MARKET REPORT: Rentokil shares surge 18% as US lifts royal rat catcher

Shares in the ‘royal rat catcher’ soared after business boomed last year.

Rentokil Initial, which won contracts at Buckingham Palace in the 1960s, does everything from removing spiders hiding in cupboards to cleaning hotels infested with bed bugs.

The pest control firm said sales soared 44.7 per cent to £5.38billion in 2023, while profits jumped by two-thirds to £493million.

Shares surged 17.7 per cent, or 75.7p, to 504.2p as revenue in its pest control business – the largest in the world – rose 4.5 per cent to £4.3billion.

The division includes Terminix, a US firm it bought in 2022 for £5.2billion. 

Rentokil Initial said sales soared 44.7% to £5.38bn in 2023, while profits jumped by two-thirds to £493m

While growth weakened in North America, the blue-chip firm outlined plans to turn the business around and expects revenues in the region to rise between 2 per cent and 4 per cent this year.

‘We start 2024 with confidence in our plans,’ the company said.Adam Vettese, an analyst at investment platform Etoro, said the idea that ‘it’s far from glamorous but someone has to do it’ is likely to be a reason why investors are backing Rentokil.

On a ‘Super Thursday’ filled with updates, the FTSE 100 rose 0.2 per cent, or 13.15 points, to 7692.46 and the FTSE 250 was up 0.6 per cent, or 110.76 points, to 19,583.98. 

Gold hit a record high, at $2,164 an ounce, as investors betting on interest rate cuts piled in.

In London, cybersecurity firm Darktrace – up 6.2 per cent, or 21.7p, to 373.7p – hiked its forecasts for this year and said it would step up efforts to combat threats posed by artificial intelligence (AI).

Stock Watch – Funding Circle

An online lending platform founded to help small businesses after the 2008 financial crisis is to buy £25million worth of shares from investors.

Funding Circle, set up in 2010, said its stock price ‘materially undervalues’ the business.

It believes repurchasing shares will improve its balance sheet by rewarding shareholders. 

The firm has handed out £16billion of loans to more than 140,000 small businesses. Shares rose 54.6 per cent, or 15.3p, to 43.3p.

GKN owner Melrose slid 2.3 per cent, or 14.6p, to 617.4p as it was hit by supply chain issues.

It expects to make between £3.6billion and £3.75billion of revenue this year, following a 17 per cent rise to £3.35billion in 2023.

It warned growth will be tempered by industry-wide challenges, such as raw material shortages. 

Melrose last year spun off several GKN businesses into separate group that listed as Dowlais. It now focuses solely on GKN Aerospace.

Window component maker Tyman nursed even heavier losses following bleak annual results.

Revenues fell 8 per cent to £657.6million in 2023 while profits plunged by nearly a fifth to £50million. 

It warned that business looked set to be challenging this year but shares rose 0.5 per cent, or 1.5p, to 296.5p.

Beazley said it would buy up to £255million of shares from investors after the insurer’s profits more than doubled to a record £970million. This lifted it 0.2 per cent, or 1p, to 654p.

Despite a sharp drop in profit last year, two recruiters remained upbeat that more candidates will apply for jobs and get hired in 2024. 

Robert Walters rose 1.9 per cent, or 8p, to 421p while Page Group added 1.1 per cent, or 5.2p, to 462.4p.

Thread maker Coats said it expected business to improve this year after a tough 2023, and gained 11.4 per cent, or 7.8p, to 76.4p.

And engineer Spirax hopes to return to growth this year, in industries such as the semiconductor sector, after profits plunged 21 per cent to £244.5million.

Shares increased 3.8 per cent, or 390p, to 10,660p.

This post first appeared on Dailymail.co.uk