Andrews Sykes to push ahead with niche rentals

Andrews Sykes will continue to strengthen its non weather dependent niche rental and sales businesses and reduce its reliance on its core air conditioning businesses.

The UK rental company said this strategy helped it maintain revenue and profit levels in 2012 despite challenging trading conditions in the UK and Europe. Revenues were up 8.4% to £58.4 million and profits increased by 20% to £14.3 million, although this included a one-off profit of £3.1 million on a property sale.

The company, which rents a range of heating and cooling equipment as well as pumps in the UK, Benelux, Switzerland, Italy and the Middle East, said a wet UK summer last year hindered its air conditioning business but helped the pump rental operation return to a “more normal level”, while its long-established HVAC business in the Netherlands had a record year.

JG Murray, Andrews Sykes chairman, said the results “clearly demonstrates our ability to deliver acceptable profit levels even in times of unfavourable external influence and is due, in part, to the continuing development of non-weather dependent niche markets which continue to benefit the performance of our specialist hire divisions. We will continue to invest in and develop these businesses as well as our traditional core products and services.”

In addition to its core heating, cooling and pumping businesses, in recent years the company has created businesses renting boilers and chillers to industry.

Andrews Sykes also saw an improvement in its Middle East businesses, particularly in the second half of the year, where operating profits doubled to £1.2 million last year, reflecting better conditions in the UAE.

Mr Murray said the board was “cautiously optimistic for further success in 2013; “The group's policy of reducing its reliance on its traditional core products and services together with the increase in non-seasonal business and investment in new technologically advanced and environmentally friendly products will be continued into 2013.”

Andrews Sykes also owns Sykes Pumps, which rents and manufactures a range of pumps for its own fleet and for external sale. In the US, Ameripumps LLC assembles and distributes Sykes Pumps for North America.