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Rentokil Initial shares tumbled 20 per cent on Wednesday after the world’s largest pest control company warned that a slowdown at its key North American business would hit profits.
The plunge wiped more than £2bn from Rentokil’s market value. The London-listed company said that adjusted profits before tax and amortisation this year would be about £700mn, lower than the £776mn that analysts expected and the £766mn it made last year.
The warning is the latest stemming from the US, which accounts for more than half the company’s sales following its $6.7bn acquisition of Terminix in 2021.
“While we saw some positive momentum in North America sales activity at the end of the second quarter, the trading performance in July and August was lower than anticipated,” Rentokil said in a statement.
The company, in which activist investor Nelson Peltz’s Trian Partners has a stake, said its other businesses were performing well.
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