UK tool hire group Ashtead raises full-year forecasts

(Adds CEO comments, details, background)

By Li-mei Hoang

LONDON, March 3 (Reuters) - British industrial equipment hire group Ashtead raised its full year expectations after posting a 33 percent rise in quarterly profit on strong demand in the United States and Britain.

Chief Executive Geoff Drabble said the company was benefiting from the recovery in the U.S. and UK construction markets, which was seeing a pick-up in demand for residential properties.

"The recovery has become more obvious and it has become more widespread ... we are still about 30 percent below the previous peak, so my view is that we have a number of years left to run in this cycle," said Drabble.

The company, which has raised its profit expectations for three consecutive quarters, said pretax profit rose to 113.9 million pounds ($175 million) for the quarter ended Jan. 31, compared with 80.4 million pounds a year ago.

Ashtead, which rents everything from small tools to large diggers and water pumps, has grown rapidly over the past few years as hard-up customers in its two markets of Britain and the United States have turned to hiring equipment rather than buying and maintaining it.

The company is expected to post a full-year profit of 478.70 million in June, according to a Thomson Reuters poll of 13 analysts conducted before the results.

Shares (Berlin: DI6.BE - news) in the company were 1 percent higher at 1,193 pence by 0902 pence, after rising 2.9 percent in early trading. ($1 = 0.6497 pounds) (Reporting by Li-mei Hoang; editing by Sarah Young and Louise Heavens)