Ashtead grows on both sides of the pond

Management attributed the growth to structural change as customers rely on renting for its flexibility. Average physical utilisation was up slightly to 71 per cent from 70 per cent, but chief executive Geoff Drabble said this had risen since, with "record levels of physical utilisation for this time of year", even given spring's seasonal uplift.

The group invested heavily during the year, with £1.1bn of capital expenditure and £437m invested in 15 bolt-on acquisitions. This, combined with £48m spent on share buybacks, led to an increase in net debt to £2.53bn from £2bn a year earlier. However, the group's net debt to adjusted cash profit ratio stayed flat on 1.7 times. Management expects to see the benefit of the acquisitions in the coming year, and will maintain capex at around the same level.

Ashtead's business is split into two parts. Sunbelt - which accounts for 87 per cent of revenue - is the second largest equipment rental company in North America, with 546 stores across the US and Canada, while A-Plant is the largest equipment rental company in the UK, with 156 stores. Both divisions grew strongly, delivering 14 and 15 per cent rental revenue growth, respectively. This was due to well-flagged "cyclical and structural trends" for Sunbelt, while A-Plant benefited from an increased fleet. Group cash profit margins were fairly stable at 46 per cent.

Analysts at Peel Hunt are forecasting adjusted profit before tax of £900m in the year to April 2018 (from £793m in FY2017), giving adjusted EPS of 117.6p.