Cleaning and pest control group Rentokil Initial maintained on Friday its full-year guidance despite tough trading conditions across several markets.
The company said that intense competition had squeezed sales amid a 'continued strong pricing pressure in a number of categories'.
Profits in the first half rose 39 per cent to £77million, helped by a cost-cutting drive which led to 250 job axes following the closure of a delivery hub for the company's City Link parcels division at Wednesbury, West Midlands. However, revenues in the period fell 2.3 per cent to £1.23billion.

Sales in the pest control business, which has signed a three-year contract with the government of Libya, grew 1.1 per cent to £220million.

Rentokil said that retention rates across the group were making progress, while City Link reduced its operating losses by £2.3million to £4.7million.

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