Rentokil Initial said it benefited from growth in the third quarter, boosted by a strong performance at its hygiene business and a return to pest control growth.
The company said continuing revenue, in the third quarter, increased by 5.5% to £754.6 million.
Its hygiene business grew by 53% versus growth of 16% in the second quarter, while its pest control area grew by 1.3%, compared with a decline of 5.9% in the previous quarter.
Total disinfection revenue rose 54% to £74.6m in the third quarter, with North America contributing revenue of £49.6m, Rentokil said.
Andy Ransom, Rentokil Initial’s chief executive, said: “We have consistently delivered year-on-year revenue growth each month since the declines in April and May during the peak of the crisis.
“This performance has been achieved through a combination of a return to more regular levels of service provision across our categories, continued high demand for one-time disinfection services and the benefit of acquisitions made in 2019.”
Mr Ransom said that it remains impossible to predict the future development of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It could have a direct impact on our trading performance, including resurgence of global cases of COVID-19, new and continued Coronavirus restrictions, potential customer insolvencies and bad debt, as well as indirectly depending how demand for our services is impacted by the economic consequences of the pandemic, he said.
“In addition, we anticipate demand for disinfection services will reduce as businesses return to more normal trading conditions and as service frequencies potentially decrease.”
