Rentokil Initial PLC on Tuesday said the third quarter of 2022 saw continued momentum in its businesses.

The Sussex, England-based pest-control firm said ongoing revenue grew 10%, or 12% excluding disinfection services. Organic Revenue, supported by good price progression, was up 6.2%, while acquisition-led growth was 5.5%.

Particularly in Pest Control, ongoing revenue increased by 13%, sustaining the growth rates delivered in the first half of 2022.

Rentokil said the quarter performed well despite ‘the impacts of Hurricane Ian in the last week of September’.

Rentokil Initial has ‘continued to successfully manage inflationary pressures on its cost base through pricing and cost control actions, and maintains its full-year outlook for the underlying business’, it said.

Chief Executive Andy Ransom said: ‘This has been another good quarter for Rentokil Initial. Supported by the essential nature of our services and ability to offset cost inflation through pricing, we continue to deliver both good growth and profitability, while retaining high levels of customer and colleague retention.’

The company said it bought 12 pest control businesses in the third quarter with an annualised revenue of £26.7 million.

Looking ahead, it said its pipeline remains strong and that it is on track to spend about £250 million this year.

In July, the company reported pretax profit of £161.9 million for the six months ended June 30, up 7.8% at £148.8 million the same period a year before. Revenue grew 8.1% year-on-year to £1.57 billion from £1.45 billion.

Shares were down 3.6% at 524.80 pence each on Tuesday morning in London.

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