GREENWICH, Conn. - In what company officials called its 11th consecutive strong financial quarter, United Rentals reported $730 million in revenue for the second quarter ended June 30, with $511.5 million, 70 percent, coming from rental.

Total revenue increased 44.9 percent over the $504 million reported for Q2 1999. United said 11.6 percent came from sales of rental equipment and 16.8 percent represented same-store growth, an important figure for a company that historically has been acquisition-driven.

United officials said sharing equipment among branches generated 10.3 percent of second-quarter rental revenue, up from 9 percent in Q2'99. The company's equipment utilization rate was 62.8 percent, up 1.5 percent year over year. EBITDA for the quarter was $248 million, a 43.7 percent increase over the same period last year, and net income was $47.2 million, a 28.8 percent jump from Q2 '99.

"There are a lot of positives," chairman and CEO Brad Jacobs said. "Business conditions remain strong, we're buying equipment for less, we're getting higher utilization, which is driving same-store growth, we've got a leading-edge [information technology] system, and our national account business is taking off. We're very gratified that we've been able to position the company to capitalize on this powerful shift away from owning equipment toward renting it, a shift that continues to gain momentum. And rental rates have improved for the second consecutive quarter, rising by 1.2 percent year over year."

United officials were particularly encouraged by growth in the national accounts program. United signed 467 national account customers in the second quarter, bringing its total to 1,029. National account revenue jumped from $32.3 million in the first quarter to $52.9 million in the second.

Revenue for the first six months of 2000 totaled $1.31 billion, a 46.1 percent increase over the $896 million reported for the first six months of 1999. Total rental revenue for the six-month period was $911.6 million, and net income was $64.6 million. Diluted earnings per share were 70 cents, up from 58 cents for the same period in 1999.