Rentokil dragged down by City Link (as usual)

Rentokil, the pest control and cleaning services company, has seen profits drop in the third quarter as its City Link delivery business continues to drag the group down.

Adjusted profits before tax were down 11% on the equivalent period of 2010 although revenues did inch 0.6% higher.

Rentokil, which has seen its share price fall 54% in the last five years and 30% in 2011 alone says City Link will "improve significantly " in the final three months of the year. It will need to. Revenues are down 7.9% on the third quarter of 2010 and its operating loss has grown from £1.3m to £6.8m.

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Alan Brown, Rentokil's Chief Executive said of the results: ""Revenue projections for City Link have improved significantly for Q4 [fourth quarter] and 2012 and we anticipate the financial performance of the business will also improve in Q4, assuming no repetition of the very unusual weather conditions in Q4 2010. "

This hasn't done much to cheer investors up however, Rentokil was down 2.8% at 8.26 in London.

BS