Ashtead warns on profit, withdraws $500 million loan as lockdown dents rentals

(Reuters) - Equipment rental firm Ashtead warned on Monday that its annual profit would come in lower than last year and said it had taken out an extra $500 million in debt, as the company faces a slump in rentals due to the coronavirus-led shutdowns. The company, which rents out diggers, construction tools and other equipment, expects underlying pretax profit for the year through April 30 to be about 1.05 billion pounds. Last year, Ashtead had reported..