United Rentals Presents Strategic Vision and 2019 Financial Guidance at Investor Day; Reaffirms 2018 Guidance; Resumes Share Repurchase Program
United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE: URI), the world’s largest equipment rental
company, held its biennial Investor Day in New York City on December 11,
2018, to provide an in-depth look at a range of key initiatives. The
event, hosted by senior leadership for members of the investment
community, focused on the company’s strategic vision, sustainable
competitive advantages and emphasis on long-term value maximization.
The company reaffirmed its 2018 financial guidance and announced full
year financial guidance for 2019:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2018 Outlook
|
|
2019 Outlook
|
Total revenue
|
|
$7.89 billion to $7.99 billion
|
|
$9.15 billion to $9.55 billion
|
Adjusted EBITDA1
|
|
$3.815 billion to $3.865 billion
|
|
$4.35 billion to $4.55 billion
|
Net rental capital expenditures after gross purchases
|
|
$1.35 billion to $1.45 billion, after gross purchases of $2.0
billion to $2.1 billion
|
|
$1.40 billion to $1.55 billion, after gross purchases of $2.15
billion to $2.3 billion
|
Net cash provided by operating activities
|
|
$2.725 billion to $2.875 billion
|
|
$2.85 billion to $3.20 billion
|
Free cash flow (excluding the impact of merger and restructuring
related costs)2
|
|
$1.25 billion to $1.35 billion
|
|
$1.3 billion to $1.5 billion
|
|
|
|
|
|
1.
|
|
|
|
Adjusted EBITDA is a non-GAAP measure. Information reconciling
forward-looking adjusted EBITDA to the comparable GAAP financial
measures is unavailable to the company without unreasonable effort,
as discussed below.
|
2.
|
|
|
|
Free cash flow is a non-GAAP measure, as discussed below. The
table below provides a reconciliation between 2018 and 2019
forecasted net cash provided by operating activities and free cash
flow (in millions).
|
|
|
|
|
|
Michael Kneeland, chief executive officer of United Rentals, said,
“We’re continuing to position the company for enduring success by
balancing growth, margins, returns and free cash flow. Differentiation
is a critical element of our strategy – our business is firmly grounded
in sustainable competitive advantages that we believe will benefit our
shareholders in any environment.”
Kneeland continued, “Our 2019 guidance reflects the healthy momentum we
see going into year-end and our confidence that positive conditions will
prevail in the coming year. Our five 2018 acquisitions have been
successfully integrated, increasing the tailwinds in our gen-rent and
specialty segments. We look forward to reporting our fourth quarter
results on January 23.”
Additionally, the company announced that it will resume its $1.25
billion share repurchase program this month. The program was initiated
in July 2018, with approximately $210 million of shares purchased
through September 30, 2018. The Company subsequently paused the program
on November 1, 2018 to focus on the integration of the BlueLine
acquisition. The company intends to complete the program by the end of
2019.
|
|
|
|
|
Amounts in millions
|
|
2018 Outlook
|
|
2019 Outlook
|
Net cash provided by operating activities
|
|
$2,725 to $2,875
|
|
$2,850 to $3,200
|
Purchases of rental equipment
|
|
$(2,000) to $(2,100)
|
|
$(2,150) to $(2,300)
|
Proceeds from sales of rental equipment
|
|
$600 to $700
|
|
$700 to $800
|
Purchases of non-rental equipment, net of proceeds from sales and
insurance proceeds from damaged equipment
|
|
$(75) to $(125)
|
|
$(100) to $(200)
|
Free cash flow (excluding the impact of merger and restructuring
related costs)
|
|
$1,250 to $1,350
|
|
$1,300 to $1,500
|
|
|
|
|
|
Non-GAAP Measures
Free cash flow and adjusted earnings before interest, taxes,
depreciation and amortization
(EBITDA) are non-GAAP financial measures as defined under the rules of
the Securities and Exchange Commission. Free cash flow represents net
cash provided by operating activities less purchases of, and plus
proceeds from, equipment. The equipment purchases and proceeds represent
cash flows from investing activities. EBITDA represents the sum of net
income, provision for income taxes, interest expense, net, depreciation
of rental equipment and non-rental depreciation and amortization.
Adjusted EBITDA represents EBITDA plus the sum of the merger related
costs, restructuring charge, stock compensation expense, net, and the
impact of the fair value mark-up of acquired fleet. The company believes
that: (i) free cash flow provides useful additional information
concerning cash flow available to meet future debt service obligations
and working capital requirements; and (ii) adjusted EBITDA provides
useful information about operating performance and period-over-period
growth, and help investors gain an understanding of the factors and
trends affecting our ongoing cash earnings, from which capital
investments are made and debt is serviced. However, neither of these
measures should be considered as alternatives to net income or cash
flows from operating activities under GAAP as indicators of operating
performance or liquidity.
Information reconciling forward-looking adjusted EBITDA to GAAP
financial measures is unavailable to the company without unreasonable
effort. The company is not able to provide reconciliations of adjusted
EBITDA to GAAP financial measures because certain items required for
such reconciliations are outside of the company’s control and/or cannot
be reasonably predicted, such as the provision for income taxes.
Preparation of such reconciliations would require a forward-looking
balance sheet, statement of income and statement of cash flow, prepared
in accordance with GAAP, and such forward-looking financial statements
are unavailable to the company without unreasonable effort. The company
provides a range for its adjusted EBITDA forecast that it believes will
be achieved, however it cannot accurately predict all the components of
the adjusted EBITDA calculation. The company provides an adjusted EBITDA
forecast because it believes that adjusted EBITDA, when viewed with the
company’s results under GAAP, provides useful information for the
reasons noted above. However, adjusted EBITDA is not a measure of
financial performance or liquidity under GAAP and, accordingly, should
not be considered as an alternative to net income or cash flow from
operating activities as an indicator of operating performance or
liquidity.
About United Rentals
United Rentals, Inc. is the largest equipment rental company in the
world. The company has an integrated network of 1,198 rental locations
in North America and 11 in Europe. In North America, the company
operates in 49 states and every Canadian province. The company’s
approximately 18,800 employees serve construction and industrial
customers, utilities, municipalities, homeowners and others. The company
offers approximately 3,800 classes of equipment for rent with a total
original cost of $14.3 billion. United Rentals is a member of the
Standard & Poor’s 500 Index, the Barron’s 400 Index and the Russell 3000
Index® and is headquartered in Stamford, Conn. Additional information
about United Rentals is available at unitedrentals.com.
Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the
meaning of Section21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as
amended, and the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, known
as the PSLRA. These statements can generally be identified by the use of
forward-looking terminology such as “believe,” “expect,” “may,” “will,”
“should,” “seek,” “on-track,” “plan,” “project,” “forecast,” “intend” or
“anticipate,” or the negative thereof or comparable terminology, or by
discussions of vision, strategy or outlook. These statements are based
on current plans, estimates and projections, and, therefore, you should
not place undue reliance on them. No forward-looking statement can be
guaranteed, and actual results may differ materially from those
projected. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially
from those projected include, but are not limited to, the following: (1)
the challenges associated with past or future acquisitions, such as
undiscovered liabilities, costs, integration issues and/or the inability
to achieve the cost and revenue synergies expected; (2) a slowdown in
North American construction and industrial activities, which could
reduce our revenues and profitability; (3) our significant indebtedness,
which requires us to use a substantial portion of our cash flow for debt
service and can constrain our flexibility in responding to unanticipated
or adverse business conditions; (4) the inability to refinance our
indebtedness at terms that are favorable to us, or at all; (5) the
incurrence of additional debt, which could exacerbate the risks
associated with our current level of indebtedness; (6) noncompliance
with covenants in our debt agreements, which could result in termination
of our credit facilities and acceleration of outstanding borrowings; (7)
restrictive covenants and amount of borrowings permitted under our debt
agreements, which could limit our financial and operational flexibility;
(8) an overcapacity of fleet in the equipment rental industry; (9) a
decrease in levels of infrastructure spending, including lower than
expected government funding for construction projects; (10) fluctuations
in the price of our common stock and inability to complete stock
repurchases in the time frame and/or on the terms anticipated; (11) our
rates and time utilization being less than anticipated; (12) our
inability to manage credit risk adequately or to collect on contracts
with customers; (13) our inability to access the capital that our
business or growth plans may require; (14) the incurrence of impairment
charges; (15) trends in oil and natural gas could adversely affect
demand for our services and products; (16) our dependence on
distributions from subsidiaries as a result of our holding company
structure and the fact that such distributions could be limited by
contractual or legal restrictions; (17) an increase in our loss reserves
to address business operations or other claims and any claims that
exceed our established levels of reserves; (18) the incurrence of
additional costs and expenses (including indemnification obligations) in
connection with litigation, regulatory or investigatory matters; (19)
the outcome or other potential consequences of litigation and other
claims and regulatory matters relating to our business, including
certain claims that our insurance may not cover; (20) the effect that
certain provisions in our charter and certain debt agreements and our
significant indebtedness may have of making more difficult or otherwise
discouraging, delaying or deterring a takeover or other change of
control of us; (21) management turnover and inability to attract and
retain key personnel; (22) our costs being more than anticipated and/or
the inability to realize expected savings in the amounts or time frames
planned; (23) our dependence on key suppliers to obtain equipment and
other supplies for our business on acceptable terms; (24) our inability
to sell our new or used fleet in the amounts, or at the prices, we
expect; (25) competition from existing and new competitors; (26)
security breaches, cybersecurity attacks and other significant
disruptions in our information technology systems; (27) the costs of
complying with environmental, safety and foreign laws and regulations,
as well as other risks associated with non-U.S. operations, including
currency exchange risk; (28) labor difficulties and labor-based
legislation affecting our labor relations and operations generally; (29)
increases in our maintenance and replacement costs and/or decreases in
the residual value of our equipment; and (30) the effect of changes in
tax law, such as the effect of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act that was
enacted on December 22, 2017. For a more complete description of these
and other possible risks and uncertainties, please refer to our Annual
Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2017, as well as to
our subsequent filings with the SEC. The forward-looking statements
contained herein speak only as of the date hereof, and we make no
commitment to update or publicly release any revisions to
forward-looking statements in order to reflect new information or
subsequent events, circumstances or changes in expectations.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20181211005953/en/
Copyright Business Wire 2018