Speedy Hire expects good half year results

16th Oct 2014 16:18

UK equipment hire company Speedy Hire said in its trading update on Thursday it saw "a good overall start of the year" in the first six months of 2014.The company said its revenues in the UK and Ireland are expected to grow 11% year-on-year thanks to a continued growth of the business, especially from its Partnered Services division.Internationally, revenues rose 31% thanks to a new management team operating in the Middle East. The company was facing low profitability in the region."Speedy is on track to deliver a result for the full year in line with the board's expectations," the statement said.Investec analysts said: "This has been a challenging period for Speedy Hire. However, with the new board structure taking shape and a new strategy being implemented, the outlook is beginning to look more positive."This clearly will not be an overnight turnaround, but once the Middle East is fully resolved, the underlying strength of trading in the UK should feed through quite significantly to forecasts."The full year interim results for the six months ended 30 September will be released in November.Shares were down on Thursday by 2.75% to 62p.