ashtead group plc
annual report and accounts
for the year ended 30 april 2004
ashtead group plc annual report and accounts 2004
ashtead group plc
king’s court
4151 kingston road
leatherhead
surrey kt22 7ap
tel 44 0 1372 362300
wwwashteadgroupcom ten year history
year ended 30 april
2004 2003 2002 2001 2000 1999 1998 1997 1996 1995
in £m
turnover

5003 5395 5837 5520 3024 2560 2025 1476 959 673
operating costs
•
3533 3894 3986 3453 1814 1464 1133 852 537 400
ebitda
•
1470 1501 1851 2067 1210 1096 892 624 422 273
depreciation
•
1028 1110 1178 1176 668 633 485 332 212 134
operating profit
•
442 391 673 891 542 463 407 292 210 139
interest
•
366 409 491 507 109 77 50 18 12 03
pretax profitloss
•
76 18 182 384 433 386 357 274 198 136
operating profit
•
162 06 725 682 571 463 407 292 195 139
pretax lossprofit
•
331 422 155 111 462 386 357 274 183 136
net cash flow from 
operating activities 1267 2103 2020 1730 1114 933 776 565 331 261
capital expenditure
•
723 855 1138 2377 1582 1505 1534 989 610 389
book cost of 
rental equipment
•
8139 9458 9719 9628 6295 5279 3941 2456 1722 1026
shareholders’ funds
•
1318 1594 1929 2021 2368 2075 1513 1199 1077 488
in pence
dividends per share nil nil 350p 350p 316p 270p 230p 1825p 152p 117p
in percent
ebitda margin
•
294 278 317 374 400 428 440 423 440 406
operating profit margin
•
88 72 115 161 179 181 201 198 219 207
pretax profitloss margin
•
15 03 31 70 143 167 176 186 206 202
people
employees at year end 5833 6078 6545 6043 3930 3735 3174 2268 1968 1250
locations
profit centres at year end 428 449 463 443 352 341 275 181 164 107
before exceptional items and goodwill amortisation ebitda operating profit and pretax profitloss are stated before exceptional items but have been adjusted to allocate the
impact of the us accounting issues and the change in self insurance estimation method reported in 2003 to 2002 and 2001 and to reflect the bet usa lease adjustment reported
in 2002 in 2001 the directors believe these adjustments improve comparability between periods
• the results for the years up to 30 april 2000 were restated in 20001 to reflect the adoption of new accounting policies and estimation techniques under frs 18 in that year 
ashtead group plc
amongst the world’s leading equipment
outsourcers today ashtead has over 
425 branches principally in the us and 
the uk offering customers a wide range 
of equipment its diversified customer 
base includes construction industrial 
and homeowner customers as well as
government entities and specialist contractors
01 highlights
02 the group at a glance
04 chairman’s report
05 chief executive’s review
08 directors
10 advisers
11 directors’ report
13 corporate governance report
16 directors’ remuneration report
22 operating and financial review
36 independent auditors’ report to 
the members of ashtead group plc
37 consolidated profit and loss account
37 consolidated statement of total 
recognised gains  losses
37 summary of movements in shareholders’ funds
38 consolidated balance sheet
39 consolidated cash flow statement
40 company balance sheet
41 notes to the financial statements
63 our locations
ibc ten year history
“the group has made significant progress in the past
year financial stability has been achieved through the
extension of our banking facilities to september 2007 
and the issue of our ten year bond sunbelt our us
business achieved divisional operating profit growth in
dollars of over 40 and continued to take market share
in improving trading conditions following the completion
of its refocusing programme in january 2004 we have
seen encouraging signs of an improvement in the trading
performance of aplant our uk business we are looking
to build on this momentum in the coming year”  
george burnettchief executive 01 ashtead group plc annual report and accounts for the year ended 30 april 2004
highlights
✲ 42 growth in sunbelt’s full year divisional operating profit

to 733m 
2003 – 515m reflecting improved operating conditions in the us sunbelt’s 
fourth quarter profit was 202m 2003 – 30m
✲ aplant’s full year divisional operating profit

reduced to £40m 2003 – £79m
reflecting difficult trading during its refocusing programme which was completed 
in january since then its fourth quarter profit improved to £15m 2003 – loss 
of £24m
✲ full year group ebitda before exceptional items of £1470m up 4 at constant
exchange rates fourth quarter ebitda on the same basis of £350m up 45 at
constant rates
✲ full year group profit before exceptional items goodwill amortisation and tax of
£76m 2003 – £18m loss for the fourth quarter the profit on the same basis 
was £31m 2003 – £106m loss
✲ full year loss before tax of £331m 2003 – £422m loss and after tax 
loss per share of 108p 2003 – 103p loss per share reflecting goodwill
amortisation of £92m and exceptional charges of £315m of these £206m
related to one time refinancing costs and the balance was mostly noncash
✲ net free cash inflow

for the year of £566m up 46 from £389m in 2003
✲ net debt

at 30 april of £5267m £956m lower than last year’s £6223m 
at constant exchange rates net debt reduced by £536m in the year
 divisional operating profit is defined as the operating profit before exceptional items and goodwill amortisation of our divisions page 28
 net cash inflow from operating activities before exceptional items less interest paid net capital expenditure and tax page 31
 debt plus nonrecourse funding received under the accounts receivable securitisation less cash at bank and in hand page 34 02 ashtead group plc annual report and accounts for the year ended 30 april 2004
the group at a glance
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
business overview
sunbelt serves the construction and industrial
marketplace – from commercial residential
municipal and service industries to specialised
sectors such as emergency response
sunbelt’ s clustering of strategically positioned
locations in and around 17 large
metropolitan areas as well as conveniently
located stores in smaller markets ensure
customers receive the highest level of service
and equipment availability 
sunbelt
business overview
through its three national business units
main plant t ool hire shops and specialist
businesses aplant is able to respond to 
all its customers’ needs wherever they
arise its breadth of product and national
scale has enabled it to become 
a preferred supplier to most of the uk’ s
largest contractors
aplant
sat dhaiwal chief executive 
cliff miller president  chief executive 
aplant is the uk’ s third largest
equipment rental company providing 
its customers with a full range of
equipment from 220 locations
nationwide following a period of
consolidation aplant is now well
positioned for future growth
business overview
we have achieved a leadership position in 
the offshore and inspection industry through
offering one of the widest selections of
products available from one source in the
industry  we are also expanding outside 
the oil and gas industries into the onshore
nondestructive testing and remote visual
inspection equipment markets we believe
our environmental business will also play 
an increasingly important role
ashtead
technology
rob phillips chief executive 
ashtead t echnology rents specialised
electronic equipment to the offshore oil
and gas sectors and the environmental
monitoring and testing industry from
eight locations in the uk the us
canada and singapore
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 200 rental locations
offering a broad range of both general
and specialised equipment supported
by the best customer service available 03 ashtead group plc annual report and accounts for the year ended 30 april 2004
5728m
2004 2003
5470m
2004
733m
2003
515m
turnover profit
sunbelt
£1559m
2004 2003
£1784m
2004
£40m
2003
£79m
turnover profit
locations 
200 throughout the us
locations 
220 throughout the uk
aplant
£113m
2004 2003
£120m
2004
£27m
2003
£25m
turnover profit
locations 
9 uk us canada and singapore
ashtead technology
we supply rental equipment to a wide spectrum of customers including
•  commercial construction
•  environmental engineers
•  infrastructure maintenance 
and development
•  local and national government
•  manufacturing and service industries
•  rail maintenance
•  residential construction
•  small contractorshomeowners
•  specialist contractors
•  t elecommunications
•  utilities
 operating profit before goodwill amortisation and exceptional items 04 ashtead group plc annual report and accounts for the year ended 30 april 2004
chairman’s report
cob stenham
chairman
the year ended 30 april 2004 was a
challenging year for the company it ended
however with the company having
significantly improved its financial condition
through the issue of the senior secured
notes due 2014 and the extension of its
senior debt maturities until september 2007
and with signs of improvement in its trading
performance
much of your board’s time this year and my
time since i joined the board in november
2003 has been spent on securing the future
of the company and in ensuring that the
interests of all stakeholders in the company
– especially its shareholders lenders
customers suppliers and employees – were
appropriately considered in our plans
the past year has seen many challenges but
the success of sunbelt’s management team
in overcoming their march 2003 accounting
issues absorbing the changes in their team
which followed and then boosted by
recovering markets delivering a significantly
improved divisional operating profit
performance has provided a solid base on
which the group can build for the future
reflecting this cliff miller’s appointment as
a director of the company and as chief
executive of sunbelt reestablishes sunbelt’s
direct participation on the board i am
pleased to be able to congratulate cliff on
his appointment and we look forward to his
participation in future board discussion
in aplant there has also been significant
change and whilst the financial
performance of this business for the year
just ended remained disappointing the
measures taken more fully described in the
chief executive’s review that follows now
provide an opportunity for improvement 
the loss before tax for the year was £331m
2003 – £422m this reflected substantial
exceptional items connected principally with
the default and the subsequent refinancing
before exceptional items and goodwill
amortisation there was a profit for the year
of £76m 2003 – loss of £18m 
as well as the board the audit committee
has had a full year and i was very pleased
that hugh etheridge was able to join the
company in january as a nonexecutive
director and take up the chairmanship of
this committee it has considered the
reports and recommendations from the
group’s outsourced internal auditors in
detail and satisfied itself that management
had addressed these appropriately it also
liaised closely with our new independent
auditors
other changes in the board in the past 
year include the departure at the end of
february of my predecessor as chairman
henry staunton to enable him to
concentrate more fully on the demands 
of his new executive role at itv plc henry
successfully chaired the board through a
challenging period whilst also holding a 
full time executive role elsewhere his
experience and guidance were most
valuable and we are extremely grateful
alan wheatley former deputy chairman
and senior independent nonexecutive
director also retired last september having
been on the board for many years and
although we did not serve together it is
appropriate that i record our thanks to him
as well as to all our nonexecutive directors
for their work on the company’s behalf
although much remains to be done
george burnett and his executive team
deserve to be congratulated for their
achievements over the past year we also
have great employees in the company and 
i should like to thank them all for their
efforts in the past year
as to the future your board intends to
focus on the group’s operational and
financial management in the coming year 
in order to improve market share operating
margins and return on capital employed
particularly in the uk we look forward 
to the year ending 30 april 2005 with
guarded optimism
cob stenham
chairman
5 july 2004 05 ashtead group plc annual report and accounts for the year ended 30 april 2004
chief executive’s review 
george burnett
chief executive
overview
the group closed its year to 30 april 2004
with a strong last quarter performance
operating profit before exceptional items
and goodwill amortisation for the quarter
was £120m compared with a loss of £08m
in the previous year and the profit before
exceptional items goodwill amortisation
and tax for the quarter was £31m 2003 –
loss of £106m there were particularly
encouraging figures for both sunbelt the
group’s us division where dollar revenues
grew by 138 and divisional operating
profits increased from 30m to 202m
£18m to £110m in sterling terms and 
for aplant whose divisional operating profit
was £15m compared with a loss of £24m
in the previous year
for the full year to 30 april 2004 
group profits before exceptional items
goodwill amortisation and tax were £76m
2003 – loss of £18m at constant
exchange rates profits would have been
335 higher at £101m turnover before
exceptional items which declined by 16
at constant exchange rates was further
reduced at actual exchange rates by the
weakness of the dollar to £5003m 
2003 – £5395m a 73 decline
the group which started the year in
default with its bankers ended with the
achievement of financial stability through
the closing of our ten year bond issue in
april and the extension of our facilities with
1
divisional operating 
turnover ebitda profit
2004 2003 2004 2003 2004 2003
sunbelt in m 5728 5470 1768 1555 733 515
sunbelt in £m 3331 3491 1028 993 424 329
aplant 1559 1784 432 489 40 79
ashtead technology 113 120 57 61 27 25
group central costs – – 47 42 49 42
5003 5395 1470 1501 442 391
 before exceptional items           operating profit before goodwill amortisation and exceptional items
existing banks until the end of september
2007 significant exceptional costs were
incurred in this process contributing to the
frs 3 loss before tax of £331m 2003 –
£422m loss 
review of trading
sunbelt
sunbelt enjoyed a strong recovery in the
year with dollar revenues up 258m or
47 to 5728m tight control of costs
maximised the benefits of operational
gearing so that 218m of the increased
revenue fell to the bottom line as a result
divisional operating profit was up 423 
to 733m 2003 – 515m 
although the weakness of the dollar 
transformed the 47 increase in dollar
revenues into a 46 decline in sterling  06 ashtead group plc annual report and accounts for the year ended 30 april 2004
chairman’s statement chief executive’s review 
3 5
divisional operating profits in sterling were
still up 289 ebitda margins improved
from 284 to 309 and operating
margins from 94 to 128
utilisation levels which in the first half had
trailed the previous year averaged 651
for the year as a whole compared with
645 in the previous year thanks to a
strong last quarter rental rates improved
with an estimated uplift of 4 for the year
as a whole as the year progressed and the
us economy strengthened there was also
evidence of accelerating recovery in the
nonresidential construction market
sunbelt’s principal customer base and in
the equipment rental market itself this
coupled with improved utilisation and
pricing produced year on year growth in
total quarterly revenues of 10 32
40 and 138 over the four quarters
indicating that sunbelt continued to take
market share
capital expenditure in the year was kept
under tight control with fleet investment
being largely matched with disposals in a
market where improving second hand
pricing gave further evidence of economic
recovery there were three new profit centre
openings in the year bringing the total
number to 200
aplant
for aplant the past year was one of
transition as its business refocusing
programme was completed three noncore
activities were disposed of – mast climbing
big air and its businesses in ireland in
addition the final stages of the move from
five geographic regions to three product
focused divisions main plant specialist and
tool hire shops was put in place these
changes coupled with the network
rationalisation begun in 2003 under which
over 20 profit centres have been closed
contributed to a 126 decline in turnover
to £1559m same store turnover was
down 53 in the year costs excluding
exceptional items and amortisation were
reduced by 109 so that the £225m
turnover decline was restricted to a £39m
reduction in divisional operating profit 
to £40m
aplant enjoyed a much improved fourth
quarter same store turnover was almost in
line with last year down 09 and
utilisation rates which for the year as a
whole averaged 599 compared with
607 in the previous year were 636 
in the last quarter significantly above the
comparable 2003 figure of 596 
as mentioned above divisional operating
profit for the quarter was £15m prior 
year loss £24m
2
4 07 ashtead group plc annual report and accounts for the year ended 30 april 2004
ashtead technology – offshore and
environmental
ashtead technology achieved an 80
improvement in its divisional operating
profit in the year to 30 april 2004 despite
difficult trading in many of its markets
tight cost controls saw operating margins
increase to 239 from 208 in 2003
the us businesses both offshore and
environmental saw growth in the year and
a new environmental profit centre was
opened in the san francisco area since the
year end the first such business in the uk
has been opened in hitchin and there are
further planned openings in atlanta and
chicago in the coming 12 months
interest and exceptional items
interest costs before exceptional items
declined to £366m 2003 – £409m
reflecting lower average borrowings and the
weakness of the us dollar exceptional items
totalled £315m and principally related to
costs incurred in connection with the
extension of the maturity of the company’s
senior debt facilities
cash flow
the group continued to generate strong
cash flow net free cash inflow as defined
for the year was £566m up 455 from
£389m in the previous year net debt was
reduced by £956m reflecting this cash
generation and the weakness of the dollar
at constant exchange rates the reduction
was £536m
capital expenditure during the year was
reduced in line with market conditions 
the total for the year was £723m 2003 –
£855m of which £641m 2003 – £710m
was spent on the rental fleet it is anticipated
that capital expenditure in the coming year
will rise to approximately £100m in line
with the depreciation charge the average
age of the group’s fleet at 30 april 2004
was 46 months 43 months in the uk and
48 months in total for the us but when
the longerlife aerial work platform fleet is
excluded the average fleet age for the rest
of the us fleet reduces to 35 months
profits on disposal of fixed assets were
£62m up from £30m in the previous year
current trading and outlook
the improving turnover performance seen
in the last quarter of the financial year
continued in the months of may and june
sunbelt’s dollar revenues grew 109 
while aplant achieved like for like growth
of 24 
while a further weakening of the us dollar
and the prospect of higher interest rates
could have some negative impact the
board is encouraged by the improving
trends in its businesses and in the markets
in which they operate and believes that
further progress should be achieved in the
coming year
george burnett
chief executive
5 july 2004
1 a 34’ towable manlift operated by a residential
contractor
2 one of sunbelt’s 1500 kw generators providing 
backup power at richmond memorial hospital in
columbia sc
3 tool hire shops’ fleet of new delivery vans
4 powered access equipment canary wharf london
5 richard dey managing director of tool hire shops left
and sat dhaiwal aplant ceo right with carl tidey 
profit centre manager of the derby south tool hire shop
centre winner of aplant profit centre of the 
year 20034
6 cliff miller sunbelt president  ceo centre right with
brendan horgan coo left chuck miller evp operational
support right and don furr profit centre manager of the
maryland pump and power profit centre centre left and
winner of sunbelt profit centre of the year 20034
6 08 ashtead group plc annual report and accounts for the year ended 30 april 2004
chairman’s statement directors 
1 2
4 6
3
7 8
5 09 ashtead group plc annual report and accounts for the year ended 30 april 2004
1 cob stenham ba fca
nonexecutive chairman
aged 72 cob stenham has served as 
nonexecutive chairman since 1 january
2004 as chairman of the nominations
committee since 12 january 2004 and 
as a director since 27 october 2003 
mr stenham also serves as chairman of
telewest communications plc and telewest
global inc and as nonexecutive director 
of hebridean cruises plc whatsonwhen
nonexecutive chairman management
consulting group plc cambridge place
investment management and ifonline
group plc nonexecutive chairman
2 george burnett ma llb ca
chief executive
aged 57 george burnett has served as
chief executive since february 2000 and as
one of our directors since may 1984 prior
to february 2000 mr burnett served as our
managing director for 16 years mr burnett
also serves as a nonexecutive director of
henderson strata investments plc and as
chairman of the governors of the surrey
institute of art and design university
college overall mr burnett has over 26
years experience in the equipment rental
business george burnett is chairman of the
finance and administration committee and
a member of the nominations committee
3 ian robson bsc fca 
finance director
aged 45 ian robson has served as finance
director and as one of our directors since
june 2000 prior to june 2000 mr robson
served for four years in a series of senior
financial positions at reuters group plc prior
to joining reuters group plc mr robson
served for four years as a partner at price
waterhouse now pricewaterhousecoopers
llp ian robson is a member of the finance
and administration committee 
4 cliff miller
president  chief executive officer sunbelt
aged 40 cliff miller was appointed
president and chief executive officer of
sunbelt and as one of our directors effective
5 july 2004 cliff miller has more than 20
years of experience in the rental industry
and joined the group in 1996 with the
acquisition of maclean rentals from that
time until 2003 he was vice president
responsible for sunbelt’s northeastern
division since august 2003 he has been
one of two executive vice presidents
responsible for all of sunbelt’s front line
operations
5 sat dhaiwal
chief executive officer aplant
aged 35 sat dhaiwal has served as chief
executive officer of aplant and as one of
our directors since march 2002 mr dhaiwal
served as managing director of aplant
east one of aplant’s four operational
regions from may 1998 to march 2002 
mr dhaiwal served as an aplant trading
director from 1995 until his appointment 
as managing director of aplant east and
prior to 1995 he served as a manager of
one of aplant’s profit centres mr dhaiwal
has over 20 years experience in the
equipment rental industry
6 chris cole ceng fcibse
senior independent nonexecutive director
aged 57 chris cole has served as a director
and as a member of the audit nominations
and remuneration committees since
january 2002 he was appointed chairman
of the remuneration committee on 22
september 2003 and became the senior
independent nonexecutive director from
the same date mr cole also serves as 
chief executive officer of wsp group plc
7 hugh etheridge fca mct
independent nonexecutive director
aged 54 hugh etheridge joined the board
on 1 january 2004 and has been a member
of the audit remuneration and
nominations committees since 12 january
2004 he was also appointed chairman of
the audit committee on 12 january 2004
mr etheridge currently serves as chief
financial officer of the waste and 
resources action programme a nonprofit
organisation established by the uk
government to promote sustainable waste
management mr etheridge formerly served
as finance director of waste recycling
group plc and prior to that of matthew
clark plc
8 philip lovegrove obe llm
nonexecutive director
aged 66 philip lovegrove has served as 
a director since 1984 and is a member of
the nominations committee mr lovegrove
also serves as chairman of vtr plc
chairman of stanelco plc and as a 
director of fiske plc
details of the directors’ contracts emoluments 
and share interests can be found in the directors’
remuneration report
senior management
sunbelt
brendan horgan
kurt kenkel 
charles miller
randy nelson
earl rose
brian tate
suzanne wood
aplant
richard dey
tony durant
paul fereday
gary thompson
richard winfield
ashtead technology rentals
rob phillips
iain guthrie
peter simpson
corporate
michael pratt 10 ashtead group plc annual report and accounts for the year ended 30 april 2004
auditors
deloitte  touche llp
hill house
1 little new street
london 
ec4a 3tr
financial advisers
jpmorgan
10 aldermanbury
london
ec2v 7rf
close brothers corporate finance
10 crown place
clifton street
london 
ec2a 2ft
principal bankers
lloyds tsb bank plc
25 gresham street
london 
ec2v 7hn
bank of america
5 canada square
london
e14 5aq
bank of america
100 north tryon street
charlotte nc 28255
solicitors
slaughter and may
one bunhill row
london
e1y 8yy
speechly bircham
6 st andrew street
london 
ec4a 3lx
parker poe adams  bernstein llp
three first union center
401 south tryon street
charlotte nc 28202
brokers
panmure gordon
50 stratton street
london 
w1j 8ll
registrars  transfer office
lloyds tsb registrars
the causeway
worthing
west sussex 
bn99 6da
financial pr advisers
tulchan communications group plc
sixth floor
kildare house
3 dorset rise
london
ec4y 8en
registered office
king’s court
4151 kingston road
leatherhead
surrey
kt22 7ap
tel 44 0 1372 362300
registered number 1807982
advisers 
key financial dates
2004 annual general meeting  
20 september 2004
quarter 1 results’ release
20 september 2004
quarter 2 results’ release
mid december 2004
quarter 3 results’ release
late march 2005
quarter 4 and 2005 full year 
results’ release
early july 2005 11 ashtead group plc annual report and accounts for the year ended 30 april 2004
the directors present their report and the
audited accounts for the financial year
ended 30 april 2004
principal activities
the principal activity of the company is that
of an investment holding and management
company the principal activity of the group
is the rental of equipment to industrial and
commercial users
trading results and dividends
the group’s consolidated loss before
taxation for the year was £331m 2003 –
loss of £422m a review of the group’s
performance is given on pages 22 to 35
the directors do not recommend the
payment of a final dividend and recommend
that the retained loss of £348m be
transferred from reserves
share capital 
the following shareholders have notified the
directors that they hold or are beneficially
interested in 3 or more of the company’s
ordinary share capital as set out below
at 5 july

scottish widows investment partnership 61
jm harvey 54
aim funds management inc 50
goldman sachs group inc 41
legal  general 39
investeringsselskabet luxor as 34
aegon asset management uk 32
details of directors’ interests in the company’s ordinary share capital and in options over that share capital are given in the directors’
remuneration report on pages 16 to 21
share option schemes
at 30 april 2004 the following shares were subject to option
discretionary schemes
number of option price
shares per share
exercisable between 26 august 1997 and 26 august 2004 887290 61440p
exercisable between 27 september 1998 and 27 september 2005 980344 72535p
exercisable between 27 february 2000 and 27 february 2007 286000 134665p
exercisable between 27 february 2000 and 27 february 2007 1053200 132250p
exercisable between 3 february 2001 and 3 february 2008 235700 191200p
exercisable between 5 february 2001 and 5 february 2008 1918000 184200p
exercisable between 5 january 1998 and 5 january 2005 1124 170370p
exercisable between 24 february 2002 and 24 february 2009 348450 177830p
exercisable between 26 february 2002 and 26 february 2009 901450 172500p
exercisable between 22 february 2003 and 22 february 2010 803000 102000p
exercisable between 8 march 2003 and 8 march 2010 265500 101840p
exercisable between 8 august 2003 and 8 august 2010 745500 102500p
exercisable between 16 august 2003 and 16 august 2010 29500 101670p
exercisable between 9 february 2004 and 9 february 2011 2639360 125000p
exercisable between 26 february 2004 and 26 february 2011 372750 124500p
exercisable between 26 february 2005 and 26 february 2012 3431500 41500p
exercisable between 2 august 2005 and 2 august 2012 400000 49500p
15298668
saye scheme
exercisable between 1 april and 30 september 2004 5 year contract 10860 133600p
exercisable between 1 april and 30 september 2005 5 year contract 73016 81340p
exercisable between 1 april and 30 september 2004 3 year contract 31464 94800p
exercisable between 1 april and 30 september 2006 5 year contract 24920 94800p
exercisable between 1 april and 30 september 2005 3 year contract 485008 41600p
exercisable between 1 april and 30 september 2007 5 year contract 177423 41600p
exercisable between 1 may and 31 october 2006 3 year contract 1595494 24270p
exercisable between 1 may and 31 october 2008 5 year contract 1012091 24270p
3410276
 these options result from the rolling over of options under the sheriff holdings share option schemes into options under the company’s schemes
directors’ report 12 ashtead group plc annual report and accounts for the year ended 30 april 2004
employees 
the total number of employees worldwide
of the group at 30 april 2004 was 5833
the group makes every reasonable effort to
give disabled applicants and existing
employees becoming disabled opportunities
for work training and career development
in keeping with their aptitudes and abilities
the group is an equal opportunities
employer 
the group has taken action consistently
through the year to maintain and develop
arrangements aimed at involving employees
in its affairs for example monthly meetings
are held at profit centres to discuss the
previous month’s performance the group
has a positive approach to health and safety
at work and to compliance with the law and
the requirements of the regulatory bodies in
both the uk and the us a copy of the
relevant formal statement of the group’s
policy on health and safety is on display at
profit centres in the uk and the us
the group encourages employees to
become shareholders through discretionary
and saye share option schemes details of
options outstanding under these schemes
are set out on page 11
directors and directors’ insurance
details of the directors of the company are
given on pages 8 and 9 the company has
maintained insurance throughout the year
to cover all directors against liabilities in
relation to the company and its subsidiary
undertakings 
future developments 
the group seeks to develop by expansion of
its activities in equipment rental
policy on payment of suppliers 
suppliers are paid in accordance with the
individual payment terms agreed with each
of them the number of group creditor days
at 30 april 2004 was 81 days 30 april 2003
–162 days on a comparable basis which
reflects the terms agreed with individual
suppliers there were no trade creditors in
the company’s balance sheet at any time
during the past two years
political and charitable donations 
charitable donations in the year amounted
to £33800 in total 2003 – £1250 no
political donations were made in either year 
environmental report
the group through its equipment
purchasing policies maintenance
programmes and environmental monitoring
practices endeavours to ensure that its
trading activities have as little adverse
impact on the environment as it is possible
to achieve in pursuit of this ideal the group
has developed environmental management
processes which are designed to ensure
• compliance with relevant legislation
• removal of potential causes of
environmental damage where 
practicable and
• continuous reduction in environmental
impact through monitoring and 
corrective action
the group’s continued investment in its
rental fleet along with its maintenance
programmes minimises both pollution to
the atmosphere and accidental
contamination the facilities the group
maintains throughout its profit centre
network enable waste to be disposed of
correctly bulk fuels to be stored safely and
fleet cleaning and maintenance to be carried
out efficiently 
group companies have documented
procedures at profit centre level for fleet
maintenance removal of waste from
customers’ sites back to company premises
for safe disposal as well as contractual
arrangements for the disposal of all major
waste products 
the group’s internal operational audit teams
measure and monitor environmental
performance and control measures at profit
centres as part of their rolling audit
programme and report their findings to
senior operational management 
auditors
the board decided to appoint deloitte 
touche llp as auditors to the company
accordingly pricewaterhousecoopers llp
resigned on 23 march 2004 and deloitte 
touche llp was appointed by the directors
on the same day
deloitte  touche llp has indicated its
willingness to continue in office and a
resolution concerning their reappointment
and authorising the directors to fix their
remuneration will be proposed at the
annual general meeting
annual general meeting 
the annual general meeting will be held at
1130 am on monday 20 september 2004
for ordinary shareholders a separate notice 
of annual general meeting which includes
an explanation of the proposed resolutions
will be mailed separately in advance of 
the meeting
by order of the board 
ian robson
finance director
5 july 2004
directors’ report introduction 
the company is committed to maintaining high standards of
corporate governance the board recognises that it is accountable
to the company’s shareholders for corporate governance and this
statement describes how the relevant principles have been practised
by the company
the company complied throughout the year with the provisions of
corporate governance set out in section 1 of the combined code
on corporate governance save that at the beginning of the year
the service contracts of mr burnett and mr dressel provided for
either notice periods in excess of one year or predetermined
compensation in excess of one year’s salary mr dressel’s contract
was terminated on 29 july 2003 and mr burnett signed a new
contract on 18 september 2003 under which his notice period was
reduced to one year 
therefore since 18 september 2003 the company has complied
fully with all the provisions of corporate governance set out in
section 1 of the combined code
the board is evaluating the principles of the revised combined
code issued in july 2003 which will apply to the company in
respect of the year ending 30 april 2005 the board aims to report
substantial compliance throughout 20045 in its next annual report
to shareholders
the board
the company’s board comprises the nonexecutive chairman the
chief executive the finance director the executive heads of sunbelt
and aplant the senior independent nonexecutive director and two
other nonexecutive directors short biographies of the directors are
given on page 9
all directors are responsible under the law for the proper conduct 
of the company’s affairs the directors are also responsible for
ensuring that the strategies proposed by the executive directors 
are discussed in detail and critically assessed to ensure that they
conform with the long term interests of shareholders and are
compatible with the interests of employees customers and
suppliers the board has reserved to itself those matters which
reinforce its control of the company these include treasury policy
acquisitions and disposals appointment or removal of directors or
the company secretary appointment or removal of auditors and
approval of the annual accounts
to ensure that the directors are suitably briefed to fulfil their 
roles regular reports and briefings are provided to the board 
by the executive directors and the company secretary the board
normally meets at least six times a year and there is contact
between meetings to advance the company’s activities the
directors also have access to the company secretary and a
procedure is in place for them to take independent advice 
as needed at the company’s expense
all directors are subject to election by shareholders at the first
annual general meeting after their appointment and to reelection
thereafter at intervals of no more than three years nonexecutive
directors are appointed for specified terms not exceeding three years
and are subject to reelection and the provisions of the companies
act relating to the removal of a director
board committees
audit committee
the audit committee is composed of mr etheridge chairman since
12 january 2004 and mr cole mr cole served throughout the year
and mr lovegrove served as chairman until 12 january 2004 and as
a member until the end of the year mr wheatley and mr staunton
were members of the committee until their retirements on 22
september 2003 and 20 february 2004 respectively in line with 
the recent recommendations of the smith committee our non
executive chairman mr stenham is not a member of the audit
committee but attends meetings when requested
our finance director mr robson our director of financial reporting
mr pratt and our other directors normally attend parts of the
committee’s meetings as do representatives of our internal and
external auditors in addition the members of the committee meet
alone amongst themselves and also with the external auditors at
least annually
the audit committee meets at least four times a year to review the
draft interim and annual financial statements to consider the key
accounting estimates and judgements contained therein and to
consider reports from both the external and internal auditors the
audit committee also evaluates the effectiveness of our internal
controls and financial and accounting policies and is responsible for
dealing with any matters brought to its attention by our auditors
the audit committee also keeps under review the effectiveness of
both internal and external audit as well as the independence of the
external auditors including the level of non audit fees paid in this
respect the audit committee notes that non audit fees paid to
deloitte  touche llp were incurred under letters of engagement
approved prior to that firm’s appointment as external auditors
during the year following a recommendation to this effect from 
the members of the audit committee the board decided to
appoint deloitte  touche llp as external auditors in place of
pricewaterhousecoopers llp  following this appointment the audit
committee will reconsider the appointment of deloitte  touche
llp as internal auditors in the second half of 2004 
remuneration committee
the members of the remuneration committee are mr cole
member throughout the year and chairman from 22 september
2003 and mr etheridge appointed 12 january 2004 mr
wheatley as chairman and mr staunton served the committee
until their retirements on 22 september 2003 and 20 february
2004 respectively mr lovegrove also served as a member of the
committee until the end of the year the remuneration committee
meets three or four times a year to set the compensation packages
for the executive directors to establish the terms and conditions of
the executive directors’ employment and to set remuneration policy
generally mr stenham and mr burnett but not any of the other
executive directors normally attend the meetings of the
committee to assist them in their work
13 ashtead group plc annual report and accounts for the year ended 30 april 2004
corporate governance report none of the members of the remuneration committee is currently
or has been at any time since the time of our formation one of 
our executive directors or employees none of our executive
directors currently serves or in the past has served as a member 
of the board of directors of any other company which has one 
or more of its executive directors serving on our board or
remuneration committee
nominations committee
the members of the nominations committee who served
throughout the year unless otherwise stated are mr stenham
chairman from 12 january 2004 mr burnett mr cole 
mr etheridge appointed 12 january 2004 and mr lovegrove 
mr wheatley and mr staunton who was also chairman until 
12 january 2004 served the committee until their retirements 
on 22 september 2003 and 20 february 2004 respectively 
the nominations committee meets as required to review the
composition of and to recommend any proposed changes 
to the structure and composition of the board of directors
finance and administration committee
the finance and administration committee is composed of 
mr stenham mr burnett and mr robson the board of directors
has delegated authority to this committee to deal with routine
financial and administrative matters between board meetings 
the committee meets as necessary to perform its role and has 
a quorum requirement of two members with certain matters
requiring the presence of mr stenham our nonexecutive
chairman including for example the approval of material
announcements to the london stock exchange
internal control
the directors acknowledge their responsibility for the group’s
system of internal control and confirm they have reviewed 
its effectiveness in doing so the group has taken note of the
guidance for directors on internal control internal control
guidance for directors on the combined code the turnbull
guidance
the board confirms that there is a process for identifying evaluating
and managing significant risks faced by the group this process has
been in place for the full financial year and is ongoing it is kept
under regular review by the executive directors and is considered
periodically by the board and accords with the turnbull guidance
the board considers that the group’s internal control system is
appropriately designed to manage rather than eliminate the risk 
of failure to achieve business objectives any such control system
however can only provide reasonable and not absolute assurance
against material misstatement or loss 
the process for keeping risks and the related internal controls under
review is based initially on work undertaken by the heads of the us
and uk internal operational audit teams in the year ended 30 april
2001 they undertook a thorough review of the group and of the
risks it faces in its business and of how these risks are managed
each year since they have reviewed and updated this work and
produced an annual report in conjunction with the management
teams of each of the group’s businesses their work included
consideration of whether there were any matters which had arisen
since their first report was prepared which might indicate omissions
or inadequacies in their initial review they also considered whether
as a result of changes in either the internal or external environment
new significant risks had arisen the executive directors reviewed
their draft report which was then presented to discussed by and
approved by the group board on 29 june 2004
before producing the statement on internal control for the 
annual report and accounts for the year ended 30 april 2004 
the board reconsidered the operational effectiveness of the 
group’s internal control systems in particular this considered 
the status of implementation of the internal control improvement
recommendations made by the investigating accountants and 
our then external auditors following the breakdown in internal
controls at sunbelt in the year ended 30 april 2003 and the internal
audit work undertaken subsequently during the year ended 30 april
2004 the control system includes written policies and control
procedures clearly drawn lines for accountability and delegation of
authority and comprehensive reporting and analysis against budgets
and latest forecasts the recommendations raised in 2003 by the
investigating accountants who reviewed the accounting breakdown
at sunbelt and by our then external auditors have now been
implemented a substantial majority of the internal audit
recommendations have also been implemented
in a group of the size and complexity and geographical diversity 
of ashtead it should be expected that minor breakdowns in
established control procedures might occur there are supporting
policies and procedures for investigation and management 
of control breakdowns at any of the group’s profit centres 
or elsewhere 
the audit committee also meets with the external auditors at least
four times a year to discuss the results of their work in relation to
internal financial control the group’s control and monitoring
procedures include
• the maintenance and production of accurate and timely financial
management information including a monthly profit and loss
account and selected balance sheet data for each profit centre
• the control of key financial risks through clearly laid down
authority levels and proper segregation of accounting duties at the
group’s accounting support centres
• the preparation of a regular financial report to the board including
profit and loss accounts for the group and each subsidiary
balance sheets and cash flow statements
• the preparation of an annual budget and periodic update
forecasts which are reviewed by the executive directors and then
by the board
• a programme of rental equipment inventories and full inventory
counts conducted at each profit centre by equipment type
independently checked on a sample basis by our internal and
external auditors
• detailed internal audits at the group’s major accounting centres
undertaken by internal audit specialists from deloitte  touche
llp and 
14 ashtead group plc annual report and accounts for the year ended 30 april 2004
corporate governance report • comprehensive audits of all profit centres carried out on average
at least once per year by internal operational audit copies of
these reports are also supplied to the group finance director to
whom the heads of the sunbelt and aplant internal operational
audit teams have direct access in the event of any issues which
they may need to discuss independently of the operational
management teams
directors’ responsibilities in relation to the 
financial statements 
the directors are required by the companies act 1985 to prepare
financial statements for each financial year which give a true and
fair view of the state of affairs of the company and the group as 
at the end of the financial year and of the profit or loss for the
financial year
in preparing the financial statements the directors are required to
• select suitable accounting policies and then apply them
consistently supported by judgements and estimates that are
reasonable and prudent
• state whether applicable accounting standards have been
followed subject to any material departures disclosed and
explained in the financial statements and
• prepare the financial statements on a going concern basis unless
this is inappropriate
the directors are also responsible for keeping proper accounting
records which disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the
financial position of the company and enable them to ensure that
the financial statements comply with the companies act 1985 
the directors also have responsibility for taking reasonable steps 
to safeguard the assets of the group and prevent and detect fraud
and other irregularities
the maintenance and integrity of the ashtead group plc website 
is the responsibility of the directors the work carried out by the
auditors does not involve consideration of these matters and
accordingly the auditors accept no responsibility for any changes
that may have occurred to the financial statements since they were
first published
legislation in the united kingdom governing the preparation and
dissemination of financial statements may differ from legislation 
in other jurisdictions
going concern
after making appropriate enquiries the directors have a reasonable
expectation that the company and the group have adequate
resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable
future and that it is therefore appropriate to adopt the going
concern basis in preparing the financial statements in forming this
view the directors have reviewed the group’s budgets and cash flow
forecasts for a period of more than 12 months from the date of 
the approval of these financial statements and considered the
sufficiency of the group’s banking facilities described on pages 51
and 52 of the financial statements
by order of the board
cob stenham
chairman
5 july 2004
15 ashtead group plc annual report and accounts for the year ended 30 april 2004
corporate governance report introduction
this report has been prepared in accordance with the directors’
remuneration report regulations 2002 the report also meets
the relevant requirements of the listing rules of the financial
services authority and describes how the board has applied 
the principles of good governance relating to directors’
remuneration as required by the regulations a resolution to
approve the report will be proposed at the forthcoming annual
general meeting of the company
the regulations require the auditors to report to the company’s
members on the ‘auditable part’ of the directors’ remuneration
report and to state whether in their opinion that part of the report
has been properly prepared in accordance with the companies act
1985 as amended by the regulations the report has therefore
been divided into separate sections for audited and unaudited
information
unaudited information
remuneration committee
the company has established a remuneration committee ‘the
committee’ in accordance with the recommendations of the
combined code the members of the committee are mr cole
member throughout the year and chairman from 22 september
2003 and mr etheridge appointed 12 january 2004 in addition
the committee was served by mr wheatley as chairman until his
retirement on 22 september 2003 mr staunton as a member until
his retirement on 20 february 2004 and mr lovegrove until the end
of the year which covered the period during which the committee
considered the directors’ remuneration for 2004 none of the
committee members has any personal financial interests other 
than as shareholders in the matters to be decided
the group’s chief executive mr burnett normally attends the
meetings of the committee to advise on operational aspects of 
the implementation of existing policies and policy proposals except
where his own remuneration is concerned as does the non
executive chairman mr stenham the company secretary acts 
as secretary to the committee in formulating its policies the
committee has access to professional advice from outside the
company if required and to publicly available reports and statistics 
remuneration policy for executive directors
executive remuneration packages are designed to attract motivate
and retain directors of the high calibre needed to achieve the
group’s objectives and to reward them for enhancing value to
shareholders the main elements of the remuneration package 
for executive directors and senior management are
• basic annual salary and benefits in kind 
• annual performance bonus plan
• share related incentives including the investment incentive plan 
a longterm coinvestment plan approved by shareholders on 
8 october 2001 and
• pension arrangements
in assessing all aspects of pay and benefits the company compares
packages offered by similar companies which are chosen having
regard to
• the size of the company turnover profits and number of 
people employed 
• the diversity and complexity of its businesses 
• the geographical spread of its businesses and 
• their growth expansion and change profile
in making the comparisons the company takes into consideration
the scope of the group’s business particularly its significant
operations in the us where the company has a number of active
publicly quoted competitors 
the committee implements its remuneration policies by the design
of reward packages for executive directors comprising the
appropriate mix of salary performance related cash incentive
bonuses and share options mr burnett with the approval of the
board holds two nonexecutive appointments outside the group
and is allowed to retain the fees arising therefrom none of the
other executive directors holds any outside appointments in the
past year the company has not obtained advice in regard to
executive directors’ salary and incentive rewards from any third 
party adviser
basic salary
an executive director’s basic salary is normally determined by the
committee before the start of the year and when an individual
changes position or responsibility in deciding appropriate levels 
the committee considers the group as a whole and seeks to be
competitive but fair using information provided both by internal
and external sources during the year due to the weak financial
performance of the group in the year ended 30 april 2003 and 
the consequent reduction in its market capitalisation the level of
the executive directors’ basic salary was reviewed and in the case 
of mr burnett and mr robson adjusted downwards
annual performance related bonus plans
under the annual performance related bonus plans for uk based
executive directors payments are related directly to performance
subject to a cap at twothirds of an executive director’s salary the
discretionary annual bonus plan for mr burnett and mr robson
depended partly on financial performance and partly on non
financial targets relating to our refinancing mr dhaiwal’s
discretionary bonus plan depended mainly on the financial
performance of aplant 
in the year ended 30 april 2004 mr burnett and mr robson did
not achieve their performance targets relating to the company’s
financial performance however they were awarded discretionary
bonuses to recognise the efforts which they had made to deliver
the successful refinancing of the group’s debt facilities with the
completion of the issue of the senior secured notes in april 2004
accordingly mr burnett earned 21 of his maximum potential
bonus and mr robson earned 42 of his maximum potential
bonus in addition mr dhaiwal was awarded a discretionary bonus
in respect of delivering our lenders’ requirements of aplant
representing 15 of his maximum potential bonus
16 ashtead group plc annual report and accounts for the year ended 30 april 2004
directors’ remuneration report share related incentives
details of the company’s existing arrangements are set out below
the committee is currently reviewing future share based incentive
arrangements with external advice
share option schemes
in relation to share option awards the committee’s policy is to
make regular awards to senior staff in order that their personal
interests are aligned with those of shareholders the value of the
shares underlying the options awarded is assessed by reference to 
a number of factors including the employee’s salary seniority and
length of service as well as both the company’s and the individual’s
performance in the year prior to the award 
it is the company’s practice to normally award share options
annually taking into account the results of the group andor the
operating division in the financial year ending on the 30 april
immediately before the date of grant and individual performance
and contribution in determining the amount of individual awards
however in light of the company’s financial performance in the
year ended 30 april 2003 no option awards were made in the year
to 30 april 2004
investment incentive plan
the investment incentive plan is a longterm incentive plan which
provides for participants who so elect to invest all or a portion of
their annual cash bonuses in shares of the company and thus
become eligible for matching awards in the form of shares which
only vest subject to demanding performance conditions 
the matching awards are made in respect of investment shares
acquired by the director with all or part of their bonus for the
previous financial year the matching awards only vest in whole or
part based on the annual growth in the company’s earnings per
share ‘eps’ in the three year period following the award over that
of the year ended 30 april immediately prior to the date of the
award and on the company’s total shareholder return ‘tsr’
performance relative to a comparator group in respect of the
matching awards granted the relevant performance period is the
three year period from 8 october 2001 when the company’s share
price at close was 72p to 8 october 2004 for the awards granted
in 20012 and over the three year period from 29 july 2002 when
the share price was 495p to 28 july 2005 for the award granted in
20023 the comparator group comprises all of the ftse 250 mid
cap stocks other than investment trusts
the above performance conditions have been chosen because they
are felt to align most closely the interests of senior management
with the interests of shareholders by rewarding management for
achieving superior relative total shareholder return performance
compared with the ftse 250 as a whole excluding investment
trusts the ftse 250 is considered to be the stock exchange index
most appropriate to the size and scale of the company’s operations
vesting of the matching awards is based on the following required
performance grid
vesting operates on a scaled basis for performance between the
target levels shown in the grid above performance is measured 
at the end of the three year performance period when the awards
either vest in full or part or lapse completely for performance
measurement purposes earnings per share is based on the profit
before exceptional items measured under consistently applied
accounting policies although the 20012 awards will not finally
lapse until after 8 october 2004 the company’s financial
performance to 30 april 2004 was below the minimum eps growth
target and accordingly no matching awards will be made in respect
of that year’s awards in connection with the operation of the plan
the company established an employee share ownership trust
which holds 2723461 shares ownership of 2072582 
of these shares has been conditionally transferred to each director
subject to forfeiture to the extent that the required performance
conditions are not attained the executive directors have waived
their entitlement to any dividend on the shares conditionally
transferred to them until the conclusion of the relevant
performance period
the company charges against profit each year an amount equal
to onethird of the expected cost of the proportion of the
matching award expected to vest at the end of the three year
performance period
no awards were made under this plan in the financial year but it is
the committee’s intention to offer awards to senior executives in
relation to their bonuses for the year ended 30 april 2004
relative performance
the following graph compares total shareholder return performance
of the company with the ftse 250 index excluding investment
trusts over the five years ended 30 april 2004 this index was
selected as it is the measure used for performance comparison
under the company’s investment incentive plan
17 ashtead group plc annual report and accounts for the year ended 30 april 2004
directors’ remuneration report
100 x match
below median tsr
real eps
growth 
performance
tsr performance against peer group
median
075 x match
050 x match
upper range
rpi  7 pa
target range
rpi  5 pa
minimum range
rpi  3 pa
no matching award vests
63rd
percentile
75th
percentile
25 x
match
30 x
match
20 x
match
25 x
match
15 x
match
20 x
match
15 x
match
10 x
match
20 x
match total shareholder return
directors’ pension arrangements
mr burnett’s pension entitlement is funded through contributions 
to the managed funds of independent fund managers operated
through the ashtead group plc pension scheme mr burnett’s
pension in payment increases in line with price inflation up to 7 
a year a spouse’s pension of twothirds of mr burnett’s retirement
benefit is payable in the event of his death either before or after
retirement the company receives regular advice from external
advisers on the level of contributions required to meet the
anticipated final salary liability mr burnett makes no contribution
towards the cost of his pension entitlement under the provisions 
of mr burnett’s amended contract for the purpose of the required
disclosure of year end transfer value the total funds accumulated
within the pension fund are now treated as vested explaining the
significant increase in transfer value at 30 april 2004 despite the
£105000 reduction in his accrued pension entitlement in the year
under the terms of his contract mr robson is entitled to retire at
age 60 on a pension equal to onethirtieth of his final salary for
each year of pensionable service he is a member of the company’s
retirement benefits plan which is a defined benefits scheme in
respect of his earnings up to the inland revenue limit the pension
in respect of his earnings above that limit is provided by an
unapproved unfunded retirement benefits arrangement agreed
between him and the company mr robson’s contract also contains
early retirement provisions allowing him to retire and draw a
pension based on actual years of service but without deduction for
early payment which take effect once he has completed ten years
service with the company or at anytime after age 50 if there is a
change of control mr robson pays contributions equal to 5 of
his salary all of which were paid to the retirements benefits plan 
in the current year
mr dhaiwal’s pension benefits are also provided through the
ashtead group plc retirement benefits plan in respect of his
earnings up to the inland revenue limit the pension in respect 
of his earnings above that limit is provided by an unapproved
unfunded retirement benefits arrangement between him and the
company his pension rights accrue at the rate of onesixtieth of 
basic salary for each year of pensionable service and his normal
retirement is at age 65
except where otherwise stated above the retirement benefits plan
provides
• in the event of death in service or death between leaving service
and retirement while retaining membership of the plan a spouse’s
pension equal to 50 of the member’s deferred pension
calculated at the date of death plus a return of his contributions
• in the event of death in retirement a spouse’s pension equal to
50 of the member’s pension at the date of death
• an option to retire at any time after age 50 with the company’s
consent early retirement benefits are reduced by an amount
agreed between the actuary and the trustees as reflecting the
cost to the plan of the early retirement
• pension increases in line with the increase in retail price inflation
up to a limit of currently 5 a year although the government is
currently proposing that this limited inflation proofing be
reduced and
• transfer values do not include discretionary benefits
executive directors’ service agreements
following the amendment to mr burnett’s service agreement on 
18 september 2003 his contract now provides for termination by
either party by the giving of 12 months’ notice the contract further
provides that mr burnett is required to give the company six
months’ notice if he wishes to retire on or after attaining the age of
60 mr burnett’s agreement without compensation to accept
reduction of his notice period to 12 months completed a process in
which he has successively accepted reduction of his notice period
from the original five years without any payment of compensation
the service agreements between the company and mr robson
dated 4 august 2000 mr dhaiwal dated 8 july 2002 and mr
miller dated 5 july 2004 are also terminable by either party giving
the other 12 months’ notice the service agreements of the
executive directors all contain suitable noncompete provisions
appropriate to their roles in the group
remuneration policy for nonexecutive directors
the remuneration of the nonexecutive directors is determined by
the board within limits set out in the articles of association the
chairman has a service contract with the company terminable 
on three months’ notice by the company or immediately by the
members in general meeting the contract also provides for
compensation following termination by reason of any change of
control equal to 12 months’ fees none of the other nonexecutive
directors has a service contract with the company and their
appointment is therefore terminable by the board at any time
an ordinary resolution concerning the group’s remuneration
policies will be put to shareholders at the forthcoming annual
general meeting
18 ashtead group plc annual report and accounts for the year ended 30 april 2004
directors’ remuneration report
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
apr 99 apr 00 apr 01 apr 02 apr 03 apr 04
ftse 250 excl inv trusts ashtead group audited information
directors’ emoluments
the emoluments of the directors excluding pensions benefits which are included in staff costs in note 3 to the financial statements 
were as follows
19 ashtead group plc annual report and accounts for the year ended 30 april 2004
directors’ remuneration report
performance compensation total total
related benefits other taxed for loss of emoluments emoluments
salary fees bonus in kind i allowances ii office 2004 2003
name £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
executive
gb burnett 290 – 40 1 13 – 344 441
ss dhaiwal 150 – 15 1 11 – 177 169
si robson 213 – 60 – 11 – 284 229
nonexecutive
c cole –28–––– 28 25
hc etheridge – 20 –––– 20 –
pa lovegrove –29–––– 29 30
awp stenham – 48 – – 5 – 53 –
former directors
jb dressel 63 – – 1 1 170 235 259
he staunton – 102 –––– 102 130
ae wheatley– 28 –––– 28 55
716 255 115 3 41 170 1300 1338
i benefits in kind comprises private medical insurance and subscriptions
ii taxed allowances include car allowances and a contribution to the chairman’s office costs
directors’ pension benefits
increasedecrease in annual 
accrued accrued
pension during the year
transfer value transfer value increase
pensionable contributions annual total of accrued of accrued in transfer
age at service at paid by the pension at excluding increase pension at pension at value over
30 april 2004 30 april 2004 director 30 april 2004 inflation decrease 30 april 2004 30 april 2003 the year
years years £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
gb burnett 57 20 – 263 115 105 7271 5219 2052
ss dhaiwal 35 10 8 22 5 6 62 35 19
si robson 45 4 11 26 4 5 193 106 76
notes
1 the transfer values represent the amount which would have been paid to another pension scheme had the director elected to take a transfer of his accrued pension entitlement
at that date and have been calculated by the schemes’ actuaries in accordance with actuarial guidance note gn11 published by the institute of actuaries and the faculty of
actuaries they are not sums paid or due to the directors concerned
2 the increase in transfer value in the year is stated net of the members’ contributions made by mr robson and mr dhaiwal
the salary shown above for mr dressel relates to the period up to
29 july 2003 when his appointment as a director of the company
and president and chief executive officer of sunbelt was terminated
with immediate effect under the terms of his contract with sunbelt
he was entitled subject to certain conditions including an obligation
on his part not to compete with sunbelt or to solicit any of its
employees for a minimum period of two years to continue to
receive his annual salary of 400000 for a matching two year
period these salary payments which have been provided in 
full in the financial statements are disclosed as compensation 
for loss of office when paid no other payments are due with
respect to mr dressel’s departure and his participation in the
investment incentive plan and his interest in share options have 
now both lapsed
under the latest amendment to his service contract discussed above
mr burnett’s pension entitlement now provides for an annual
pension of £275000 if he retires on 5 april 2005 his pension
entitlement is reduced by £1100 per annum for each month by
which his date of retirement falls before 5 april 2005 and is
increased by £1100 for each month his retirement date is later 
than 5 april 2005 
mr dressel was a member of the us defined contribution plan 
to which the group contributed £1110 in the year until his
employment was terminated £3511 in 2003 directors’ interests in shares
the directors of the company are shown below together with their interests in the share capital of the company
30 june 2004 30 april 2004 30 april 2003
number of ordinary number of ordinary number of ordinary
shares of 10p each shares of 10p each shares of 10p each
beneficial nonbeneficial beneficial nonbeneficial beneficial nonbeneficial
gb burnett 12805761 1056192 12805761 1056192 12805761 1056192
c cole 20000 – 20000 – 20000 –
ss dhaiwal 13000 – 13000 – 13000 –
hc etheridge – ––– na na
pa lovegrove 382500 – 382500 – 382500 –
si robson 164644 – 164644 – 164644 –
awp stenham 200000 – 200000 – na na
investment incentive plan
the maximum number of shares which may vest under issued matching awards is shown below
at 30 april 2004 at 30 april 2003
gb burnett – award granted in 20012 1422006 1422006
si robson – award granted in 20012 474107 474107
– award granted in 20023 176469 176469
directors’ interests in share options
options at market options at earliest
1 may 2003 granted exercised price at 30 april 2004 normal
or on during lapsed date of or on exercise exercise 
appointment the year during year exercise cessation price date expiry
discretionary schemes
gb burnett 491400 – – – 491400 61440p aug 1997 aug 2004
487494 – – – 487494 72535p sept 1998 sept 2005
200000 – – – 200000 132250p feb 2000 feb 2007
350000 – – – 350000 184200p feb 2001 feb 2008
166700 – – – 166700 172500p feb 2002 feb 2009
300000 – – – 300000 102500p aug 2003 aug 2010
90000 – – – 90000 125000p feb 2004 feb 2011
ss dhaiwal 40000 – – – 40000 132250p feb 2000 feb 2007
32500 – – – 32500 184200p feb 2001 feb 2008
50000 – – – 50000 172500p feb 2002 feb 2009
35000 – – – 35000 125000p feb 2004 feb 2011
100000 – – – 100000 41500p feb 2005 feb 2012
150000 – – – 150000 49500p aug 2005 aug 2012
si robson 29500 – – – 29500 101670p aug 2003 aug 2010
195500 – – – 195500 102500p aug 2003 aug 2010
230000 – – – 230000 125000p feb 2004 feb 2011
300000 – – – 300000 41500p feb 2005 feb 2012
former director
jb dressel 60000 – – – 60000 132250p feb 2000 feb 2007
200000 – – – 200000 184200p feb 2001 feb 2008
66700 – – – 66700 172500p feb 2002 feb 2009
140000 – – – 140000 102500p aug 2003 aug 2010
230000 – – – 230000 125000p feb 2004 feb 2011
300000 – – – 300000 41500p feb 2005 feb 2012
saye scheme
gb burnett 24029 – – – 24029 24270p may 2006 oct 2006
ss dhaiwal 24029 – – – 24029 24270p may 2006 oct 2006
si robson 40049 – – – 40049 24270p may 2008 oct 2008
20 ashtead group plc annual report and accounts for the year ended 30 april 2004
directors’ remuneration report the above discretionary options are exercisable subject to the
following performance criteria 
i as was usual at that time options granted in 1994 and 1995
were not subject to any performance criteria
ii in line with recommendations extant at the time from
institutional shareholder representative bodies options granted
in 1997 1998 1999 2000 and 2001 were conditional on the
group achieving real growth in earnings per share of 2 per
annum over any continuous three year period during the option
period and
iii options granted in 2002 and subsequently now require real
growth in earnings per share of 3 per annum over any
continuous three year period before they become exercisable
the remuneration committee considers that these performance
hurdles were in line with common practice when the options 
were granted
the market price of the company’s shares at the end of the
financial year was 2975p and the highest and lowest prices during
the financial year were 370p and 775p respectively
mr dhaiwal holds 50000 units under the cash incentive scheme
which were granted to him on 22 february 2000 when he was not
a director this award is subject to the same performance conditions
as apply to the company’s unapproved share option scheme and is
exercisable in the period from 22 february 2003 to 21 february
2010 if the performance criteria are satisfied at any point during
that period and the options exercised the difference between the
mid market price of ashtead group plc shares on that day and the
grant price of 102p per unit multiplied by the number of units held
will be paid to mr dhaiwal by way of a cash award
chris cole
chairman remuneration committee
5 july 2004
21 ashtead group plc annual report and accounts for the year ended 30 april 2004
directors’ remuneration report introduction
this operating and financial review has been prepared reflecting
the guidance for such statements provided by the accounting
standards board accordingly it discusses our financial results cash
flows and balance sheet fluctuations as well as certain factors
affecting our financial performance our critical accounting policies
and certain market risks to which our treasury operations subject us
business overview
the group believes it is one of the largest equipment rental
groups in the world with a network of 428 profit centres in the
us the uk singapore and canada at 30 april 2004 equipment
rental companies provide customers with a comprehensive range
of equipment including larger equipment such as aerial work
platforms backhoes excavators and forklift trucks as well as
smaller equipment such as power saws ladders and small pumps
operations
the group conducts its equipment rental operations in the us
under the brand name ‘sunbelt’ and in the uk principally under 
the brand name ‘aplant’ the group believes sunbelt is the fourth
largest equipment rental company in the us and aplant is the 
third largest equipment rental company in the uk in each case
measured by rental revenue the group offers for rent a wide range
of equipment and during 2004 had turnover of £500m
in 2004 approximately 66 of the group’s turnover was generated
in the us by sunbelt which operates 200 profit centres in 26 states
and the district of columbia and approximately 32 of our
turnover was generated by aplant which operates 220 profit
centres throughout the uk the group also has a specialised
business that rents mainly electronic survey and testing equipment
in the uk the us singapore and canada under the brand name
‘ashtead technology rentals’ which accounted for approximately
2 of our turnover in 2004 and operates eight profit centres
sunbelt builds on the advantages of its geographical scale through
a ‘clustered market’ approach of grouping its rental locations into
clusters of five to 15 locations in each of its developed markets
throughout the us sunbelt has developed such ‘clustered markets’
in washington dc baltimore charlotte atlanta jacksonville
orlando seattle and a number of other cities this approach allows
us to provide a comprehensive product offering and convenient
service to our customers wherever their job sites may be within
these markets 
in the uk aplant services its customers with a full range of
equipment on a nationwide basis we believe aplant is one of only
two companies able to provide such a comprehensive range of
equipment and dedicated customer service throughout the uk
which allows it to fully service the needs of its national customers
competition
the us equipment rental industry is highly fragmented and
sunbelt’s competitors include large companies operating nationally
regional competitors that operate in a few states small independent
businesses with one or two rental locations and equipment vendors
and dealers who both sell and rent equipment directly to customers
the uk equipment rental market is much more mature than the 
us market the group believes that the top ten equipment rental
companies in the uk accounted for approximately 30 of the total
uk equipment rental market in 2002 the uk market is highly
competitive we face competition from large national operations 
as well as smaller local and regional operations
customers
the group’s diversified customer base includes construction
industrial and homeowner customers as well as government entities
and specialist contractors the rental equipment fleet comprises an
extensive range of general construction equipment supplemented 
by product groups such as pumps welding equipment power
generation equipment aerial work platforms scaffolding shoring
equipment and temporary accommodation units 
as a large portion of our customer base comes from the commercial
construction and industrial sectors the group is dependent on the
level of commercial construction or industrial activity the factors
which influence this activity include 
• the strength of the us and uk economies over the longterm
• the level of interest rates and
• demand within the businesses that drive the need for commercial
construction or industrial equipment 
however the group’s geographical scale and diversified customer
base assist in mitigating the adverse impact of these factors on the
group’s performance through
• reducing the impact of localised economic fluctuations on our
overall financial performance
• reducing our dependence on any particular customer or group 
of customers and
• enabling us to meet the needs of larger customers who
increasingly demand national coverage across a wide range 
of equipment needs
suppliers
although the group has like almost all participants in the industry
significantly reduced capital expenditure on rental equipment over
the past two years we still purchase large amounts of equipment
parts and other items the group’s capital expenditure for 2004 
was £723m and is expected to be in the region of £100m in 2005
the group believes that this level of capital expenditure enables 
it to negotiate favourable pricing warranty and other terms with
our vendors 
22 ashtead group plc annual report and accounts for the year ended 30 april 2004
operating and financial review across our rental fleet particularly in the us we seek to carry
equipment from one or two manufacturers in each product range
and to limit the number of model types of each product we believe
that having such a standardised fleet results in lower costs because
we obtain greater discounts by purchasing spare parts in bulk and
reduce maintenance costs through more focused and therefore
reduced training requirements for our workshop staff we purchase
equipment from vendors with strong reputations for product quality
and reliability and maintain close relationships with these vendors 
to ensure good after purchase service and support however
management believes the group has sufficient alternative sources 
of supply for the equipment it purchases in each of its product
categories
sales and marketing
each of sunbelt aplant and ashtead technology rentals has a
dedicated sales force focusing on establishing and expanding our
national regional and specialisedequipment customers in various
sectors in both the us and the uk we have dedicated national
account sales forces who are focused on building and reinforcing
relationships with our larger customers particularly those with a
national or multiregional presence our sales force is further broken
down into smaller product focused teams which enhances the
development of technical expertise 
in addition to the efforts of our sales force we market our business
through traditional outlets such as direct mail campaigns print
advertising telemarketing and industry trade publications both
sunbelt and aplant also promote customer loyalty through their
loyalty card programmes loyalty plus and advantage respectively
employees
the group’s worldwide workforce consisted of 5833 employees
full and part time at 30 april 2004 of which approximately 3730
were located in the us approximately 2080 were located in the
uk and the remainder were located in various other locations 
environmental and safety matters
our operations are subject to numerous laws governing
environmental protection and occupational health and safety
matters these laws regulate such issues as wastewater stormwater
solid and hazardous wastes and materials and air quality under
these laws we may be liable for among other things the cost of
investigating and remediating contamination at our sites as well as
sites to which we send hazardous wastes for disposal or treatment
regardless of fault and also fines and penalties for noncompliance
our operations generally do not raise significant environmental risks
but we use hazardous materials to clean and maintain equipment
dispose of solid and hazardous waste and wastewater from
equipment washing and store and dispense petroleum products
from underground and aboveground storage tanks located at
certain of our locations
based on the conditions currently known to us we do not believe
that any pending or likely remediation and compliance costs will
have a material adverse effect on our business 
legal proceedings
the group is party to certain legal proceedings arising in the
ordinary course of business while the results of such proceedings
cannot be predicted with certainty except as set forth below we 
do not believe any of these matters are material to our financial
condition or results of operations
in may 2003 the north carolina state court issued a ruling
awarding sunbelt damages in the amount of 50m such amount
to be trebled to 150m in a dispute with head  engquist the
events subject to litigation date back to december 1999 prior to the
acquisition of bet usa by the company when the former president
of its bps division joined head  engquist as president of their aerial
work platform division and over the subsequent six months led the
recruitment of over 100 former bps staff in a concerted raid on
bps’s business and staff 
in a subsequent ruling dated 31 july 2003 the court ordered that
the defendants pay to sunbelt its legal fees in the amount of
12m on or about 13 august 2003 the court entered
judgement against the defendants and for sunbelt in the amount of
162m plus pre and post judgement interest the defendants filed
a notice of appeal with respect to the judgement on 11 september
2003 and sunbelt cross appealed on 19 september 2003 the
defendants also posted a letter of credit in the amount of
approximately 19m to secure the judgement in order to stay
execution of the judgement pending the appeal and head 
engquist equipment llc has reported that it has recorded a 17m
provision against the litigation and related costs sunbelt does not
expect a final outcome before the spring of 2005
business strategy
the group’s goal is to establish a premium equipment rental business
in all of the markets in which it operates in order to accomplish this
its business strategy is to continue to provide topquality customer
service and maintain a clear focus on the equipment rental business
coupled with controlled growth in addition the group believes it
has built a strong platform and achieved critical mass in its core
markets enabling its financial strategy to maximise returns on
investment generate free cash flow and deleverage
topquality customer service is the cornerstone of the group’s
business strategy it strives to differentiate itself from its competitors
through efforts to provide the highest level of customer service
which includes employing specialist personnel motivating and
empowering profit centre managers to forge strong relationships
with customers in their service area ensuring that the group has 
an extensive highquality rental fleet and providing dependable
customer support customer service initiatives include
• reliable ontime delivery of equipment directly to customers’ 
job sites
• ongoing training to improve the effectiveness of our experienced
sales force
• 24hour emergency and technical call support
• comprehensive online and print catalogues and
• providing customers with tailored online access to their accounts
23 ashtead group plc annual report and accounts for the year ended 30 april 2004
operating and financial review the group focuses almost entirely on the equipment rental
business during 2004 approximately 96 of turnover was derived
from equipment rentals and rentalrelated services with the balance
coming from sales of parts and associated goods such as
equipment accessories we believe that equipment rental offers the
opportunity to earn substantially higher returns than those which
are earned by equipment dealers whose margins are effectively
capped by the equipment manufacturer the group believes that
this focused and dedicated approach improves the effectiveness of
its rental sales force by encouraging them to build and reinforce
relationships with customers and to concentrate on strong whole
life returns from our rental fleet rather than on shortterm returns
from sales of equipment in contrast many of our competitors in
the equipment rental industry especially in the us follow a mixed
business approach providing rentals selling new equipment and
trading used equipment
the group strives to maximise its return on investment through a
combination of measures in addition to our monthly ‘profitshare’
programme we also encourage effective management of invested
capital by
• adapting new capital expenditures to meet customer needs and
current economic conditions
• actively managing the composition and size of our rental fleet by
continuing to assess and dispose of older or underperforming
equipment and other assets
• maintaining a concentration of higherreturn often specialised
equipment within the overall rental equipment fleet
• promoting the transfer of equipment to locations where
maximum utilisation rates and returns can be obtained
• monitoring the amount of invested capital at each of our 
profit centres and
• empowering regional and local managers to adapt pricing policies
in response to local demand in order to maximise the overall
return achieved from our investment in our rental fleet
the group’s flexible business model allows it to focus on generating
free cash flow when the economy is expanding we increase
investment in our rental fleet to support revenue ebitda and
earnings growth and reduce the age of our rental fleet during a
recessionary environment like the one we have experienced over
the past two years we reduce the rate at which we invest in new
equipment and increase the age of our rental fleet which
consequently increases free cash flow available to repay debt as the
economy improves although we expect to increase investment in
our rental fleet we intend to continue to focus on achieving our
goal of deleveraging
factors affecting our financial performance and results
seasonality and cyclicality
our turnover and operating results are significantly dependent on
activity in the commercial construction industry in the us and the
uk commercial construction activity tends to decrease in the
winter and during extended periods of inclement weather and
increase in the summer and during extended periods of mild
weather furthermore due to the incidence of public holidays 
in the us and the uk there are more billing days in the first half 
of our financial year than the second half this results in changes 
in demand for our rental equipment in addition the commercial
construction industries in the us and the uk are cyclical industries
with activity levels that tend to increase in line with gdp growth
and decline during an economic downturn the seasonality and
cyclicality of the equipment rental industry results in variable
demand and therefore our turnover and operating results may
fluctuate from period to period
currency translation
our reporting currency is the pound sterling however the majority
of our assets liabilities turnover and costs are denominated in us
dollars we have arranged our financing such that approximately
half of our debt including the nonrecourse funding received under
our receivables securitisation is also denominated in us dollars 
so that we have a natural partial offset between our dollar
denominated net assets and earnings and our dollardenominated
debt and interest expense fluctuations in the value of the us dollar
with respect to the pound therefore have had and may continue 
to have a significant impact on our financial condition and results
of operations as reported in pounds this impact is greatest on our
turnover and operating profits but less significant on our profits
before and after tax
in the year ended 30 april 2004 the depreciation of the us dollar
against the pound decreased our total turnover by approximately
7 our profits before exceptional items goodwill amortisation and
tax by approximately 33 and our profits before tax by approximately
6 in each case compared to the year ended 30 april 2003 
accordingly throughout this operating and financial review we
also present the changes in our reported results in one period as
compared to the equivalent prior period at constant exchange rates
which assumes that the us dollar amounts for both periods were
consolidated and translated at the 2004 average exchange rate 
we have given this additional information because we believe it
provides users of our financial statements with useful information 
in respect of underlying performance
presentation of financial information
turnover
our turnover is a function of our prices and utilisation of and the
size and mix of our equipment rental fleet in turn the prices we
charge are affected in large measure by utilisation and the relative
attractiveness of our rental equipment while utilisation is
determined by market size and our market share as well as general
economic conditions the size mix and relative attractiveness of our
rental equipment fleet is significantly affected by the level of our
capital expenditure the main components of our turnover are
• turnover from equipment rentals including related revenues such
as the fees we charge for equipment delivery erection and
dismantling services for our scaffolding rentals fuel provided with
the equipment we rent to customers and our rental protection
plans and
• turnover from sales of new merchandise including sales of parts
and revenues from a limited number of sales of new equipment 
24 ashtead group plc annual report and accounts for the year ended 30 april 2004
operating and financial review costs
the main components of our total costs are
• staff costs – staff costs at our profit centres as well as at our
central support offices represent the largest single component of
our total costs staff costs consist of salaries social security costs
and other pension costs and comprised 351 of our total
operating costs in the year ended 30 april 2004 
• depreciation and goodwill amortisation – the depreciation of our
tangible fixed assets including rental equipment as well as the
amortisation of capitalised acquisition goodwill comprised 235
of total costs in the year ended 30 april 2004 and
• other costs – comprised 414 of total costs in the year ended 
30 april 2004 these costs include
– spare parts consumables and outside repairs costs – costs
incurred for the purchase of spare parts used by our workshop
staff to maintain and repair our rental equipment and outside
repair costs 
– facilities costs – rental payments on leased facilities as well as
utility costs and local property taxes relating to these facilities
– vehicle costs – costs incurred for the purchase maintenance and
operation of our vehicle fleet which consist of our delivery
trucks the light commercial vehicles used by our mobile
workshop staff and cars used by our external sales force profit
centre managers and other management staff most vehicles 
are held under operating leases 
– other costs – all other costs incurred in operating our business
including the costs of new equipment and merchandise sold
advertising costs and bad debt expense
our costs are substantially fixed in the short to medium term and
adjustments in the size of our cost base typically result only from
openings or closures of one or more of our profit centres of which
there were 428 at 30 april 2004 accordingly our business model 
is such that small increases or reductions in our turnover can result
in little or no change in our costs and may therefore have a
disproportionate impact on our profits we refer to this feature 
of our business as ‘operational leverage’
critical accounting policies
we prepare and present our financial statements in accordance with
applicable uk accounting standards in applying many accounting
principles we need to make assumptions estimates and
judgements these assumptions estimates and judgements are
often subjective and may be affected by changing circumstances 
or changes in our analysis changes in these assumptions estimates
and judgements have the potential to materially alter our results 
of operations we have identified below those of our accounting
policies that we believe would most likely produce materially
different results were we to change underlying assumptions
estimates and judgements these policies have been applied
consistently except that the format of the group profit and loss
account has been changed and the provisions of uitf abstract 38
‘accounting for esop trusts’ have been adopted in the year for a
summary of these and our other significant accounting policies see
note 1 to our audited consolidated financial statements
the group profit and loss account in the 2003 annual report and
accounts was prepared on the basis of operating costs analysed by
function the directors have revised the presentation of the analysis
in the group profit and loss account in the 2004 annual report and
accounts to reflect the type of expenditure format provided for by
the companies act 1985 this change has been made because the
directors consider that the new analysis which provides details of
staff costs depreciation and amortisation and other costs provides
greater clarity about the main components of the group’s total costs
and provides the group its investors lenders and financial analysts
with greater information with which to evaluate the changes and
the reasons for those changes in the group’s total costs and is
accordingly more appropriate
adoption of uitf abstract 38 has resulted in a restatement of
certain prior year figures relating to shares held by the employee
share ownership trust which are now presented as a deduction
from shareholders’ funds and not as a fixed asset investment
decreasing opening net assets by £16 million adoption of this
abstract had no effect on the profit or cash flows for the current 
or previous year
looking forward the group’s accounts must comply with
international financial reporting standards ifrs for the year ending
30 april 2006 the group has performed an initial review of the
extent to which the differences between uk gaap and ifrs might
impact its accounts while this indicates that the impact of
differences between existing uk gaap and ifrs is not likely to be
significant to the group the international accounting standards
board which develops and issues ifrs has significant ongoing
projects that could affect the differences between uk gaap and
ifrs the actual impact on the group’s financial statements will
therefore depend on the standards applicable and the circumstances
prevailing on 1 may 2005
useful lives of tangible fixed assets
we record expenditures for tangible fixed assets at cost we
depreciate equipment using the straightline method over its
estimated useful economic life which ranges from 3 to 20 years for
serialised equipment with a weighted average life of 8 years after
giving effect to an estimated residual value ranging from zero to
20 used only for steel accommodation units of cost we give
effect to an estimated residual value of 10 of cost in respect of
most types of our rental equipment zero for scaffolding and similar
equipment and 15 for aerial work platforms we establish our
estimates of useful life and residual value with the objective of
allocating most appropriately the cost of each fixed asset to our
profit and loss account over the period we anticipate it will be used
in our business 
we may need to change these estimates if experience shows that
the current estimates are not achieving this objective if these
estimates change in the future we may then be required to
recognise increased or decreased depreciation expense our total
depreciation expense in the year ended 30 april 2004 was
£1051m
25 ashtead group plc annual report and accounts for the year ended 30 april 2004
operating and financial review goodwill
since 1 may 1999 we have accounted for goodwill on acquisitions
being the difference between the cost of the acquisition and the 
fair market value of our share of the net assets acquired as an
intangible fixed asset we capitalise goodwill in the year in which 
it arises and amortise goodwill over its estimated useful economic
life of 20 years goodwill on acquisitions prior to 1 may 1999 is
however not treated as an asset but instead was written off against
total equity shareholders’ funds when it arose our estimate of the
useful economic life of goodwill may change in the future our total
charge for goodwill amortisation in the year ended 30 april 2004
was £92m
selfinsurance
we establish provisions at the end of each financial year to cover
our estimated liability in respect of the uninsured retained risk on all
outstanding unpaid claims arising out of events occurring up to the
end of such financial year the provision is established using advice
received from external actuaries who help us extrapolate historical
trends and estimate the most likely level of future expense which
we will incur on outstanding claims these estimates may however
change based on varying circumstances including changes in 
our experience of the costs we incur in settling claims over time 
accordingly we may be required to increase or decrease the
provision held for selfinsured retained risk at 30 april 2004 
the total provision for selfinsurance recorded in our consolidated
balance sheet was £126m
pensions
we account for the cost of pension plans for employees by charging
the expected cost of providing pensions over the period during
which we benefit from the employees’ services in respect of
defined benefit plans actuarial valuations are made regularly and
the contributions payable are adjusted in light of these valuations
however these adjustments may be significant and may result in an
increase or decrease in the cost of providing the defined benefit
pensions in the year ended 30 april 2004 the total pension cost
was £37m
revenue recognition
turnover is recognised when the risks and rewards of the underlying
goods supplied and services provided have been transferred to the
customer rental income is recognised on a straightline basis over
the period of the rental contract turnover from the sale of new
merchandise and equipment approximately 4 of total turnover in
the year ended 30 april 2004 is recognised once the merchandise
or equipment has been delivered to the customer
26 ashtead group plc annual report and accounts for the year ended 30 april 2004
operating and financial review
fourth quarter 2004 results compared with 2003
overview
three months ended 30 april 2004 three months ended 30 april 2003
before before
goodwill goodwill goodwill goodwill
amortisation amortisation amortisation amortisation
and and and and
exceptional exceptional exceptional exceptional
items items total items items total
£m £m £m £m £m £m
turnover 1180 21 1159 1229 – 1229
staff costs 445 05 450 490 – 490
other operating costs net 385 76 461 469 122 591
ebitda
1
350 102 248 270 122 148
depreciation and amortisation 230 41 271 278 22 300
operating profit 120 143 23 08 144 152
interest payable 89 11 100 98 19 117
loss before taxation 31 154 123 106 163 269
taxation 32 38 06 85 20 105
loss for the financial period 01 116 117 21 143 164
1
ebitda is presented here as an additional performance measure as it is commonly used by investors and lenders
before exceptional items fourth quarter turnover increased by 55
to £1180m at constant exchange rates but due to the weak us
dollar turnover at actual rates declined 40 after exceptional
items total turnover decreased 57 to £1159m in 2004
ebitda before exceptional items for the quarter grew by 446 at
constant exchange rates to £350m and by 296 at actual rates
total ebitda increased 676 at actual rates to £248m the
operating loss decreased to £23m from a loss of £152m in 2003
operating profit before amortisation and exceptional items increased
to £120m from a loss of £08m in 2003 a loss of £12m at constant
exchange rates sunbelt’s turnover increased 138 in the quarter to 1431m 
this performance was due to improved pricing over 2003 combined
with higher equipment utilisation which rose from 575 a year
ago to 639 sunbelt’s performance in the prior year was
adversely affected by unseasonably wet weather on the us east
coast as well as by the implementation of its new point of sale
accounting system and by its accounting problems sunbelt’s
turnover growth in the quarter reflected the nonrecurrence of
these issues coupled with the accelerating recovery in its markets
especially the nonresidential construction market as well as
continued market share growth sunbelt’s operating costs excluding
depreciation and goodwill amortisation continued to be tightly
controlled and rose only 18 in the quarter to 979m in 2004
despite upward pressure on a number of cost areas especially
insurance and fuel costs
sunbelt’s ebitda margin for the quarter improved to 316 from
235 in 2003 reflecting the beneficial impact of the turnover
growth and its operational leverage divisional operating profit
increased six fold to 202m from 30m in 2003 and the divisional
operating profit margin rebounded to 141 from 24 in 2003
sunbelt’s results in sterling reflected the factors discussed above and
the weak us dollar
aplant’s turnover declined 92 to £375m in the quarter
reflecting the closure of certain profit centres towards the end of
2003 and the disposal of three noncore businesses during 2004 
in total aplant operated 45 fewer profit centres at the end of the
fourth quarter this year than it did at the beginning of the fourth
quarter last year same store turnover decreased 09 over 2003
whilst utilisation rose from 596 to 636 aplant’s total costs
excluding depreciation and goodwill amortisation decreased
179 to £275m reflecting the reduction in the number of profit
centres and other cost reduction measures its ebitda margin for
the quarter improved to 267 from 189 in 2003 with ebitda
growing 282 to £100m aplant’s divisional operating profit 
of £15m compares with the loss of £24m in 2003
ashtead technology’s turnover declined 4 to £24m from £25m
in 2003 but increased by 47 at constant exchange rates its
divisional operating profit of £05m decreased by 167 from
£06m in 2003 at actual rates of exchange but increased 208 at
constant exchange rates these results reflected growth in its five
onshore north american environment rental profit centres offset by
a weaker performance in its three offshore focused profit centres
where demand remained weak
exceptional items
exceptional items relate to primarily costs associated with the
group’s refinancing these items are discussed in more detail in
the discussion of the group’s results for the year ended 30 april
2004 below
interest payable and similar charges
interest payable and similar charges decreased to £100m from
£117m in 2003 principally due to lower average borrowings and
to the weakness of the us dollar partially offset by higher
exceptional costs
loss on ordinary activities before taxation
as a result of the foregoing the loss on ordinary activities before
taxation was £123m 2003 – £269m before exceptional items
and goodwill amortisation the group generated a profit before
taxation of £31m in the quarter which represented a significant
turnaround from the previous year’s loss of £106m after taxation
the net loss for the quarter was £117m as a result of the various
factors discussed above
27 ashtead group plc annual report and accounts for the year ended 30 april 2004
operating and financial review
divisional performance
divisional results are summarised below and are stated before amortisation and exceptional items
divisional
turnover ebitda operating profit
2004 2003 2004 2003 2004 2003
sunbelt m 1431 1257 452 295 202 30
sunbelt £m 781 791 247 185 110 18
aplant 375 413 100 78 15 24
ashtead technology 24 25 10 13 05 06
group central costs – – 07 06 10 08
1180 1229 350 270 120 08
 divisional operating profit is defined as operating profit before goodwill amortisation and exceptional items before exceptional items turnover decreased by 16 to £5003m
at constant exchange rates but due to the weak us dollar turnover
at actual rates declined 73 after exceptional items total turnover
decreased 79 at actual rates to £4970m in 2004
ebitda before exceptional items grew by 40 at constant
exchange rates to £1470m but decreased by 21 at actual rates
total ebitda increased 32 at actual rates to £1305m operating
profit grew from £06m in 2003 to £162m operating profit before
amortisation and exceptional items increased by 208 to £442m
at constant exchange rates but by only 130 at actual rates
28 ashtead group plc annual report and accounts for the year ended 30 april 2004
operating and financial review
full year 2004 results compared with 2003
overview
2004 2003
before before
goodwill goodwill goodwill goodwill
amortisation amortisation amortisation amortisation
and and and and
exceptional exceptional exceptional exceptional
items items total items items total
£m £m £m £m £m £m
turnover 5003 33 4970 5395 – 5395
staff costs 1705 05 1710 1861 05 1866
other operating costs net 1828 127 1955 2033 232 2265
ebitda
1
1470 165 1305 1501 237 1264
depreciation and amortisation 1028 115 1143 1110 148 1258
operating profit 442 280 162 391 385 06
loss on sale of businesses –38 38 –––
interest payable 366 89 455 409 19 428
loss before taxation 76 407 331 18 404 422
taxation 102 85 17 04 86 90
loss for the financial period 26 322 348 14 318 332
1
ebitda is presented here as an additional performance measure as it is commonly used by investors and lenders
divisional performance
divisional results are summarised below and are stated before amortisation and exceptional items
divisional
turnover ebitda operating profit
2004 2003 2004 2003 2004 2003
sunbelt m 5728 5470 1768 1555 733 515
sunbelt £m 3331 3491 1028 993 424 329
aplant 1559 1784 432 489 40 79
ashtead technology 113 120 57 61 27 25
group central costs – – 47 42 49 42
5003 5395 1470 1501 442 391
 divisional operating profit is defined as operating profit before goodwill amortisation and exceptional items
sunbelt’s turnover increased 47 to 5728m in 2004 this
performance reflected principally a 4 increase in average rental
rates as nonresidential construction activity increased with broadly
similar levels of average equipment utilisation which averaged
651 in 2004 and 645 in 2003 and a similar fleet size in both
years costs excluding depreciation and goodwill amortisation
increased only 11 to 3960m in 2004 reflecting strong cost
control all year with this result being achieved despite uncontrollable
upward pressure on certain costs including insurance and fuel
reflecting the turnover growth coupled with the control of its costs
sunbelt’s ebitda margin improved to 309 from 284 in 2003
its divisional operating profit rose 423 to 733m in 2004 and its
divisional operating profit margin increased to 128 from 94 
in 2003
sunbelt’s results in sterling reflected the factors discussed above 
and the weak us dollar aplant’s turnover declined 126 to £1559m in 2004 reflecting
the closure of 23 profit centres towards the end of 2003 and the
disposal of three noncore business lines during 2004 average
equipment utilisation levels were similar in both years at 599 in
2004 against 607 in 2003 same store turnover declined 53
excluding the disposed businesses aplant’s turnover for the year
was £1485m 
largely offsetting the lost turnover aplant’s costs excluding
depreciation and goodwill amortisation decreased 130 to
£1127m in 2004 reflecting the reduced number of profit centres
and the cost reduction measures taken at the end of the prior
financial year and during this year whilst these cost reductions did
not offset fully the turnover reduction they helped its ebitda
margin to improve to 277 from 274 in 2003 and restricted
the reduction in its ebitda to £57m compared to the £225m
turnover reduction aplant’s divisional operating profit decreased
£39m to £40m and its divisional operating profit margin declined
to 26
ashtead technology’s turnover declined 58 at actual rates to
£113m in 2004 but this reduction largely reflected the weak us
dollar as the decline was only 09 at constant rates its divisional
operating profit increased by 80 at actual rates to £27m in 2004
but by 174 at constant exchange rates its divisional operating
profit margin increased to 239 from 208 in 2003 this strong
performance at constant rates reflected growth in its five onshore
north american environment rental profit centres offset by a weaker
performance in parts of its offshore focused business especially
singapore where demand remained weak
exceptional items
total exceptional items including amounts charged below 
operating profit were
2004 2003
£m £m
debt facility costs 206 75
uk business refocusing programme 61 74
prior year impact of change in us 
estimation methods 53 74
us severance costs 05 –
profit on sale of land and buildings 10 03
prior year impact of the us accounting issue – 94
315 314
debt facility costs of £206m consist of i £89m payable to
providers of finance in connection with the waiver on 30 may 2003
by the bank group of the default under our senior secured credit
facility and other debt facilities as a result of the accounting issues
at sunbelt ii £22m of legal accounting and advisory fees related
to the waiver of the default iii £67m of legal accounting and
advisory fees related to the partial refinancing of the senior secured
credit facility through the issue of second priority senior secured
notes and iv £28m of other costs debt facility costs in 2003
comprised principally professional advisory costs and fees paid to
debt providers related to resolving the defaults under the
company’s debt facilities
the non cash charge of £61m in the year ended 30 april 2004 for
the uk business refocusing programme is an adjustment to the
charge of £74m recorded at 30 april 2003 and arose from aplant’s
noncore asset disposal programme the charge includes goodwill
of £23m previously written off to reserves
the non cash charge of £53m for the prior year impact of the
changes in us estimation methods in the year ended 30 april 2004
relates principally to adjustments of £33m relating to the methods
of determining accrued and deferred revenue at 30 april 2003 and
to £14m to recognise operating lease costs on a straight line basis
over the life of the lease at 30 april 2003 application of the revised
methods had no net impact on the group’s loss or cash flows for
the year ended 30 april 2004 and is not expected to have any
significant impact on the results of future periods the charge of
£74m in the year ended 30 april 2003 related to the adjustment
arising from the refinement of the method of estimating the
provision for self insured retained risk under sunbelt’s insurance
policies at 30 april 2002
the us severance costs relate to the departure of the former
president and chief executive officer of sunbelt see directors’
remuneration report the charge of £94m relating to the prior year
impact of the us accounting issue in the year ended 30 april 2003
is comprised of the errors in the balance sheet at 30 april 2002 
these costs are presented in the profit and loss account as follows
2004 2003
£m £m
turnover 33 –
staff costs 05 05
depreciation and amortisation 23 58
other operating costs 137 235
other operating income 10 03
charged at in arriving at operating profit 188 295
loss on sale of businesses 38 –
interest payable and similar charges 89 19
315 314
29 ashtead group plc annual report and accounts for the year ended 30 april 2004
operating and financial review interest payable and similar charges
interest payable and similar charges increased 63 to £455m in
2004 the increase was due to higher exceptional interest costs of
£89m 2003 – £19m which more than offset the benefit of lower
debt in sterling terms excluding exceptional items net interest
payable and similar charges reduced 105 to £366m reflecting
principally lower average borrowings and the weakness of the us
dollar the currency in which approximately 90 of our net bank
debt and securitisation funding was denominated the main
components of net interest payable and similar charges are
• net bank interest payable in relation to the term and revolving
loans under our senior secured credit facility of £241m 
2003 – £283m
• interest of £32m payable under the accounts receivable
securitisation facility established in june 2002 2003 – £27m
• interest on the convertible subordinated loan note of £81m 
2003 – £77m
• interest payable on finance leases of £12m 2003 – £22m and
• exceptional costs related to the senior secured credit facility of
£89m comprising £86m in fees and £03m in default interest
compared with £19m in 2003 related to fees of £15m and
default interest of £04m 
loss on ordinary activities before taxation
reflecting the above the loss on ordinary activities before taxation
was £331m 2003 – £422m before exceptional items goodwill
amortisation and taxation the group generated a profit of £76m
compared with the loss of £18m reported in 2003 which rises to 
a loss of £27m at constant exchange rates
taxation on loss on ordinary activities
the current tax credit was £03m 2003 – charge of £03m
substantially no cash tax was again paid reflecting the capital
intensive nature of the group’s operations and the level of available
tax losses a situation which is expected to continue to exist for the
foreseeable future
the total tax charge for 2004 totalled £17m reflecting a £20m
noncash charge for deferred tax arising in the us the group is
unable to recognise any credit for its uk tax losses due to
uncertainty over their future utilisation this inability to take credit
for the uk tax loss position explains why the overall effective rate
based on pregoodwill and exceptional profits of 134 is
significantly higher than the uk statutory rate of 30 
for the same reason the overall effective tax rate will remain volatile
in future dependent on the mix of results between the uk and 
the us
loss for the financial period and loss per share
the net loss was £348m 2003 – £332m as a result of the various
factors discussed above the basic loss per share was 108p per
share 2003 – loss of 103p per share 
earnings per share computed on the pretax profit before
exceptional items and goodwill amortisation of £76m less a 30
tax charge in line with the standard uk rate of corporation tax
recovered to 16p per share 2003 – loss of 04p per share this
additional measure of earnings per share is presented as the
directors believe that this measure is frequently used by analysts
and other users of its accounts to determine the group’s
priceearnings ratio
prospects
turnover trends in both sunbelt and aplant improved during the
course of the year ended 30 april 2004 with strong fourth quarter
dollar turnover growth in sunbelt and a substantial reduction in the
rate of decline in aplant’s same store turnover excluding closed
and disposed profit centres to a point of near stability down 1
in its fourth quarter cost growth in both businesses remained low
these trends have continued with sunbelt’s dollar turnover growing
109 in the two months to 30 june 2004 and aplant’s same
store turnover up 24 in the same period 
the board continues to be encouraged by these trends and believes
that the outlook for growth in underlying group operating profits is
encouraging the impact of the continued weakness in the us
dollar together with the prospect of higher average market interest
rates in 20045 may reduce growth at the pretax level
cash flow
the group’s principal existing sources of cash are cash generated
from operations cash generated from sales of tangible fixed assets
primarily used rental equipment and borrowings available under its
borrowing facilities
during the year ended 30 april 2004 the group generated cash
from operations of £1267m and £323m from the sale of tangible
fixed assets the group used cash during this period principally to
pay for purchases of tangible fixed assets £829m to pay interest
and similar charges £400m and to repay debt and finance
leases £496m
our free cash flow in the year ended 30 april 2004 which we
define to exclude all exceptional items and which comprises our net
cash inflow from operations excluding exceptional items less our
net capital expenditure interest and tax rose 455 in the year to
£566m 2003 – £389m this free cash flow was largely applied to
reduce outstanding debt this is summarised opposite
30 ashtead group plc annual report and accounts for the year ended 30 april 2004
operating and financial review 31 ashtead group plc annual report and accounts for the year ended 30 april 2004
operating and financial review
2004 2003
£m £m
ebitda before exceptional items 1470 1501
cash inflow from operations before exceptional items 1400 1573
cash efficiency ratio 952 1048
capital expenditure 829 1071
proceeds from sale of used rental equipment 323 294
tax received 01 07
free cash flow before interest 895 803
interest paid excluding exceptional interest 329 414
free cash flow after interest 566 389
acquisitions and disposals 152 08
exceptional costs 182 76
dividends paid – 93
reduction in total debt 536 212
 cash inflow from operations before exceptional items as a percentage of ebitda
balance sheet
tangible fixed assets
2004 2003
rental rental
equipment total equipment total
£m £m £m £m
opening balance 5775 6515 6781 7509
exchange difference 375 407 391 420
additions 641 723 710 855
disposals 379 425 245 261
reclassification 02 – 03 –
depreciation
– excluding exceptional impairment 940 1028 1019 1110
– uk business refocusing programme 23 23 58 58
closing balance 4697 5355 5775 6515
the board believes that based on its current projections the group
expects to be able to fund its cash requirements relating to its
existing operations from existing sources of cash described above
for at least the next 12 months it expects that the principal needs
for cash relating to existing operations over the next 12 months 
will be to
• fund operating expenses and working capital
• fund the purchase of rental equipment and other capital
expenditures and
• service outstanding debt
capital expenditure decreased 154 at actual rates to £723m 
in 2004 as the group further aged its rental fleet in the face of
generally weak market conditions at constant exchange rates the
reduction was 101 expenditure on rental equipment was 887
of total capital expenditure
the average age of the group’s serialised rental equipment which
constitutes the substantial majority of our fleet at 30 april 2004 
was 46 months on a net book value basis on the same basis
sunbelt’s fleet had an average age of 48 months 58 months for
aerial work platforms which have a longer life and 35 months for
the remainder of its fleet and aplant’s fleet had an average age of
43 months this represents a change of reporting basis for the
group from an original cost basis the directors believe the net book
value basis is the method used more commonly within the industry on an original cost basis the average age of the group’s fleet at 
30 april 2004 was 56 months 2003 – 49 months at the same
time sunbelt’s fleet had an average age of 56 months 65 months
for aerial work platforms and 45 months for the remainder of its
fleet and aplant’s fleet had an average age of 54 months the
equivalent figures at 30 april 2003 were 48 months for sunbelt’s
fleet 57 months for aerial work platforms and 41 months for the
remainder and 51 months for aplant
in the coming year the group expects capital expenditure to be
approximately £100m in line with the level of the depreciation
charge which is expected to be sufficient to keep the average fleet
age broadly constant in 20045 the level of capital expenditure
after april 2005 will depend on a number of factors including
general economic conditions and growth prospects and is subject
to a cap of £140m in 20056 under the group’s senior secured
credit facility
the net book value of our tangible fixed assets decreased to
£5355m from £6515m at 30 april 2003 reflecting the currency
translation impact from the weak us dollar the uk noncore
business disposals and our decision to age the rental fleet
current assets
2004 2003
£m £m
stock 151 116
trade debtors subject to nonrecourse financing 824 880
nonrecourse financing received 522 575
other trade debtors prepayments and 
accrued income 117 163
cash at bank and in hand
1
99 103
669 687
1
at 30 april 2004 a total of £60m 2003 – £37m of cash at bank and in hand 
was used to collateralise part of sunbelt’s outstanding letters of credit
stocks of raw materials consumables and spares and goods for
resale increased by 302 to £151m in 2004 this increase was
principally due to the planned increases in stocks of goods for resale
at sunbelt in support of its merchandising programme
trade debtors subject to nonrecourse financing decreased 64 to
£824m in 2004 this decrease was due principally to the weakness
of the us dollar debtor days decreased slightly to 58 days 2003 –
60 days the bad debt charge as a percentage of total turnover
was 12 in 2004 compared with 13 in 2003 other trade
debtors prepayments and accrued income decreased 282 to
£117m from £163m in 2003 the decline was due principally to
the weak us dollar 
trade and other creditors
group creditor days decreased to 81 days at 30 april 2004 from
162 days at 30 april 2003 this decrease reflected principally the
reduction in terms on which rental equipment is acquired to a
current average of 90 days consequently capital expenditure
related payables at 30 april 2004 totalled £211m 2003 – £333m
payment periods for purchases other than rental equipment
averaged between 30 and 60 days the group expects creditor days
to remain at broadly similar levels for the foreseeable future
net debt
at 30 april 2004 total net debt which we and our bankers define
to include nonrecourse funding received under the debtors
securitisation reduced to £5267m 2003 – £6223m due to a
combination of cash generation and the weak us dollar measured
at constant 30 april 2004 exchange rates the reduction in total
net debt in the year was £536m
bank loan facility
following the refinancing of the group’s loan facilities during the
year the group’s principal bank facility is its first priority senior
secured credit facility which is now committed to 28 september
2007 this facility is drawn principally in us dollars with the
remainder in sterling and euros 
at 30 april 2004 the facility totalled £2508m of which £2226m
was drawn and £282m 50m was available interest is payable 
on borrowings under the facility at libor plus 40 and there is a
commitment fee of 1875 per annum payable on any undrawn
portion of the facility
the facility amortises by 3 of the outstanding principal amount on
29 october 2004 and then commencing on 31 january 2005 by
075 of the outstanding principal amount on a quarterly basis
the facility may also further amortise each year from july 2005 by
an additional amount equal to 75 of any excess cash flow shown
in the audited accounts for the financial year ended at the end of
the previous april excess cash flow for this purpose effectively
amounts to the reduction in first secured senior borrowings in the
financial year less the committed amortisation outlined above in 
that financial year together with any amounts set aside to cash
collateralise any letters of credit issued or to be issued in connection
with the group’s insurance programmes
outstandings under the facility are secured by first priority security
interests in the form of fixed and floating charges over substantially
all of the group’s assets under the terms of the facility the group is
required to demonstrate compliance with certain financial covenants
comprising the ratios of ebitda to senior and total debt levels and
to interest the ratio of the committed facility to the net book value
of the rental fleet and a maximum capital expenditure covenant
32 ashtead group plc annual report and accounts for the year ended 30 april 2004
operating and financial review the group also has a bank overdraft facility of £11m and a £56m
10m line used for letters of credit issued in connection with the
group’s insurance programmes both these facilities are also
committed to 28 september 2007 at 30 april 2004 £33m was
outstanding under the overdraft facility and the letter of credit line
was fully utilised the amounts outstanding under these
supplementary facilities are secured on the same basis as the senior
secured credit facility and are subject to the same covenants and to
similar amortisation and cash sweep arrangements
accordingly at 30 april 2004 the group had total committed
undrawn facilities of £359m comprising £282m available under
the senior secured credit facility and £77m under the committed
secured overdraft facility both of which are committed to 
28 september 2007 at the same date the group also had cash at
bank and in hand excluding cash held to collateralise outstanding
letters of credit of £39m in total therefore the group’s available
liquidity at 30 april 2004 was £398m
accounts receivable securitisation
in june 2002 the company and certain of its subsidiaries completed
a rolling £60m accounts receivable securitisation in connection 
with the securitisation the subsidiaries transferred all of their trade
accounts receivable to two special purpose vehicles which in turn
sold these receivables to secure £60m of funding interest is paid 
at libor plus 30 on this funding the accounts receivable
securitisation facility is now £551m there are two scheduled facility
reductions under the receivables securitisation in the amount of
£5m on each of 30 april 2006 and 2007
at 30 april 2004 nonrecourse funding received under the facility
net of unamortised costs was £522m which represented 633
of the net value of the receivables in the collateral pool of £824m
12 second priority senior secured notes due 2014 
having a nominal value of £120m
on 16 april 2004 the group through its wholly owned subsidiary
ashtead holdings plc issued £120m of 12 second priority senior
secured notes due 1 may 2014 the funds received were used to
permanently prepay 200m of the amount outstanding under the
senior secured credit facility and in conjunction with funds from our
own resources additionally to pay down 50m of a revolving
tranche of that facility the notes are secured by second priority
security interests over substantially the group’s same assets as the
senior secured credit facility and are also guaranteed by ashtead
group plc
under the terms of the notes the group is subject to important
exceptions restricted in its ability to incur additional debt pay
dividends make investments sell assets enter into sale and
leaseback transactions and merge or consolidate with another
company interest is payable on the notes on 1 may and 
1 november of each year the notes are listed on the official list 
of the uk listing authority and traded on the london stock
exchange’s market for listed securities
525 unsecured convertible loan note due 2008 
having a nominal value of £134m
this loan note is convertible at the holder’s option into 89333333
ordinary shares at any time after 1 june 2001 and if not converted
is redeemable at par on 31 march 2008 the loan note may only be
transferred with the consent of the company which will be granted
if the company is satisfied that the transferee and any connected
persons would not in consequence of the transfer hold 10 or
more of the issued share capital of the company after conversion
certain orderly marketing restrictions also apply to any ordinary
shares issued on conversion 
future payments of the semiannual interest under the convertible
loan note may under certain conditions be postponed for up to
180 days by the company’s senior lenders and are additionally
subject to constraints set out in the agreement governing the
second priority senior secured notes due 2014 
the holder of the convertible loan note a subsidiary of rentokil
initial plc has agreed that in the event that the company is
prohibited from paying the interest on the convertible loan note
then such nonpayment shall not constitute a default and instead
the amount of any unpaid interest shall be carried forward to the
next interest payment date and paid at that time provided sufficient
earnings are available if they are not then the amount unpaid is
again carried forward
in return for these concessions the company agreed during the year
with rentokil initial plc that the holder of the convertible loan note
will receive a fee of £2m payable at the time the convertible loan
note is repaid this fee together with the unpaid interest relating to
the missed april and october 2003 interest payments have been
expensed in the year and are included in other creditors due after
one year
33 ashtead group plc annual report and accounts for the year ended 30 april 2004
operating and financial review except as described under operating leases and our 100m interest
rate swap agreement and guaranteed letters of credit described
below we have no material commercial commitments that we
could be obligated to pay in the future which are not included in
the group’s consolidated balance sheet
other provisions
other provisions relate principally to provision for the self insured
retained risk under the group’s self insurance policies the group’s
business exposes it to claims for personal injury death or property
damage resulting from the use of the equipment it rents or sells and
from injuries caused in motor vehicle accidents in which its delivery
and service personnel are involved the group carries insurance
covering a widerange of potential claims at levels it believes are
sufficient to cover existing and future claims our liability insurance
programmes provide that we can only recover the liability related to
any particular claim in excess of an agreed excess amount of
typically between 05m and 2m depending on the particular
liability programme in certain but not all cases this liability excess
amount is subject to an annual cap which limits the group’s
maximum liability in respect of these excess amounts to such annual
cap our liability coverage is also limited to a maximum of £100m
per occurrence
pensions
the group operates pension plans for the benefit of its employees
for which the charge included in the financial statements was
£37m in the year the group has three defined benefit pension
plans one which covers approximately 500 employees in the uk
and two other plans affecting our executive directors all our other
pension plans are defined contribution plans 
the next triennial valuation of the uk defined benefit plan will be as
at 30 april 2004 however the company increased its contribution
to the uk defined benefit plan to 15 of salary effective 1 may
2003 11 previously in the light of the poor returns on equity
investments since the last valuation as at 30 april 2001
the group accounts for pensions in accordance with ssap 24
under the methodology required by frs 17 the proposed uk
accounting standard for pension plans the deficit in the defined
benefit plans was £125m compared with £145m at 30 april 2003
the group is not required to apply the provisions of frs 17 in
preparing its financial statements and accordingly this deficit is not
provided for in our financial statements for additional information
regarding the group’s pension plans see note 23 to the financial
statements
offbalance sheet arrangements
on 5 march 2003 the group entered into an interest rate swap
agreement under which we fixed interest rates on 100m of our
borrowings at 25 for the threeyear period beginning on 1 may
2003 this swap is accounted for using the accrual method under
which amounts payable or receivable in respect of derivatives are
recognised ratably in net interest payable over the period of the
contract these amounts payable or receivable are not revalued to
fair value or shown in the group balance sheet
the group guarantees a 10m letter of credit facility used by
sunbelt under bilateral arrangements under our senior secured
credit facility at 30 april 2004 total letters of credit issued by the
provider of these bilateral arrangements amounted to 206m of
which 106m was cash collateralised by an equivalent cash deposit
made by sunbelt to the provider of the letters of credit and 10m
was secured under the bilateral arrangements under the senior
secured credit facility and by guarantee from ashtead group plc
34 ashtead group plc annual report and accounts for the year ended 30 april 2004
operating and financial review
net debt and commercial commitments
payments due by year
2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 thereafter total
£m £m £m £m £m £m £m
bank and other debt
1
99 63 63 2034 02 – 2261
funding received under debtors securitisation
2
–22 50 450 – – 522
finance leases
3
57 34 17 09 04 – 121
12 senior secured notes
4
––––– 1156 1156
convertible loan note
5
––– 1306 – – 1306
156 119 130 3799 06 1156 5366
cash at bank and in hand 99 ––––– 99
net debt and securitisation 57 119 130 3799 06 1156 5267
operating leases
6
247 222 190 167 148 773 1747
total 304 341 320 3966 154 1929 7014
1
represents the scheduled maturities of our bank and other debt for the periods indicated
2
represents the scheduled maturity and amortisation of funding received under our accounts receivable securitisation facility
3
represents the future minimum lease payments under our finance leases
4
represents the carrying value of the £120m second priority secured notes
5
represents the carrying value of the 525 subordinated unsecured convertible loan note due 2008 which has a par value of £134m issued to a subsidiary of rentokil initial plc in
june 2000
6
represents the minimum payments to which we were committed under operating leases which relate principally to vehicles and property at 30 april 2004 the group had £1747m in total minimum
operating lease commitments outstanding through to the end of the
respective term of such leases operating leases relating to
properties most of which are leased constituted 871 £1521m
of our total minimum operating lease commitments and operating
leases relating to the vehicle fleet constituted 124 £216m of
such commitments
except as described above the group does not have any material
offbalance sheet arrangements
quantitative and qualitative disclosures about market risk
the group’s exposure to market risk primarily consists of
• interest rate risk associated with its variable rate debt 
• foreign currency exchange rate risk primarily associated with
sunbelt’s operations in the us and
• counterparty risk associated with derivative financial instruments
the finance and administration committee of the board of directors
approves any derivative transaction which the group enters into
and the finance director regularly updates the board on treasury
matters including whether or not new derivative transactions are
proposed derivative transactions are only undertaken for the
purposes of managing interest rate risk and currency risk the group
does not trade in financial instruments the board reviews and
agrees objectives and treasury policies for managing each of these
risks and they are summarised below
interest rate risk
the group periodically utilises interest rate swap agreements to
manage and mitigate its exposure to changes in interest rates at 
30 april 2004 the group had swap agreements with an aggregate
notional amount of 100m the effect of these agreements is to 
fix the interest rate exposure at 25 on 100m of us dollar
borrowings under the amended senior secured credit facility
the group has the following debt that bears interest at a variable
rate i all outstanding borrowings under the amended senior
secured credit facility ii advances under the uk overdraft facility
and iii funding received under the accounts receivable securitisation
facility the interest rates that will be applicable to this variable rate
debt are libor as applicable to the currency borrowed us dollars
pounds and euros plus 40 for borrowings under the amended
senior secured credit facility uk base rate plus 40 for borrowings
under the committed overdraft line and libor us dollars and
pounds plus 30 in respect of the funding received under the
accounts receivable securitisation facility
at 30 april 2004 based upon the amount of variable rate debt
outstanding and taking into account the 100m interest rate swap
agreement the group’s pretax profits would decrease by
approximately £2m for each one percentage point increase in
interest rates applicable to the variable rate debt the amount of 
the group’s variable rate debt may fluctuate as a result of changes
in the amount of debt outstanding under the revolving tranches 
of the senior secured credit facility 
currency exchange risk
the group’s reporting currency is the pound sterling however a
substantial portion of its assets liabilities turnover and costs is
denominated in us dollars the group has arranged its financing
such that approximately half of its debt including securitisation
funding is also denominated in us dollars so that there is a natural
partial offset between its dollardenominated net assets and
earnings and its dollardenominated debt and interest expense 
based upon the level of us operations and of its us dollar
denominated debt and us interest rates at 30 april 2004 a 1
change in the us dollarpound exchange rate would impact our pre
tax profits by 1 at 30 april 2004 the group had no outstanding
foreign exchange contracts the group does not engage in
purchasing forward exchange contracts for speculative purposes or
to hedge the translation exposures in its consolidated accounts
the group’s exposure to exchange rate movements on trading
transactions is relatively limited all group companies invoice
revenues in their respective local currency and generally incur
expense and purchase assets in their local currency consequently
the group does not routinely hedge either forecast foreign exchange
exposures or the impact of exchange rate movements on the
translation of overseas profits into sterling foreign exchange risk on
significant nontrading transactions eg acquisitions is considered
on an individual basis
counterparty risk
the group is exposed to credit risk related losses in the event of
nonperformance by a counterparty to its interest rate hedging
financial instruments the risk is managed by entering into derivative
transactions only with institutions with strong credit ratings and by
limiting the exposure to any counterparty at 30 april 2004 the
counterparty to the group’s sole interest rate hedging transaction
was bank of america which is not expected to fail to meet its
obligations
ian robson
finance director
5 july 2004
35 ashtead group plc annual report and accounts for the year ended 30 april 2004
operating and financial review we have audited the financial statements of ashtead group plc for
the year ended 30 april 2004 which comprise the consolidated
profit and loss account the balance sheets the consolidated cash
flow statement the consolidated statement of total recognised
gains and losses the summary of movements in shareholders’
funds the statement of accounting policies and the related notes 
2 to 28 these financial statements have been prepared under the
accounting policies set out therein we have also audited the
information in the part of the directors’ remuneration report that 
is described as having been audited
this report is made solely to the company’s members as a body
in accordance with section 235 of the companies act 1985 our
audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the
company’s members those matters we are required to state to them
in an auditors’ report and for no other purpose to the fullest extent
permitted by law we do not accept or assume responsibility to
anyone other than the company and the company’s members as a
body for our audit work for this report or for the opinions we
have formed
respective responsibilities of directors and auditors
as described in the statement of directors’ responsibilities the
company’s directors are responsible for the preparation of the
financial statements in accordance with applicable united
kingdom law and accounting standards they are also responsible
for the preparation of the other information contained in the
annual report including the directors’ remuneration report our
responsibility is to audit the financial statements and the part of
the directors’ remuneration report described as having been
audited in accordance with relevant united kingdom legal and
regulatory requirements and auditing standards
we report to you our opinion as to whether the financial statements
give a true and fair view and whether the financial statements and
the part of the directors’ remuneration report described as having
been audited have been properly prepared in accordance with the
companies act 1985 we also report to you if in our opinion the
directors’ report is not consistent with the financial statements if
the company has not kept proper accounting records if we have
not received all the information and explanations we require for our
audit or if information specified by law regarding directors’
remuneration and transactions with the company and other
members of the group is not disclosed
we review whether the corporate governance statement reflects
the company’s compliance with the seven provisions of the
combined code specified for our review by the listing rules of the
financial services authority and we report if it does not we are
not required to consider whether the board’s statements on
internal control cover all risks and controls or form an opinion on
the effectiveness of the group’s corporate governance procedures
or its risk and control procedures
we read the directors’ report and the other information contained
in the annual report for the above year as described in the contents
section including the unaudited part of the directors’ remuneration
report and consider the implications for our report if we become
aware of any apparent misstatements or material inconsistencies
with the financial statements
basis of audit opinion
we conducted our audit in accordance with united kingdom
auditing standards issued by the auditing practices board an audit
includes examination on a test basis of evidence relevant to the
amounts and disclosures in the financial statements and the part 
of the directors’ remuneration report described as having been
audited it also includes an assessment of the significant estimates
and judgements made by the directors in the preparation of the
financial statements and of whether the accounting policies are
appropriate to the circumstances of the company and the group
consistently applied and adequately disclosed
we planned and performed our audit so as to obtain all the
information and explanations which we considered necessary in
order to provide us with sufficient evidence to give reasonable
assurance that the financial statements and the part of the directors’
remuneration report described as having been audited are free from
material misstatement whether caused by fraud or other irregularity
or error in forming our opinion we also evaluated the overall
adequacy of the presentation of information in the financial
statements and the part of the directors’ remuneration report
described as having been audited
opinion
in our opinion 
• the financial statements give a true and fair view of the state 
of affairs of the company and the group as at 30 april 2004 
and of the loss of the group for the year then ended and
• the financial statements and part of the directors’ remuneration
report described as having been audited have been properly
prepared in accordance with the companies act 1985
deloitte  touche llp
chartered accountants and registered auditors
london
5 july 2004
36 ashtead group plc annual report and accounts for the year ended 30 april 2004
independent auditors’ report to the
members of ashtead group plc 2004 2003
before
before goodwill goodwill
goodwill goodwill amortisation amortisation
amortisation amortisation and and 
and and exceptional exceptional
exceptional exceptional items items total
items items total restated restated restated
notes £m £m £m £m £m £m
turnover 2 5003 33 4970 5395 – 5395
operating profit 23 442 280 162 391 385 06
loss on sale of businesses 21 –38 38 –––
interest payable and similar charges 4 366 89 455 409 19 428
loss on ordinary activities before taxation 76 407 331 18 404 422
taxation on loss on ordinary activities 
– current tax 6 03 – 03 03 – 03
– deferred tax 618 105 85 20 07 86 93
102 85 17 04 86 90
loss for the financial year transferred from reserves 20 26 322 348 14 318 332
basic and diluted loss per share 8 108p 103p
reconciliation of operating profit to ebitda
operating profit 442 280 162 391 385 06
depreciation and amortisation 1028 115 1143 1110 148 1258
ebitda 1470 165 1305 1501 237 1264
ebitda is presented here as an additional performance measure as it is commonly used by investors and lenders
2004 2003
£m £m
loss for the financial year 348 332
foreign currency translation differences 49 04
total recognised gains and losses in the year 299 336
2004 2003
£m £m
total recognised gains and losses in the year 299 336
goodwill transferred to profit and loss account in respect of businesses sold 23 –
share capital subscribed – 01
net decrease in shareholders’ funds in the year 276 335
shareholders’ funds at the beginning of the year as restated 1594 1929
closing shareholders’ funds 1318 1594
37 ashtead group plc annual report and accounts for the year ended 30 april 2004
consolidated profit  loss account 
for the year ended 30 april 2004
consolidated statement of total
recognised gains  losses
for the year ended 30 april 2004
summary of movements in
shareholders’ funds
for the year ended 30 april 2004 38 ashtead group plc annual report and accounts for the year ended 30 april 2004
consolidated balance sheet
at 30 april 2004
2003
2004 restated
notes £m £m
fixed assets
intangible assets
– goodwill 9 1429 1520
tangible fixed assets
– rental equipment 10 4697 5775
– other fixed assets 10 658 740
10 5355 6515
6784 8035
current assets
stock 12 151 116
trade debtors subject to nonrecourse financing 13 824 880
nonrecourse financing received 13 522 575
trade debtors net of nonrecourse financing 302 305
other trade debtors prepayments and accrued income 13 117 163
cash at bank and in hand 24c 99 103
669 687
creditors – amounts falling due within one year
bank loans overdrafts and finance lease obligations 14 156 106
trade and other creditors 15 773 922
929 1028
net current liabilities 260 341
total assets less current liabilities 6524 7694
creditors – amounts falling due after more than one year
525 unsecured convertible loan note due 2008 16 1306 1298
bank and other loans 16 3382 4347
other creditors 94 –
4782 5645
provision for liabilities and charges
deferred taxation 18 277 286
other provisions 18 147 169
424 455
total net assets 1318 1594
capital and reserves
called up share capital 19 326 326
share premium account 20 1007 1007
revaluation reserve 20 05 05
own shares held by esot 20 16 16
profit and loss account 20 04 272
total equity shareholders’ funds 1318 1594
these financial statements were approved by the board on 5 july 2004
gb burnett si robson
chief executive finance director 39 ashtead group plc annual report and accounts for the year ended 30 april 2004
2004 2003
notes £m £m £m £m
net cash inflow from operating activities
cash inflow before exceptional items 24a 1400 1573
exceptional costs 111 44
movement in nonrecourse finance received under trade debtors securitisation 22 574
net cash inflow from operating activities 1267 2103
returns on investments and servicing of finance
interest paid 329 414
exceptional bank facility costs 71 32
net cash outflow from returns on investments and servicing of finance 400 446
taxation inflow 01 07
capital expenditure and financial investment
purchase of tangible fixed assets 829 1071
sale of tangible fixed assets 323 294
net cash outflow from capital expenditure and financial investment 506 777
acquisitions  disposals inflowoutflow 24d 152 08
equity dividends paid – 93
net cash inflow before management of liquid resources and financing 514 786
financing
issue of ordinary share capital – 01
drawdown of loans 24e 1156 119
redemption of loans 24e 1566 658
increase in cash collateral balances 26 37
capital element of finance lease payments 86 119
net cash outflow from financing 522 694
decreaseincrease in cash 24b 08 92
consolidated cash flow statement 
for the year ended 30 april 2004 40 ashtead group plc annual report and accounts for the year ended 30 april 2004
2003
2004 restated
notes £m £m
fixed assets
investments in group companies 11 2776 3468
current assets
debtors 13 02 1340
creditors – amounts falling due within one year
trade and other creditors 15 29 91
net current liabilitiesassets 27 1249
total assets less current liabilities 2749 4717
creditors – amounts falling due after more than one year
525 unsecured convertible loan note due 2008 16 1306 1298
other loan notes 16 02 02
other creditors 94 –
1402 1300
total net assets 1347 3417
capital and reserves
called up share capital 19 326 326
share premium account 20 1007 1007
revaluation reserve 20 – 1986
own shares held by esot 20 16 16
profit and loss account 20 30 114
total equity shareholders’ funds 1347 3417
these financial statements were approved by the board on 5 july 2004
gb burnett si robson
chief executive finance director
company balance sheet
at 30 april 2004 41 ashtead group plc annual report and accounts for the year ended 30 april 2004
1 accounting policies
accounting convention 
these financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention as modified by the revaluation of certain freehold and
long leasehold properties and in accordance with applicable united kingdom accounting standards set out below is a summary of the
group’s principal accounting policies which have been applied consistently except that the format of the group profit and loss account has
changed and the provisions of uitf abstract 38 ‘accounting for esop trusts’ have been adopted in the year 
the group profit and loss account in the 2003 annual report and accounts was prepared on the basis of operating costs analysed by
function the directors have revised the presentation of the analysis in the group profit and loss account in the 2004 annual report and
accounts to reflect the type of expenditure format provided for by the companies act 1985 this change has been made because the
directors consider that the new analysis which provides details of staff costs depreciation and amortisation and other costs provides greater
clarity about the main components of the group’s total costs and provides the group its investors lenders and financial analysts with
greater information with which to evaluate the changes and the reasons for those changes in the group’s total costs and is accordingly
more appropriate as a result certain comparative figures have been restated
adoption of uitf abstract 38 has resulted in a restatement of certain prior year figures relating to shares held by the employee share
ownership trust ‘esot’ which are now presented as a deduction from shareholders’ funds and not as a fixed asset investment decreasing
opening net assets by £16 million adoption of this abstract had no effect on the profit or cash flows for the current or previous year
basis of consolidation
the group financial statements incorporate the financial statements of the company and all its subsidiaries for the year to 30 april each
year the results of businesses acquired or sold during the year are incorporated for the periods from or to the date on which control passed
and acquisitions are accounted for under the acquisition method
the profit or loss on the disposal of a previously acquired business includes the attributable amount of any purchased goodwill relating to
that business 
foreign currency translation and derivative financial instruments
assets and liabilities in foreign currencies are translated into sterling at rates of exchange ruling at the balance sheet date profit and loss
accounts and cash flows of overseas subsidiary undertakings are translated into sterling at average rates of exchange for the year the
exchange rates used in respect of the us dollar are
2004 2003
average for year 17195 15664
year end 17734 15982
exchange differences arising from the retranslation of the opening net investment of overseas subsidiaries and the difference between the
inclusion of their profits at average rates of exchange in the group profit and loss account and the closing rate are dealt with as movements
on reserves other exchange differences are dealt with in the profit and loss account
the group uses derivative financial instruments to manage its interest rate exposures these are principally swap agreements used to
manage the balance between fixed and floating rate finance on long term debt the group accounts for such derivatives which are only
used for hedging purposes using the accrual method under which amounts payable or receivable in respect of derivatives are recognised
rateably in interest payable over the period of the contract they are not revalued to fair value or shown on the group balance sheet at the
balance sheet date
turnover
turnover represents the total amount receivable for the provision of goods and services to customers net of returns and value added tax
rental income is recognised on a straight line basis over the period of the rental contract
notes to the financial statements 42 ashtead group plc annual report and accounts for the year ended 30 april 2004
notes to the financial statements
1 accounting policies continued
fixed assets
fixed assets are stated at historical cost or valuation less accumulated depreciation and provisions for impairment where appropriate
leasehold properties are amortised over the life of each lease other fixed assets including those held under finance leases are depreciated
on a straight line basis applied to the opening cost to write down each asset to its residual value over its useful economic life the rates in
use are as follows 
per annum per annum
freehold property 2 rental equipment 5 to 33 
motor vehicles 16 to 25 office and workshop equipment 20
residual values are estimated at 10 of cost in respect of most types of rental equipment zero for scaffolding and similar equipment and
15 for aerial work platforms
some of the group’s freehold and long leasehold properties were revalued on the basis of their open market value at 30 april 1989 on
adoption of frs 15 the group followed the transitional provisions to retain the book value of land and buildings that were revalued in 1989
but not to adopt a policy of revaluation in future
gains and losses from sale of used equipment are recognised in the profit and loss account as a deduction from or addition to operating
costs on transfer of title in the equipment to the purchaser provided delivery has also taken place except in the case of sales of rental
equipment lost when in the possession of the rental customer which are recognised when the loss is notified by the customer at which point
rental income on the lost equipment ceases to accrue
repairs and maintenance 
costs incurred in the repair and maintenance of rental and other equipment are charged to the profit and loss account as incurred
goodwill
goodwill arising on acquisitions being the difference between the cost and fair value of the group’s share of net assets acquired is
capitalised and written off on a straight line basis over its useful economic life which the group has determined to be 20 years provision 
is made for any impairment 
goodwill arising on acquisitions in the year ended 30 april 1999 and earlier periods was deducted from the accumulated profit and loss
account reserve in accordance with the group’s accounting policy prior to adoption of frs 10 such goodwill is charged to the profit and
loss account on any subsequent disposals of the businesses to which it relates
deferred taxation
deferred taxation is provided using the incremental liability approach and is measured on a nondiscounted basis at the tax rates that are
expected to apply in the periods in which timing differences reverse based on tax rates and laws substantively enacted at the balance sheet
date deferred tax is recognised in respect of timing differences that have originated but not reversed by the balance sheet date except that
a deferred tax in respect of the unremitted earnings of overseas subsidiaries is only recognised where there is a binding intent to distribute
past earnings at the balance sheet date and b deferred tax assets are only recognised to the extent that it is considered more likely than
not that they will be recovered
leases 
assets held under finance leases and the related lease obligations are recorded in the balance sheet at the fair value of the leased assets at
the inception of the lease such assets are depreciated in accordance with the group’s depreciation policy at the same rate as applied to
equivalent owned assets lease payments are apportioned between interest which is charged to the profit and loss account and capital
which reduces the outstanding obligation 
operating lease rentals are charged against profits on a straight line basis over the period of the lease  43 ashtead group plc annual report and accounts for the year ended 30 april 2004
1 accounting policies continued
stocks
stocks are valued at the lower of cost and net realisable value
pensions 
the group operates defined benefit and defined contribution pension plans for the benefit of its employees under arrangements established
by group companies pension costs are accounted for on the basis of charging the expected cost of providing pensions over the period
during which the group benefits from the employees’ services the effect of variations from regular cost are spread over the expected
average remaining service lives of the members of the plan contributions to defined contribution plans are expensed as incurred
insurance
insurance costs include insurance premiums which are written off to the profit and loss account over the period to which they relate and an
estimate of the discounted liability for uninsured retained risks on unpaid claims arising out of events occurring up to the balance sheet date
investments 
investments in subsidiary undertakings are stated at cost less any necessary provision for impairment in the parent company balance sheet
where an investment in a subsidiary is transferred to another subsidiary any uplift in the value at which it is transferred over its carrying
value is treated as a revaluation of the investment prior to the transfer and is credited to the revaluation reserve
employee share ownership trust
shares in the company acquired by the employee share ownership trust in the open market for use in connection with employee share
plans are following the adoption of the uitf abstract 38 shown as a deduction from shareholders’ equity where these shares are subject
to commitments to release them to employees subject to the attainment of performance targets in connection with the group’s long term
incentive plans then provision is made by way of a charge against profits to write off the estimated cost of the shares over the performance
period which is normally three years 
2 segmental analysis
the group operates one class of business rental of equipment the segmental analysis by business unit is given below
operating
profit before
goodwill goodwill
turnover amortisation amortisation
before and and
exceptional exceptional exceptional exceptional operating
items items turnover items items profit net assets
£m £m £m £m £m £m £m
2004
sunbelt 3331 33 3298 424 238 186 4902
aplant 1559 – 1559 40 40 – 1866
ashtead technology 113 – 113 27 02 25 94
corporate costs – – – 49 – 49 –
central items ––––––5544
5003 33 4970 442 280 162 1318
2003
sunbelt 3491 – 3491 329 288 41 5810
aplant 1784 – 1784 79 89 10 2180
ashtead technology 120 – 120 25 05 20 113
corporate costs – – – 42 03 45 –
central items ––––––6509
5395 – 5395 391 385 06 1594
 net borrowings non recourse funding under the debtors securitisation and deferred taxation
notes to the financial statements 44 ashtead group plc annual report and accounts for the year ended 30 april 2004
notes to the financial statements
2 segmental analysis continued
the segmental analysis by geographic unit is given below
turnover operating profit net assets
2003 2003
2004 2003 2004 restated 2004 restated
£m £m £m £m £m £m
north america 3352 3544 163 55 4956 5872
united kingdom 1603 1832 03 54 1892 2216
rest of world 15 19 02 05 14 15
central items – – – – 5544 6509
4970 5395 162 06 1318 1594
 net borrowings non recourse funding under the debtors securitisation and deferred taxation
there is no material difference between turnover by origin as shown above and turnover by destination 
3 operating costs
2004 2003
before
before goodwill goodwill
goodwill goodwill amortisation amortisation
amortisation amortisation and and
and and exceptional exceptional
exceptional exceptional items items total
items items total restated restated restated
£m £m £m £m £m £m
staff costs
salaries 1537 05 1542 1671 05 1676
social security costs 131 – 131 152 – 152
other pension costs 37 – 37 38 – 38
1705 05 1710 1861 05 1866
depreciation and amortisation
depreciation
– owned assets 999 23 1022 1076 58 1134
– leased assets 29 – 29 34 – 34
goodwill amortisation –92 92 –90 90
1028 115 1143 1110 148 1258
other operating costs
vehicle costs 475 – 475 508 – 508
spares consumables and external repairs 363 – 363 416 – 416
facilities costs 289 14 303 308 14 322
refinancing costs – 109 109 – 56 56
other external charges 753 14 767 828 165 993
1880 137 2017 2060 235 2295
other operating income – profit on disposal of fixed assets 52 10 62 27 03 30
4561 247 4808 5004 385 5389
on the same basis as last year operating costs by function can be analysed as follows
£m £m £m £m £m £m
cost of sales 4131 33 4164 4573 225 4798
administrative expenses 430 214 644 431 160 591
4561 247 4808 5004 385 5389 45 ashtead group plc annual report and accounts for the year ended 30 april 2004
3 operating costs continued
the aforementioned include
2003
2004 restated
£m £m
operating lease rentals
relating to vehicles and other equipment hire of plant and machinery 111 116
relating to land and buildings 162 172
details of directors’ remuneration together with directors’ share interests and share options are given in the directors’ remuneration report
and form part of these financial statements 
other operating income relates to profits on disposal of fixed assets which have been included within operating profit as they resulted from
routine sales of rental equipment and property transactions and are considered in effect to be no more than required adjustments to
depreciation previously charged profits related to land and buildings have been treated as exceptional other operating income and the
comparative has been amended accordingly
during 2004 the company changed its auditors and accordingly the remuneration of both the predecessor and the new auditors in the year
is given below
2004 2003
£’000 £’000
payable to pricewaterhousecoopers llp 
audit services statutory audit company – 25
 statutory audit group – 389
other audit related reporting uk 770 369
tax services  compliance services overseas 110 63
 advisory services uk 50 214
930 1060
payable to deloitte  touche llp
audit services statutory audit company 20 –
 statutory audit group 530 –
other services internal audit uk 219 –
 due diligence uk 1480 650
 other 26 –
2275 650
the fees for other services paid to deloitte  touche llp are in respect of services provided under letters of engagement approved prior to
their appointment as auditors
4 interest payable and similar charges
2004 2003
£m £m
bank interest payable 241 283
funding cost on trade debtors’ securitisation 32 27
interest on 525 unsecured convertible loan note due 2008 81 77
interest payable on finance leases 12 22
total interest payable before exceptional costs 366 409
exceptional bank facility costs 89 19
455 428
exceptional bank facility costs in 2004 comprise default interest of £03m and fees to providers of finance of £86m
notes to the financial statements 46 ashtead group plc annual report and accounts for the year ended 30 april 2004
notes to the financial statements
5 exceptional items and goodwill amortisation 
2004 2003
£m £m
debt facility costs 206 75
uk business refocusing programme 61 74
prior year impact of change in us estimation methods 53 74
us severance costs 05 –
profit on sale of land and buildings 10 03
prior year impact of the us accounting issue – 94
total exceptional items 315 314
goodwill amortisation 92 90
407 404
debt facility costs of £206m consist of i £89m payable to providers of finance in connection with the waiver on 30 may 2003 by the
bank group of the default under our existing senior secured credit facility and other debt facilities as a result of the accounting issues at
sunbelt ii £22m of legal accounting and advisory fees related to the waiver of the default iii £67m of legal accounting and advisory
fees related to the partial refinancing of the senior secured credit facility through the issue of second priority senior secured notes and iv
£28m of other costs debt facility costs in 2003 comprised principally professional advisory costs and fees paid to debt providers related 
to resolving the defaults under the company’s debt facilities
the non cash charge of £61m in the year ended 30 april 2004 for the uk business refocusing programme is an adjustment to the charge
of £74m recorded at 30 april 2003 and arose from aplant’s noncore asset disposal programme the charge includes goodwill of £23m
previously written off to reserves
the non cash charge of £53m for the prior year impact of changes in us estimation methods in the year ended 30 april 2004 relates
principally to adjustments of £33m to the methods of determining accrued and deferred revenue at 30 april 2003 and £14m to recognise
operating lease costs on a straight line basis over the life of the lease at 30 april 2003 application of the revised estimation methods had 
no net impact on the group’s loss or cash flows for the year ended 30 april 2004 and is not expected to have any significant impact on the
results of future periods the charge of £74m in the year ended 30 april 2003 related to the adjustment arising from the refinement of the
method of estimating the provision for self insured retained risk under sunbelt’s insurance policies at 30 april 2002
the us severance costs relate to the departure of the former president and chief executive officer of sunbelt see directors’ remuneration
report the charge of £94m relating to the prior year impact of the us accounting issue in the year ended 30 april 2003 is comprised of
the errors in the balance sheet at 30 april 2002 
exceptional items are presented in the profit and loss account as follows
2003
2004 restated
£m £m
turnover 33 –
staff costs 05 05
depreciation 23 58
other operating costs 137 235
other operating income 10 03
charged in arriving at operating profit 188 295
loss on sale of businesses 38 –
interest payable and similar charges 89 19
315 314 47 ashtead group plc annual report and accounts for the year ended 30 april 2004
notes to the financial statements
6 taxation
2004 2003
£m £m
uk corporation tax at 30 2003 – 30
– current year charge – –
– credit in respect of prior year – 02
– 02
overseas taxation
– current year charge 02 05
– credit in respect of prior year 05 –
03 05
total current tax creditcharge 03 03
deferred taxation 
– current year chargecredit 09 48
– prior year chargecredit 11 45
20 93
total tax chargecredit for the year 17 90
all of the 2004 and 2003 deferred tax relates to the origination and reversal of timing differences
the reconciliation between the tax chargecredit for the year and that expected on the basis of the uk standard corporation tax rate 
of 30 is as follows
2004 2003
£m £m
expected tax credit based on the loss before taxation of £331m 
2003 – £422m for the year at the standard uk corporation tax rate of 30 99 127
accelerated capital allowances and other timing differences 109 148
goodwill amortisation included in the loss before tax not allowable for tax 26 26
impact of overseas losses taxed at rates above the uk standard rate 09 10
adjustment to tax charge in respect of previous period 05 02
other permanent differences 25 32
total current tax creditcharge for the year 03 03
deferred taxation chargecredit for the year 20 93
total tax chargecredit for the year 17 90
factors that may affect future tax charges relate to deferred tax see note 18
7 profit and loss account
ashtead group plc has not presented its own profit and loss account as permitted by section 230 3 of the companies act 1985 
the amount of the loss for the financial year dealt with in the accounts of ashtead group plc is £84m 2003 – profit of £27m 48 ashtead group plc annual report and accounts for the year ended 30 april 2004
notes to the financial statements
8 loss per share
loss per share for the year ended 30 april 2004 has been calculated based on the loss for the financial year and on 322931814 
2003 – 322716194 ordinary shares being the weighted average number of ordinary shares in issue during the year which excludes 
the 2723461 shares held by the esot in respect of which dividends have been waived diluted loss per share is computed using the 
loss for the financial year and the diluted number of shares ignoring any potential issue of ordinary shares which would be antidilutive
these are calculated as follows
2004 2003
loss for weighted per loss for weighted per
the financial average no share the financial average no share
year of shares amount year of shares amount
£m million pence £m million pence
as used in the calculation of basic loss per share 
excluding the shares held by the esot 348 3229 108 332 3227 103
outstanding share options ––– –––
as used in the calculation of diluted loss per share 348 3229 108 332 3227 103
9 intangible assets – goodwill
cost amortisation net book value
£m £m £m
at 1 may 2003 as previously reported 1783 263 1520
arising in respect of acquisitions in the year 01 – 01
amortisation during the year – 92 92
at 30 april 2004 1784 355 1429
additions to goodwill relate to deferred consideration arising on prior year acquisitions goodwill written off directly to reserves as at 
30 april 2004 was £619m 2003 – £642m
10 tangible fixed assets
rental equipment
office 
motor vehicles
freehold leasehold held under workshop held under 
property property owned finance leases equipment owned finance leases total
£m £m £m £m £m £m £m £m
cost or valuation 
at 1 may 2003 397 299 9239 219 233 49 64 10500
exchange difference 13 21 692 26 15 15 – 782
reclassifications 05 04 57 64 08 – – –
additions 0317641–2438–723
disposals 34 26 1235 – 24 32 03 1354
at 30 april 2004 348 273 8010 129 226 40 61 9087
depreciation 
at 1 may 2003 61 76 3635 48 126 33 06 3985
exchange difference 02 07 333 10 09 14 – 375
reclassifications – – 48 53 05 – – –
charge for the period 07 21 945 18 40 09 11 1051
disposals 1313856–202601929
at 30 april 2004 53 77 3439 03 142 02 16 3732
net book value 
at 30 april 2004 295 196 4571 126 84 38 45 5355
at 30 april 2003 336 223 5604 171 107 16 58 6515
reclassifications principally relate to the purchase in the year of assets previously held under finance leases 49 ashtead group plc annual report and accounts for the year ended 30 april 2004
notes to the financial statements
10 tangible fixed assets continued
the net book amount of leasehold property comprises
2004 2003
£m £m
long leasehold 30 24
short leasehold 166 199
196 223
the closing net book value of property stated at cost or valuation may be analysed as follows
freehold leasehold
£m £m
stated at cost 280 186
stated at valuation performed at 30 april 1989 15 10
295 196
the net book value at which assets stated at valuation would have
been shown if they had not been revalued is as follows 12 08
11 investments
shares in group
companies
£m
at 1 may 2003 3468
additions 1320
disposals 26
written off against revaluation reserve 1986
at 30 april 2004 2776
the company’s principal subsidiaries are
principal country
country of in which subsidiary
name incorporation undertaking operates
ashtead holdings plc england united kingdom
sunbelt rentals inc usa usa
ashtead plant hire company limited england united kingdom
ashtead technology limited scotland united kingdom
ashtead technology south east asia pte limited singapore singapore
ashtead technology inc usa usa
the issued share capital all of which comprises ordinary shares of subsidiaries is 100 owned by the company or by subsidiary
undertakings and all subsidiaries are consolidated the principal activity of ashtead holdings plc is an investment holding company the
principal activity of each other subsidiary undertaking listed above is equipment rental ashtead group plc owns all the issued share capital
of ashtead holdings plc which in turn holds all of the other subsidiaries listed above except for sunbelt rentals inc and ashtead technology
inc which ashtead holdings plc owns indirectly through other subsidiary undertakings
12 stock
2004 2003
£m £m
raw materials consumables and spares 94 87
goods for resale 57 29
151 116 50 ashtead group plc annual report and accounts for the year ended 30 april 2004
notes to the financial statements
13 debtors
group company
2004 2003 2004 2003
£m £m £m £m
trade debtors subject to nonrecourse financing 824 880 – –
less nonrecourse financing received 522 575 – –
302 305 – –
other trade debtors 05 28 – –
amounts due from group undertakings – – – 1339
prepayments and accrued income 112 135 02 01
419 468 02 1340
under the revolving securitisation programme the group sells or assigns its title and interest in a pool of invoiced trade debtors to a third
party funding received against this pool of trade debtors takes into account inter alia the risks that may be attached to the debtors and the
expected collection period the group is not obliged and does not intend to support any losses arising from the assigned debtors in the
event of default in payment by a debtor the providers of the finance can only obtain repayment of funding advanced as to both principal
and interest from the remainder of the pool of debtors in which they hold an interest the third party has also confirmed that it will not
seek repayment from the group in any other way
14 bank loans overdrafts and finance lease obligations
group company
2004 2003 2004 2003
£m £m £m £m
secured bank overdraft – 48 – –
short term element of secured bank loans 99 23 – –
short term element of finance lease obligations 57 35 – –
156 106 – –
15 trade and other creditors
group company
2004 2003 2004 2003
£m £m £m £m
trade creditors 333 353 – –
bills of exchange payable 09 128 – –
taxation 06 05 – –
other taxes and social security 63 79 01 –
amounts due to subsidiary undertakings – – 19 –
accruals and deferred income 362 357 09 91
773 922 29 91
trade and other creditors include amounts relating to the purchase of fixed assets including outstanding bills of exchange of 
£211m 2003 – £333m  51 ashtead group plc annual report and accounts for the year ended 30 april 2004
notes to the financial statements
16 creditors – amounts falling due in more than one year
bank and other loans are payable as follows
group company
2004 2003 2004 2003
£m £m £m £m
between one and two years
– first priority senior secured bank debt 63 4156 – –
– finance lease obligations 34 61 – –
between two and five years
– secured bank overdraft 33 – – –
– first priority senior secured bank debt 2064 – – –
– finance lease obligations 30 128 – –
– 525 unsecured convertible loan note due 2008 1306 1298 1306 1298
– loan notes 02 – 02 –
over five years
– loan notes – 02 – 02
– 12 second priority senior secured notes due 2014 1156 – – –
4688 5645 1308 1300
interest is payable on these loans currently at rates between 51 and 120 secured bank debt payable in between one and two years
relates to amounts drawn under the committed secured senior credit facility which following the partial repayment of this facility from the
proceeds of the second priority secured notes now expires on 28 september 2007 secured bank debt including secured bank overdrafts is
secured by way of fixed and floating charges over substantially all of the group’s assets
first priority senior secured credit facility
following the refinancing of the group’s loan facilities during the year the group’s principal bank facility is its first priority senior secured
credit facility which is now committed to 28 september 2007 this facility is drawn principally in us dollars and partly in sterling and euros
at 30 april 2004 the facility totalled £2508m of which £2226m was drawn and £282m us50m was available interest is payable 
on borrowings under the facility at libor plus 40 and there is a commitment fee of 1875 per annum payable on any undrawn portion
of the facility
debt repayments of 3 of the outstanding principal amount on 29 october 2004 and then commencing on 31 january 2005 by 075
of the outstanding principal amount on a quarterly basis are required the undrawn facility amortises on the same basis the facility may also
further amortise each year from july 2005 by an additional amount equal to 75 of any excess cash flow shown in the audited accounts
for the financial year ended at the end of the previous april excess cash flow for this purpose effectively amounts to the reduction in
borrowings in the financial year less the committed amortisation outlined above in that financial year together with any amounts set aside 
to cash collateralise any letters of credit issued or to be issued in connection with the group’s insurance programmes
outstandings under the facility are secured by first priority security interests in the form of fixed and floating charges over substantially all of
the group’s assets under the terms of the facility the group is required to demonstrate compliance with certain financial covenants relating
to the ratios of ebitda to senior and total debt levels and to interest the ratio of the committed facility to the net book value of the rental
fleet and a maximum capital expenditure covenant
the group also has a bank overdraft facility of £11m and a £56m us10m line used for letters of credit issued in connection with the
group’s insurance programmes both these facilities are also committed to 28 september 2007 at 30 april 2004 £33 million was
outstanding under the overdraft facility and the letter of credit line was fully utilised the amounts outstanding under these supplementary
facilities are secured on the same basis as the senior secured credit facility and are effectively subject to the same covenants and to similar
amortisation and cash sweep arrangements
12 second priority senior secured notes due 2014 having a nominal value of £120 million
on 16 april 2004 the group through its wholly owned subsidiary ashtead holdings plc issued £120m of 12 second priority senior
secured notes due 1 may 2014 the funds received were used to permanently prepay 200 million of the amount outstanding under the
senior secured credit facility and in conjunction with funds from our own resources additionally to pay down 50m of a revolving tranche
of that facility the notes are secured by second priority security interests over substantially the group’s same assets as the senior secured
credit facility and are also guaranteed by ashtead group plc 52 ashtead group plc annual report and accounts for the year ended 30 april 2004
notes to the financial statements
16 creditors – amounts falling due in more than one year continued
525 unsecured convertible loan note due 2008 having a nominal value of £134 million
this loan note is convertible at the holder’s option into 89333333 ordinary shares at any time after 1 june 2001 and if not converted is
redeemable at par on 31 march 2008 the loan note may only be transferred with the consent of the company which will be granted if 
the company is satisfied that the transferee and any connected persons would not in consequence of the transfer hold 10 or more 
of the issued share capital of the company after conversion certain orderly marketing restrictions also apply to any ordinary shares issued
on conversion 
future payments of the semiannual interest under the convertible loan note may under certain conditions be postponed for up to 180
days by the company’s senior lenders and are additionally subject to constraints set out in the agreement governing the second priority
senior secured notes due 2014
the holder of the convertible loan note a subsidiary of rentokil initial plc has agreed that in the event that the company is prohibited by
these constraints from paying the interest on the convertible loan note then such nonpayment shall not constitute a default and instead
the amount of any unpaid interest shall be carried forward to the next interest payment date and paid at that time provided sufficient
earnings are available if they are not then the amount unpaid is again carried forward
in return for these concessions the company agreed during the year with rentokil initial plc that the holder of the convertible note will
receive a fee of £2m payable at the time the convertible loan note is repaid this fee together with the unpaid interest relating to the
missed april and october 2003 interest payments has been expensed in the year and both are included in other creditors due after 
one year
the board considers that these facilities provide adequate funding for the group and that anticipated future cash generation together with
current cash balances and undrawn amounts is sufficient to meet the agreed facility reductions and the ongoing needs of the business
17 financial instruments
a discussion of financial instruments used by the group and its approach to managing foreign exchange risk are included in the operating
and financial review short term debtors and creditors have been excluded from all the following disclosures except the currency profile of
monetary assets
a the currency and interest rate profile of the group’s financial assets is
financial
assets on
which no
floating rate interest
total deposits is received
£m £m £m
at 30 april 2004
sterling 02 – 02
us dollar 93 91 02
euro 02 02 –
singapore dollar 02 02 –
99 95 04
at 30 april 2003
sterling 10 08 02
us dollar 82 81 01
euro 09 09 –
singapore dollar 02 02 –
103 100 03
floating rate financial assets are deposited for variable periods at prevailing money market rates 53 ashtead group plc annual report and accounts for the year ended 30 april 2004
notes to the financial statements
17 financial instruments continued
b the currency and interest rate profile of the group’s financial liabilities is
weighted weighted
average average
interest time
floating rate fixed rate rate at for which
total borrowings borrowings 30 april rate is fixed
£m £m £m  years
at 30 april 2004
sterling 2719 211 2508 86 68
us dollar 2005 1364 641 55 19
euro 120 120 – 61 –
4844 1695 3149 68 58
at 30 april 2003
sterling 1673 315 1358 58 50
us dollar 3894 2164 1730 60 04
euro 184 184 – 66 –
5751 2663 3088 59 24
the group’s sterling fixed rate borrowings at 30 april 2004 comprised the £1306m 525 unsecured convertible loan note due 2008 
the £1156m second priority senior secured note due 2014 £02m of fixed rate loan notes issued by the company and £44m of sterling
finance lease obligations the fixed rate us dollar borrowings relate to us100m £564m of the borrowings under the group’s secured
loan facility on which interest rates have been fixed by means of an interest rate swap executed in may 2003 with bank of america and to
£77m of us dollar finance lease obligations interest payable on floating rate borrowings is linked to libor rates for the relevant currency
excluded from the table above are long term sterling denominated creditors of £94m due in march 2008 £74m of this amount bears
interest at barclays bank’s base rate plus 2 
c currency profile of monetary liabilities
during the year the company has used financial instruments for the purpose of managing funding interest rate and currency risk such
derivative financial instruments are only used to manage or hedge underlying exposures and not to create exposures at 30 april 2004 the
only currency exposures in the group’s operations in currencies other than their own functional currency related to payables of £19m 2003
– £31m in the us payable in euros £102m 2003 – £nil in the uk receivable in us dollars and £nil 2003 – £01m in the republic of
ireland payable in pounds sterling
d maturity of financial liabilities
2004 2003
£m £m
in one year or less 156 106
in more than one year but not more than two years 97 4217
in more than two years but not more than five years 3435 1426
in more than five years 1156 02
4844 5751 54 ashtead group plc annual report and accounts for the year ended 30 april 2004
notes to the financial statements
17 financial instruments continued
by type of borrowing the maturity dates at 30 april 2004 are as follows
amount
outstanding at
30 april 2004 date facility
£m matures
bank overdraft 33 28 september 2007

first priority senior secured credit facility 2226 28 september 2007
525 unsecured convertible loan note due 2008 1306 31 march 2008
ashtead group plc loan notes 02 31 december 2008
finance lease obligations 121 various through 2007
second priority 12 senior secured note due 2014 1156 1 may 2014
4844
 see note 16 for facility amortisation details
although the overdraft is repayable on demand the provider of that facility has formally advised the company that the facility is available until at least 28 september 2007 so
long as the company is in compliance with the quarterly covenants under the senior secured credit facility
e borrowing facilities
undrawn committed facilities at 30 april 2004 totalled £359m us628m and comprised £282m us50m relating to the undrawn
balance of the revolving loan commitment under the group’s senior secured bank loan facility and £77m relating to undrawn overdraft
facilities both of which expire in more than two years but less than five years 
f fair value of financial assets and liabilities
the table below provides a comparison by category of the carrying amounts and the fair values of the group’s financial assets and liabilities
at 30 april 2004 fair value is the amount at which a financial instrument could be exchanged in an arm’s length transaction between
informed and willing parties and includes accrued interest where available market values have been used to determine fair values 
where market values are not available fair values have been calculated by discounting expected cash flows at prevailing interest and
exchange rates
summary of methods and assumptions
• bank loans and overdraft loan notes and cash – fair value approximates to the carrying value because of the short maturity of these items
or because they bear interest at floating rates which are reset to market rates at intervals of less than one year
• finance lease obligations – fair value is calculated by reference to the present value of the cash flows implicit in these liabilities discounted
at current market rates for equivalent financial liabilities
• second priority senior secured note – fair value is determined by reference to market quotations
• 525 convertible loan note and finance lease obligations – fair value is calculated by reference to the present value of the cash flows
implicit in these liabilities discounted at current market rates for equivalent financial liabilities together with in the case of the convertible
loan note an estimate of the option value implicit in the conversion option calculated using a suitable option pricing model
• interest rate swap agreements – fair value is determined by reference to market quotations obtained with reference to interest rates ruling
at 30 april 2004
primary financial instruments held or issued to finance the group’s operations
at 30 april 2004 at 30 april 2003
book value fair value book value fair value
£m £m £m £m
short term borrowings and overdrafts 99 99 71 71
finance lease obligations 121 120 224 195
other secured bank loans and overdrafts all of which bear interest at floating rates 2160 2160 4156 4156
other loan notes 02 02 02 02
12 second priority senior secured notes 1156 1156 ––
525 unsecured convertible loan note 1306 1053 1298 996
cash at bank 99 99 103 103
4745 4491 5648 5317
derivative financial instruments held to manage interest rate profile
interest rate swaps net loss –01 –49 55 ashtead group plc annual report and accounts for the year ended 30 april 2004
notes to the financial statements
17 financial instruments continued
in line with the group’s accounting policy of accounting for derivatives used to manage the balance between fixed and floating rate interest
rates on long term debt rateably in earnings over the period of the contracts half of the total unrecognised loss on the interest rate swaps
of £01m at 30 april 2004 will be recognised in the year ending 30 april 2005
18 provisions for liabilities and charges
deferred taxation
2004 2003
£m £m
liability recognised in the accounts
– short term timing differences 148 129
– tax effect of losses in subsidiary company 420 562
– accelerated capital allowances 845 977
277 286
unrecognised deferred tax asset relating to
– accelerated capital allowances 271 172
– tax losses in subsidiary company 11 07
– short term timing differences 05 02
287 181
the movement in the year in the liability provided is
£m £m
at 1 may 286 411
exchange differences 29 32
chargedcredited to profit and loss account 20 93
at 30 april 277 286
no deferred tax has been provided in respect of the surplus arising on revaluation of the group’s properties because all of the properties 
are employed in the group’s business and it is not the group’s intention to dispose of any of them in any event the likelihood of a material
tax liability arising on disposal is remote due to the availability of rollover relief additionally no deferred tax is provided on the unremitted
earnings of overseas subsidiaries because it is not intended to remit these in the foreseeable future the group’s unrecognised deferred
taxation assets relate to operations in the uk and have not been recognised as it is not regarded as more likely than not that they will be
recovered deferred taxation assets not recognised would be recoverable in the event that they reverse and taxable profits are available 
other provisions
self insurance other total
£m £m £m
at 1 may 2003 134 35 169
transfer fromto other creditors 07 08 01
exchange differences 13 – 13
utilised 79 17 96
charged in the year 77 11 88
at 30 april 2004 126 21 147
self insurance provisions relate to the discounted estimated liability in respect of costs to be incurred under the group’s self insured
programmes for events occurring up to the year end the provision is established based on advice received from independent actuaries of
the estimated total cost of the self insured retained risk based on historical claims experience other provisions relate primarily to vacant
property costs which are expected to be utilised over a period of up to five years 56 ashtead group plc annual report and accounts for the year ended 30 april 2004
notes to the financial statements
19 called up share capital 
2004 2003 2004 2003
ordinary shares of 10p each number number £m £m
authorised 450000000 450000000 450 450
allotted called up and fully paid 325656564 325655164 326 326
details of the 525 unsecured convertible loan note due 2008 are provided in note 16
20 movements in shareholders’ funds
own
share shares profit 
share premium revaluation held by and loss
capital account reserve esot account total 2003
£m £m £m £m £m £m £m
group
loss for the financial year –––– 348348332
other recognised gains and losses relating to the year –––– 49 49 04
goodwill transferred to profit and loss account in 
respect of businesses sold in the year –––– 23 23 –
share capital subscribed –––––– 01
net reductions to shareholders’ funds –––– 276276335
at 1 may 2003 as previously reported 326 1007 05 – 272 1610 1945
prior year adjustment – – – 16 – 16 16
at 1 may 2003 as restated 326 1007 05 16 272 1594 1929
closing shareholders’ funds 326 1007 05 16 04 1318 1594
company
lossprofit for the financial year –––– 84 84 27
other recognised gains and losses relating to the year – – 1986 – – 1986 01
share capital subscribed –––––– 01
net reductionsadditions to shareholders’ funds – – 1986 – 84 2070 27
at 1 may 2003 as previously reported 326 1007 1986 – 114 3433 3406
prior year adjustment – – – 16 – 16 16
at 1 may 2003 as restated 326 1007 1986 16 114 3417 3390
closing shareholders’ funds 326 1007 – 16 30 1347 3417
as described in note 1 the prior year adjustment relates to the reclassification of the company’s shares held by the esot from fixed assets 
to shareholders’ funds consequent upon the implementation in the year of uitf abstract number 38
the esot which is established in jersey holds an interest in 2723461 ordinary shares of the company acquired at a cost of 57p per share
these shares had a market value at 30 april 2004 of £08m as described in the directors’ remuneration report 2072582 of these shares
relate to matching awards to directors under the company’s investment incentive plan  57 ashtead group plc annual report and accounts for the year ended 30 april 2004
notes to the financial statements
21 disposal of businesses
during the year the group sold its noncore businesses of big air mast climbing and its irish business total net proceeds are estimated 
at £157m £153m of which had been received at 30 april 2004 with the balance payable in stages in the coming months following
finalisation of asset values the businesses sold contributed turnover of £74m 2003 – £132m and operating profit of £01m 
2003 – £10m to the results for the year
the loss on disposal can be summarised as follows
£m
book value of assets sold 172
net proceeds on disposal of businesses 157
goodwill previously written off to reserves 23
loss on disposal of businesses 38
22 operating leases 
minimum annual commitments under existing operating leases may be analysed by date of expiry of the lease as follows
2003
2004 restated
£m £m
land and buildings
expiring in one year 05 02
expiring between two and five years 82 50
expiring in more than five years 72 91
159 143
other
expiring in one year 10 09
expiring between two and five years 74 86
expiring in more than five years 04 04
88 99
total 247 242
total minimum commitments under existing operating leases at 30 april 2004 through to the end of their respective term by year are 
as follows
land and motor
buildings vehicles other total
financial year £m £m £m £m
2005 159 82 06 247
2006 153 65 04 222
2007 149 41 – 190
2008 146 21 – 167
2009 143 05 – 148
thereafter 771 02 – 773
1521 216 10 1747 58 ashtead group plc annual report and accounts for the year ended 30 april 2004
notes to the financial statements
23 pensions
the group operates pension plans for the benefit of qualifying employees the major plans for new employees throughout the group are 
all defined contribution plans following the introduction of the new stakeholder pension plan for uk employees in may 2002
the group also has a number of defined benefit plans of which the largest is the former plan for uk employees this plan which was closed
to new members in 2001 is a funded defined benefit plan with trustee administered assets held separately from those of the group the
latest triennial actuarial valuation of this plan was performed as at 30 april 2001 by a qualified actuary employed by aon limited using the
projected unit credit method the other defined benefit plans have also been valued for accounting purposes by qualified actuaries as at 
30 april 2004 using methodologies appropriate to the nature of each plan
the principal actuarial assumptions used in the main uk plan for funding and for accounting purposes were the same except for the pre
retirement investment return where 69 per annum and 725 per annum were used respectively for past service and future service for
funding purposes against 79 per annum in both cases for accounting purposes and the assumed annual increase in salaries which was
45 for funding purposes and 40 for accounting purposes the other main assumptions for both funding and accounting purposes
were the postretirement investment return for current pensioners of 51 and for noncurrent pensioners of 525 and the annual
inflation rate of 25 
on a combined basis the market value of the plan assets at the respective valuation dates was £236m on an ongoing basis assets at
market value were sufficient to cover 810 of the benefits that had accrued to members on the funding basis and 890 on the ssap 24
accounting basis on the advice of the actuary employer contributions were paid to the main uk plan during the year ended 30 april 2004
at the rate of 150 of members’ pensionable salaries at 1 may 2003 increased from 110 from 1 may 2003 in the case of the other
plans contributions were at the amounts set by the actuary for accounting purposes the actuarial deficit in each plan is being spread 
over the average remaining expected service life of the employees in the plan
the table below shows the employer’s cost calculated in accordance with the provisions of ssap 24 for the main uk plan and for the 
other plans
2004 2003
£m £m
defined contribution plans 13 13
defined benefit plans
– regular cost 23 15
– variation from regular cost 01 10
37 38
accrual for unfunded pensions 01 01
additional pension disclosures under frs 17
each of the company’s defined benefit pension commitments were valued at 30 april 2004 under the provisions of frs 17 by independent
qualified actuaries using the projected unit valuation method the major financial assumptions applied by the actuary were
2004 2003 2002
rate of increase in salaries 40 40 425
rate of increase in pensions in payment 275 25 25
discount rate 57 55 60
inflation assumption 30 25 275 59 ashtead group plc annual report and accounts for the year ended 30 april 2004
notes to the financial statements
23 pensions continued
the fair value of the assets in the scheme the present value of the scheme liabilities and the expected rate of return at each balance sheet
date were
2004 2003 2002
£m £m  £m
equities 74 173 73 156 69 173
bonds 54 90 50 41 55 31
property 74 23 73 21 69 20
cash 40 08 40 07 40 14
total market value of assets 294 225 238
present value of schemes’ liabilities 419 370 309
net deficit on the basis prescribed by frs 17 125 145 71
were frs 17 to have been applied in the accounts at 30 april 2004 the impact on profit and loss account reserves would have been 
as follows
2004 2003
£m £m
profit and loss reserve as reported in the accounts at 30 april 2004 04 272
amounts included in the balance sheet in the accounts 01 01
frs 17 pension liability 125 145
profit and loss reserve at 30 april 2004 if frs 17 had been applied 128 128
the amount charged to the profit and loss account if the frs 17 basis of accounting had been applied would have been
2004 2003
£m £m
charged within operating costs
current service cost – defined benefit plans 23 20
current service cost – defined contribution plans 13 13
curtailment gain 02 –
34 33
charged within net interest payable and similar charges
expected return on pension scheme assets 16 17
interest on pension liabilities 21 19
05 02
amounts recognised in the statement of total recognised gains and losses
actual return less expected return on pension scheme assets 29 54
experience lossesgains arising on scheme liabilities 07 05
impact of changes in assumptions relating to the present value of scheme liabilities – 27
actuarial gainloss 22 76
movement in deficit during the year
at 1 may 145 71
current service cost 23 20
contributions 24 24
other finance expense 05 02
curtailment gains 02 –
actuarial gainloss 22 76
at 30 april 125 145
the movement in the year from a deficit of £145m to a deficit of £125m is attributable to an increase in the market value of assets
exceeding the increase in the schemes’ liabilities during the year the main indices against which the schemes’ assets are benchmarked
increased by approximately 30 60 ashtead group plc annual report and accounts for the year ended 30 april 2004
notes to the financial statements
23 pensions continued
2004 2003
£m £m
history of experience gains and losses
difference between actual and expected return on scheme assets
– amount 29 54
– percentage of scheme assets 10 24
experience gains and losses on scheme liabilities
– amount 07 05
– percentage of the present value of scheme liabilities 2 1
total amount recognised in the statement of total recognised gains and losses
– amount 22 76
– percentage of the present value of scheme liabilities 5 21
frs 17 requires that the pension schemes are valued using market conditions at the company’s year end this may produce a volatile figure
for the surplus or deficit as given a large proportion of the plan assets are held in equities it is largely dependent on the level of the
stockmarket at the company’s year end
24 notes to the cash flow statement
a cash flow from operating activities
2004 2003
£m £m
operating profit 162 06
depreciation of tangible fixed assets 1051 1168
amortisation 92 90
exceptional items excluding impairment 165 237
ebitda 1470 1501
profit on sale of tangible fixed assets 52 27
increasedecrease in stocks 44 13
decrease in trade debtors 05 54
increase in trade creditors 09 25
exchange differences 12 07
net cash inflow from operating activities before exceptional items 1400 1573
exceptional costs 111 44
movement in nonrecourse financing received under trade debtors securitisation 22 574
net cash inflow from operating activities 1267 2103
b reconciliation to net debt
2004 2003
£m £m
decreaseincrease in cash in the period 08 92
increase in cash collateral balances 26 37
decrease in bank loans 1566 539
increase in second priority senior secured note due 2014 1156 –
decrease in finance lease obligation 86 119
change in net debt from cash flows 514 787
translation difference 397 383
non cash movement
– 525 unsecured convertible loan note due 2008 08 01
– obligation due on finance leases – 64
movement in net debt in the period 903 1105
net debt at 1 may 5648 6753
net debt at 30 april 4745 5648 61 ashtead group plc annual report and accounts for the year ended 30 april 2004
notes to the financial statements
24 notes to the cash flow statement continued
c analysis of net debt
1 may exchange noncash 30 april
2003 movement cash flow movements 2004
£m £m £m £m £m
cash 66 04 23 – 39
cash collateral balances 37 03 26 – 60
overdrafts 48 – 15 – 33
55 07 18 – 66
debt due after one year 5645 367 631 08 4655
debt due within one year 58 37 135 – 156
total net debt 5648 397 514 08 4745
noncash movements relate to accrued interest on the 525 unsecured convertible loan note due 2008 the combined total of cash and
cash collateral balances which are restricted cash held to secure letters of credit of £99m 2003 – £103m is classified in the balance sheet
as cash at bank and in hand
d acquisitions and disposals
2004 2003
£m £m
deferred consideration paid on prior year acquisitions 01 08
net proceeds from sale of noncore businesses 153 –
152 08
e drawdownredemption of loans
2004 2003
£m £m
drawdown of loans
second priority senior secured notes due 2014 net of costs 1156 –
bank loans – 119
1156 119
redemption of loans
bank loans 1566 657
other loan notes – 01
1566 658
total net redemption in the year 410 539
f exceptional items
exceptional costs paid in the year comprise £111m classified under operating activities relating to advisory accounting and legal costs
incurred in connection with the group’s debt facilities and a further £71m classified under servicing of finance relating to amounts paid 
to providers of finance 62 ashtead group plc annual report and accounts for the year ended 30 april 2004
notes to the financial statements
25 contingent liabilities
the group is subject to periodic legal claims in the ordinary course of its business however the claims outstanding at 30 april 2004 are not
expected to have a significant impact on the group’s financial position 
the company has guaranteed the borrowings of its subsidiary undertakings under the group’s senior secured credit and overdraft facilities
at 30 april 2004 the amount borrowed under these facilities was £2259m 30 april 2003 – £4179m the company is also guarantor to 
a letter of credit facility provided to sunbelt at 30 april 2004 letters of credit issued by the provider under these arrangements totalled
£116m us206m of which £60m us106m was collateralised by cash deposited by sunbelt with the provider of this facility
additionally the company has guaranteed the 12 second priority senior secured notes with a par value of £120m issued by ashtead
holdings plc
the company has also guaranteed operating lease commitments of subsidiary undertakings where the minimum lease commitment at 
30 april 2004 totalled £637m 2003 – £771m in respect of land and buildings and £138m 2003 – £230m in respect of other operating
lease rentals of which £52m and £55m respectively is payable by subsidiary undertakings in the year ending 30 april 2005
the company has guaranteed the performance by subsidiaries of certain other obligations up to £14m 2003 – £16m
26 capital commitments
at 30 april 2004 capital commitments in respect of purchases of rental equipment totalled £224m 2003 – £22m all of which had been
ordered there were no other material capital commitments at the yearend
27 related party transactions
during the year sunbelt incurred £10959 for the purchase of artwork equipment decals and business cards from images unlimited a
company controlled by the wife of mr dressel a former director of the company the amount due to images unlimited at the end of the
year was £nil
28 employees
the average number of employees during the year was as follows
2004 2003
north america 3763 3878
united kingdom 2187 2500
rest of world 10 9
5960 6387 63 ashtead group plc annual report and accounts for the year ended 30 april 2004
our locations
sunbelt
alabama
alabama pump  power
birmingham
birmingham scaffolding
pelham
allegheny
ashland
charleston 
charlottesville
roanoke
winchester
capital
frederick
fredericksburg
gaithersburg
manassas
mclean
northern pile driving
springfield
sterling
central
charlotte
charlotte awp
charlotte pump  power
charlotte scaffolding
concord
gastonia
hickory
indian trail
mooresville
pineville
rock hill
central florida
east orlando
lake fairview
mid city orlando
orlando
orlando awp
orlando pump  power
orlando scaffolding
orlando traffic safety
sanford
titusville
winter garden
coastal atlantic
charleston
charleston scaffolding
coastal pump  power
hilton head
little river
mobile industrial resources
myrtle beach
savannah
summerville
wilmington
wilmington industrial
resources
wilmington scaffolding
delaware valley
pennsauken
philadelphia
southampton
south jersey pump  power
swedesboro
florida gulf
fort myers
fort myers mast climbers
fort myers scaffolding
oldsmar
tampa
tampa awp
tampa pump  power
tampa scaffolding
inland mountain
boise
las vegas
tempe
west valley
mid altantic
durham
fayetteville 
greensboro
raleigh
raleigh awp
raleigh pump  power
wake forest
winston salem
winterville
north florida
brunswick
jacksonville
jacksonville awp
jacksonville pump  power
jacksonville scaffolding
orange park
west jacksonville
north georgia
atlanta awp
atlanta pump  power
atlanta scaffolding
covington
douglasville
duluth
kennesaw
lake lanier
macon
mid town atlanta
riverdale
north texas
arlington
austin
dallas
kyle
northern
baltimore
finksburg
hunt valley
laurel
maryland pump  power
parkville
vancouver
waldorf
washington
washington access
northern california
belmont
belmont scaffolding
concord scaffolding
fresno
sacramento
sacramento scaffolding
ohio valley
cincinnati
clarksville
columbus
dayton
florence
lexington
louisville
louisville scaffolding
reynoldsburg
oregon
albany
eugene
eugene scaffolding
gresham
hillsboro
longview scaffolding
portland
portland scaffolding
salem
salem scaffolding
south florida 
fort lauderdale
pembroke pines
south florida awp
south florida scaffolding
west palm beach
west palm beach pump 
 power
southern virginia
chesapeake
east richmond
hampton roads scaffolding
newport news
richmond
richmond awp
richmond scaffolding
virginia beach
virginia beach pump 
 power
west creek
south texas
beaumont
houston scaffolding
houston awp
houston general tool
san antonio
south central
evansville
granite city
indianapolis
kokomo
layfayette
st louis 
southern california
fontana
la mirada
los angeles
tennessee
clarksville 
decatur
la vergne
nashville
nashville pump  power
nashville scaffolding
rivergate
upstate south carolina
augusta
cayce
columbia
florence
greenville
spartanburg
washington
kent awp
kent scaffolding
lakewood
lynwood
pasco
pasco scaffolding
redmond
seattle pump  power
tacoma
tacoma industrial resources
tacoma scaffolding
woodinville
western central
bloomington
chicago
chicago pump  power
decatur
des moines
east peoria
joliet
lansing
moline
south bend
toledo 64 ashtead group plc annual report and accounts for the year ended 30 april 2004
our locations
aplant
midlands plant
boston
chesterfield 
coventry
derby ascot
leicester
lincoln
milton keynes
northampton
nottingham
nottingham central
oldbury
sleaford
stoke
telford
walsall wood
north plant
astley
barrow
bradford 
carlisle
deeside
hull
immingham
kendal
leeds
leeds central
liverpool
newcastle
reddish
rotherham 
sheffield
teeside 
whitehaven
york
south east  
london plant
barking 
battersea 
cambridge
canterbury
colchester
ford
ipswich
leatherhead
letchworth
long stratton
maidstone
medway
southampton
scotland plant
aberdeen 
ayr
cumbernauld
dundee
earlston
edinburgh
falkirk
glasgow
inverness
kilmarnock
south west  home
counties plant
aylesbury
barnstaple
bodmin
bridgend
bridgwater
bristol
cardiff
exeter
heathrow
milford haven
plymouth
staines
swansea
swindon
thatcham
watford
weymouth
east anglia tool
basildon 
hemel hempstead
ipswich
lowestoft
luton
northampton
norwich
east midlands tool
burton 
chesterfield north
derby north
derby south
doncaster
grantham
heanor
kesteven
leicester city
lincoln
newark
nottingham east
nottingham west
scunthorpe
sheffield
lifting  safety
midlands lifting  safety
londonsouth east tool
arundel
battersea 
bow 
fareham
gatwick
heathrow
lancing
leatherhead 
maidstone
romford
southwark
staples corner
midlandssouth west
tool
birmingham 
bristol st phillips
cardiff
coventry 
erdington
newport
nuneaton
redditch
stoke
telford
wolverhampton 
north  scotland tool
edinburgh
egremont
gateshead
glasgow
hartlepool
sunderland
teeside 
tyneside
north central tool
blackpool
ellesmere port
hull 
leeds
leeds city
liverpool north
liverpool city
manchester 
oldham 
salford
warrington
wetherby
powered access
aberdeen
avonmouth
birmingham
brentwood
bridgend
height safety training
kendal
leeds
manchester 
northampton
nottingham
southampton
stockton
accommodation
basildon
bedford
bridgend
coventry
exeter
kilmarnock
leeds
lincoln
maidstone
manchester
modular accommodation
nottingham
southampton
acrow
aberdeen
cardiff
chesterfield
colnbrook
edinburgh
glasgow
leeds
liverpool
manchester
newcastle
norwich 
romford 
tavistock
walsall 
groundcare
abergavenny
irvine
manchester 
storrington
pumps
falkirk
leeds
loughborough
preston
romsey
tottenham
power generation 
rentarc
aberdeen
barton on humber
birkenhead
carlisle
derby
eastleigh
east london
london powergen
lowestoft
manchester
newmains
newport
salford
stockton
walsall 
rail
avonmouth
derby
manchester
norwich
romford
perth
west london
traffic
astley
bradford
colnbrook
glasgow
loughborough
milton keynes
perth
romford
teesside
ashtead
technology
rentals
uk
aberdeen
hitchin
usa
hayward california
houston texas
irvine california
rochester new york
pasadena texas
canada
mississauga ontario
singapore
singapore ten year history
year ended 30 april
2004 2003 2002 2001 2000 1999 1998 1997 1996 1995
in £m
turnover

5003 5395 5837 5520 3024 2560 2025 1476 959 673
operating costs
•
3533 3894 3986 3453 1814 1464 1133 852 537 400
ebitda
•
1470 1501 1851 2067 1210 1096 892 624 422 273
depreciation
•
1028 1110 1178 1176 668 633 485 332 212 134
operating profit
•
442 391 673 891 542 463 407 292 210 139
interest
•
366 409 491 507 109 77 50 18 12 03
pretax profitloss
•
76 18 182 384 433 386 357 274 198 136
operating profit
•
162 06 725 682 571 463 407 292 195 139
pretax lossprofit
•
331 422 155 111 462 386 357 274 183 136
net cash flow from 
operating activities 1267 2103 2020 1730 1114 933 776 565 331 261
capital expenditure
•
723 855 1138 2377 1582 1505 1534 989 610 389
book cost of 
rental equipment
•
8139 9458 9719 9628 6295 5279 3941 2456 1722 1026
shareholders’ funds
•
1318 1594 1929 2021 2368 2075 1513 1199 1077 488
in pence
dividends per share nil nil 350p 350p 316p 270p 230p 1825p 152p 117p
in percent
ebitda margin
•
294 278 317 374 400 428 440 423 440 406
operating profit margin
•
88 72 115 161 179 181 201 198 219 207
pretax profitloss margin
•
15 03 31 70 143 167 176 186 206 202
people
employees at year end 5833 6078 6545 6043 3930 3735 3174 2268 1968 1250
locations
profit centres at year end 428 449 463 443 352 341 275 181 164 107
before exceptional items and goodwill amortisation ebitda operating profit and pretax profitloss are stated before exceptional items but have been adjusted to allocate the
impact of the us accounting issues and the change in self insurance estimation method reported in 2003 to 2002 and 2001 and to reflect the bet usa lease adjustment reported
in 2002 in 2001 the directors believe these adjustments improve comparability between periods
• the results for the years up to 30 april 2000 were restated in 20001 to reflect the adoption of new accounting policies and estimation techniques under frs 18 in that year 
ashtead group plc
amongst the world’s leading equipment
outsourcers today ashtead has over 
425 branches principally in the us and 
the uk offering customers a wide range 
of equipment its diversified customer 
base includes construction industrial 
and homeowner customers as well as
government entities and specialist contractors
01 highlights
02 the group at a glance
04 chairman’s report
05 chief executive’s review
08 directors
10 advisers
11 directors’ report
13 corporate governance report
16 directors’ remuneration report
22 operating and financial review
36 independent auditors’ report to 
the members of ashtead group plc
37 consolidated profit and loss account
37 consolidated statement of total 
recognised gains  losses
37 summary of movements in shareholders’ funds
38 consolidated balance sheet
39 consolidated cash flow statement
40 company balance sheet
41 notes to the financial statements
63 our locations
ibc ten year history
“the group has made significant progress in the past
year financial stability has been achieved through the
extension of our banking facilities to september 2007 
and the issue of our ten year bond sunbelt our us
business achieved divisional operating profit growth in
dollars of over 40 and continued to take market share
in improving trading conditions following the completion
of its refocusing programme in january 2004 we have
seen encouraging signs of an improvement in the trading
performance of aplant our uk business we are looking
to build on this momentum in the coming year”  
george burnettchief executive ashtead group plc
annual report and accounts
for the year ended 30 april 2004
ashtead group plc annual report and accounts 2004
ashtead group plc
king’s court
4151 kingston road
leatherhead
surrey kt22 7ap
tel 44 0 1372 362300
wwwashteadgroupcom


Summary:
 05 ashtead group plc annual report and accounts for the year ended 30 april 2004
chief executive’s review 
george burnett
chief executive
overview
the group closed its year to 30 april 2004
with a strong last quarter performance
operating profit before exceptional items
and goodwill amortisation for the quarter
was £120m compared with a loss of £08m
in the previous year and the profit before
exceptional items goodwill amortisation
and tax for the quarter was £31m 2003 –
loss of £106m there were particularly
encouraging figures for both sunbelt the
group’s us division where dollar revenues
grew by 138 and divisional operating
profits increased from 30m to 202m
£18m to £110m in sterling terms and 
for aplant whose divisional operating profit
was £15m compared with a loss of £24m
in the previous year
for the full year to 30 april 2004 
group profits before exceptional items
goodwill amortisation and tax were £76m
2003 – loss of £18m at constant
exchange rates profits would have been
335 higher at £101m turnover before
exceptional items which declined by 16
at constant exchange rates was further
reduced at actual exchange rates by the
weakness of the dollar to £5003m 
2003 – £5395m a 73 decline
the group which started the year in
default with its bankers ended with the
achievement of financial stability through
the closing of our ten year bond issue in
april and the extension of our facilities with
1
divisional operating 
turnover ebitda profit
2004 2003 2004 2003 2004 2003
sunbelt in m 5728 5470 1768 1555 733 515
sunbelt in £m 3331 3491 1028 993 424 329
aplant 1559 1784 432 489 40 79
ashtead technology 113 120 57 61 27 25
group central costs – – 47 42 49 42
5003 5395 1470 1501 442 391
 before exceptional items           operating profit before goodwill amortisation and exceptional items
existing banks until the end of september
2007 significant exceptional costs were
incurred in this process contributing to the
frs 3 loss before tax of £331m 2003 –
£422m loss 
review of trading
sunbelt
sunbelt enjoyed a strong recovery in the
year with dollar revenues up 258m or
47 to 5728m tight control of costs
maximised the benefits of operational
gearing so that 218m of the increased
revenue fell to the bottom line as a result
divisional operating profit was up 423 
to 733m 2003 – 515m 
although the weakness of the dollar 
transformed the 47 increase in dollar
revenues into a 46 decline in sterling  06 ashtead group plc annual report and accounts for the year ended 30 april 2004
chairman’s statement chief executive’s review 
3 5
divisional operating profits in sterling were
still up 289 ebitda margins improved
from 284 to 309 and operating
margins from 94 to 128
utilisation levels which in the first half had
trailed the previous year averaged 651
for the year as a whole compared with
645 in the previous year thanks to a
strong last quarter rental rates improved
with an estimated uplift of 4 for the year
as a whole as the year progressed and the
us economy strengthened there was also
evidence of accelerating recovery in the
nonresidential construction market
sunbelt’s principal customer base and in
the equipment rental market itself this
coupled with improved utilisation and
pricing produced year on year growth in
total quarterly revenues of 10 32
40 and 138 over the four quarters
indicating that sunbelt continued to take
market share
capital expenditure in the year was kept
under tight control with fleet investment
being largely matched with disposals in a
market where improving second hand
pricing gave further evidence of economic
recovery there were three new profit centre
openings in the year bringing the total
number to 200
aplant
for aplant the past year was one of
transition as its business refocusing
programme was completed three noncore
activities were disposed of – mast climbing
big air and its businesses in ireland in
addition the final stages of the move from
five geographic regions to three product
focused divisions main plant specialist and
tool hire shops was put in place these
changes coupled with the network
rationalisation begun in 2003 under which
over 20 profit centres have been closed
contributed to a 126 decline in turnover
to £1559m same store turnover was
down 53 in the year costs excluding
exceptional items and amortisation were
reduced by 109 so that the £225m
turnover decline was restricted to a £39m
reduction in divisional operating profit 
to £40m
aplant enjoyed a much improved fourth
quarter same store turnover was almost in
line with last year down 09 and
utilisation rates which for the year as a
whole averaged 599 compared with
607 in the previous year were 636 
in the last quarter significantly above the
comparable 2003 figure of 596 
as mentioned above divisional operating
profit for the quarter was £15m prior 
year loss £24m
2
4 07 ashtead group plc annual report and accounts for the year ended 30 april 2004
ashtead technology – offshore and
environmental
ashtead technology achieved an 80
improvement in its divisional operating
profit in the year to 30 april 2004 despite
difficult trading in many of its markets
tight cost controls saw operating margins
increase to 239 from 208 in 2003
the us businesses both offshore and
environmental saw growth in the year and
a new environmental profit centre was
opened in the san francisco area since the
year end the first such business in the uk
has been opened in hitchin and there are
further planned openings in atlanta and
chicago in the coming 12 months
interest and exceptional items
interest costs before exceptional items
declined to £366m 2003 – £409m
reflecting lower average borrowings and the
weakness of the us dollar exceptional items
totalled £315m and principally related to
costs incurred in connection with the
extension of the maturity of the company’s
senior debt facilities
cash flow
the group continued to generate strong
cash flow net free cash inflow as defined
for the year was £566m up 455 from
£389m in the previous year net debt was
reduced by £956m reflecting this cash
generation and the weakness of the dollar
at constant exchange rates the reduction
was £536m
capital expenditure during the year was
reduced in line with market conditions 
the total for the year was £723m 2003 –
£855m of which £641m 2003 – £710m
was spent on the rental fleet it is anticipated
that capital expenditure in the coming year
will rise to approximately £100m in line
with the depreciation charge the average
age of the group’s fleet at 30 april 2004
was 46 months 43 months in the uk and
48 months in total for the us but when
the longerlife aerial work platform fleet is
excluded the average fleet age for the rest
of the us fleet reduces to 35 months
profits on disposal of fixed assets were
£62m up from £30m in the previous year
current trading and outlook
the improving turnover performance seen
in the last quarter of the financial year
continued in the months of may and june
sunbelt’s dollar revenues grew 109 
while aplant achieved like for like growth
of 24 
while a further weakening of the us dollar
and the prospect of higher interest rates
could have some negative impact the
board is encouraged by the improving
trends in its businesses and in the markets
in which they operate and believes that
further progress should be achieved in the
coming year
george burnett
chief executive
5 july 2004
1 a 34’ towable manlift operated by a residential
contractor
2 one of sunbelt’s 1500 kw generators providing 
backup power at richmond memorial hospital in
columbia sc
3 tool hire shops’ fleet of new delivery vans
4 powered access equipment canary wharf london
5 richard dey managing director of tool hire shops left
and sat dhaiwal aplant ceo right with carl tidey 
profit centre manager of the derby south tool hire shop
centre winner of aplant profit centre of the 
year 20034
6 cliff miller sunbelt president  ceo centre right with
brendan horgan coo left chuck miller evp operational
support right and don furr profit centre manager of the
maryland pump and power profit centre centre left and
winner of sunbelt profit centre of the year 20034
6