Ashtead to ‘capitalise’ on economic downturn as it hikes revenue forecasts
British industrial equipment rental company Ashtead has hiked its revenue forecasts for the full year as it sails through raging inflation.
The London-listed group said it has the “flexibility to capitalise on the opportunities arising from the market and economic environment we face, including supply chain constraints, inflation and labour scarcity, all factors driving ongoing structural change.”
Ashtead’s revenue grew nearly a third to £2.53bn in the three months to end of October, carried largely by its US operations.
The upbeat results have meant bosses can life the group’s interim dividend increased by 20 per cent to 15 cents per share, up from 12.5 cents per share in the same period last year.
Ashtead Technology, the group’s specialist subsea equipment rental division, today announced it has bought Aberdeenshire-based rental firm Hiretech for £20m.
In a statement today, chief executive Brendan Horgan, said: “In the period, we invested $1.7bn in capital across existing locations and greenfields and $609m on 27 bolt-on acquisitions, adding a combined 72 locations in North America.
“This significant investment is enabling us to take advantage of the substantial structural growth opportunities that we see for the business as we deliver our strategic priorities to grow our general tool and specialty businesses and advance our clusters. We are achieving all this while maintaining a strong and flexible balance sheet with leverage near the bottom of our target range.”