30.01.2024

Record year for United

US based United rentals has posted record results for 2023, with revenues of more than $14 billion.

Full year numbers

Total revenues for the year increased more than 23 percent to $14.33 billion, of which rentals were 12.06 billion a rise of just over 19 percent, while sales of new equipment jumped 63 percent to 1.57 billion. All other revenue sectors also posted strong gains.

Pre-tax profit for the year was $3.21 billion, just under 14 percent up on last year, reflecting the shift in revenues.

Capital expenditure for the full year came in at just over $3.5 billion, while sales from the rental fleet totalled $1.57 billion leaving a net capital expenditure of $1.934 billion.

Fourth Quarter

Total revenues in the final quarter were $3.73 billion an increase of just over 13 percent, of this rental revenues were $3.12 billion, up 13.5 percent on the same quarter last year.

Pre-tax profit was flat at $902 million, due to higher costs throughout, plus a steep rise in the interest costs.

Forecast for 2024
The company is forecasting revenues for the year of $14.65 to $15.15 billion and is planning capital expenditure of $3.4 to $3.7 billion.

Chief executive Matthew Flannery said: “We entered 2023 with the goal of raising the bar and I’m incredibly pleased with the team’s performance. Our fourth quarter results capped a year of new records across revenue, profits, and returns driven by a relentless commitment to serving our customers, while staying laser focused on safety and operational excellence.”

“We are now excited to deliver on the growth we expect in 2024, supported by our strength on large projects. Our guidance reflects the opportunities we see across our business as we leverage our competitive advantages to support our customers and outpace the market. We continue to execute on our long-held strategy to deliver profitable growth, strong free cash flow and exceptional returns. Our new leverage targets and 2024 capital allocation plans are further evidence of our commitment to driving shareholder value.”

Vertikal Comment

Another strong performance from United, although it is clearly struggling to maintain the same pace of growth when it comes to profits. However, any rental company that generates over $3 billion at the pre-tax level is doing more than just something right. United seemed to have stalled a year or two ago in terms of growth, but that has clearly changed, and it almost looks certain that it will be the first rental company to generate more than $15 billion in sales this year.

The numbers are truly impressive.