Ashtead (AHT) is growing so fast that the City is having trouble keeping up. Earnings upgrades have been a regular feature of the rental equipment company's three-year recovery, most recently at third-quarter numbers in March. There's a good chance of another at the upcoming full-year results.
Broker Peel Hunt has pencilled in adjusted pre-tax profit of £358m and adjusted EPS of 45.6p (from £247m and 31.6p the previous year), which could be conservative. Profit rocketed by over half in the third quarter, taking the nine-month total to a record £293m - up 51 per cent. And a first-quarter update from industry giant United Rentals in mid-April only adds fuel to the fire. "Reports from the field indicate more optimism than we've seen in years," United boss Michael Kneeland told Wall Street analysts.
Even the beleaguered commercial construction sector, a key market for Ashtead, is in a "broader recovery". Peel Hunt forecasts 16 per cent top-line growth at the core US division Sunbelt in the current year to April 2015.
