Speedy Hire on the mend: Tool rental company making “concrete progress”
Tool rental company Speedy Hire demonstrated some “concrete progress” in a trading update today.
The company’s shares lifted by more than six per cent when the market opened, before drifting slightly later in the day.
But the update, which reported a like-for-like revenue lift of 10.6 per cent in its third quarter, to 31 December, impressed analysts.
Read more: Chief exec eyes Speedy recovery after "tumultuous" 2016 and activist attack
The company has suffered a torrid couple of years, comprising profit warnings, chief executive departures and a high-profile activist investor attack in summer 2016.
But Speedy appears to be on the mend, with shares up more than 40 per cent in the last year.
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“The trading update from Speedy Hire shows concrete progress in turning around the business,” said Panmure Gordon analyst Adrian Kearsey.
N+1 Singer’s Greg Poulton said he expects to upgrade his forecasts for Speedy after the trading update, adding: “Speedy still has a long way to go in terms of delivering profit margins in line with the sector… However, recent progress has strengthened the group’s recovery potential.”
Read more: Speedy Hire hammers expectations – "in spite" of Toscafund activism
Speedy also today reported that its plans to “improve efficiency of operations remains on track with reduced overheads, and rental assets and net debt both lower than at the half year end”.
The update added: “As a consequence of the improving revenue trend and better operational efficiency, the Board anticipates that adjusted profit before tax for the full year will be ahead of its previous expectations.”