Zipcar hits profit, warns of tough 2012

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Zipcar hit a solid profitable stride in 2011 but sees a much more dismal 2012.

For the first time, Zipcar Inc. reports it is firmly profitable – but says the good times won’t last. The Cambridge-based car sharing company expects to return to a net loss in the current quarter, and its 2012 net income guidance is nearly equivalent to its fourth-quarter profits from 2011.

Car sharing is a seasonal business, Zipcar noted in its earnings release.

Zipcar reached its 2011 IPO in the red, on $61 million in venture capital. In the third quarter, as expected, Zipcar (Nasdaq: ZIP) narrowly broke even for the first time. Backers included Benchmark Capital Partners, Globespan Capital Partners, Greylock Partners and AOL founder Steve Case’s Revolution Living.

Its fourth-quarter earnings, reported Tuesday morning, show $3.9 million in net income on $62.9 million in revenue. The company’s profit margin for the quarter was more than 6 percent, compared to a fraction of a percent in the third quarter. The company’s $5.9 million EBITDA beat Wall Street analyst expectations, which were set at $4.6 million.

Nonetheless, Zipcar’s 2012 outlook sent its shares tumbling nearly 15 percent, Tuesday morning, as investors reacted to full-year revenue outlook of $290 to $296 million, and net income from $2 million to $6 million, and a predicted GAAP net loss for the first quarter of $4 million to $5 million.

Earlier this month, Zipcar became the majority owner of a Spanish company it had previously invested in, Catalunya Carsharing S.A., known as Avancar.