The company, a fully owned subsidiary of Rabobank Group, has posted strong profits across all its operations, which also include vendor finance and consumer finance. For the first half of 2010, net profit increased by €54 million to €101 million.

In a statement, De Lage Landen, parent company of Athlon Car Lease, said that its Car Lease business outperformed budget, with a picking up in order volumes, especially in the second quarter, as well as more favourable general conditions on the used car market.

However CEO Ronald Slaats said that the economic conditions remained difficult for the business as a whole, commenting: 'We’re not out of the woods just yet. We do see some economic stabilisation in various parts of the world, but the recovery is still quite fragile. Consistent risk management and cost consciousness remains key. In addition we need to leverage and truly combine the strength of all of De Lage Landen Group entities. We will continue focusing on cooperation and synergies within De Lage Landen. This will result in a unified customer proposition and optimised customer service.'