Rentokil lifts growth targets amid booming hygiene demand

Pest control-to-cleaning firm Rentokil Initial has upped its growth targets and announced plans to expand its hygiene arm amid booming demand during the pandemic.

The group hiked sales and earnings goals, lifting its organic medium-term revenue growth target to between 4% and 5%, up from 3% to 4% previously.

It is now aiming for revenues to grow by up to 6% across its newly enlarged hygiene and wellness category, which will be expanded from January next year to also include services such as dental hygiene and cleanroom operations.

It said this was being made “in response to the Covid-19 pandemic and the increasing importance of hygiene and wellbeing services”.

Rentokil also announced that its ongoing revenue growth target would be boosted to between 6% and 9% from 5% and 8% previously.

And the firm said it is now eyeing ongoing operating profits growth of at least 10%, up from around 10% previously.

As well as the targets hike, Rentokil said it is also overhauling its regional structure from January 1.

While it will still have five regions, its “rest of the world” business will be split according to geographic location.

Rentokil saw hygiene revenues rocket by more than a third – 36.8% – last year as demand raced higher in the pandemic.

It launched disinfection services across the world in response to Covid-19, selling deep cleaning to businesses, with disinfection bringing in £225.1 million in revenue across 2020.

But demand for disinfection is set to wane as the worst of the pandemic passes.