It underscores what tumultuous times we’re in that a blue-chip company can upgrade its annual profit forecast when revenues have been sliding and its shares falling as a result (Miles Costello writes).
This is what happened with Ashtead yesterday. The equipment hire group published a nine-month trading statement that showed a fall in turnover and pre-tax profit, only to guide investors to expect higher earnings for the full year.
The shares lost close to 2 per cent at one point, eventually closing 49p or 1.2 per cent down at £39.69. Call it profit taking but to management it might feel personal.
Ashtead Group was founded in the Surrey town of the same name in 1947 and initially supplied equipment for small construction jobs to local
