ashtead group plc
annual report and accounts 
for the year ended 30 april 2005
ashtead group plc annual report and accounts for the year ended 30 april 2005
wwwashteadgroupcom
ashtead group plc
king’s court
4151 kingston road
leatherhead
surrey kt22 7ap
tel 44 0 1372 362300 a market leader
in equipment
rental serving 
the us and uk
construction
industrial and
homeowner
markets
01 financial highlights
02 at a glance
04 chairman’s report
05 annual awards
06 chief executive’s review
10 sunbelt
12 aplant
14 ashtead technology
16 directors
18 senior management and advisers
19 directors’ report
21 corporate governance report
26 directors’ remuneration report
34 operating and financial review
49 independent auditors’ report
50 consolidated profit and loss account
51 consolidated statement of total recognised gains and losses
51 summary of movements in shareholders’ funds
52 consolidated balance sheet
53 consolidated cash flow statement
54 company balance sheet
55 notes to the consolidated financial statements
76 ten year history
77 our locations
80 key financial dates
ashtead group plc annual report and accounts for the year ended 30 april 2005 ashtead group plc annual report and accounts for the year ended 30 april 2005 
“the board 
anticipates 
reporting further 
progress in the
coming year” turnover
✝
£million
pretax proﬁt
✝
£million
cash tax earnings
per share
✝

Summary:
 at a glance
02
ashtead group plc annual report and accounts for the year ended 30 april 2005 
ashtead comprises three
distinct divisions sunbelt 
the fourth largest equipment
rental company in the us 
aplant the uk’ s third largest
equipment rental company
and ashtead t echnology 
a niche business renting
specialised electronic
underwater survey and
inspection equipment as well
as remote visual inspection
and environmental testing
equipment
sunbelt is the fourth largest equipment rental
business in the fragmented us market and
continues to increase its market share stretching
from coast to coast sunbelt has 202 rental
locations offering a broad range of both general
and specialised equipment supported by the
best customer service available
cliff miller
president and 
chief executive
“sunbelt performed
strongly in the year 
with both rental rates
and utilisation rising
substantially”
turnover up
15 4
to 661  1m
operating proﬁt up
47 6 
to 1082m ashtead group plc annual report and accounts for the year ended 30 april 2005 
aplant is the uk’ s third largest equipment rental
company with 202 locations across britain
more than 1900 employees and a ﬂeet of over
95000 pieces of nonoperated equipment
available for hire the company’ s product range
extends from power tools excavators and
compressors to accommodation units portable
trafﬁc signals generators and much more 
ashtead t echnology rents specialised electronic
equipment to the offshore oil and gas sectors
and the environmental monitoring and testing
industry from ten locations in the uk the us
canada and singapore
sat dhaiwal
chief executive
“aplant has seen
signiﬁcant beneﬁts 
this year from the
programme to refocus
its business completed 
in january 2004”
rob phillips
chief executive
“aided by increased
investment by oil and 
gas majors ashtead
technology increased 
its operating proﬁt 
by 259”
03
same store 
turnover up
5 2 
to £1 563m
operating proﬁt up
2 9 times
to £1 1 7m
turnover up
9 7 
to £1 24m
operating proﬁt up
25 9 
to £34m