In the three months to 31 July 2013 Ashtead made 拢97.4m before tax on revenue of 拢410.5m. This compares to 拢34.6m on 拢325.0m for the same period last year.
Pre-tax profit was up 173% and revenue 24%.
Before exception items and amortisation, underlying pre-tax profit was up 59% to 拢99.5m.
The growth appears to have come mostly from its US operations, however, where Sunbelt enjoyed a 25% increase in rental revenues.
Chief executive Geoff Drabble said: "The first quarter saw a continuation of the momentum established in the business, resulting in pre-tax profit of 拢99m.聽 This performance is being driven by strong revenue growth and operational efficiency as demonstrated by the improvement in margins and return on investment.
鈥淥ur focus remains on organic growth with 拢279m of capital expenditure in the first quarter.聽 Whilst we continue to invest significantly in the business, our strong margins allow us to do this while delevering.
鈥淎s a result of this impressive performance, and with a strong balance sheet to support future growth, we now anticipate a full year result ahead of our previous expectations."
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