuals are increasingly realising that Private Leasing is a way to enjoy driving while freeing oneself from the burdens and risks of car ownership, as monthly lease fees include tyres, maintenance, insurance, relevant taxes and roadside assistance," the company wrote.
In Belgium and the Netherlands, LeasePlan launched new initiatives for private leasing through retail channels. Other campaigns were launched in Italy, Norway and the UK.
The number of staff at LeasePlan also increased, from 6,838 in 2014 to 7,275 in 2015.
