For the year ended 30th April 2019, A-Plant made an operating profit of آ£62.3m, down 11% on the previous year’s آ£70.2m. Revenue was up 0.7% to آ£475.1m (2018: آ£471.7m).
Its operating margin therefore declined from 14.9% to 13.1%. This was attributed to “the higher depreciation charge of a larger average fleetâ€.
A-Plant generated rental-only revenue of آ£357m, up 4% on the prior year (2018: آ£344m).آ This was driven by increased fleet on rent with a 1% improvement in yield, mainly due to product mix.آ
A-Plant’s parent company, Ashtead – although British – does most of its business in North America, through the much larger and more profitable Sunbelt equipment rental operations.
Thus total group revenue for the year was up 19% to آ£4.50bn (2018: آ£3.7bn) and pre-tax profit was up 2% to nearly آ£1.1bn (2018: آ£862m).
The group as a whole invested آ£1.6bn of capital into the business (2018: آ£1.2bn) and spent آ£622m spent on bolt-on acquisitions (2018: آ£392m). A similar level of capital expenditure is expected in 2019/20.
In the UK, A-Plant acquisitions during the year included the آ£7m purchase of Astra Site Services, a hydraulic attachment rental business, and the آ£5m takeover of Hoist It.
The average age of A-Plant's fleet is now 38 months (2018: 32 months). It now has 196 outlets (2018: 187) and 3,789 employees (2018: 3,571).
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