(Reuters) - Equipment rental giant Ashtead Group Plc (L:AHT) reported a 35% slump in first-quarter profit on Tuesday as construction sector came under severe stress in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak.
The FTSE 100 company, which rents out diggers, construction tools and other equipment, said underlying pretax profit fell to 208 million pounds ($273.69 million) in the three months ended July 31, compared with 319 million pounds last year.
Rental revenue declined 8% to 1.08 billion pounds.