Rentokil shares enjoyed their best day for months as full-year profits soared, easing some of the concerns over its Terminix acquisition.
Shares in the pest control specialist tanked by more than a quarter in October after it warned over trading in its US operations, but most of that was recouped on Thursday as it indicated things were better than hoped with the stock up 74p at 506.8p.
“We expect organic revenue growth in North America to be around 2% in the first quarter and between 2-4% in the full year,” said Andy Ransom, chief executive.
Revenues for the year to end December rose to 45% to £5.38bn with underlying profits up by 44% to £766 million.
Ransom added: “The group overall delivered a good operational and financial performance in 2023, despite weaker growth in North America, achieving 4.9% organic revenue growth and 16.6% margin
“The combination with Terminix continues to create significant value and we have upgraded expectations for total gross cost synergies by $50m to $325m to be delivered by 2026."
The dividend rises by 15% to 8.68p.