Speedy Hire H1 pre-tax profits fall as costs increase

Tools and equipment hire group Speedy Hire said on Tuesday that interim pre-tax profits had fallen due to higher costs throughout the half.

Speedy said underlying revenues were up 13.8% at £212.4m in the first half of its trading year but still delivered a 7.7% drop in statutory pre-tax profits to £13.2m

The London-listed group said the drop in profits was partly due to its £30.5m investment into its hire fleet and inflation in its cost base. However, Speedy added that it was still confident in its ability to deliver a full-year performance in line with internal expectations.

On a divisional basis, hire revenue was up 5.5% year-on-year, and services revenue was 29% higher, driven by fuel and energy sales and a solid performance from its re-hire business.

Chief executive Dan Evans said: "Revenue growth remained strong, with increased strategic investment in growth initiatives including retail and trade, marketing and ESG.

“Revenue growth is continuing with new contract wins, the effect of actions taken on price and a healthy pipeline of customer activity which gives confidence for further growth in the second half. Whilst the macroeconomic outlook is uncertain and inflationary pressures remain high, I take over as chief executive at a time when our business is performing well, is resilient and positioned to manage changes in market conditions. We remain confident of delivering results in line with the board's expectation for the full year."

As of 0925 GMT, Speedy Hire shares were down 6.34% at 40.51p.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com