Neff Rental posted $61.4 million in rental revenue in the third quarter ended Sept. 30, a 12.4-percent decline compared with $70.1 million in last year’s third quarter. Total revenues declined at a similar rate, 12.3 percent, from $81.4 million in last year’s third quarter to $71.4 million this year.

Gross profit was $30.6 million, compared with $33.7 percent for the same period last year, a 9.2-percent decline. Net loss for the company increased from $9.4 million in Q307 to $12.2 million in this year’s third quarter.

For the first nine months of 2008, total revenue was $212.2 million, a 12.2-percent decline from the first nine months of 2007, when the company posted $242.2 million. Rental revenue for the first nine months dropped year over year, from $201.5 million last year to $178 million this year, an 11.7-percent plunge.

However, net loss for the first nine months decreased 36.2 percent, from $53.5 million last year to $34.1 million in 2008.

Neff Corp. was acquired by Lightyear Capital LLC, a private equity firm, with other investors, in May 2007.

The company said the decrease in rental revenues was primarily the result of a decrease in rental rates and a decrease in fleet size that reduced the amount of equipment available for rent. Neff estimated that rental rates decreased 6.4 percent during the third quarter compared with the same period last year, leading to a decrease in dollar utilization to 48.6 percent, compared with 50.9 percent for the same period last year.

Many of the company’s 66 locations are in states particularly hard hit by the economic downturn — 12 in Florida, seven each in California, Georgia and North Carolina, and six in South Carolina.

Neff Rental is No. 11 on the RER 100.