Shares in Ashtead Group PLC (LSE:AHT) fell almost 4% on the back of fourth-quarter results that mostly hit the mark, though the outlook for the new year was not as good as expected.
The results are "broadly in line with consensus", said analyst Edward Prest at Liberum.
This morning, Ashtead reported lower revenue growth than expected and a 2% drop in annual profit due to higher interest payments on its growing debt pile.
Group revenue increased 12% to $10.9 billion for 12 months to 30 April, with rental revenue growing 10% – below the bottom of the 11-13% guidance range that it warned about earlier this year.
Analyst Allen Wells at Jefferies noted that profit before tax for the fourth quarter was around 5% below the consensus forecast, due to provisioning against a customer bankruptcy, though US rental revenue growth was "stable" at 9% and ex-provisioning results were in line.
The updated 2025 outlook details "look slightly weak", Wells added, with US rental growth set at 4-7% while the consensus was looking for +8%.
Free cash flow guidance of $1.2 billion is "again looking conservative", says the Jefferies man, who added that he expects consensus forecasts to "drift lower" on US rental growth guidance.