The firm has announced net profits of €136m for H1 2011, up from €90m in the same period last year.

The increase in profit includes one-off items (€12.5m net) and positive timing differences on unrealised gains (€6.5m) but even taking these factors into consideration, the net profit realised for the first six months of 2011 increased compared to the same period in 2010 and 2009.

Vahid Daemi (Inset), chairman and CEO of LeasePlan Corporation, said: ‘Building on our solid base of the last few years, the beginning of 2011 has seen the business continue the trend we previously described, namely the return of profitability to pre-crisis levels. With a net profit of €136m LeasePlan has achieved a record result in terms of half year figures.’

LeasePlan has also announced a small rise in the number of vehicles under management, up 0.26% from 1,293,516 to 1,296,842, following two years of vehicle reductions.

Mr Daemi added: ‘While this represents a relatively modest increase, more significantly it marks a change of declining numbers witnessed over the past two years where there was a contracting of both operational leasing and fleet management markets.

‘Underneath this modest increase is a growth in our full-service product of almost 10,000 units. This result implies a higher-value added product being sold and a continuation of the trend towards outsourcing fleet management as a favoured method of achieving company-provided transportation needs.’

Looking ahead to the second half of 2011, the firm said that it was cautious about the recent volatile behaviour in financial markets but added that LeasePlan is in good shape due to its funding diversification strategy, which has reduced its reliance on senior unsecured funding. In addition, the firm says it has sufficient working capital and undrawn committed financing facilities to serve its operating activities.

Mr Daemi concluded: ‘Taking all factors into consideration, we expect to achieve positive results in the second half of the year at the same level as in the first half of the year, excluding the previously described one-off items and unrealised gains on financial instruments.’