GROUP RESULTS

Peter M. Dawson, Chairman, commented:

Dawsongroup has delivered another strong performance in 2023 with significant investment made into the fleet and asset base and the group’s infrastructure and facilities. The customer proposition has been expanded with entry into exciting new markets that offer further scope for growth. The Dawsongroup proposition continues to centre around the guiding principles of growing our long-term customer relationships by investing in both our assets and the team that manages and supports them.

The business has reported growth across a number of key metrics with fleet size growing to over 32,000 assets. The number of employees now totals over 1,000 across 11 countries. The market tailwinds of the Covid period continued into 2023 before a slow and irregular return to a more normal competitive environment with all the opportunities and challenges that ensue. New vehicle and equipment prices have in the main, retained the inflated prices of the post Covid period and combined with a prolonged period of higher interest rates have led to inflationary pressure across the asset rental market in the UK. Inflationary pressures faced by the economy as a whole, together with rising manufacturer pricing, employment costs and higher interest rates has had a disproportionate impact on the asset leasing market. Whilst Dawsongroup is not immune to this market volatility and has been required to increase rental rates – our long-term supplier and customer relationships and access to competitive funding has meant that the group is able to support our customers with competitive pricing. Dawsongroup is well placed in each of the markets in which it operates.