Highlights
Group rental revenue up 24%
Record first half pre-tax profit of £266m, up 33% at constant exchange rates
Group EBITDA margin improves to 46% (2013: 43%)
£588m of capital invested in the business (2013: £451m) and full year guidance increased
Group RoI of 19% (2013: 18%)
Net debt to EBITDA leverage of 2.0 times (2013: 2.1 times)
Interim dividend raised 33% to 3.0p per share (2013: 2.25p)
Ashtead's chief executive, Geoff Drabble, commented:
"The Group delivered another strong quarter with record underlying pre-tax profits of £266m, up 33% on the prior year. It was particularly pleasing to see a strong contribution from both Sunbelt and A-Plant.
We continue to execute on our strategy, focused on organic growth supplemented by bolt-on acquisitions. We invested £588m in capital expenditure and a further £107m on bolt-on acquisitions in the period. Given the profitable growth opportunities evident in our markets, we are increasing our full year guidance for capital expenditure to a range of £925m to £975m.
Even with these significant levels of investment, we continue to grow responsibly, generating strong returns and maintaining leverage within our stated objectives.
With both divisions performing well, recovering end markets, and a proven track record of market share gains, we now anticipate a full year result ahead of our previous expectations."
