Rentokil Initial PLC (LON:RTO) has reported solid growth in its third-quarter revenue, boosted by its pest control unit, although the hurricanes which devastated the Caribbean and some southern states in the US in September caused disruption to its businesses.
The FTSE 100-listed support services company said its revenue from its ongoing operations in the third quarter grew by 13.7% to £579.5mln at constant currency rates.
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The firm said organic growth, including revenue from sales to its Haniel joint venture, rose by 4.6%, with Pest Control delivering 5.6% organic growth, while Hygenie operations was up 2.6%.
Rentokil highlighted continuing strong performances in Asia, Pacific, Latin America, and in its largest market, North America in Q3, while Europe also delivered a further improvement in ongoing revenue growth.
However, the group said a number of its operations within North America, Latin America and Rest of the World were temporarily disrupted by the severe weather conditions in September, although trading has now returned to normal in most of these markets, with the exception of Puerto Rico, which is expected to remain severely affected for some time.
A good period for M&A
In its statement, Andy Ransom, Rentokil’s chief executive, said: “Pest Control has delivered a further improvement in revenue growth at just under 18%, while our Hygiene business has maintained momentum, increasing revenues by over 13%. It has been a good period for M&A with six businesses acquired in Growth and Emerging markets, principally in Pest Control.”
He added: “Notwithstanding the impact of severe weather conditions on some of our businesses in the third quarter, prospects remain good for the remainder of the year across the majority of our markets, and our guidance for the full year is unchanged."
In early trading, Rentokil shares were 0.9% lower at 309.7p.