LeasePlan has recorded growth during the first half of the year, despite the increasingly tough trading conditions.

It reported that results across the 30 countries it operates in improved by 4.7% to EUR 117.2 million, compared to the first half year of 2007.

The company’s lease contract portfolio also grew by EUR 557 million – up 4% - to EUR 14.4 billion since December 2007

Following on from the increase in profits, the company confirmed that the number of cars now under its management has increased by 47,000 units since the end of 2007, bringing the total number of cars under Leaseplan’s management to 1,362,000.

The company has been active in acquisitions and expansions since the start of the year.

Not only has it begun operations in Mexico, it also acquired from Mercedes-Benz Financial Services S.A. its subsidiary Daimler Chrysler Fleet Management France S.A. which operates under the brand name DCS Fleet in France.

It was this acquisition that added some 20,000 cars to the company’s books and EUR 217 million worth of business to its lease contract portfolio.

The company also stated that the turmoil in the financial markets has influenced its funding strategy.

“By reverting to bank and securitisation markets, LeasePlan raised close to €1 billion bank funding.

"More liquidity was raised through the securitisation of our German operational lease portfolio adding EUR 663 million to our ECB eligible collateral portfolio in March 2008 which now stands at EUR 1.6 billion.

"Once more we have continued our growth, even in an increasingly competitive environment and dealing with the persistent turmoil in the financial markets,” said Vahid Daemi, chairman of the managing board and CEO of LeasePlan.

“LeasePlan's strategy remains focused on further geographical expansion.

"We expect the net profit from continuing operations at year-end 2008 to exceed the 2007 comparable result, despite challenging residual value developments in some markets and the ongoing credit crunch."