US business still a pest for Rentokil
Pest control firm Rentokil Initial has reported lower profits after a “challenging year”, following a squeeze on its North American business lines.
Revenue climbed marginally to £5.43 bn, up 1.1 per cent from 2023.
However, Rentokil boosted its dividend per share by 4.7 per cent to 9.09p.
Rentokil’s chief executive Andy Ransom said: “2024 was a challenging year for the group, with lower profits and margins, delivered in line with our trading update in September.
“Good growth in the International business (Organic Revenue growth 4.7 per cent) was held back by the performance in North America (Organic Revenue growth 1.5 per cent).”
Rentokil returned to growth in October, following a share price plunge after a wobble in its North American business, which sparked a profit warning.
The company had boosted its US workforce to meet seasonal projected demand, but found that in reality the demand fell short of its expectations.
The Crawley-based firm’s acquisition of major US pest control company Terminix back in October 2022 has positioned the company as truly global in its outlook, but Rentokil has been hit by operational struggles in integrating the new business.
“The Terminix integration is making good progress, with multiple important milestones achieved, but executing it has clearly impacted our North American business performance,” added Ransom.
He was bullish about the year ahead: “We expect to achieve 2025 financial performance in line with market expectations.”