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Investing.com -- Ashtead Group (LON:AHT) shares rose Wednesday after the equipment rental company posted quarterly results broadly in line with forecasts and lifted its free cash flow guidance on favorable U.S. tax changes.
First-quarter revenue increased 2% year over year to $2.8 billion, in line with consensus estimates.
Rental revenue grew 2.4%, with General Tool up 1% and Specialty up 5%. The U.K. business declined 2%, compared with flat performance in the prior quarter. Lower sales of used equipment continued to weigh on total revenue.
Adjusted pretax profit was $552 million, about 1% below the $557 million consensus. Adjusted earnings per share were 95.3 cents, also 1% below estimates.
EBITDA of $1.28 billion came in slightly under forecasts, with margins narrowing to 45.6%, down about 120 basis points from a year earlier.
Jefferies said the decline reflected “mix, some repositioning of fleet and higher repair costs”.
General Tool reported flat organic revenue and a 7% decline in EBIT. Specialty posted 5% revenue growth and an 8% increase in EBIT. The U.K. business saw a 27% year-over-year drop in profits.
Capital expenditure fell 46% to $532 million from $855 million a year earlier, contributing to free cash flow of $514 million. Net debt to EBITDA was 1.6 times, unchanged from the prior quarter.
Ashtead raised its full-year free cash flow guidance to $2.2 billion to $2.5 billion, from a previous range of $2.0 billion to $2.3 billion, citing expected cash tax benefits.
Guidance for rental revenue growth remained 0% to 4% and capex $1.8 billion to $2.2 billion.
Jefferies said consensus estimates are likely to remain largely unchanged but noted that “solid share price performance in recent months against easing GenTool growth, a weak U.K. business, and overall weaker EBITDA margins may offset some of the optimism on the outlook today.”
RBC Capital Markets described the earnings misses as “in the ballpark” and said Specialty continues to show resilience even as General Tool contracts.