Redde Northgate lifts FY profit expectations

Commercial vehicle rental provider Redde Northgate said on Wednesday that full-year adjusted pre-tax profit was likely to be ahead of market consensus and around the top end of the consensus range following a continued strong performance across the business.

Analysts are expecting adjusted pre-tax profit of £155.2m, and a range of £149.6m to £164.4m.

In an update for the year to 30 April, it said: "The group continues to perform well and is trading ahead of expectations, with strong and resilient demand from customers for services across both vehicle rental and accident management, including growth from major insurance contracts launched over the past 12 months."

The company said constraints in UK & Ireland van supply continued for the majority of the year, but more recently there has been better visibility of future supply starting to improve, as has already been seen in the car market.

In Spain, new vehicle supply for both vans and cars is already close to normal levels, it said.

The group also said that traffic volumes and incidents are near 'normal' levels and the number of transactions across the integrated mobility platform is strong, helped by the new contract wins implemented in the year.

Chief executive Martin Ward said: "The strategy of delivering an integrated mobility platform has enabled us to provide a unique offering to a wide range of partners and customers and is bearing fruit. This is reflected in the strength of performance across the business, despite ongoing supply chain challenges and direct inflation seen most notably in areas such as vehicle repairs.

"As we look forward, the group is performing at record levels, there is more interest in our platform than ever before and we have a strong base from which to make strategic progress in the coming year."