Shares of Rentokil (RTO) are down 17% after the pest control company lowered its forward guidance for the remainder of this year.
The owner of Terminix issued a trading update that cut its fiscal 2024 sales outlook due to ongoing weakness in the North American market.
Rentokil said it now expects second-half revenue growth of 1% in North America, down from previous guidance that had called for growth of 2% to 4%.
The pest-control company, which is based in the United Kingdom, also lowered its North American profit guidance by $26.2 million U.S., saying it plans to cut costs by managing its inventory and worker overtime.
The company said that it is seeing demand for its services decline as the U.S. economy weakens.
Activist investor Nelson Peltz is one of Rentokil’s 10 largest shareholders. In June of this year, he disclosed a sizable stake in the company. Peltz has said that he wants to help Rentokil improve its business moving forward.
Before today (Sept. 11), shares of Rentokil had declined 14% over the last 12 months to trade at $31.60 U.S. per share.
