Ashtead assures on trading while sterling continues to assist

In a short trading statement ahead of an analyst and investor seminar on Thursday, the FTSE 250 company said "both divisions have continued to perform well in the second quarter of the current financial year and we expect first half results to be in line with our expectations".

Early last month, Ashtead said its end markets were strong and that the benefit of weaker sterling meant it expected full year results to be ahead of expectations.

Since that time, the pound has fallen 9% from $1.34 to just above $1.21.

Helped by a positive write-up from broker RBC Capital Markets, which sees a robust US market and highlighted above-average growth at an attractive valuation, Ashtead's shares were up 1.3% at 1,346p just before 1000 BST on Thursday.