Ashtead says confident on outlook after first quarter profit rise

LONDON (Reuters) - British industrial equipment hire group Ashtead said it was on track to achieve its full-year expectations and was confident about the medium-term outlook, after it posted a strong start to its new financial year.

Its optimistic outlook contracts with its peers United Rentals in the United States and Speedy Hire and HSS Hire in Britain, which have downgraded their full-year forecasts due to fears about a slowdown in U.S. growth and subdued activity in the oil and gas industry.

The company, which rents out everything from small tools to large diggers and water pumps, posted rental revenue of 539.6 million pounds ($826 million) for its first quarter ended July 31, up 20 percent from last year's 417.7 million.

(Reporting by Li-mei Hoang; Editing by David Holmes)