United Rentals Inc. announced financial results for the first quarter 2012, with total revenue of $656 million and rental revenue of $523 million, compared with $523 million and $434 million, respectively, for the same period last year. Adjusted EBITDA was $231 million and adjusted EBITDA margin was 35.2% for the first quarter 2012, showing an increase of $86 million and 7.5 percentage points over last year.
On a GAAP basis, the company reported first quarter 2012 net income of $13 million, or $0.17 per
diluted share, compared with a net loss of $20 million, or $0.34 per diluted share, for the same period in 2011. Adjusted EPS2 for the quarter was $0.36 per diluted share, compared with a loss of $0.32 per diluted share the prior year.
Rental revenue increased 20.5%, reflecting year-over-year increases of 6.3% in rental rates
and 18.4% in the volume of equipment on rent. The company has reaffirmed its standalone
outlook for an increase in rental rates of approximately 5% for the full year.
Other highlights include:
- Time utilization was 62.3%, an increase of 1.2 percentage points from the same period last
year, and a first quarter record for the company. The company has reaffirmed its standalone
outlook for an increase in time utilization for the full year of approximately 0.5 percentage
points.
- The size of the company’s fleet increased by $264 million since year-end 2011, measured on
an original equipment cost (OEC) basis, and was 16.2% larger, on average, in the first quarter
2012 compared to the same period last year.
- The company generated $76 million of proceeds from used equipment sales at a gross margin
of 38.2%, compared with $32 million of proceeds at a gross margin of 43.8% for the same
period last year.
"Our performance surpassed all prior first quarters, with record time utilization, record fleet growth, and record adjusted EBITDA, both
dollars and margin," said Michael Kneeland, chief executive officer of United Rentals. "Once again, we drove profitable growth faster than the construction recovery. Both core areas of our business - general rentals and specialty operations - realized higher rates year-over-year on a fleet that was about $600 million larger on average. These results speak volumes about the effectiveness of our strategy and the ongoing secular shift toward renting."
