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27.04.2015

United up 12% in spite of challenges

United Rentals has experienced a harsher first quarter than anticipated, but still managed a 12% increase in revenues, while profits almost doubled.

Total revenues increased almost 12 percent to $1.32 billion, with increases across the board. At the same time pre-tax profits almost doubled – up over 93 percent to $182 million.

Following the publication of the first quarter numbers, the company has hedged its expectations reducing the upper level of its full year forecasts from $6.2 to $6.1 billion. It also downgraded its expectations for rental rate improvement from 3.5 percent to three. In spite of the slight softening in expectations the company still plans to spend around $1.7 billion on new equipment and
generate similar levels of cash to its original plan.

Chief executive Michael Kneeland said: "We turned in a solid first quarter, with record revenue, EBITDA and Return On Invested Capital. The year has had some early headwinds, including a decline in upstream oil and gas activity, a harsh winter, and the adverse currency impact of a strong U.S. dollar. We have offset these pressures by redistributing underutilised fleet to areas of higher demand. An improving rental landscape, and the strong performance of our power and trench specialty lines, helped drive our 12 percent increase in rental revenue."

"Looking to the rest of the year, we expect a continued rebound in construction activity, along with our usual seasonal uptick. We also expect secular penetration to continue. We're investing in our sales force, and we plan to open about 18 speciality rental branches this year. Our employees are excited to deliver a level of service that sets us apart in this environment."


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