By Rhodri Morgan
UK tool and machinery specialist Speedy Hire said its 2023 results would be lower than initial expectations as softer demand and warmer-than-expected weather hit.
In a trading update issued to the London Stock Exchange today, the group said total group revenue for the 2023 trading year was £420m, down around five per cent from the previous year.
Alongside the fuel and weather contingencies, the company said its regional base underperformed by around six per cent year-on-year, hit by cost inflation and softer demand across the construction sector.
However, Speedy Hire added that it probably wouldn’t see any material benefit from the contracts during 2024.
The Newton-le-Willows-headquartered company expects to announce its final results for the financial year ended 31 March 2024 in mid-June.
In January, Speedy Hire issued a profit warning, despite it performing “resiliently in the face of cost inflation and macroeconomic uncertainty”.
One month later, Edinburgh-based Aberforth Partners took advantage of the share price slump as a result of the profit warning and increased its holding in the company from 5.95 per cent to 10.31 per cent.
Speedy Hire continues to service a construction industry that is clinging to hopes of lower interest rates in the not-too-distant future.
And despite the lukewarm appetite for its service last year, the industry looks to be picking up momentum on the back of an improving housing market.
Last month, S&P’s purchasing managers’ index (PMI) for the construction sector showed a rise to 49.7, up from 48.8 and only marginally below the 50 no-change mark, its highest level since August last year.
