Interim Highlights
Further delivery of financial targets - Ongoing Revenue growth of 16.0%, Ongoing Operating Profit growth of 13.0% and Free Cash Flow of £68.1m
Continued improvement in Organic Revenue growth - total Organic Revenue growth of 4.2% driven by Pest Control, +6.5% and Hygiene, +3.0%. Flat Organic Revenue in France Workwear of -0.1% (H1 2016: -3.7%)
Particularly strong execution of M&A - £206.8m spend on M&A in first half including:
o Joint venture with India's largest pest control company, PCI, a strategically important step in a country with significant growth potential - 57% stake acquired with annualised revenues in the year prior to acquisition of £47m
o Five pest control acquisitions in the US with combined annualised revenues of £61m reinforce our position as the number three player in the key North American market
o 19 further acquisitions (13 in Pest Control, five in Hygiene and one in Protect & Enhance) with combined annualised revenues of £67m
Completion of joint venture with Haniel to create a leading provider of workwear and hygiene services in Europe on 30 June 2017 and proposed divestment of eight laundries in France to Regie Linge Developpement (RLD). We aim to return our remaining France workwear operations to profitable growth by end 2018
15.2% increase in interim dividend of 1.14p
Expectations for the full year unchanged
