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(Sharecast News) - 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 EdgecliffeJohnson, as it posted a solid thirdquarter performance and reiterated fullyear guidance.
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 nationalaccount 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 singledigit 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 bolton acquisitions in the quarter, taking yeartodate 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 deleveraging 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 fullyear profits in line with market expectations.
Rentokil also confirmed that CFO Paul EdgecliffeJohnson 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
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