Pest Technician

What Rentokil Initial (RTO) said on its Q3 earnings call. Rentokil Initial (NYSE:RTO) reported third-quarter revenue of $1.9 billion and organic growth of 3.4%, with Chief Executive Officer Mike Duffy describing the period as a "solid quarter" marked by progress on customer service, sales execution and business simplification. North America generated 3.2% organic growth, while the international business delivered 3.7% organic growth. Chief Financial Officer Paul Edgecliffe-Johnson said the company expects full-year profit to be in line with current market expectations. The company also announced a $200 million share repurchase program following the sale of SOLitude, a disposal that management said will further reduce leverage. Edgecliffe-Johnson said Rentokil had returned to its target leverage range of 2x to 2.5x at the half-year stage for the first time since its Terminix acquisition. North American growth improves, though volumes remain under pressure. North American pest control services revenue grew 2.7% organically in the quarter. Contract growth rose 3.1%, improving from the second quarter, while jobbing revenue grew 2.6% after weaker lead flow early in the period. Overall organic growth in the unit was 2.4%, with management describing pricing conditions as robust. Edgecliffe-Johnson said residential performance across core pest control and termite services was solid. Commercial national accounts, which account for roughly one-third of the company's commercial business, also improved as service quality increased and adoption of the company's PestConnect connected pest-control system continued. The company said the impact from rationalizing its legacy Terminix commercial customer portfolio is now "largely passed." However, Edgecliffe-Johnson said volume remains negative in North America, even as pricing continues to contribute to growth. Residential lead flow declined by a mid- to high-single-digit percentage in July and August, before improving to a 1% decline in September. Management said that improvement broadly continued into October. Duffy attributed the better trend to changes in marketing spending, higher conversion rates and efforts to reduce friction in customer call, chat and online purchasing journeys. North American business services grew 9.6% organically, supported by product distribution momentum and new client wins in brand standards. Management expects that growth rate to moderate toward the mid-single digits. International pest control outpaces other segments. International revenue rose 5%, with 3.7% organic growth. Excluding two businesses serving the challenged U.K. property market, organic growth was 4.7%. International pest control delivered 5.7% organic growth, with broad-based growth across regions. The company highlighted the U.K. as its largest international pest market, where it said organic contract growth remained in the high-single digits despite a difficult economic environment. International hygiene and wellbeing organic growth was 0.7%, affected by weak trading in the company's DCUK asbestos-removal business. Excluding DCUK, hygiene and wellbeing organic growth was 2.6%. Management said it plans to fund investment in North American training, sales capabilities and the separation of its residential and commercial operations through cost savings in the international business and group central costs. Further details are expected with full-year results in February. Residential and commercial separation underway. Duffy said Rentokil is moving to separate its North American residential and commercial pest-control operations to provide greater operational focus, transparency and accountability. The company has promoted two industry veterans to lead the businesses, though management said the broader operating separation and related investment decisions remain in progress. Edgecliffe-Johnson said the aim is to ensure that residential and commercial operations receive the sales, training and operating support appropriate to their distinct customer needs. The separation is not primarily a physical one, he said, but is intended to avoid compromises between differing business requirements. Rentokil has also launched a test-and-learn pilot in Atlanta to develop a standardized branch operating model based on practices used by its strongest-performing locations. The pilot is expected to run into the first quarter of next year, with phased implementation possible ahead of the next peak season. * Customer service actions include shorter connection times for call and chat agents. * The company is implementing online sales improvements and abandoned-cart SMS and email prompts. * Management is evaluating branch processes, employee organization and field tools through its Atlanta pilot. AI search and PestConnect remain strategic focuses. Duffy said artificial-intelligence search currently represents a very small share of Rentokil's lead mix. Still, the company is adapting its marketing strategy by strengthening its presence across affiliate channels such as Yelp and the Better Business Bureau, developing hyperlocal content and improving information that large language models can extract. The company said Terminix.com already enables customers to price, schedule and pay for services online. Rentokil is also training its call center to handle inquiries from AI agents and expects to introduce live pricing and scheduling capabilities in a format accessible to AI agents in early 2027. Management said it does not view pest control as a commodity service vulnerable to a race to the bottom on price, citing the importance of local reputation, brand trust, technician quality and service consistency. PestConnect, meanwhile, is gaining momentum in the U.S. commercial business. Duffy said the system has received a strong response from both existing and prospective customers, particularly those seeking compliance support in industries such as food service. Management said connected solutions can support customer retention. CFO to Retire in January. Edgecliffe-Johnson will retire from full-time executive work on Jan. 31 for family health reasons and will remain with Rentokil as a senior adviser to support the transition. The company has begun a search for a permanent CFO. If a successor has not been appointed by Feb. 1, Group Financial Controller Sarah Sergeant will become interim CFO. Duffy credited Edgecliffe-Johnson with improving the company's financial discipline and strategic focus during his tenure. About Rentokil Initial (NYSE:RTO). Rentokil Initial plc (NYSE:RTO) is a business services company headquartered in the United Kingdom. It provides pest control, hygiene, and workplace services to commercial, public-sector, and residential customers. Its offerings are designed to help organizations manage pests, maintain sanitary environments, and support health, safety, and workplace standards. The company's pest control services address insects, rodents, and other pests, while its hygiene operations provide washroom services, sanitary products, air care, floor-care solutions, and related workplace services.

Rentokil unveils $200m buyback as CFO to step down, Q3 trading remains solid. Pest control group Rentokil Initial said on Thursday that it had approved a $200m share buyback and announced the upcoming retirement of its chief financial officer, Paul Edgecliffe-Johnson, as it posted a solid third-quarter performance and reiterated full-year guidance. 10,690.36. 5,823.51. 5,760.23. 339.00p. 11,188.85. 16:35 23/10/26. Rentokil reported 3.4% organic revenue growth in Q3, with total revenues rising 4% to $1.89bn, as North America delivered 3.2% organic growth, including a 2.4% rise in pest control revenues, supported by improving residential lead trends, stronger national-account performance and continued adoption of PestConnect. Business services remained a bright spot, with organic growth of 9.6%. International operations saw revenues climb 5%, with pest control organic growth accelerating to 5.7%. Strong pricing and retention supported high single-digit growth in UK pest control, while India, Indonesia and MENAT also outperformed. Hygiene and wellbeing grew more modestly, with asbestos removal weakness at DCUK weighing on overall progress. Rentokil completed seven bolt-on acquisitions in the quarter, taking year-to-date deals to 21 and adding around $36m of annualised revenues. It expects to spend about $100m on M&A this year. With leverage down to 2.4x and further de-leveraging expected following the SOLitude disposal, the board approved a $200m buyback to be completed by the FY26 results. The FTSE 100-listed group said it remained on track to deliver full-year profits in line with market expectations. Rentokil also confirmed that CFO Paul Edgecliffe-Johnson will step down from the board on 31 January 2027 for family health reasons, but will remain in a senior advisory role to support both succession and continuity. "Signs Rentokil is starting to root out some of the bugs which have infested its North American business helped drive a major relief rally in the shares. After a major profit warning and the abandonment of profit margin targets for its business across the Atlantic earlier this year, investors welcomed signs of stabilisation in this business and news of a sizeable share buyback," said AJ Bell's Russ Mould. "The buyback is a show of confidence on the part of management. Despite today's upwards move, the shares are still down 20% so far in 2026 and investors will be looking for management to build on this improvement rather than resting on their laurels." As of 0945 BST, Rentokil shares had shot up 9.12% to 343.40p. Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com