British services group Rentokil Initial reported a 55.3 per cent decline in first-half profit and said a group-wide restructuring programme was continuing but warned the group's recovery would take time.
Rentokil, whose businesses range from rat catching to tropical plant hire, said trading in its textiles and washroom businesses had deteriorated in the second quarter, while its City Link courier service remained significantly loss making.
Pest control also saw signs of a slowdown in the UK and United States, Rentokil said in the results statement today.
Rentokil posted adjusted pretax profit for the six months to end June of £39.3 million (€50 million) as revenue rose 4.8 per cent to £1.12 billion.
Last month the company issued its fourth profit warning in eight months and said profit before tax, goodwill and one-off items was likely to be £35 million for the full year, down from analysts' previous consensus forecast for £151 million.
The conglomerate said it was unlikely profitability would improve this year in its UK business, adding it remained cautious about trading conditions across its continental European operations.
"Although the bulk of our problems are due to serious operational issues in the UK, many of our larger businesses in Europe are also facing a number of cost or growth challenges and we expect these problems to continue for at least the remainder of the year," chief executive Alan Brown, hired earlier this year to spearhead a turnaround, said in the statement.
Shares in Rentokil have underperformed the UK support services sector by some 25 per cent since the turn of the year.
Founded in the 1920s to sell a new rat poison, Rentokil has been battling stiff competition over the past few years and has sold its electronic security, guarding and conference units in a bid to focus on more profitable businesses.
The company slashed the interim dividend by 69.5 per cent to 0.65 pence.