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Industrial equipment rental company Ashtead hiked its dividend after upgrading its outlook on performance following a surge in half-year profit amid a jump in rental revenue.
For the half year ended 31 October 2021, pre-tax profit rose 38% to $474 million year-on-year as revenue increased 18% to $3.88 billion.
Rental revenue was up 20% for the half year over the prior year, but more also up 14% when compared with the first half of 2019/20, the company said.
The interim dividend was increased by 28% to 12.5 cents per share.
Looking ahead, the company upgraded its outlook, forecasting rental revenue in a range of 18%-to-20%, up from 13-to-16% previously.