Ashtead Group has released a handout photo that showcases an example of the Sunbelt Rentals hire equipment. Despite being a London-listed company, Ashtead serves construction, emergency response, and entertainment markets in the U.S., UK, and Canada. In this particular market, the company rents out equipment from diggers to construction tools. However, various factors have contributed to Ashtead’s downbeat outlook.
One of these factors is the quieter hurricane season. Ashtead competes with United Rentals in the U.S., which means that lower activity in one market could affect both companies’ overall performance. Another factor is the decrease in naturally occurring events such as wildfires, which would reduce demand for certain types of equipment rentals.
In addition to these challenges, the impact of Hollywood actors’ and writer’s strikes affected Ashtead’s film and television business in Canada. This had some repercussions on other Canadian, U.S., and UK businesses that rent into that space as well.
As a result of all these factors, Ashtead expects its annual profit to come in below market expectations due to lower emergency response activity and a more than $2 billion depreciation charge for the year. The company has also lowered its annual group and U.S rental revenue growth forecast and stated that net interest costs would amount to about $540 million for the year.
Overall, it seems like Ashtead is facing several challenges in its various markets that are impacting their profitability and growth prospects for the year ahead.
