Ashtead Technology profit falls amid "challenging market backdrop"

Ashtead Technology Holdings PLC on Tuesday reported a "resilient" first-half performance, and said it "remains well positioned to navigate near-term market headwinds".

The Aberdeen, Scotland-based provider of subsea technology to the offshore energy sector reported £17.5 million in pretax profit for the first half of 2026, down 1.5% from £17.8 million the year before.

Revenue increased 1.1%, or 1.7% at constant currency, to £100.2 million from £99.1 million. Ashtead said its solid performance in Europe was offset by the previously-flagged impact of conflict in the Middle East, as well as "project delays and softer offshore renewables activity in Asia."

Oil and gas revenue rose 1.9%, while renewables revenue decreased 1.6%.

Adjusted earnings before interest, tax and amortisation, or operating profit plus amortisation, foreign exchange movements and one-off items, fell 7.3% to £25.1 million from £27.0 million.

External costs directly relating to revenue increased to £27.5 million from £25.7 million. Depreciation increased to £12.8 million from £11.4 million.

"The group has delivered a resilient performance in the first half of the year and continued to make strategic progress despite the challenging market backdrop due to the conflict in the Middle East which has created broader geopolitical uncertainty," commented Chief Executive Allan Pirie. "The agility of our integrated global services platform, our diversified business model, disciplined operational execution and relentless focus on supporting customers, enabled us to deliver revenue growth and robust margins during the period.

"We continued to execute on our long-term strategy, investing organically in our technology portfolio and further strengthening our market-leading offering and international capabilities through the acquisition of Seadraulics."

Looking ahead, Ashtead believes that the market fundamentals "remain strong" in the long-term, explaining that "growing focus on energy security, resilience, and supply diversification is expected to reshape energy markets and drive significant infrastructure investment across both renewables and oil and gas."

It expects its addressable market to grow at a 6% compound annual rate and reach USD3.4 billion by 2029 thanks to "strong customer backlogs and expanding opportunity pipelines."

Pirie, meanwhile, said Ashtead's full-year outlook is unchanged from its trading update in late August, when it predicted that revenue would be around 5% below the market consensus of £214.2 million, with adjusted Ebitda 15% below consensus of £59.2 million. It previously reported revenue of £203.2 million and adjusted Ebita of £59.1 million for 2025.

"The company remains well positioned to navigate near-term market headwinds arising from the current geopolitical situation in the Middle East and continues to position itself to capture the longer term opportunities as they arise," Ashtead added.

Ashtead shares were down 4.8% at 329.00 pence on Tuesday afternoon in London.

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