Rental rates have risen by 10% in the UK this year because of consolidation in the industry, according to Richard Baldwin, chairman and chief executive of Baldwins Industrial Services.
Baldwin said that the rate increase was due entirely to the acquisition of GWS by Ainscough, and the subsequent disposal of more than 150 cranes from the GWS fleet.
Improved rental rates helped Baldwins to achieve a 27% rise in turnover to £76.5m ($107m) for the year ending 31 March 2001. In its annual statement, released on 14 June, Baldwins reported operating profit up 2% to £11.4m ($16m), representing an operating margin of 14.9% (down from 18.7% in 2000).
EBITDA – earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation – up 19% to £23.4m ($32.7m).
Commenting on the results, Richard Baldwin said: “Last year was a difficult year involving a considerable amount of change at the Group and in the industry. It was also a year in which we put a more solid foundation in place for our future growth and for generating new profit streams, here and overseas.
“Our UK market place has recovered in the second half as reflected by the results. The current background is more stable than at this time last year.
“Despite a deterioration in global economic conditions since the start of the year, demand for our high quality heavy lifting expertise is offsetting any weakness at the small end of the market.
“We have started the year with good momentum and remain confident of meeting our 2001/2002 targets. The Group is better placed in the UK and overseas to take profitable advantage of those chosen markets in which we operate. We look forward to the future with optimism.” On eof the difficulties last year was that some of the company’s biggest cranes were in transit for many weeks to the USA and Venezuela. ‘We’ve taken the pain, now we can extract the gain,’ Baldwin said.
The company purchased 115 new mobile cranes in the financial year. Sales manager Grant Mitchell added that it planned to ‘agressively renew the fleet’ this year and open more depots in the UK to step up the pressure on its competitors.
The tower crane subsidiary, Delta Tower Cranes, also increased its fleet during the year by about 20 units to 117 units.
Baldwins’ new managing director Rick Barnett, who joined the company in March, said that there was further expansion planned for the tower crane fleet over the next year.
Group finance director Ray Stidwell hands over on 9 July to new recruit Andrew Somerville who joins from Corporate Express (UK), an office products supply company.
