More records tumble at Ashtead

The Ashtead Group, which comprises the US business Sunbelt Rentals and the UK-based A-Plant company, has announced profits before exceptional items, amortisation and tax of £490 million (€676 million) for the 12 months to 30 April.

The figure was 35% up on 2014 and mirrored a strong performance in terms of rental revenue, which was up by 24% across the group at £1.838 billion (€2.536 billion).

A-Plant’s share of the revenue figure was £289 million (€399 million). Its total revenue was £323 million (€445 million).

Ashtead, which described the results as “record breaking”, also invested £1.063 billion (€1.467 billion) in its fleet, the first time it has exceeded £1 billion of capital expenditure. This included more than £150 million (€207 million) in its UK operation.

The outlook for 2015-16 is for a similar level of capital expenditure across the group, with an upper limit around €1.35 billion. Volume growth is expected to be between 15% and 20% for Sunbelt and slightly lower for A-Plant.

The company said it was well positioned to capitalise on both structural and cyclical opportunities, and had no significant changes planned with the emphasis continuing to be on organic fleet growth.

“The board looks forward to the medium term with confidence,” it concluded.

Two weeks ago, A-Plant was selected as Large Rental Company of the Year by the judging panel of the European Rental Awards, jointly organised by the European Rental Association and International Rental News.