FTSE 100-listed Ashtead gets around 90% of its sales and profit from the U.S. market, where construction spending had fallen to a year low in June, although July saw some recovery in the private sector.

Chief Executive Brendan Horgan told Reuters that Ashtead expects full-year group rental revenue to be in the mid to high single digits lower when compared with last year on a constant currency basis if there are no significant further shutdowns.

Ashtead, which rents out diggers, construction tools and other equipment, is planning 25 to 30 greenfield projects in the year, with 75% of those in its speciality businesses.

"We have a number of relatively new specialist businesses including lawn improvement, pumping, climate control and ground protection," Horgan said.

Ashtead's shares were up 2% at 2,745 pence at 1037 GMT after it said underlying pretax profit fell 35% to 208 million pounds in the three months ended July 31, while rental revenue declined 8% to 1.08 billion pounds.

Despite the falls, Jefferies analysts said in a note that Ashtead's U.S. general tool and speciality businesses have seen continual underlying improvements.

(Reporting by Aby Jose Koilparambil in Bengaluru, Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips, Amy Caren Daniel and Alexander Smith)

By Aby Jose Koilparambil