Speedy Hire returns to profit as turnaround plan bears fruit

Equipment and plant hire services company Speedy Hire returned to profit in the year to the end of March 2017 as revenue grew and the turnaround plan bore fruit.

Pre-tax profit came in at £14.4m versus a loss of £57.6m the year before as revenue rose 12.2% to £369.4m. Basic earnings per share stood at 2.22p compared to a loss per share of 10.19p in 2016 and the company declared a dividend of 1.00p per share for the year, up from 0.70p the year before.

Net debt was reduced to £71.4m from 102.6m and return on capital employed improved to 7.7% from 3.2%.

Chairman Jan Astrand said: "I am pleased to report that the actions undertaken by management have enabled us to report substantially improved results; revenue and profits have increased, the hire fleet has been reduced, utilisation rates increased, and net debt has fallen significantly. The business has been stabilised and we have created a solid platform for the future.

"Having previously identified the underlying issues that had affected the group's performance last year, management has improved engineering efficiency, addressed equipment availability, structured the sales force to ensure that we address large and SME customers alike, embedded ownership and accountability at a regional level, and invested in upgrades to our IT and management information systems; all of which have led to improved business performance."

Meanwhile, chief executive Russell Down said: "Whilst we have made a solid start to the year, the market remains competitive. With the business now stabilised and a strong balance sheet, we are well positioned to take advantage of market opportunities and continue to deliver sustainable profitable growth."

At 0925 BST, the shares were up 2.3% to 55p.