With the North American Sunbelt business continuing to drive growth in the first quarter, equipment hire specialist Ashtead (AHT) has seen rental revenue increase by 16 per cent at constant currencies to £1.16bn. The UK remains the weakest market with flat rental revenue reflecting a 3 per cent reduction in fleet on rent offset by an improved product mix.
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Excluding the impact of new lease accounting rules, net debt has increased by 38 per cent to £4.2bn on the back of higher capital expenditure and £196m spent on six bolt-on acquisitions. With £125m of share buybacks during the period, the group plans at least £500m-worth of share repurchases this year.
