01.08.2022

Record quarter for United

US based United Rentals has reported record second quarter revenues with a sharp rise in rental operations in the face of lower new and used sales.

Half year
Total revenues for the first six months of the year were $5.29 billion an increase over the same period in 2021 of more than 21 percent. Sales of use equipment from the fleet and new machines declined but was more than compensated for by the sharp rise in rental and other revenues. Pre-tax profit for the period jumped more than 67 percent to 1.09 billion.

Second quarter
Moving on to the second quarter total revenues were $2.77 billion, up by more than 21 percent on last year, providing a pre-tax profit of $608 million, a new record. The company has increased its full year forecasts to achieving total sales in the region of $11.4 to $11.7 billion from $11.1 to $11.7 million.

Capital Expenditure
Capital expenditure on new rental equipment was $2.04 billion in the first half, of which $1.145 billion occurred in the second quarter.
As a result of increased demand United now expects the full year capital expenditure will be in the region of $2.9 to $3.1 billion

Chief executive Matthew Flannery said “Our record second quarter results reflect our strong execution in a robust demand environment. We've entered our busiest season with excellent momentum and the benefit of an effective capital allocation strategy, including seven bolt-on acquisitions and 24 Specialty cold starts through June. We’re also on track to invest $3 billion in the fleet this year and complete our share repurchase programme this quarter, all supported by our cash generation and balance sheet. Our higher 2022 outlook for total revenue, adjusted EBITDA and free cash flow reflects broad based end-market activity, contractor backlogs, customer sentiment and our visibility through the balance of the year. The flexibility of our operating model puts us in a strong position to leverage any market environment.”

Vertikal Comment

This is an amazing result from United, of a multi-billion dollar company to achieve 20 percent plus revenue growth takes some doing, although both United and Ashtead are achieving this at the moment. Some of the growth clearly came from acquisitions, but much of it came from organic expansion and the ongoing pick up in demand.

Although the numbers are already historic, it is still very encouraging to see in these uncertain times.