Equipment rental firm Ashtead (LON:AHT) saw shares rise over 4 percent on Tuesday morning, after seeing consistent improvement in performance over the six months to October.
Group rental revenue rose 20 percent over the period, with first half underlying pre-tax profit hitting £537 million. The group spent £708 million on capital expenditure, up from £683 million last year, and saw earnings per share rise to 34.2 pence.
The group’s performance was helped by an increase in rentals from the clean-up efforts following hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria, as well as benefitting from the impact of weaker sterling.
Looking forward, Ashtead’s CEO Geoff Drabble said the group expects “a number of years of good earnings growth and significant free cash flow generation.”
“We continue to enjoy support from good end markets, a strong balance sheet and impressive operational execution.
“Our strong performance, together with the successful execution of our 2021 plan, allows the Board to continue to look to the medium term with confidence.”
Shares in Ashtead are currently trading up 4.01 percent at 2,100.00 (0959GMT).
