United Rentals posted total fourth quarter revenue of $1.564 billion, compared with $1.338 billion for the fourth quarter of 2013, a 16.9-percent jump, while rental revenue leapt 16.5 percent from $1.133 billion in Q413 to $1.320 million in the recently concluded quarter. Net income for the quarter was $194 million on a GAAP basis, or $1.88 per diluted share, compared with $140 million, or $1.31 per diluted share in the year-ago period.
For the full year 2014, total revenue was $5.685 billion, a 14.7 percent year-over-year hike and rental revenue was $4.819 billion, a 14.8-percent year-over-year increase.
Time utilization increased 130 basis points year over year to 70.6 percent for the fourth quarter, while full year time utilization jumped 60 basis points to 68.8 percent.
For the fourth quarter of 2014, United Rentals generated $156 million of proceeds from used equipment sales at a gross margin of 48.7 percent, compared with $134 million of proceeds at a gross margin of 46.3 percent the prior year. For the full year, United generated $544 million of proceeds at a 48.5-percent margin.
“We met or exceeded every target in our outlook for 2014, ending the year with a better-than-expected quarter and our highest return yet on invested capital,” said CEO Michael Kneeland. “Our full year increases in rates and utilization helped drive up rental revenue at almost twice the pace of industry expansion, and we’re in a strong position to grow the most profitable areas of our business, including our high-margin specialty rental lines.
“For 2015, we are guiding to record highs of over $6 billion in revenue and approximately $3 billion in adjusted EBITDA. Our industry is forecast to have multiple years of growth ahead, and our customers are upbeat. While we expect to see a drag in some trade areas from the slowdown in upstream oil, our exposure is greatly limited by our size, agility and diversification. Furthermore, we believe that low oil prices will be a boon to many sectors we serve, spurring demand in manufacturing and other markets hungry for our fleet.”
The size of the rental fleet was $8.44 billion of original equipment cost on Dec. 31, 2014, compared with $7.73 billion at the end of 2013. The age of the rental fleet was 43 months, compared with 45.2 months at the end of 2013.
United Rentals is based in Stamford, Conn.
