Rentokil Initial PLC (LSE:RTO) has had its targets cut by Deutsche Bank analysts after warning over sluggish sales in North America.
Deutsche analysts said the pest controller’s pre-tax profit was now expected to sit at £691 million for the year, 11% lower than previously thought.
This followed the company’s warning that sales across the Atlantic had lagged in recent months, while £50 million worth of extra costs had also been incurred
Rentokil guided this would lead full-year profits to sit at £700 million in 2024, against £766 million last year, with Deutsche warning the figure could be lower still.
There is the “possibility of further integration disruption in the near-term,” Detusche said after Rentokil noted benefits from its acquisition of Terminix in 2022 were taking longer than expected to emerge.
Deutsche cut Rentokil’s share price target from 550p to 465p but stuck to a ‘buy’ rating after the shares plummeted 20% to 380p on Wednesday following the warning.
Shares fell a further 4.3% to 364.9p on Friday.