Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group Inc., the Tulsa-based rental car company, posted third-quarter net income Monday of $30.09 million, or $1.29 per share, a 59 percent increase from 2008's third quarter. Revenue was $438.89 million, down 12.3 percent from the same quarter last year.

Dollar Thrifty's turnaround -- its net income for 2009's first nine months is $33.56 million compared with a net loss of $268.2 million in the same period a year ago -- is attributable to a restructuring of company operations a year ago, company executives said.

"In spite of the difficult economic environment, we achieved our third consecutive quarter of year-over-year improvement in both non- GAAP (generally accepted accounting principles) net income (loss) and corporate adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization)," said President and CEO Scott L. Thompson.

"The difficult steps we have taken over the past 12 months to maximize profitability and cash flow, combined with improvements in residual values, positively impacted this quarter," he said. "We expect both of these factors will continue to benefit future operating results."

While revenue dropped 12.3 percent in the third quarter, expenses decreased even more, at $396.06 million, a 15.6 percent decline compared with 2008's third quarter.

The reduction in expenses began in October 2008 when Dollar Thrifty, whose board of directors had replaced former CEO Gary Paxton with Thompson, cut its 7,000-member work force by 6 percent. The cuts included 30 percent of senior management, 15 percent of headquarters staff and 5 percent of field staff for an estimated 2009 savings of $15 million, company executives said last year.

In addition to the job cuts, the company closed unprofitable locations and diversified its rental car offerings from a heavy reliance on Chrysler Corp. to a mixture of Chrysler, Ford, General Motors and foreign manufacturers. The company also renegotiated terms with its lenders.

In the third quarter, direct vehicle and operating expenses were $213.4 million, a 14.3 percent decrease compared with last year's third quarter. Vehicle depreciation and lease charges were $102.97 million, a 25 percent decline, and interest expenses were $24.55 million, down 20.9 percent.

Thompson said the revenue decline in the third quarter resulted from a 21.3 percent decrease in rental days, partially offset by an 11.5 percent improvement in revenue per day. Excluding the impact of rental location closings, rental days were down about 17 percent on a same-store basis, he said. The third quarter average fleet numbered 106,245 vehicles, a 20.4 percent decrease from last year's third quarter.