BRITISH industrial equipment rental company Ashtead has hiked its revenue forecasts for the full year as it sails through raging inflation.

The London-listed group said yesterday it has the "flexibility to capitalise" on the economic downturn, including supply chain constraints, inflation and labour scarcity.

Ashtead's revenue grew nearly a third to £2.53bn in the three months to end of October, carried largely by its US operations.

The upbeat results meant bosses could lift Ashtead's interim dividend, which has increased by 20 per cent to 15 cents per share, up from 12.5 cents per share in the same period last year.

Ashtead Technology, the group's specialist subsea equipment rental division, yesterday announced it had bought Aberdeenshire-based rental firm Hiretech for £20m.

In a statement, chief executive Brendan Horgan said the group had invested $1.7bn (£1.4bn) in the period.

"This significant investment is enabling us to take advantage of the substantial structural growth opportunities that we see," he added.

(c) 2022 City A.M., source Newspaper