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Ashtead group 2 March 2021 Unaudited results for the nine months and third quarter ended 31 January 2021 Third quarter Nine months 2021 2020 Growth¹ 2021 2020 Growth¹ £ m £ m % £ m £ m % Underlying results 2,3 Rental revenue 1,077 1,121 -1 % 3,375 3,568 -3 % EBITDA 539 584 -5 % 1,750 1,911 -6 % Profit before taxation 225 257 -10 % 763 947 -18 % Earnings per share 38.2p 42.3p -6 % 127.2p 154.3p -15 % Statutory results Revenue 1,206 1,247 -1 % 3,760 3,928 -2 % Operating profit 257 297 -11 % 871 1,069 -17 % Profit before taxation 210 225 -4 % 716 885 -17 % Earnings per share 35.7p 37.0p 119.4p 144.1p -15 % Nine month highlights³ • Strong market outperformance • Revenue down 2 % ¹ ; rental revenue down 3 % ¹ • Operating profit of £ 871m ( 2020 : £ 1,069m ) • Pre - tax profit of £ 763m ( 2020 : £ 947m ) • Earnings per share2 of 127.2p ( 2020 : 154.3p ) • Record free cash flow of £ 1,059m ( 2020 : £ 363m ) Net debt to EBITDA leverage 13 of 1.6 times ( 2020 : 1.9 times ) • Expect full - year results ahead of our previous expectations 1 Calculated at constant exchange rates applying current period exchange rates . 2 3 Underlying results are stated before intangible amortisation and exceptional items . Throughout this announcement we refer to a number of alternative performance measures which provide additional useful information . The directors have adopted these to provide additional information on the underlying trends , performance and position of the Group . The alternative performance measures are not defined by IFRS and therefore may not be directly comparable with other companies ' alternative performance measures , but are defined in the Glossary on page 32 .