Revenues slip at Algeco Scotsman

Declining sales in the Asia Pacific and Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) have hit US-based modular space rental company Algeco Scotsman's nine-month results.

Revenues for the nine-months ended 30 September, 2014, dropped to US$1.31 billion (€1.05 billion) from US$1.35 billion (€1.08 billion) for the same period in 2013 – down 2.8% on an actual currency basis.

Algeco Scotsman said revenues from the Asia Pacific and EMEA dropped, offset to some extent by a slight increase in revenues in the Americas.

Average units on rent for the nine months were 223752, compared to 226747 for the same period last year. The company said the reduction was mainly due to lower units on rent in the EMEA region, principally in Spain, Portugal, and Belgium.

And the company said 5114 accommodations were on rent on average for the period, down from 5698 for the first nine months of 2013. It said the decrease was primarily due to the Asia Pacific.

Average utilisation for the first three months of the year stood at 74.2%, compared to 74% for the comparable 2013 period, while average monthly rental rates increased to US$268 (€214) from US$259 (€207), mainly due to improvements in Canada, the US, and Germany.

Gross profit, on an actual currency basis, was up 0.5% year-on-year to US$486 million (€388 million) for the period.