Pest-control and hygiene group Rentokil Initial today said it had no plans to break itself up as it revealed a 10 per cent fall in half-year pre-tax profits to £180.4 million sterling.
The group, which has ousted its former chairman and chief executive and warned on profits since May, insisted its problems were operational, rather than structural.
It added that its parcels and conferencing operations, the divisions that have attracted most talk of a sell-off, were "highly profitable and relatively trouble-free".
Chairman Mr Brian McGowan, who has launched a review of the business, said Rentokil did not suffer from "the problem of a good core business being held back by under-performing peripheral businesses".
Rentokil controversially parted company in May with former chairman Sir Clive Thompson after warning that annual profits would be substantially down on last year.
In July, Rentokil announced its second surprise management change in as many months with the departure of chief executive Mr James Wilde.
