13.02.2011

RSC up 17% in fourth quarter

US based rental company RSC has reported its full year results which show a strong improvement in the fourth quarter.

Revenues for the year were down 3.8 percent to $1.23 billion, - although rental revenues were roughly flat, falling just over one percent, while pre-tax losses increased to $117.2 million compared to $96.7 million last year. Most of the increased loss being related to additional net interest expense.

The fourth quarter was more positive, with revenues up nearly 17 percent to $338.9 million, with a pre-tax loss of $11 million compared to $46.1 million in the same period last year.

Physical utilisation improved from 56.3 percent to 67.7 percent year on year, while rental rates were 1.8 percent lower than IN the fourth quarter of 2009 but showed a 0.8 percent improvement compared to the third quarter.

RSC spent $327.1 million of capital expenditure on its rental fleet, compared with just $46.4 million in 2009.

Chief executive Erik Olsson said: "We generated exceptional volume growth of 20 percent and solid positive sequential pricing of 0.8 percent in the quarter. This is clear evidence that we are executing well and taking full advantage of an improving economic environment. During the challenging 2009 and 2010 periods, our strategic focus was on preparing every facet of our business for the anticipated recovery by investing in our fleet, footprint, people and technology. This preparation positioned us well as economic conditions improved, yielding volume growth, incremental price increases and margin expansion. We are excited about our prospects as our markets continue to benefit from the economic recovery."

"We see continued strengthening in the industrial markets and signs that the non-residential markets are bottoming and beginning to turn. At the same time, we are benefitting from a trend in the industry that favours renting equipment over committing capital to buy. As a result, we expect continued favourable year-over-year comparisons in the first quarter and are optimistic that these positive trends will continue throughout the year."