Business
Canadian Equipment Rental Fund Limited Partnership Announces First Quarter 2006 Results
Canadian Equipment Rental Fund Limited Partnership Announces First Quarter 2006 Results.
About this update from Zedcor Inc
[{"type":"text","content":"\n\n\n\n\nEDMONTON, May 30 /CNW/ - Mr. Wayne Wadley, president of CERF GP Corp.,\nthe general partner of Canadian Equipment Rental Fund Limited Partnership (the\n\"Partnership\"), is pleased to report the results for the first quarter ended\nMarch 31, 2006.\n\nQuarter Highlights Include:\n- Revenues of $2,313,217 representing an increase of 59% over the same\n period last year,\n- Earnings of $681,697 ($0.21 per unit) representing an increase of 315%\n over same period last year,\n- Total assets increased to $7,212,470,613 representing an increase of\n 43% over the same period last year.\n\nMr. Wadley comments, \"Demand for rentals during this traditionally slower\nwinter period was unprecedented as contractors in all industries experienced\nrecord demand for their services. This demand, coupled with seasonally unusual\nwarm weather and lack of snow cover allowed contractors to do work during the\nfirst 1/2 of the quarter not normally associated with winter projects. This\nfavorable construction weather, followed by some cooler temperatures and snow\ncover created an extremely high demand for construction heaters and the\nrelated fuel. In turn CERF posted record rental and sales revenues throughout\nthe quarter.\nEquipment sales margins, both for new and used, continue to increase\nbetween five to ten percent as confidence abounds with contractors trying to\nfill shortages. Fuelled by a growing shortage worldwide for large construction\nequipment which has created waiting periods of eight weeks to two years, many\nlocal contractors appear willing to commit to new equipment purchases and are\npurchasing any available equipment to meet their needs. Predictions from most\nCERF customers are for increased demand for rental equipment as they gear up\nfor the busy construction season.\nEquipment supply shortages have had positive effects on rentals from many\nperspectives. Rental rates continue to edge upward faster than inflation\nallowing for increased margins on rentals. Contractors experiencing shortages\nwith some types of equipment are tending to hoard all types of equipment to\nensure availability when required. This helps create long term rentals which\nmay or may not have been necessary.\nCERF was able to meet the higher demands in some key areas such as\nheaters over the winter season due to our aggressive fleet expansion pr...