Shares in plant and equipment rental group Speedy Hire (SDY) hit an all-time low of 18p after the firm lowered FY26 guidance. The company said market conditions had worsened in Q4 leading to customer delays which affected hire and service revenue.
Lowered guidance
Speedy said it had made ‘significant strategic progress’ during the year including a transformational deal with ProService. The firms signed an agreement in October 2025 which Speedy expects to generate £50-55 million of incremental revenue.
The ProService tie-up is also expected to be ‘significantly’ earnings-accretive in the first full year of trading. However, before then the firm has to deal with what it calls ‘subdued’ market conditions.
Due to uncertainty around the November Budget and current events in the Middle East, the company has revised its guidance. It now sees EBITDA of £90 million for the year to March 2026 against the £107 million consensus and £97 million in FY25.
Net debt is expected to be £159 million, including £35 million invested in ProService, but FY27 should see ‘meaningful deleverage’. The board said despite ongoing events its was sticking to its outlook for FY27 and beyond.
Thoday’s warning isn’t a complete shocker like Goodwin (GDWN) but it isn’t what shareholders wanted to hear. The firm claims delayed revenue will ‘impact positively’ in the short term, meaning in FY27, but the damage is done.
Speedy’s problem is it is geared to the new-build housing and RMI markets which we know are struggling. Investors would be better off with exposure to the infrastructure market, where hire contracts are bigger and visibility is better.
Read the press release here: https://www.speedyhire.com/investors/regulatory-news/
