Tools rental firm Ashtead stamped on fears of a possible US recession on Tuesday, saying it had seen no evidence of a slowdown as it upped profit forecasts.
The FTSE 100 company, which rents diggers and heaters to builders, has seen its shares crash by a third since October because of forecasts of a possible recession in the US, where Ashtead makes 90% of its money.
Today strong rental sales growth and a rosy outlook allayed some of the concerns.
Chief executive Geoff Drabble, who is leaving next year, said there were no prospects of an American recession in the next three years.
“The whole financial world thinks there is impending doom in North America and the evidence on the ground and our lead indicators could not be further from that.
“Go around America. We could list hundreds of jobs of datacentres, Hudson Yards, LaGuardia airport, that are one or two years into five-year projects. That work just doesn’t suddenly stop. You have to think outside a spreadsheet.”
Markets were encouraged by the strong figures, sending the shares up as much as 6.4% to 1715p.
However, they are still well below the 2438p peak on October 1.
