Rentokil sees first-quarter revenues jump

Rentokil Initial reported a jump in first-quarter revenues on Thursday, boosted by strong demand and a string of deals.

The pest control group said the year had started well, with organic revenues ahead 6.7% - or 5.9% once its Covid disinfection business was included - while reported revenues surged 64.5% to £1.24bn.

Rentokil said trading had been underpinned by "resilient demand and effective pricing", which had helped offset inflationary pressures.

Pest control, its biggest business, saw revenues jump 93.2% to £984m, while hygiene and wellbeing rose 1.9% at £202m. On an organic basis, revenues rose 6.4% and 5.5% respectively at the two divisions.

The London-listed group, which agreed to buy US rival Terminix in a $6.7bn deal at the end of 2021, said it had completed 15 bolt-on acquisitions during the first quarter. Of those, 12 were in pest control and three in hygiene and wellbeing, with combined annualised revenues in the year prior to acquisitions of around £63m.

Andy Ransom, chief executive, said the first quarter demonstrated "the resilience of our compounding growth model and continued strategy execution".

"This performance, combined with further progress in our value-creating M&A programme, led by the integration of Terminix, means we are well positioned for the remainder of the year.

"We reiterate our 2023 full-year expectations."