PRESS RELEASE  |  Auckland, 13 April 2010

Key highlights for LeasePlan:

• A profit for the year of EUR 165 million. A result which improved substantially in the 2nd half of 2009 (EUR 61 million at 30 June 2009).
• Strong capital position with BIS ratio at 14.9% and Tier 1 ratio at 12.8%.
• Successful debt capital market issue in October 2009 and in March 2010.
• LeasePlan Bank, an internet savings bank for the Dutch market, was introduced to add further diversification to the company’s funding sources.

One of New Zealand's leading vehicle lease and fleet management companies, LeasePlan, has been buoyed by news that its parent company in the Netherlands survived the economic downturn handsomely.

LeasePlan Corporation N.V. is a registered bank in Holland, its principal business being providing lease finance to vehicle fleets, and equally, closely managing fleets on behalf of vehicle operators.

LeasePlan subsidiaries provide these services in 30 countries worldwide. In New Zealand, LeasePlan, whose client fleet has doubled over the last six years places equal emphasis on its proprietary and highly advanced fleet management system developed over a period of 30 years and which relieves the vehicle operator of every aspect of managing a fleet.

LeasePlan New Zealand's Managing Director Charles Willmer said today that the parent corporation has just confirmed that it recorded a profit of EUR 165 million for the full year to 2009. Mr Willmer said this was very good news, given that the two quarters concerned represented a fairly flat market for all sectors of the global economy.

He added that the profit announcement was in accord with another highly positive indicator as to LeasePlan's strength. The Corporation issued a two-part capital raising offer in October 2009 and March 2010 worth EUR 500m. Both parts of the offer were fully subscribed within days of being presented to the international markets and did not require the guarantee of the Dutch Central Bank.

Mr Willmer said that it was very encouraging to see how highly regarded LeasePlan paper seems to be whenever it is offered.

Asked what this meant for his New Zealand customer base, Mr Willmer said what fleet clients want in the current environment is the surety that their supplier is robust and reliable.

"Fortunately for LeasePlan, we don't have to go out and convince anyone of our strength. By their enthusiastic uptake of our last two capital raisings, the International Capital Markets have done that for us", said Mr Willmer.

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Profile LeasePlan
LeasePlan was established in Holland in 1963 and consists of a growing international network of companies engaged in fleet management and finance activities.  They employ almost 6,000 people in 30 countries.  In total, the Company manages 1.3 million vehicles worldwide and has a consolidated lease portfolio of 14 billion Euro.  LeasePlan has held a universal bank licence since 1993 and is regulated by the Dutch Central Bank.  They established operations in New Zealand in 1993.