Rentokil boss's divi rise pledge

JAMES Wilde, new chief executive of pest control company Rentokil Initial, has ruined any chance he will be labelled 'Mr 20%' like his predecessor Sir Clive Thompson.

The Rentokil boss today vowed to increase full-year dividends for shareholders by 10% per annum after unveiling pre-tax profits of £200.5m for the six months to 30 June - a figure up 7.4% on the previous year's £186.6m.

Wilde pointed out that the world had moved on from when Thompson was delivering, and sometimes disappointing, on his much-vaunted target of delivering 20% growth in earnings per share.

Instead he aims to outpace the growth rates of the company's various operating markets and return capital to shareholders in the form of higher dividends.

The rat catcher to the Queen lifted its interim dividend 10.8% to 1.75p on the back of a 12.3% increase in earnings per share to 7.85p.