26.01.2023

Record year for United

US rental company United Rentals has posted its full year results for calendar 2022.

Full year numbers
Total revenues for the year increased 20 percent to $11.6 billion, virtually all of it from higher rental revenues. This seems to have included a small contribution from Ahern rentals acquired in the fourth quarter. Pre-tax profit jumped 52 percent to $2.8 billion.
Capital expenditure for the full year was $3.44 billion up 15 percent on 2022, sales of used rental equipment was flat at $965 million.

Fourth Quarter
Moving on to the fourth quarter, revenues were 18.5 percent higher at $3.3 billion, the vast majority of the improvement coming, once again from rental revenues. Pre-tax profits were $639 million, up 39 percent on the year.

Forecasts for 2023
United is forecasting full year revenues for 2023 of $13.7 to $14.2 billion, with capital expenditure of $3.3 to $3.55 billion.
The company now has 1,462 locations in North America covering all of the main population centres it is hard to imagine how it can benefit from any more large scale acquisitions in terms of coverage.
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Chief executive Matthew Flannery said: Our fourth quarter results capped an outstanding year, during which we set records for revenue, profitability, margins and returns. These achievements are a testament to our team’s commitment to our customers. With the Ahern integration on track, and a world class combination of people, process and technology, we’re positioned to raise the bar again in 2023.”

“Our guidance reflects our expectations for another year of strong growth, and our ability to convert this growth into compelling returns. The introduction of our dividend programme reflects the strength and resiliency of our operating model and our ability to generate cash across the cycle, while continuing to invest in growth. Combined with the restart of our share repurchase programme, we expect to return approximately $1.4 billion of cash to our shareholders this year as we continue to drive long-term value creation.”

Vertikal Comment

Once again, an outstanding result from United which has really moved into rapid growth mode, following a bit of a slump a few years back. The company is investing heavily in telematics and digital tools, which is helping improve equipment yields, but also offering valuable benefits to customers, with more of them tuning into the benefits.

It will be interesting to see how its main competitors such as Ashtead and Herc performed for the period.

All very encouraging.