Michael Pratt to retire as CFO in September 2025
Alex Pease, former Westrock CFO, named CFO designate
Company reports 7 drop in Q1 adjusted pretax profit

Sept 3 Reuters British equipment rental company Ashtead Group kept its annual profit forecast on Tuesday after reporting a drop in quarterly earnings, reassuring investors as it also named a new finance chief to replace Michael Pratt, who is retiring next year.

The company, which serves construction, emergency response and entertainment markets in Britain, Canada and the United States, posted a 7 fall in adjusted profit before tax for its fiscal first quarter ended July 31, on higher depreciation costs and lower used equipment sales.

Still, the company expects annual results in line with its prior expectations.

In North America, the increasing proportion of mega projects and the strength of our Specialty businesses has more than offset the lower activity levels in local commercial construction markets, it said in a statement.

Shares in Ashtead climbed 3 to be among the top gainers on London39;s FTSE 100 index. The stock has increased nearly threefold since Pratt became finance chief.

Overall, we would expect these results to be taken relatively well today with the inline messaging reassuring following the negative earnings revisions seen over the past year, JPMorgan analysts wrote in a note.

Ashtead has seen lower demand in the U.S., its biggest market, due to a drop in emergency response activity, as well…