– Equipment rental revenue increased 3.6% to $400.4 million and total revenues increased 4.0% to $453.8 million

– Net income increased to $32.9 million, or $1.09 per diluted share

– Adjusted EBITDA expanded 25.0% to $184.6 million and adjusted EBITDA margin of 40.7% rose 680 basis points

– Free cash flow increased to $72.5 million

– The Company raised full year 2021 adjusted EBITDA guidance to $800 million to $840 million and maintained $400 million to $450 million for net rental equipment capital expenditures

Herc Holdings Inc. (NYSE: HRI) ("Herc Holdings" or the "Company") today reported financial results for the quarter ended March 31, 2021. Equipment rental revenue was $400.4 million and total revenues were $453.8 million in the first quarter of 2021, compared to $386.5 million and $436.2 million, respectively, for the same period last year. The Company reported net income of $32.9 million, or $1.09 per diluted share, in the first quarter of 2021, compared to a net loss of $3.7 million, or $0.13 per diluted share, in the same 2020 period. First quarter 2021 adjusted net income was $33.3 million, or $1.10 per diluted share, compared to net income of $1.1 million, or $0.04 per diluted share, in 2020. See page A-5 for the adjusted net income and adjusted earnings per share calculations.

"Our year is off to a great start with first quarter total revenues up 4% and adjusted EBITDA up 25% compared with last year," said Larry Silber, president and CEO. "Our adjusted EBITDA margin hit a record for the first quarter of 40.7% and reflects the strength of our operating model. Strong performance by our ProSolutions^® and entertainment rental businesses drove rental revenue growth, and the efficient execution of our operating model propelled adjusted EBITDA margin expansion of 680 basis points. Our focus on customer service and the consistent implementation of a strategy to diversify our customer and industry base continues to demonstrate the strength of our business."

2021 First Quarter Highlights

• Equipment rental revenue increased 3.6% to $400.4 million compared to $386.5 million in the prior-year period.

• Total revenues increased 4.0% to $453.8 million compared to $436.2 million in the prior-year period. The year-over-year increase of $17.6 million was related primarily to higher equipment rental revenue of $13.9 million and an increase in sales of rental equipment of $4.2 million.

• Pricing declined 0.3% compared to the same period in 2020.

• Dollar utilization increased to 38.6% compared to 35.7% in the prior-year period.

• Direct operating expenses (DOE) of $183.0 million decreased 3.3% compared to the prior-year period. The $6.2 million decline was primarily related to lower personnel-related costs, re-rent expense and maintenance costs, offset by an increase in delivery and freight expenses.

• Selling, general and administrative expenses (SG&A) declined 6.2% to $65.5 million compared to $69.8 million in the prior-year period. The $4.3 million decline was primarily attributed to reductions in travel expenses and reduced bad debt expense due to continued improvement in collections.

• Interest expense decreased to $21.4 million compared to $24.4 million in the prior-year period. The decrease was primarily related to both lower interest rates and balances of the Company's ABL Credit Facility in 2021.

• The income tax provision was $8.2 million compared with $1.1 million for the prior-year period.

• The Company reported net income of $32.9 million compared to a loss of $3.7 million in the prior-year period. Adjusted net income was $33.3 million compared to $1.1 million in the prior-year period.

• Adjusted EBITDA increased 25.0% to $184.6 million compared to $147.7 million in the prior-year period. The increase was primarily due to improved operating efficiencies and higher contributions from the sale of rental equipment.

• Adjusted EBITDA margin increased 680 basis points to 40.7% compared with 33.9% in the prior-year period.

Capital Expenditures

• The Company reported net rental equipment capital expenditures of $50.6 million for 2021. Gross rental equipment capital expenditures were $90.9 million compared with $83.0 million in the comparable prior-year period. Proceeds from disposals were $40.3 million compared to $34.6 million last year. See page A-5 for the calculation of net rental equipment capital expenditures.

• As of March 31, 2021, the Company's total fleet was approximately $3.63 billion at OEC.

• Average fleet at OEC decreased year-over-year by 5.1% compared to the prior-year period.

• Average fleet age of 48 months as of March 31, 2021 remained the same as the comparable prior-year period.

Disciplined Capital Management

• The Company generated $72.5 million in free cash flow in the first quarter of 2021, compared with $39.2 million in the same period in 2020.

• Cash and cash equivalents were $32.9 million and unused commitments under the ABL Credit Facility and AR Facility contributed to $1.4 billion of liquidity as of March 31, 2021. Net debt was $1.6 billion as of March 31, 2021, with net leverage of 2.2x compared to 2.7x in the same prior-year period.

• The Company's net leverage was at the low end of the targeted net leverage range of 2.0x to 3.0x.

Outlook for 2021

The Company updated 2021 guidance ranges:

"Our strong first quarter performance along with the trends we are seeing in the market have prompted us to raise our adjusted EBITDA guidance for the year," said Silber. "Our guidance range for adjusted EBITDA now exceeds our pre-pandemic 2019 results by 8% to 13%. Overall, our end markets are showing positive momentum and demand for rental equipment is increasing. We intend to continue to take market share in our specialty businesses and to maximize our operating leverage as revenue growth accelerates in the seasonally strong part of the year."

Earnings Call and Webcast Information

Herc Holdings' first quarter 2021 earnings webcast will be held today at 8:30 a.m. U.S. Eastern Time. Interested U.S. parties may call +1-877-883-0383 and international participants should call 1-412-902-6506, using the access code: 5626586. Please dial in at least 10 minutes before the call start time to ensure that you are connected to the call and to register your name and company.

Those who wish to listen to the live conference call and view the accompanying presentation slides should visit the Events and Presentations tab of the Investor Relations section of the Company's website at IR.HercRentals.com. The press release and presentation slides for the call will be posted to this section of the website prior to the call.

A replay of the conference call will be available via webcast on the company website at IR.HercRentals.com, where it will be archived for 90 days after the call. A telephonic replay will be available for one week. To listen to the archived call by telephone, U.S. participants should dial +1-877-344-7529 and international participants 1-412-317-0088 and enter the conference ID number:10153206.

About Herc Holdings Inc.

Herc Holdings Inc., which operates through its Herc Rentals Inc. subsidiary, is one of the leading equipment rental suppliers with 282 locations in North America. With over 55 years of experience, we are a full-line equipment rental supplier offering a broad portfolio of equipment for rent. Our classic fleet includes aerial, earthmoving, material handling, trucks and trailers, air compressors, compaction and lighting. Our equipment rental business is supported by ProSolutions^®, our industry-specific solutions-based services, which includes power generation, climate control, remediation and restoration, and studio and production equipment, and our ProContractor professional grade tools. Our product offerings and services are aimed at helping customers work more efficiently, effectively and safely. The Company has approximately 4,800 employees who equip our customers and communities to build a brighter future. Herc Holdings’ 2020 total revenues were approximately $1.8 billion. All references to “Herc Holdings” or the “Company” in this press release refer to Herc Holdings Inc. and its subsidiaries, unless otherwise indicated. For more information on Herc Holdings and its products and services, visit: www.HercRentals.com.

Certain Additional Information

In this release we refer to the following operating measures:

• Dollar utilization: calculated by dividing rental revenue by the average OEC of the equipment fleet for the relevant time period, based on the guidelines of the American Rental Association (ARA).

• OEC: original equipment cost based on the guidelines of the ARA, which is calculated as the cost of the asset at the time it was first purchased plus additional capitalized refurbishment costs (with the basis of refurbished assets reset at the refurbishment date).

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release includes forward-looking statements as that term is defined by the federal securities laws, including statements concerning our business plans and strategy, projected profitability, performance or cash flows, future capital expenditures, our growth strategy, anticipated financing needs, business trends, the impact of and our response to COVID-19, liquidity and capital management and other information that is not historical information. Forward looking statements are generally identified by the words "estimates," "expects," "anticipates," "projects," "plans," "intends," "believes," "forecasts," and future or conditional verbs, such as "will," "should," "could" or "may," as well as variations of such words or similar expressions. All forward-looking statements are based upon our current expectations and various assumptions and, there can be no assurance that our current expectations will be achieved. They are subject to future events, risks and uncertainties - many of which are beyond our control - as well as potentially inaccurate assumptions, that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Further information on the risks that may affect our business is included in filings we make with the Securities and Exchange Commission from time to time, including our most recent annual report on Form 10-K, subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, and in our other SEC filings. We undertake no obligation to update or revise forward-looking statements that have been made to reflect events or circumstances that arise after the date made or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.

Information Regarding Non-GAAP Financial Measures

In addition to results calculated according to accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (“GAAP”), the Company has provided certain information in this release that is not calculated according to GAAP (“non-GAAP”), such as EBITDA, adjusted EBITDA, adjusted EBITDA margin, adjusted net income, adjusted earnings per diluted common share and free cash flow. Management uses these non-GAAP measures to evaluate operating performance and period-over-period performance of our core business without regard to potential distortions, and believes that investors will likewise find these non-GAAP measures useful in evaluating the Company’s performance. These measures are frequently used by security analysts, institutional investors and other interested parties in the evaluation of companies in our industry. Non-GAAP measures should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for our reported results prepared in accordance with GAAP and, as calculated, may not be comparable to similarly titled measures of other companies. For the definitions of these terms, further information about management’s use of these measures as well as a reconciliation of these non-GAAP measures to the most comparable GAAP financial measures, please see the supplemental schedules that accompany this release.

(See Accompanying Tables)

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