Ashtead Group’s share price is on the up, building on a set of good results
Ashtead's share price was on the up in morning trading after the construction equipment provider announced a set of strong results.
The figures
Ashtead's rental revenue for the year grew 17 per cent. There was also double-digit growth for the company's pre-tax profit, up 24 per cent to £645m, from £490m in 2015.
This year the company invested £1.2bn of capital in the business, while the company announced a share buyback of up to £200m in the year 2016/17.
Ashtead's dividend for the full year will be 22.5p, an increase of 48 per cent from 15.25p last year.
Why its interesting
As an equipment rental company specialising in construction and industrial equipment, anyone taking heed of Chancellor George Osborne's warning of a shock to the housing market in the event of Brexit may worry about Ashtead's future.
But the housing sector has proved resilient. Housebuilder Crest Nicholson also posted strong results this morning, rebuffing the Brexit blues. House prices fell in May, but experts predict that this is only a short-term effect of the upcoming referendum.
Many in the housing industry have commented that people will still need houses regardless of the outcome of the EU referendum – Ashtead and others may well feel confident about property in the coming months.
What Ashtead said
Geoff Drabble, chief executive, said:
We continue to deliver on our well-established strategy of organic growth, supplemented by bolt-on acquisitions. We have broadened both our geographic footprint and the markets we serve and the benefits of this diversification are evident, both in our financial performance and our market share gains.