I here a whisper that Ashtead may become the target of a takeover bid. Anybody have any further news on this? I've been holding this little gem for a while now. Got in at 11.25p and then sold 2/3rds of my stock at 18p to break even. Can't quite decide when to take my mega profit. 1 by Christmas? Here's hoping.

more likely DCB all round i'm afraid

Announcement of Q2 Results
Ashtead Group plc announces that its second quarter results for the period
ended 31 October 2014 will be announced on Wednesday, 10 December 2014.

StockMarketWire.com
Ashtead Group posts record first half pre-tax profits of £266.5m - up 33% at constant exchange rates.

Group rental revenues rose by 24% to £895.6m and underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation increased by 31% to £455.5m as group EBITDA margin improved to 46% (2013: 43%).

Chief executive Geoff Drabble said "We continue to execute on our strategy, focused on organic growth supplemented by bolt-on acquisitions. We invested £588m in capital expenditure and a further £107m on bolt-on acquisitions in the period. Given the profitable growth opportunities evident in our markets, we are increasing our full year guidance for capital expenditure to a range of £925m to £975m.

"Even with these significant levels of investment, we continue to grow responsibly, generating strong returns and maintaining leverage within our stated objectives.

"With both divisions performing well, recovering end markets, and a proven track record of market share gains, we now anticipate a full year result ahead of our previous expectations."

This share has been rewarding for me, but DYOH.

==-=-=-=-=

Holding(s) in Company

PRNW



Ashtead Group plc

20 January 2015

This share has been rewarding for me, but DYOH!

Ashtead Group plc announces it has been advised that on 15 January 2015 Abrams
Bison Investments LLC was interested in a total of 25,350,000 of the Group's
shares (or 5.04% of its share capital).

Enquiries:

Eric Watkins
Company Secretary
020 7726 9700

StockMarketWire.com
Ashtead posts record underlying pre-tax profits of £489.6m for the year to the end of April - up 35% at constant exchange rates.

Rental revenues rose by 24% to £1,837.6m and EBITDA increased by 32% to £1,837.6m.

On a statutory basis, pre-tax profits were up 33% at £473.8m.

Chief executive Geoff Drabble said: "2014/15 was another very successful year for Ashtead. The consistent execution of our well-established strategy focused on organic growth supplemented by bolt-on acquisitions has delivered both excellent financial results and significantly enhanced our geographic footprint and the breadth of the markets we serve.

"Our financial performance speaks for itself with Sunbelt and A-Plant achieving rental revenue growth of 25% and 19% respectively. Underlying Group pre-tax profit rose 35% to £490m and we generated a strong return on investment of 19%.

"We invested £1bn in the rental fleet and £236m on bolt-on acquisitions during the year. We expect to again invest around £1bn in capital expenditure in the coming year and we will continue to open greenfield locations and make bolt-on acquisitions to further broaden our market exposure. This growth will, as always, be undertaken responsibly and we will maintain our leverage at, or below, two times EBITDA.

"Our markets continue to provide both structural and cyclical opportunity. The business model established over recent years has a track record of exploiting these opportunities and we are supported by a strong balance sheet. Therefore the Board looks forward to the medium term with confidence."

Any reason for drop in price today?

3 Dec Investec 1,500.00 Buy
3 Dec Exane BNP... 1,100.00 Neutral
2 Dec Peel Hunt 1,450.00 Buy
24 Nov Jefferies... 1,385.00 Buy
3 Nov Jefferies... 1,385.00 Buy

Not expected

UP 8.44%


Ashtead profits up

StockMarketWire.com

Ashtead Group's underlying pre-tax profits rose by 21% to £342.7m in the six months to the end of October.

Underlying EBITDA rose 22% to £591.8m and earnings per share rose by 25% to 45.1p.

On a statutory basis, pre-tax profits were 20% up at £331.9m and earnings per share 24% higher at 43.7p. Revenues of £1,267.5m were up 21%.

Chief executive, Geoff Drabble said: "I am pleased to be able to report another strong quarter resulting in underlying pre-tax profits of £343m for the six months, up 21% at constant exchange rates on the prior year. Even with significant levels of investment, we continue to grow responsibly, generating strong returns and maintaining leverage within our stated objectives. Group RoI was a healthy 19% and our leverage reduced to 1.9 times EBITDA.

"We continue to execute on our strategy to diversify the markets we serve, both in terms of geography and sector. Sunbelt's 22% rental only revenue growth demonstrates clearly the benefits of this strategy and the overall health of our broader markets. We invested £696m in capital expenditure and opened 38 new locations in the US. Given the profitable growth opportunities evident in our markets, we are increasing our full year guidance for capital expenditure to c. £1.1bn.

"With both divisions performing well, strong end markets and our strategy clearly working, we now anticipate a full year result ahead of our previous expectations and the Board looks forward to the medium term with confidence."

StockMarketWire.com
Ashtead Group reports strong third quarter results taking underlying pre-tax profits to GBP482m for the first nine months of the year - up 20% at constant exchange rates.

Group rental revenue rose by 17% to GBP1,675.5m and EBITDA increased by 21% to GBP869.2m.

Chief executive Geoff Drabble said: "The Group delivered another strong quarter resulting in underlying pre-tax profits of £482m for the nine months, up 20% at constant exchange rates on the prior year. We continue to grow responsibly, generating strong returns and maintaining leverage within our stated objectives. Group RoI was a healthy 19% and our leverage reduced to 1.9 times EBITDA. Our continued success demonstrates both the strength of our strategy and the overall health of the markets we serve.

"Looking forward, while we are watchful of the broader economic environment, we continue to see encouraging growth opportunities and expect double digit fleet growth in the US in 2016/17. As our fleet replacement expenditure naturally moderates, we enter a phase of the cycle where we anticipate both good earnings growth and significant cash generation. As a consequence our leverage will trend towards the lower end of our range of 1.5 to 2.0 times net debt to EBITDA which provides the Group with a high degree of flexibility and security.

"With both divisions performing well, strong end markets and our strategy clearly working, we expect full year results to be in line with our expectations and the Board looks forward to the medium term with confidence."

Why the drop?

The dollar is up against the pound.

Good results?

"To the downside, Ashtead (AHT) led with a dive of 10.77% to 824.5p despite reporting a strong Q3 and expecting FY results to be in line with its expectations. Barclays (BARC), down 6.09% to 161.58p, has improved the FY pretax profit in its core business, but posted a lower statutory pretax profit of GBP2.07bn, down 8%."

StockMarketWire.com
Ashtead Group posts underlying pre-tax profits of £645m for the year to the end of April - up 24% at constant exchange rates.

Group rental revenue rose 17% to £2,260.3m and underlying EBITDA increased buy 23% to £1,177.6m.

The proposed final dividend of 18.5p takes the total to 22.5p - up 48% (2015: 15.25p).

Chief executive, Geoff Drabble, commented: "2015/16 was another very successful year for Ashtead with Group rental revenue increasing 17% and underlying pre-tax profit up 24% to £645m at constant exchange rates.

"We continue to deliver on our well-established strategy of organic growth, supplemented by bolt-on acquisitions. We have broadened both our geographic footprint and the markets we serve and the benefits of this diversification are evident, both in our financial performance and our market share gains.

"Particularly encouraging is the continued improvement in our margins, with Group EBITDA margins now a record 46%. These strong margins, together with the natural moderation of our replacement fleet expenditure, mean we are entering a phase where we anticipate both good earnings growth and significant free cash flow generation. We therefore have the flexibility to continue both to invest in our long-term structural growth opportunity and enhance returns to shareholders. As a consequence, we have announced today both a proposed 48% increase in our full year dividend to 22.5p and a share buyback of up to £200m. As always, we will continue to grow responsibly and will operate within our 1.5 to 2.0 times net debt to EBITDA range.

"We have seen a good seasonal upward trend in fleet on rent throughout the Spring which has continued into the new financial year. Our end markets remain strong, the structural drivers are still in place and we have a strong balance sheet which allows us to execute our plans responsibly. As a consequence, the Board continues to look to the medium term with confidence."

Doing very nicely:



Ashtead profits up

StockMarketWire.com

Ashtead Group reports a a strong first half results with underlying operating profits up 9% at �474.4m.

On a statutory basis, revenues were up 8% at �1,551.7m and pre-tax profits rose by 9% to �413.3m.

Highlights

- Group rental revenue up 13%1 - First half underlying pre-tax profit2 of �426m, up 9% at constant exchange rates - Group EBITDA margins at a record 49% (2015: 47%) - Group RoI of 18% (2015: 19%)



- Net debt to EBITDA leverage of 1.8 times (2015: 1.9 times) - Interim dividend raised 19% to 4.75p per share (2015: 4.0p) Chief executive Geoff Drabble said: "The Group delivered a strong quarter with reported rental revenue increasing 28% (13% at constant exchange rates) for the six months and underlying pre-tax profit of �426m. The underlying performance of the business continues to benefit from a clear and consistent strategy of organic growth supplemented by bolt-on acquisitions. In the six months, the reported results were positively impacted by weaker sterling (�53m) but this was partially offset by the impact of lower gains on fleet disposals (�14m) as we reduced our replacement capital expenditure.

"I am pleased with the continued improvement in our margins - Group EBITDA margin is now a record 49% (2015: 47%). These healthy margins and our strong balance sheet provide flexibility to continue to invest in our long-term structural growth opportunity and enhance returns to shareholders.

"We continue to grow responsibly, adhering to the capital allocation priorities we have outlined. We have therefore invested �683m by way of capital expenditure and a further �142m on bolt-on acquisitions. With the continuing opportunity for profitable growth, we have increased our full year capital expenditure guidance. In addition, we spent �48m under the share buyback programme and increased the interim dividend by 19%. All of this was achieved whilst maintaining leverage well within our stated range of 1.5 to 2.0 times net debt to EBITDA. "Both divisions continue to perform at the upper end of expectations. This, together with the benefit of significantly weaker sterling, means we expect full year results to be ahead of our expectations and the Board continues to look to the medium term with confidence."





Story provided by StockMarketWire.com

StockMarketWire.com
Ashtead Group reports a a strong first half results with underlying operating profits up 9% at £474.4m.

On a statutory basis, revenues were up 8% at £1,551.7m and pre-tax profits rose by 9% to £413.3m.

Highlights
- Group rental revenue up 13%1 - First half underlying pre-tax profit2 of £426m, up 9% at constant exchange rates - Group EBITDA margins at a record 49% (2015: 47%) - Group RoI of 18% (2015: 19%)

- Net debt to EBITDA leverage of 1.8 times (2015: 1.9 times) - Interim dividend raised 19% to 4.75p per share (2015: 4.0p) Chief executive Geoff Drabble said: "The Group delivered a strong quarter with reported rental revenue increasing 28% (13% at constant exchange rates) for the six months and underlying pre-tax profit of £426m. The underlying performance of the business continues to benefit from a clear and consistent strategy of organic growth supplemented by bolt-on acquisitions. In the six months, the reported results were positively impacted by weaker sterling (£53m) but this was partially offset by the impact of lower gains on fleet disposals (£14m) as we reduced our replacement capital expenditure.

"I am pleased with the continued improvement in our margins - Group EBITDA margin is now a record 49% (2015: 47%). These healthy margins and our strong balance sheet provide flexibility to continue to invest in our long-term structural growth opportunity and enhance returns to shareholders.

"We continue to grow responsibly, adhering to the capital allocation priorities we have outlined. We have therefore invested £683m by way of capital expenditure and a further £142m on bolt-on acquisitions. With the continuing opportunity for profitable growth, we have increased our full year capital expenditure guidance. In addition, we spent £48m under the share buyback programme and increased the interim dividend by 19%. All of this was achieved whilst maintaining leverage well within our stated range of 1.5 to 2.0 times net debt to EBITDA. "Both divisions continue to perform at the upper end of expectations. This, together with the benefit of significantly weaker sterling, means we expect full year results to be ahead of our expectations and the Board continues to look to the medium term with confidence."

~£4m by two directors DYOR - at £15 - looks like they've done well . . . but why Sell now, ahead of Trump's arrival....maybe they expect some turmoil...? Or they know it's time to get out . . . sp=£15 is mighty high IMHO... with a very small yield.

goldfinger (3E) and mel on advfn have been saying for a while that this was a winner, and so it has most definitely proved today

as most of you guys spend all your time on this BB hurling insults at each other about brexit and other nonsense, there seems little point in expounding further on why AHT looks to be on a strong roll

Manuel,

Eat your heart out.

Bought October 2013.

😀

well done fred
i only bought this morning, and that is on my small trading a/c
nevertheless, it's already showing a very healthy profit

btw. manuel is currently in madrid :-)

Oh really?..work related obviously.