Ashtead sees slowdown in revenue growth – is it set to ditch London listing for New York?

Ashtead shares dropped after revealing a slowdown in revenue growth in the fourth quarter, despite posting record revenues for the year.

The London-listed building equipment rental company said revenue for the fourth quarter ending April 30, rose 7 per cent year-on-year to $2.63billion (around £2.22billion).

But this was a 2 per cent drop from the 9 per cent revenue growth that the group experienced in the third quarter. 

Ashtead Group shares were down 3.88 per cent to 5,296p in Tuesday morning trading.

Despite the slowdown, the firm recorded revenue revenues for the year, up by 12 per cent to $10.86billion.

The company was boosted by US revenues, its biggest market, which saw a 13 per cent rise to $9.31billion.

The growth in revenue mean that earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation increased by 11 per cent to $4.89million.

The business also initiated a final dividend of 89.25 cents, which takes the total amount for the year to 105 cents, up 5 per cent on the previous year. 

The news comes on the back of reports this month suggesting that Ashtead is considering a move to the New York stock exchange in a potential fresh blow to the City. 

Ashtead’s departure would come as another blow for London after the loss of the likes of Cambridge-based chip firm Arm Holdings to the US. 

Brendan Horgan, chief executive of Ashtead, said: ‘During the year, we invested $4.3bn in capital across existing locations and greenfields and $905m on 26 bolt-on acquisitions, adding a combined 113 locations in North America. 

‘This investment is enabling us to take advantage of the substantial structural growth opportunities that we see for the business, while maintaining a strong and flexible balance sheet.’