Growth continues at Mills in Brazil

The equipment rental division of Brazilian rental and scaffolding company Mills Estruturas e Serviços de Engenharia (Mills) reported a 96.5% increase in first quarter revenues to R$33.7 million (€ million) compared to the same quarter in 2010.

Almost half of the growth was attributed to the ten new rental depots that were opened in 2010. EBITDA profits almost doubled to R$18.9 million (€14.6 million) for the quarter, year-on-year.

Mills said equipment utilisation remained at "normal levels", despite the volume of equipment that the division has added over the past 12 months. The division, which rents mainly aerial platforms and telehandlers, invested R$42.4 million (€18.3 million) alone in the first three months of this year.

Overall, the group reported a 25.5% increase in revenues for the quarter to R$145.0 million (€62.7 million), year-on-year.

The company said the powered access rental business would continue to grow at a strong rate in the coming years because of the relatively small size of the Brazilian rental fleet and because of the productivity benefits "given the shortage of manpower".

It also said that demand was weak in the heavy construction sector in the first quarter of the year. "Many construction jobs have started, such as the stadiums for the 2014 World Cup, subway line 4, the Transoeste highway and the COMPERJ refinery in Rio de Janeiro, the monorail in São Paulo, and construction work for Vale, among others.

"However, these projects are in their initial phase, in which they demand a low volume of equipment and, consequently, generate low rental revenue. It is expected that the volume of the equipment needed in such constructions will expand in the upcoming months, depending on the progress of the work."