UPDATE 1-UK hire firm Ashtead's profit rises, outlook good

* Q1 pretax profit 11.9 mln stg vs 8.8 mln stg

* Q1 revenue 239.1 mln stg vs 221.6 mln stg

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LONDON, Sept 7 (Reuters) - British equipment-hire company Ashtead (AHT.L) said first-quarter profit grew a third, driven by growing sales in North America and cost cutting, and that it expected to win more work from its customers.

Ashtead, which rents out industrial equipment from diggers to small tools in the UK and the United States, on Tuesday said its pretax profit rose 35 percent to 11.9 million pounds ($18.3 million) on sales 8 percent higher at 239.1 million pounds in the three months to the end of July.

"Whilst end markets remain fragile, our strong performance in fleet on rent reflects the impact of the responsible correction in fleet sizes throughout the rental industry and increased outsourcing by customers, a trend we expect to continue," said Chief Executive Geoff Drabble said.

The company, which generates 80 percent of revenue from North America, said sales at its U.S. Sunbelt unit rose 3 percent during the period but UK rental revenues dropped 6 percent.

However, the company said it was boosted by lower costs, reflecting the impact of measures it took in earlier quarters.

Shares in Ashtead, which have fallen a fifth in the last three months, closed at 92 pence on Monday, valuing the group at around 445 million pounds.

(Reporting by Rhys Jones, Editing by Golnar Motevalli)

($1=.6511 Pound)