Ashtead Group Begins Reinvesting In Fleet Ahead Of Recovery

17th Jun 2010 07:39

LONDON (Dow Jones)--Construction equipment rental company Ashtead Group PLC (AHT.LN) Thursday said it has started reinvesting in its fleet in anticipation of a recovery in its markets in 2011. Ashtead said both its key markets, the U.S. and U.K., are stabilizing following a slump in demand for its equipment as construction work dried up. It added it expects demand to improve in 2011 and has started investing in new equipment in anticipation. However, it said a degree of uncertainty about trading exists in the U.K. due to looming public spending cuts. Ashtead reported a pretax profit of GBP1.9 million for the three months to April 30, compared to a loss of GBP29.2 million a year earlier. Revenue was 20% down on year due to lower rentals and lower sales prices for older equipment. The previous year's earnings were weighed on by restructuring and similar costs. -By Jason Douglas, Dow Jones Newswires; 44-20-7842-9272; [email protected] (END) Dow Jones Newswires June 17, 2010 02:39 ET (06:39 GMT)