United Rentals sales plunge 30 percent but loss narrows against year-ago write-downs

United Rentals sales drop but loss narrows

GREENWICH, Conn. — United Rentals Inc. said Wednesday that fourth-quarter sales tumbled 30 percent, but the company narrowed its loss from a year earlier, when it wrote down the value of its assets.

The Greenwich, Conn., company — which rents construction equipment, tools and other gear to builders, manufacturers and individuals — also said it narrowed its annual loss. For the year that ended Dec. 31, it reported a loss of $62 million.

The company said it lost $26 million, or 43 cents per share, for the fourth quarter — much less than the loss of $853 million, or $14.25-per-share, that it recorded a year earlier.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters, who typically exclude one-time items from their estimates, on average predicted a loss of 20 cents per share on sales of $563.1 million.

Excluding restructuring costs and other one-time items, United Rentals lost 21 cents per share. United Rentals’ quarterly revenue dropped to $557 million.

A year earlier, its adjusted profit was 74 cents per share on revenue of $791 million.

The company’s loss for all of 2009 amounted to $1.02 per share, on sales of $2.36 billion. In 2008, the company lost $943 million, or $12.62 per share, on sales of $3.27 billion.

For 2010, United Rentals expects free cash flow between $175 million and $200 million, compared with $367 million last year. The company said it would trim its costs.

Shares fell 15 cents to $8.31.