Australian rental giant Coates Hire last week upgraded its earnings guidance, days before shareholders vote on a takeover bid from The Carlyle Group and competitor National Hire.

Coates is now predicting comparable operating earnings to increase 20 percent in fiscal 2008. Previously, the company had predicted operating earnings growth of 15 percent compared with the 2007 fiscal year, during which the company earned AU $102.4 million (about U.S. $90 million).

“This guidance has been reviewed in the light of trading for the first four months of the financial year,” the company said in a statement. “There has been an encouraging recovering from last year’s soft trading conditions.” Coates did note that the prediction comes only one-third into the fiscal year.

Coates shareholders will vote on the AU $1.65 billion (about U.S. $1.45 billion) takeover Dec. 17. Coates’ board rejected two previous offers before accepting the current one.