19th Apr 2018 10:00
LONDON (Alliance News) - Pest control company Rentokil Initial PLC on Thursday said that it is confident it will perform in line with expectations for 2018, as revenue rose in the first quarter.
At constant currency, total revenue for three months to the end of March increased by 16% to GBP545.9 million. At actual exchange rates, revenue rose by 11%.
Organic revenue grew 3.2% in the first quarter, compared to 3.7% organic growth in the same period a year earlier.
Rentokil said its performance was affected by the ongoing impact of last September's hurricane on its operations in Puerto Rico and by unseasonably cold weather in the US in March, which has delayed the onset of the spring pest season. Excluding this, Sky said that organic growth was in line year-on-year.
In terms of sectors, revenue in Pest Control increased by 16%, reflecting the strong performance of Rentokil's joint venture in India.
Revenue in the Hygiene division rose by 29%, driven by the acquisitions of Cannon Hygiene Ltd, bought in January, and of CWS-boco Italia SpA. In June last year Rentokil, formed a joint venture with Franz Haniel & Cie GmbH to merge its Workover and Hygiene businesses in 10 countries, mainly in the Benelux and Central & Eastern Europe regions.
However, revenue in Protect & Enhance markets declined 0.1%, due to ongoing market weakness in the UK Property Care business.
Since the start of the year, Rentokil has acquired 11 pest control businesses, which collectively had anualised revenue of GBP103.0 million in the year prior to purchase.
"I am pleased with our performance in the first quarter, and we are well-positioned for another year of successful growth," said Chief Executive Andy Ransom. "We are confident that the company will deliver a performance in line with market expectations for 2018."
Shares in Rentokil were trading 2.4% higher at 279.40 pence per share on Thursday.
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