What happened
Shares of Rollins (ROL 3.24%) popped 15% this past week, according to data provided by S&P Global Market Intelligence. The pest control specialist announced stronger-than-expected sales and profits. Rollins also boosted its quarterly cash payout to investors by a whopping 30%.
So what
Rollins' revenue climbed 12.2% year over year to $729.7 million in the third quarter. Acquisition-related gains nicely complemented an 8.6% rise in organic revenue, to $706 million.
"We continued to see favorable demand for our services with double-digit growth across all major service lines," CEO Gary Rollins said in a press release.
Better still, Rollins' profitability improved as it scaled its operations. Its operating income grew by 13.3% to $143.7 million, while its net income increased by 14.7% to $107.6 million, or $0.22 per share. That surpassed Wall Street's estimates, which had called for per-share profits of $0.20.
Now what
Rollins' growth-through-acquisition strategy continues to bear fruit for investors. The owner of Orkin and other popular pest control brands excels at buying smaller competitors and integrating them into its global operations. It then bolsters these companies' technology, cuts costs, and increases their profit margins. Rollins can then harvest their cash flows and reinvest in additional acquisitions.
Rollins also passes much of this cash flow on to shareholders via its rapidly growing dividend. The pest control leader boosted its quarterly cash payout by 30%, to $0.13 per share.
"Rollins has a long-standing track record of increasing our dividend as we grow our business," Chief Operating Officer Jerry Gahlhoff said. "The 30 percent increase in the regular dividend represents our commitment to return capital to shareholders and our confidence in our future."
