1st Mar 2016 07:33
LONDON (Alliance News) - Equipment rental company Ashtead Group PLC on Tuesday said pretax profit and revenue grew significantly in the third quarter as it continues to benefit from a strong US market, albeit with the pace of growth slowing slightly.
The FTSE 100-listed group said its pretax profit for the three months to the end of December was GBP139.1 million, up 17% year-on-year from the GBP113.9 million it posted in 2014. For the first nine months of the financial year, pretax profit grew 20% to GBP481.8 million from GBP379.4 million.
Ashtead has continued to benefit from its strong Sunbelt rental business in the US and the associated boost from the strong dollar against a weaker pound. Revenue for the third quarter rose 14% to GBP546.9 million from GBP462.9 million, with nine-month revenue up 17% to GBP1.68 billion from GBP1.36 billion.
Ashtead said its UK and US businesses both performed well, though the growth in revenue slowed slightly due to reduced demand from the oil and gas industry, which will continue into the fourth quarter.
"Our continued success demonstrates both the strength of our strategy and the overall health of the markets we serve," said Chief Executive Geoff Drabble.
"With both divisions performing well, strong end markets and our strategy clearly working, we expect full year results to be in line with our expectations and the board looks forward to the medium term with confidence," Drabble added.
By Sam Unsted; [email protected]; @SamUAtAlliance
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