Ashtead (LON:AHT) told investors it had a strong first half to its financial year, with revenues up 18% and earnings up 22%.
“Even with significant levels of investment, we continue to grow responsibly, generating strong returns and maintaining leverage within our stated objectives,” said chief executive Geoff Drabble.
The equipment hire firm reported rental revenue of £589mln in the second quarter, up from £477.9mln in the same period of 2014, while for the six month period revenue amounted to £1.12bn compared to £895.6mln last year.
Second quarter earnings totalled £309.1mln, while for the first half the figure was £591.8mln.
Group revenue totalled £648.9mln and £1.26bn for the quarter and half year respectively, and pre-tax profit was reported at £176.5mln and £331.9mln.
Andrew Gibb, analyst at Investec, in a note, said: “Another positive update from the group, with the FY16 results expected to be ahead of previous expectations.”
“Encouragingly, capex guidance has been increased to £1.1bn (from £1.0bn), indicating confidence in future growth.”
The analyst also added that today’s results statement should help ‘dilute’ concerns over Ashtead’s exposure to the oil and gas sector.
Ashtead shares advanced 83p, 8%, to trade at 1,114p.