Hertz 2009 Annual Report Download - page 21

INTRODUCTORY NOTE
Unless the context otherwise requires, in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, or ‘‘Annual Report,’’ (i) ‘‘Hertz
Holdings’’ means Hertz Global Holdings, Inc., our top-level holding company, (ii) ‘‘Hertz’’ means The
Hertz Corporation, our primary operating company and a direct wholly-owned subsidiary of Hertz
Investors, Inc., which is wholly-owned by Hertz Holdings, (iii) ‘‘we,’’ ‘‘us’’ and ‘‘our’’ mean (a) prior to
December 21, 2005, Hertz and its consolidated subsidiaries and (b) on and after December 21, 2005,
Hertz Holdings and its consolidated subsidiaries, including Hertz, (iv) ‘‘HERC’’ means Hertz Equipment
Rental Corporation, Hertz’s wholly-owned equipment rental subsidiary, together with our various other
wholly-owned international subsidiaries that conduct our industrial, construction and material handling
equipment rental business, (v) ‘‘cars’’ means cars and light trucks (including sport utility vehicles and,
outside North America, light commercial vehicles), (vi) ‘‘program cars’’ means cars purchased by car
rental companies under repurchase or guaranteed depreciation programs with car manufacturers,
(vii) ‘‘non-program cars’’ mean cars not purchased under repurchase or guaranteed depreciation
programs for which the car rental company is exposed to residual risk and (viii) ‘‘equipment’’ means
industrial, construction and material handling equipment.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements contained In this Annual Report and in reports we subsequently file with the SEC on
Form 10-Q and file or furnish on Form 8-K, and in related comments by our management, include
‘‘forward-looking statements.’’ Forward-looking statements include information concerning our liquidity
and our possible or assumed future results of operations, including descriptions of our business
strategies. These statements often include words such as ‘‘believe,’’ ‘‘expect,’’ ‘‘project,’’ ‘‘anticipate,’’
‘‘intend,’’ ‘‘plan,’’ ‘‘estimate,’’ ‘‘seek,’’ ‘‘will,’’ ‘‘may,’’ ‘‘would,’’ ‘‘should,’’ ‘‘could,’’ ‘‘forecasts’’ or similar
expressions. These statements are based on certain assumptions that we have made in light of our
experience in the industry as well as our perceptions of historical trends, current conditions, expected
future developments and other factors we believe are appropriate in these circumstances. We believe
these judgments are reasonable, but you should understand that these statements are not guarantees of
performance or results, and our actual results could differ materially from those expressed in the forward-
looking statements due to a variety of important factors, both positive and negative, that may be revised or
supplemented in subsequent reports on SEC Forms 10-K, 10-Q and 8-K. Some important factors that
could affect our actual results include among others those that may be disclosed from time to time in
subsequent reports filed with the SEC, those described under ‘‘Risk Factors’’ set forth in Item 1A of this
Annual Report, and the following, which were derived in part from the risks set forth in Item 1A of this
Annual Report:
•overall strength and stability of general economic conditions, both in the United States and in
global markets;
•levels of travel demand, particularly with respect to airline passenger traffic in the United States
and in global markets;
•significant changes in the competitive environment, including as a result of industry consolidation,
and the effect of competition in our markets, including on our pricing policies or use of incentives;
•our ability to achieve cost savings and efficiencies and realize opportunities to increase
productivity and profitability;
•an increase in our fleet costs as a result of an increase in the cost of new vehicles and/or a
decrease in the price at which we dispose of used vehicles either in the used vehicle market or
under repurchase or guaranteed depreciation programs;
•our ability to accurately estimate future levels of rental activity and adjust the size of our fleet
accordingly;
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