LONDON (ShareCast) - (Sharecast News) - Speedy Hire reported a statutory pre-tax loss of £1.5m for the year ended 31 March on Wednesday, compared with a profit of £5.1m the prior year, as delays in government infrastructure spending and higher interest costs weighed on performance.
The London-listed UK and Ireland equipment rental group maintained its full-year dividend at 2.6p.

Revenue edged down 1.2% to £416.6m, though excluding fuel sales, revenue rose 1.3% to £386.4m.

Hire revenues grew 0.6% and services excluding fuel increased by 4.5%.

Growth in regional customer business helped offset flat performance with national clients.

Adjusted profit before tax fell to £8.7m from £14.7m a year earlier, with earnings hit by a drop in joint venture contributions and higher financing costs.

It said adjusted earnings per share declined to 1.41p from 2.35p, while reported earnings swung to a basic loss per share of 0.24p.

Free cash flow fell to £0.8m from £23.5m, reflecting lower underlying cash generation and higher investment in the hire fleet.

Net debt increased to £113.1m, with leverage at 1.9 times EBITDA.

After the year-end, Speedy Hire secured £225m in new credit facilities.

Despite the challenging trading backdrop, the company said it was continuing to gain market share and had extended several multi-year contracts.

It also launched a new specialist division, Temporary Site Solutions, and expanded its AI and logistics capabilities to support operational efficiency.

The board proposed a final dividend of 1.8p, in line with the prior year, and reaffirmed its medium-term leverage target range of 1.0 to 2.0 times.

"Despite the macro-economic challenges, we have remained committed to, and in parts accelerated, the implementation of our Velocity strategy during its 'Enable' phase, which is setting the foundation for growth opportunities for the benefit of our customers and people, whilst maintaining shareholder returns," said chief executive officer Dan Evans.

"Our transformation is key to our business, ensuring service excellence, innovation and ease of transacting for our customers, from an efficient and systems driven operating model.

"We are focused on what we can control, and we will continue to manage our cost base and balance our investment decisions through the economic cycle."

Evans said the company was "well positioned" to capitalise on end market recovery.

"We anticipate seeing the benefit from a promising pipeline of growth opportunities with new and existing customers, alongside increased commitment and clarity on government spending.

"The board is confident of achieving its full year expectations."

At 0856 BST, shares in Speedy Hire were down 4.77% at 24.86p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.

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