Sunbelt reporting rental revenue up 20% in first half

From Sunbelt’s investor report:

“The Group’s strong performance continues with rental revenue up 20% for the half year over the prior year, but more importantly up 14% when compared with the first half of 2019/20, both at constant currency. This market outperformance across the business is only possible through the dedication of our team members who deliver for all our stakeholders every day, while ensuring our leading value of safety remains at the forefront of all we do.

Sunbelt 3.0 has been embraced by the business and we are making good progress across all actionable components. In the period, we invested $1.2bn in capital across existing locations and greenfields and $428m on 10 bolt-on acquisitions, adding a combined total of 58 locations in North America. We have a healthy bolt-on pipeline and have already spent a further $320m in the third quarter. This investment takes advantage of the ongoing structural growth opportunity that we continue to see in the business as we seek to deliver on our strategic priorities to grow general tool and amplify specialty.

Our business has strong momentum in supportive markets. The benefit we derive from the diversity of our products, services and end markets, our investment in technology and ongoing structural change, enhanced by the environmental and social aspects of ESG, enables the Board to look to the future with confidence. Notwithstanding the volatility that continues to arise from Covid, the fundamentals of our business are strong and we now expect full year performance to be ahead of our previous expectations.”