Alta hits $1bn in equipment sales revenue

Alta Equipment Group reported more than $1 billion in sales of new and used equipment in 2023, the first time it has done so, and described it as a milestone for the company.

Alta, which combines sales and rentals of both construction and material handling equipment, also reported revenues of $520 million in parts and servicing.

The company, which has from 85 locations on the east coast of the US as well as Quebec and Ontario in Canada, reported total revenues of $1.87 billion, up 19.4% on 2022. EBITDA profit rose 21% to $191.4 million.

The business includes a large construction equipment rental operation, where revenues rose by 12.3% for the full year to $202.4 million. Sales of used rental fleet were $128.9 million. Gross capital expenditure on its fleet last year was $242.4 million.

Around 60% of Alta’s revenues are generated by construction equipment operations (sales, rental, service), with the balance in material handling.

Alta’s strategy is to consolidate dealerships of major OEMs, including brands such as Case, Takeuchi, Volvo CE, Kubota, Gehl, JCB and Sennebogen. Its material handling brands include Sellick, Yale and Hyster.

Ryan Greenawalt, Alta’s CEO, said; “The momentum in our business continued throughout the balance of 2023 and as a result, we delivered solid financial and operating results for the fourth quarter and 2023 fiscal year.”

He said a key priority was to provide its customers with “best-in-class support to keep their fleets and job sites running with as little down time as possible. Thus, we continued to expand our field service population, ending the year with more than 1,300 skilled technicians, which represents nearly half of our 3,000 employees.”

Greenawalt said the company’s diversified strategy was proving successful; “The 16 acquisitions we have completed since going public in 2020 are also major contributors to our success, providing $537 million in revenues and $65 million in adjusted EBITDA.

“We are continuing to pursue accretive acquisitions opportunities which would further expand the scale and scope of product offerings for our customers.”

He said the outlook for 2024 remained positive; “Non-residential construction starts are forecast to increase compared to 2023. The material handling industry is forecasting another year of strong lift truck deliveries that is likely to resemble, if not exceed, the record year of lift truck deliveries in 2023.

“Additionally, state DOT 2024 fiscal year budgets are more than 10% higher than last year. And importantly, the sentiment from our customers is consistent with strength we experienced in 2023.”

Since the company’s initial public offering (IPO) four years ago it has doubled revenues, increased staff numbers from 1,700 to 3,000, and grown its network from 43 to 85 locations.