UK equipment rental firm Ashtead's bleak profit view hammers shares

(Reuters) - British equipment rental firm Ashtead Group on Monday said its annual profit would come in below market expectations as lower emergency response activity in its U.S. business and the company expects to take a more than $2 billion depreciation charge for the year.

Shares in the FTSE 100 company fell 13.6% to 4,530 pence by 0815 GMT, making it the top loser in London's blue-chip index.

Ashtead cited various reasons for its downbeat outlook, including lower levels of emergency response activity with a much quieter U.S. hurricane season, and fewer naturally occurring events, such as wildfires.

The London-listed company, which competes with the likes of United Rentals in the United States, serves construction, emergency response as well as entertainment markets in the United States, Britain and Canada, renting out equipment ranging from diggers to construction tools.

The impact of the Hollywood actors' and writers' strikes, which hurt its film and television business in Canada, has persisted longer than anticipated with some impact on the rest of the Canadian, U.S. and UK businesses, Ashtead said in a statement.

The company trades under the name Sunbelt Rentals in the United States, its largest market.

Ashtead lowered its annual group and U.S. rental revenue growth forecast to 11%-13% from 13%-16% and said net interest costs would amount to about $540 million for the year.

Peel Hunt analysts cut their price target on Ashtead by 1,000 pence to 5,000 pence after the "disappointing development", but said it was largely one-off.

For the half-year, the company expects report rental revenue growth of 13% and adjusted profit before tax growth of 5% to about $1.31 billion.

(Reporting by Eva Mathews in Bengaluru; Editing by Sohini Goswami and Emelia Sithole-Matarise)