By Guy Taylor
Ashtead has reported record full-year revenue and profit as rumours continue to swirl over a potential switch from London to New York’s stock market.
The FTSE 100 giant, which rents heavy machinery to the construction industry, raked in $10.86bn (£8.4bn) in revenue for the year to 30th April 2024, up 12 per cent year-on-year, while operating profit rose five per cent to $2.7bn (£2.1bn).
Earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) came in at $4.9bn (£3.9bn), up 11 per cent on the prior year.
The group has rewarded investors with a bumper dividend every year since 2005 and today proposed a final dividend of 89.25¢ (70.3p), giving a full-year dividend of 105¢ (83p), up from 100¢ (79p) in 2023.
Ashtead’s chief executive, Brendan Horgan, said: “This performance is only possible through the dedication of our team members who deliver for all our stakeholders every day, while ensuring our leading value of safety remains at the forefront of all we do.
“During the year, we invested $4.3bn (£3.4bn) in capital across existing locations and greenfields and $905m (£713bn) on 26 bolt-on acquisitions, adding a combined 113 locations in North America.
“This investment is enabling us to take advantage of the substantial structural growth opportunities that we see for the business, while maintaining a strong and flexible balance sheet.”
It comes amid speculation Ashtead, which has a market cap of £24.7bn, could become the latest FTSE constituent to ditch London markets for the US. The firm is understood to have instructed City advisers to explore the possible benefits of a US listing.
This would mean Ashtead joins the likes of Flutter, the building materials supplier CRH, and the plumbing group Ferguson, which have shifted their listings from London to New York in recent years. Like those businesses, it has a large North American segment that is responsible for the lion’s share of earnings.
“Our end markets in North America remain robust with healthy demand, supported in the US by the increasing proportion of mega projects and the ongoing impact of the legislative acts,” Horgan told markets in a statement.
“We are in a position of strength, with the operational flexibility and financial capacity to capitalise on the opportunities arising from these market conditions and ongoing structural changes.”
