Shares in Ashtead (AHT) rose after the industrial equipment hire group revealed it expects full-year results to exceed its forecasts, helped by strong growth in its North American business. Ashtead's prospects have improved markedly on the back of rising activity in the US construction market. As a result, its US Sunbelt business was able to report a 14 per cent rise in underlying profit during the first quarter of 2016.
Group rental revenue increased 12 per cent during the period. And translation benefits linked to sterling's depreciation relative to the greenback were effectively cancelled out by lower gains on fleet disposals. But rising revenues and improved operating efficiencies fed through into a two percentage point increase in cash margins to a record 48 per cent.
