COMPETITION DENTS SALES AT RENTOKIL

Rentokil, which also delivers parcels and hires out uniforms and tropical plants, reported tough conditions across most markets, particularly continental Europe, as continued strong pricing pressure caused a 2.3 per cent slip in sales to £1.23billion.

But profits rose more than a third to £77million from £55million a year ago and the group said it was sticking to full-year targets.

Cost reduction plans were running ahead of its £75million target for the full year, with £40million in supply chain savings and redundancies across the group made during the first half. The group, which employs 68,000 people worldwide, shed 250 jobs with the closure of a delivery hub for its City Link parcels business at Wednesbury in the West Midlands.

Its delivery business, City Link, reduced its operating loss for the first half by almost 40 per cent compared with last year, and Rentokil’s chief executive Alan Brown said the division would see a profit before the end of the year.

Brown did not expect to see any significant revenue growth until next year because of chall­enging market conditions across Europe, where pricing pressures remain a worry. “The markets are difficult,” he said.