Rentokil Initial PLC (RTO) 2025 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Good morning, everyone, and welcome to our full year results presentation for 2025. After my opening remarks, Paul will provide a review of our financial performance. I will then focus on the execution of our plan in North America as well as providing a brief update on our International region, our categories and our adoption of AI. We'll then open the floor for your questions. And as usual, details of how to ask a question can be found on the web portal.

各位早安，歡迎參加我們 2025 年全年業績發表會。在我開場致詞後，Paul 將回顧我們的財務表現。接著我將聚焦於我們在北美的計畫執行情況，並就國際區域、各品類以及我們採用 AI 的進展提供簡要更新。之後我們將開放提問。如同往常，如何提問的細節可在網路入口網站上查閱。

2025 has been a year of encouraging progress with group revenues increasing by 3.8% and with organic revenue growth of 2.6%. Our H2 performance was particularly encouraging with group revenues increasing by 4.5% and with organic revenue growth being 3.5%.

2025 年是令人鼓舞、持續取得進展的一年，集團營收成長 3.8%，有機營收成長 2.6%。我們下半年（H2）的表現尤其令人振奮，集團營收成長 4.5%，有機營收成長 3.5%。

My main focus for today, however, will be on North America, looking at our performance in 2025 and how we're building on that platform in 2026. This time last year, we set out our plan for growth in North America, and it has been a year of encouraging progress with our performance, particularly in the second half, improving significantly.

不過，我今天的主要重點將放在北美，檢視我們 2025 年的表現，以及我們如何在 2026 年在此基礎上再接再厲。去年此時，我們提出北美成長計畫；這一年來進展令人鼓舞，尤其下半年表現顯著改善。

Whilst we're not there yet where we want to be, organic growth reached 2.6% in the fourth quarter. This was underpinned by strong execution, rolling out our new marketing plan, investing in our regional brands, opening 150 small local branches through our satellite program, and delivering $25 million of in-year cost savings through our efficiency program.

雖然我們距離理想目標仍有差距，但第四季有機成長已達 2.6%。這得益於強而有力的執行：推動全新行銷計畫、投資區域品牌、透過衛星計畫新增 150 個小型在地分點，並透過效率計畫在當年度實現 2,500 萬美元的成本節省。

Our International business also saw improving organic revenue growth of 3.4% in the second half. This combination of improved growth and cost efficiencies delivered adjusted operating profit growth of 5.4% and positions us well to deliver our plans for 20% net operating margins in North America next year.

我們的國際業務在下半年也呈現改善，有機營收成長達 3.4%。成長改善與成本效率的結合，使調整後營業利益成長 5.4%，並讓我們具備良好條件於明年在北美達成 20% 的淨營業利潤率目標。

Now looking to 2026, we have clear plans in place to build on the progress made last year. Our focus continues to be on growth, where we plan to expand our multi-brand strategy, deploying around 30 regional and local brands instead of the nine we had previously indicated, and we'll continue to increase our local presence, taking our network of small local branches to around 220.

展望 2026 年，我們已制定明確計畫，以延續去年取得的進展。我們的重點仍是成長：我們計畫擴大多品牌策略，部署約 30 個區域與在地品牌，而非先前所提及的 9 個；同時也將持續提升在地覆蓋，將小型在地分點網路擴增至約 220 個。

As I'll explain in a little more detail later on, the team in North America has also used the pause in integration to develop a simpler plan for the creation of a single unified field operation. On systems, we've developed a new branch data portal, meaning we can maintain our existing systems for longer. And on pay plans, we're taking a more simplified approach to harmonizing pay policy where, in essence, service colleagues joining us next year will join our new plan, whereas existing colleagues will be given the choice of the new plan or to be grandfathered in their existing plan.

如我稍後將更詳細說明，北美團隊也利用整合暫停的期間，制定更簡化的方案，以建立單一且統一的前線營運體系。在系統方面，我們開發了新的分點資料入口網站，意味著我們可以更長時間維持既有系統。在薪酬方案方面，我們採取更簡化的薪酬政策整合方式：基本上，明年加入的服務同仁將採用新方案；而現有同仁則可選擇新方案，或保留其既有方案（grandfathered）。

So this combination of maintaining more brands and their branches, continuing to use our existing branch systems, whilst also simplifying the pay plan process means less change at the front line and more focus on the customer and indeed on growth.

因此，保留更多品牌及其分點、持續使用既有分點系統，同時簡化薪酬方案流程的組合，意味著前線變動更少，能更專注於客戶，並且更聚焦於成長。

Fueling this growth and supporting our 2027 financial targets is our efficiency program, and Paul will now take you through this in more detail along with the rest of the financials.

推動這項成長並支撐我們 2027 年財務目標的是效率計畫；接下來 Paul 將就此以及其他財務內容為各位做更詳細的說明。

Thank you, Andy, and good morning, everyone. I will now walk you through our key financial highlights for 2025 and look at our regional performance in more detail before closing on cash flow and capital allocation. As a reminder, unless I state otherwise, all numbers are on a continuing operations basis following the sale of our France Workwear business, and any comparative performance is on a constant currency basis.

謝謝你，Andy，各位早安。接下來我將帶各位回顧 2025 年的主要財務亮點，並更深入說明各區域表現，最後談到現金流與資本配置。提醒各位，除非我另有說明，所有數字皆以持續經營業務為基礎（在出售法國工作服業務之後），且任何比較性表現皆以固定匯率基礎呈現。

Revenue was up 3.8% to $6.9 billion with organic revenue growth of 2.6%. Adjusted operating profit increased by 5.4% to just over $1 billion. This resulted in a group adjusted operating profit margin of 15.5%, a 30 basis point increase year-on-year. After an adjusted interest charge of $204 million, up $29 million due to the cost of additional bond debt issued in the year and an adjusted effective tax rate of 25.3%, adjusted basic EPS increased 2.4% to $0.2591.

營收成長 3.8% 至 69 億美元，有機營收成長 2.6%。調整後營業利益成長 5.4% 至略高於 10 億美元。因此，集團調整後營業利益率為 15.5%，年增 30 個基點。在調整後利息費用 2.04 億美元（因本年度新增發行債券負債的成本而增加 2,900 萬美元）以及調整後有效稅率 25.3% 之後，調整後基本每股盈餘（EPS）成長 2.4% 至 0.2591 美元。

I have spoken previously about our focus on maximizing cash, and I'm particularly pleased with our free cash flow performance with 24.5% growth to $615 million and free cash flow conversion of 98%. This reflects disciplined working capital management and also some one-off benefits, including real estate sales.

我先前曾談到我們聚焦於將現金最大化；我對自由現金流表現尤其滿意，自由現金流成長 24.5% 至 6.15 億美元，自由現金流轉換率為 98%。這反映了嚴謹的營運資金管理，以及一些一次性利多，包括不動產出售。

With the growth in profits and free cash flow and the proceeds from the sale of France Workwear, partly offset by an adverse foreign exchange impact of $181 million on year-end net debt, our leverage ratio improved to 2.6 times down from 2.9 times a year ago and close to our target range of 2 to 2.5 times. Reflecting this performance, the Board is recommending a full year dividend of $0.1239 per share, an increase of 3%, in line with our progressive dividend policy.

隨著獲利與自由現金流成長，以及出售法國工作服業務的所得（部分被年末淨負債因匯率不利影響增加 1.81 億美元所抵銷），我們的槓桿比率改善至 2.6 倍，低於一年前的 2.9 倍，並接近我們 2 至 2.5 倍的目標區間。反映此一表現，董事會建議全年每股股利為 0.1239 美元，增加 3%，符合我們的漸進式股利政策。

Turning to North America. Revenue grew 3.2% to $4.3 billion with organic growth of 2.3%. Pest Control Services was up 1.1%, while Business Services grew 8.9%. I'll come back to talk about these performances in more detail shortly.

接著談北美。營收成長 3.2% 至 43 億美元，有機成長 2.3%。害蟲防治服務成長 1.1%，而商業服務成長 8.9%。我稍後會回來更詳細說明這些表現。

Adjusted operating profit for the region was $749 million, up 5.1%, bringing our adjusted operating profit margin to 17.4%. This improvement reflects the early benefits of our cost efficiency program, which delivered $25 million of savings in the year.

該區域調整後營業利益為 7.49 億美元，成長 5.1%，使調整後營業利益率達 17.4%。此改善反映了成本效率計畫的初步效益，該計畫在本年度帶來 2,500 萬美元的節省。

Operationally, we are seeing our strategic initiatives strengthen key KPIs with colleague retention up 2.8 percentage points to 82.2% and customer retention increasing to 80.5%. We also completed 12 bolt-on acquisitions in the region with combined revenues of approximately $27 million in the year prior to purchase.

在營運面，我們看到策略性措施強化了關鍵 KPI：同仁留任率提升 2.8 個百分點至 82.2%，客戶留存率也提升至 80.5%。我們亦在該區域完成 12 件補強型併購（bolt-on acquisitions），其在收購前一年度的合計營收約為 2,700 萬美元。

Looking at our performance in North America in more detail. Fourth quarter organic revenue growth in Pest Control Services improved to 2.6% from 1.8% in the third quarter and 0.1% in the first half. This sequential improvement demonstrates the results we're seeing from the strategic initiatives we put in place at the start of this year.

更深入看北美的表現。害蟲防治服務第四季有機營收成長改善至 2.6%，高於第三季的 1.8%，也高於上半年（H1）的 0.1%。這種逐季改善顯示出我們在今年初所推動策略性措施的成效。

Lead flow, a key metric to indicate future growth in our contract portfolio, grew over 7% across the second half of the year, driven by our revised sales and marketing strategy. This has included a shift towards a more targeted digital marketing approach with a bigger focus on driving organic leads and also increased investment in our regional brands to boost lead generation and brand awareness.

潛在客戶流量（lead flow）是衡量我們合約組合未來成長的關鍵指標；在下半年整體成長超過 7%，主要由我們調整後的銷售與行銷策略所帶動。其中包括轉向更具針對性的數位行銷方式，更著重於帶動自然流量（organic leads），並加大對區域品牌的投資，以提升潛在客戶開發與品牌知名度。

The ongoing rollout of smaller local branches through the satellite program to bolster customer proximity and local presence is proving successful with branches with one of these localized hubs attached to it, generating more than double the lead flow of those without. We've also improved our execution by moving sales accountability directly back into the branches.

透過衛星計畫持續推動較小型在地分點的設立，以強化客戶就近服務與在地能見度，已證明成效良好：附設這類在地樞紐的分點，其潛在客戶流量超過未附設者的兩倍。我們也透過將銷售責任直接回歸到各分點，提升了執行力。

In addition to winning new customers, we have retained more through a relentless focus on customer service, and we've been able to sustain strong pricing discipline through the year. Andy will talk more about these initiatives shortly and how we will continue to build into 2026.

除了贏得新客戶之外，我們也透過對客戶服務的持續專注而提高留存率，並且全年得以維持強勁的定價紀律。Andy 將在稍後更詳細說明這些舉措，以及我們將如何持續建設並延伸至 2026 年。

Turning to Business Services. We were pleased with fourth quarter organic growth of 7.8% against a strong prior year comparative, which included $6 million of emergency vector control revenue, which did not repeat in 2025. Across the year, Business Services organic revenue growth of almost 9% was supported by double-digit growth in both our distribution business and our brand standards business, with the latter benefiting from significant new business wins.

接著談到商業服務（Business Services）。我們對第四季 7.8% 的有機成長感到滿意，這是在強勁的去年同期比較基礎上達成；去年同期包含 600 萬美元的緊急病媒防治收入，而該收入在 2025 年未再出現。全年而言，商業服務有機營收成長接近 9%，主要受惠於我們的配銷業務與品牌標準業務皆達到雙位數成長，其中品牌標準業務更因重大新業務得標而受益。

Throughout the year, we have been executing against our plans to simplify the North American business, improving the efficiency of our cost base and creating fuel for growth. We are increasing discipline in our day-to-day operations with improvements in organizational design and simplification of processes. The streamlining of operations led to headcount reductions of over 500 roles by the end of 2025.

全年期間，我們持續依計畫推動北美業務簡化，提升成本基礎效率並為成長創造動能。我們透過改善組織設計與簡化流程，強化日常營運的紀律。營運精簡使我們在 2025 年底前裁減超過 500 個職位。

We are also reducing cost in the business through outsourcing and moving non-core functions to lower-cost locations. This has allowed us to scale our back office operations more effectively while reducing our fixed cost base. To date, around 430 roles have successfully been offshored. We're using technology to automate manual processes and improve our overall efficiency while better leveraging the benefits of our purchasing scale through managing our third-party spend and consolidating spend with suppliers.

我們也透過外包並將非核心職能移轉至較低成本地點來降低業務成本。這使我們能更有效擴大後勤（back office）營運規模，同時降低固定成本基礎。截至目前，約有 430 個職位已成功離岸化。我們運用科技自動化人工流程並提升整體效率，同時透過管理第三方支出、並將支出集中於供應商，以更充分發揮我們採購規模的效益。

As well as reducing costs, we continue to drive improvements in how we invest our sales and marketing spend to optimize ROI and have reallocated some $20 million of marketing spend away from suboptimal paid lead activity to higher efficiency channels and campaigns. We rapidly mobilized to deliver $25 million of savings in 2025, targeting the cost areas that were easiest to impact quickly. There remains very significant opportunities for us to create efficiency in our cost base.

除了降低成本外，我們也持續改善銷售與行銷費用的投資方式，以最佳化投資報酬率（ROI）；並已將約 2,000 萬美元的行銷支出，從成效不佳的付費名單（paid lead）活動，重新配置至效率更高的通路與行銷活動。我們在 2025 年迅速動員，實現 2,500 萬美元的節省，聚焦於最容易快速產生影響的成本領域。在成本基礎效率化方面，我們仍有非常顯著的機會可挖掘。

As we drive up efficiency in the business, we are also investing back in a targeted way to drive organic growth. In 2025, this has included incremental marketing investment and strategic initiatives such as the rollout of smaller local branches and enhancing our capabilities in areas from pricing to data insight. This is helping us to identify the levers to elevate performance and amplify the benefits of our strategic initiatives.

在提升業務效率的同時，我們也以更具針對性的方式再投資，以推動有機成長。2025 年的作法包括增加行銷投資，以及推動策略性舉措，例如推出較小型的在地分點，並強化從定價到數據洞察等領域的能力。這有助於我們辨識提升績效的槓桿，並放大策略性舉措所帶來的效益。

Improving our data has been and will continue to be fundamental to our ability to optimize our marketing budgets to maximize our reach into available customer demand. We have already delivered a double-digit reduction in our cost per lead, and there is more to do. Balancing driving cost out with funding investments behind sustainable improvements in organic growth has been key to improving both top line growth and profit margin, and we will continue to balance this carefully as we progress towards our North America margin target of over 20% in 2027.

改善數據一直是、且將持續是我們最佳化行銷預算、以最大化觸及可得客戶需求之能力的根本。我們已將每筆名單成本（cost per lead）降低至雙位數幅度，且仍有進一步改善空間。在推動成本下降與為可持續的有機成長改善提供投資資金之間取得平衡，是同時提升營收成長與利潤率的關鍵；隨著我們朝 2027 年北美利潤率目標（超過 20%）邁進，我們將持續謹慎維持此一平衡。

Moving to our International business, which encompasses all regions outside North America. Revenue grew 4.8% to $2.6 billion with organic revenue up 3%. Organic revenue growth improved in the second half, up 3.4% compared to 2.6% in the first half. We saw our strongest performance in Europe, driven by healthy demand and solid pricing in Southern Europe, while growth in Asia was supported by the fast-growing economies of India and Indonesia.

接著談到我們的國際業務，涵蓋北美以外的所有地區。營收成長 4.8% 至 26 億美元，有機營收成長 3%。有機營收成長在下半年改善至 3.4%，相較上半年為 2.6%。我們在歐洲表現最強，主要受南歐健康需求與穩健定價帶動；而亞洲的成長則受印度與印尼等快速成長經濟體支撐。

Adjusted operating profit increased 5.7% to $518 million, with margins increasing 20 basis points to 19.8%. The UK and Sub-Sahara Africa delivered double-digit growth, reflecting a strong revenue performance. Asia and MENAT also displayed margin resilience despite a backdrop of high wage inflation. Customer retention remained strong at 85.7%, and excellent colleague retention was seen throughout the year at 90.3%. We also completed 24 acquisitions in the region with combined annualized revenues of approximately $36 million.

調整後營業利益成長 5.7% 至 5.18 億美元，利潤率提升 20 個基點至 19.8%。英國與撒哈拉以南非洲實現雙位數成長，反映強勁的營收表現。儘管薪資通膨高企，亞洲與 MENAT 地區亦展現利潤率韌性。客戶留存率維持強勁於 85.7%，且全年同仁留任率表現優異達 90.3%。我們亦在該地區完成 24 項併購，合計年化營收約 3,600 萬美元。

Turning now to central costs, which in the year were $191 million, up almost 7% and up 9% at actual rates with some 85% of our central costs in sterling. In addition to underlying inflation, this growth represents multiyear ongoing investments in proprietary technology, digital applications and AI capabilities to support colleague efficiency, customer satisfaction and to generate revenue.

接著談到總部成本（central costs），全年為 1.91 億美元，成長近 7%；按實際匯率計成長 9%，且我們約 85% 的總部成本以英鎊計價。除基礎通膨外，這項成長反映我們多年期、持續投入自有技術、數位應用與 AI 能力，以支持同仁效率、提升客戶滿意度並創造營收。

In 2026, we expect continued above inflation rates of growth in addition to an FX headwind. One-off and adjusting items, excluding termites, were $92 million in 2025, primarily incurred in North America as part of the overall cost efficiency program. Looking forward to 2026, we are expecting a similar level of spend.

2026 年，我們預期在匯率逆風之外，總部成本仍將以高於通膨的速度成長。一次性及調整項目（不含白蟻）在 2025 年為 9,200 萬美元，主要於北美發生，作為整體成本效率計畫的一部分。展望 2026 年，我們預期支出水準將大致相當。

Moving now to the termite provision, which, across the year, we have increased by $201 million with an additional $122 million in the second half after the $79 million in half one. The trends that we saw in the first half of the year have continued. These included an increase in the number of complex residential and commercial litigation claims compared to 2024, albeit at a lower level than at the time of acquisition. More detail on this is included in a slide in the appendix, and a continued increase in cost per claim as our proactive strategy to solve customer problems and reduce litigation continues.

接著談白蟻準備（termite provision）。全年我們增加 2.01 億美元，其中下半年在上半年 7,900 萬美元之後，再額外增加 1.22 億美元。我們在上半年看到的趨勢仍在延續。包括相較 2024 年，複雜的住宅與商業訴訟索賠件數增加，儘管仍低於收購時的水準。更多細節載於附錄中的一張投影片；此外，隨著我們持續採取主動策略以解決客戶問題並降低訴訟，單件索賠成本亦持續上升。

In addition, during the second half, we have resolved numerous large commercial legacy claims at a cost ahead of the historic average and increased the long-term inflation assumption in our provision model from 2% to 3.2% as a result of persistently high inflation in legal defense, housing and building materials costs. The cash cost of settling claims in 2025 was $95 million, and we expect a similar level of cash payments in 2026.

此外，在下半年，我們以高於歷史平均的成本解決了多起大型商業歷史遺留索賠，並因法律辯護、住宅及建材成本持續高通膨，將準備模型中的長期通膨假設由 2% 上調至 3.2%。2025 年用於和解索賠的現金成本為 9,500 萬美元，我們預期 2026 年的現金支付水準將大致相當。

Turning now to cash flow. We generated free cash flow from continuing operations of $615 million, representing an adjusted free cash flow conversion of 98%. This was ahead of our guidance of 80% and a further improvement from the half year. We reduced the working capital outflow by $67 million to an outflow of $59 million through our disciplined focus on debtor management and supplier harmonization, moving to more consistent credit terms across our supplier base.

接著談現金流。我們自持續經營業務產生自由現金流 6.15 億美元，代表調整後自由現金流轉換率為 98%。這高於我們 80% 的指引，且較半年報再進一步改善。我們透過對應收帳款管理與供應商整合的嚴格紀律，將營運資金流出減少 6,700 萬美元至流出 5,900 萬美元，並在供應商基礎上推動更一致的信用條件。

Although some of this improvement was one-off in nature, the underlying discipline remains, and we are focused on continuing to improve in this important area. Our overall free cash flow conversion also benefited from $20 million of real estate sales. Our gross CapEx of $196 million was in line with guidance, and we would expect a similar level of spend in 2026.

儘管其中部分改善屬一次性因素，但其背後的紀律仍在，我們也將持續聚焦於在此重要領域進一步改善。我們整體自由現金流轉換率亦受惠於 2,000 萬美元的不動產出售。我們的資本支出總額（gross CapEx）為 1.96 億美元，符合指引；我們預期 2026 年支出水準將大致相當。

Cash interest increased by $41 million to $222 million following our refinancing activities earlier in the year. Cash tax was $7 million lower at $100 million, mainly due to legislative changes in the U.S. Looking ahead, we continue to target a free cash flow conversion above 80%.

由於我們在年初進行再融資活動，現金利息增加 4,100 萬美元至 2.22 億美元。現金稅金減少 700 萬美元至 1 億美元，主要因美國法規變更所致。展望未來，我們仍以自由現金流轉換率高於 80% 為目標。

Our strong operational cash generation, combined with strategic divestments, has allowed us to make progress in strengthening the balance sheet. Net debt at the end of the year was $3.65 billion compared to $4 billion at the start of the period. The key cash inflows in the year were $636 million of free cash flow and $391 million in net proceeds from the sale of our France Workwear business, which completed on the of September 30, 2025.

我們強勁的營運現金產生能力，加上策略性資產處分，使我們在強化資產負債表方面取得進展。年末淨負債為36.5億美元，較期初的40億美元下降。本年度主要現金流入包括6.36億美元的自由現金流，以及出售我們法國工作服業務的淨所得3.91億美元；該交易已於2025年9月30日完成。

Beyond the immediate cash influx, this disposal has simplified our International business, reduced our ongoing capital expenditure requirements and structurally improved our group cash conversion. We reinvested $121 million of cash in bolt-on M&A, which remains core to our growth strategy. This was less than originally planned with some slippage of deals into 2026.

除了即時的現金挹注之外，這項處分也簡化了我們的國際業務，降低了持續性的資本支出需求，並在結構上提升了本集團的現金轉換率。我們將1.21億美元現金再投資於補強型併購（bolt-on M&A），這仍是我們成長策略的核心。該金額低於原先規劃，部分交易延後至2026年完成。

Our pipeline for 2026 remains strong, and we're targeting spend of around $200 million. The cash impact from one-off and adjusting items amounted to $100 million for the year. These costs were largely attributable to transformation costs in North America, which, combined with other cash one-off items, will be a further outflow of around $80 million to $85 million in 2026. Our closing net debt was impacted by $181 million adverse FX translation movement. Nonetheless, we are pleased to see progressive strengthening in our balance sheet with our net debt to adjusted EBITDA ratio reducing from 2.9 times to 2.6 times bringing us close to our target range of 2 to 2.5 times.

我們2026年的案源管線仍然強勁，目標支出約2億美元。本年度一次性及調整項目的現金影響合計為1億美元。這些成本主要來自北美的轉型成本；加上其他一次性現金項目，2026年將再有約8,000萬至8,500萬美元的現金流出。我們期末淨負債亦受到1.81億美元不利的外匯換算變動影響。儘管如此，我們樂見資產負債表持續強化，淨負債對調整後EBITDA比率由2.9倍降至2.6倍，使我們更接近2至2.5倍的目標區間。

Turning now to capital allocation, where our framework is built around five key priorities designed to balance growth, shareholder returns and financial resilience. Our primary focus is on organic investment as it drives the best ROI, deploying capital to support the long-term growth of our business. We will also continue to pursue targeted inorganic growth through bolt-on M&A. We have a strong track record of successfully integrating acquisitions to drive value creation, and we will remain selective and strategic in identifying opportunities that complement our existing portfolio, strengthen our market position and deliver long-term shareholder value.

接著談資本配置；我們的框架建立在五項關鍵優先事項之上，旨在平衡成長、股東回報與財務韌性。我們的首要重點是有機投資，因其能帶來最佳投資報酬率（ROI），並投入資本以支持業務的長期成長。我們也將持續透過補強型併購追求具針對性的非有機成長。我們在成功整合收購以創造價值方面具備良好紀錄，並將持續以審慎且策略性的方式尋找能補強既有組合、強化市場地位並為股東帶來長期價值的機會。

We remain committed to a progressive dividend policy, ensuring that dividends grow over time. Our approach reflects confidence in the underlying strength of our business and our ability to generate consistent cash flows while maintaining financial flexibility. We recognize the importance of returning excess capital to shareholders at the appropriate time. When we do have surplus capital beyond our reinvestment needs, we will evaluate opportunities to return it, always ensuring that such actions align with our broader financial strategy.

我們仍致力於採取逐步提高的股利政策，確保股利隨時間成長。此一作法反映我們對業務基本面實力及持續產生穩定現金流的能力充滿信心，同時維持財務彈性。我們也理解在適當時點將超額資本回饋股東的重要性。當我們在滿足再投資需求後仍有剩餘資本時，我們將評估回饋機會，並始終確保相關行動符合我們更廣泛的財務策略。

Finally, we remain focused on maintaining a strong and resilient balance sheet. Overall, our capital allocation strategy is designed to strike the right balance between investing for the future, delivering long-term value to shareholders and maintaining financial strength.

最後，我們仍專注於維持強健且具韌性的資產負債表。整體而言，我們的資本配置策略旨在於投資未來、為股東創造長期價值與維持財務實力之間取得適當平衡。

So in summary, we have delivered an in-line performance in 2025. We are encouraged by the clear signs that our revised North America strategy is working and the improvement in growth in the second half from our International businesses. Our focus on cash is improving our operational cash conversion and reducing leverage towards our target range. As we balance investing in sustainable organic growth and driving up the efficiency of the business, we remain firmly on track to achieve our $100 million cost reduction target and our goal of a North America margin above 20% in 2027.

總結而言，我們在2025年交出符合預期的表現。我們受到明確跡象鼓舞，顯示我們修訂後的北美策略正在奏效，且國際業務在下半年成長有所改善。我們對現金的聚焦正在提升營運現金轉換率，並將槓桿水準降低至目標區間。在兼顧投資可持續的有機成長與提升營運效率之際，我們仍穩步朝向達成1億美元成本削減目標，以及於2027年實現北美利潤率高於20%的目標。

Although the first month of 2026 in the US has seen some disruption from extreme weather, as we look forward, we have confidence in delivering in line with market expectations.

儘管2026年在美國的第一個月因極端天氣出現一些干擾，但展望未來，我們有信心交出符合市場預期的表現。

Thank you. I will now hand you back to Andy.

謝謝。我現在把時間交回給Andy。

Thank you, Paul. So over the next few minutes, I'm going to start by highlighting the strength of the pest control market, both in the US and globally before diving into North America's performance. I'll then finish with brief updates on our international growth and emerging markets, on our two categories and on the good progress we are making with the use of generative AI across the business.

謝謝你，Paul。接下來幾分鐘，我將先強調害蟲防治市場在美國及全球的強勁態勢，然後深入說明北美的表現。最後，我會簡要更新我們的國際成長與新興市場、我們的兩大品類，以及我們在全公司推動生成式AI應用所取得的良好進展。

As you can see, the global pest control market has demonstrated consistent, resilient growth, expanding from $15.4 billion a decade ago to an estimated $29 billion in 2025. This represents a robust 6.6% compound annual growth rate over the last 10 years. Looking ahead, the market forecast for growth in the pest control industry remains very healthy with a projected 6.2% CAGR through to 2035.

如各位所見，全球害蟲防治市場展現出持續且具韌性的成長，從十年前的154億美元擴大至2025年估計的290億美元。這相當於過去10年6.6%的強勁年複合成長率（CAGR）。展望未來，害蟲防治產業的市場成長預測仍非常健康，預計至2035年CAGR為6.2%。

This growth is driven by multiple consistent factors, including increasing urbanization and growing middle classes, which drive demand for professional pest services. Heightened demand for higher hygiene standards across all sectors and as you would expect, climate change are also contributing to a rise in pest activity, all combining to create a sustained need for our services.

此一成長由多項持續性因素驅動，包括都市化加速與中產階級擴大，帶動對專業害蟲服務的需求。各產業對更高衛生標準的需求提升，以及如各位所預期的氣候變遷亦促使害蟲活動增加；上述因素共同推動我們服務的持續需求。

In Hygiene & Wellbeing, which accounted for 17% of group revenues in 2025, we are the leaders in an attractive global market, which is expected to grow at around 4% annually through to 2030. This is being driven by an aging global population and their increasing hygiene needs, social and demographic trends such as urbanization and increasing middle classes, so similar to pest control, a heightened focus on hygiene standards post the pandemic and greater environmental and regulatory compliance requirements. So we're operating in two very healthy global markets.

在「衛生與福祉」（Hygiene & Wellbeing）方面，該業務於2025年占集團營收的17%；我們在這個具吸引力的全球市場中居於領導地位，預期至2030年每年約成長4%。成長動能來自全球人口老化及其日益增加的衛生需求，以及都市化與中產階級擴大等社會與人口趨勢；因此與害蟲防治相似，疫情後對衛生標準的關注提高，以及更高的環境與法規遵循要求亦是推力。因此，我們正營運於兩個非常健康的全球市場。

Let's now get into the main focus of today's presentation, that's our plan for North America, where we're continuing on our journey to create an undisputed powerhouse in pest control. This is founded on a number of key themes. First, as I've just shown, we operate in an attractive non-cyclical growth market with the US accounting for approximately 50% of the world's pest control market and where we are now a leader for commercial, residential and termite services.

現在進入今天簡報的主要重點，也就是我們的北美計畫；我們正持續推進，打造害蟲防治領域無可爭議的強大領導者。此計畫建立在數個關鍵主題之上。第一，如我剛才所示，我們所處的是具吸引力、非景氣循環的成長市場；美國約占全球害蟲防治市場的50%，而我們如今已是商用、住宅及白蟻服務的領導者。

Second, we are laser-focused on scale and on density. And this is not just about size. It's a fundamental understanding of how density unlocks significant economies of scale and efficiency opportunities.

第二，我們高度聚焦於規模與密度。這不僅僅是規模大小。而是對「密度如何釋放顯著的規模經濟與效率機會」的根本理解。

Third, we are building power brands like Terminix and other well-known regional brands such as Western Exterminator and Florida Pest Control, giving us strong brand equity in every city in the United States and, in turn, supporting other parts of the business' need for local digital leads, local sales, local pricing and recruitment.

第三，我們正在打造如Terminix等強勢品牌，以及其他知名的區域品牌，例如Western Exterminator與Florida Pest Control，使我們在美國每一座城市都擁有強大的品牌資產，進而支援業務其他面向對在地數位線索、在地銷售、在地定價與招募的需求。

And finally, everything is powered by our proven, repeatable low-cost operating model, centered on being an employer of choice and maintaining an unwavering focus on customer service. Importantly, as you know, we are primarily a contract-based portfolio business with around 75% of Pest Control revenues in the US being under contract.

最後，一切都由我們經驗證、可複製的低成本營運模式所驅動，其核心在於成為首選雇主，並始終如一地專注於客戶服務。重要的是，如各位所知，我們主要是以合約為基礎的組合型業務，在美國約有75%的害蟲防治營收來自合約。

Now looking back, the integration of Terminix required two main thrusts: Firstly, to create a unified enterprise in the US; and secondly, to create a single unified field operation. To date, at an enterprise level, we've successfully established a single leadership structure. We've completed the complex legal merger. We've aligned on our core back-office stack of systems, for example, for people management. We've introduced a single approach to procurement, and we've harmonized our management salary and benefit structure.

回顧過去，整合Terminix需要兩大主軸：第一，在美國建立一個統一的企業體；第二，建立單一且統一的前線營運。截至目前，在企業層面，我們已成功建立單一的領導架構。我們已完成複雜的法律合併。我們已就核心後勤系統堆疊達成一致，例如人員管理系統。我們導入了單一的採購方法，並統一了管理階層的薪酬與福利架構。

Crucially, we've also made investments that will drive future performance. We've launched our first U.S. Pest Innovation Center, which is focused on residential pest control, termite and mosquitoes. We've placed an intense focus on being an employer of choice, making excellent progress in turning around colleague retention, particularly within Terminix. And we've also invested in new data and pricing capabilities. These are all important steps in unlocking the true long-term potential of the combined business.

關鍵在於，我們也進行了將推動未來績效的投資。我們已啟動首個美國害蟲防治創新中心，聚焦於住宅害蟲防治、白蟻與蚊蟲。我們也高度聚焦成為首選雇主，在扭轉同仁留任方面取得卓越進展，尤其是在 Terminix。此外，我們也投資於新的數據與定價能力。這些都是釋放合併後業務真正長期潛力的重要步驟。

Now as you know, in 2024, we began pilot migrations to create a single unified field operation. And while these were very successful at delivering the expected cost synergies, and they did not negatively impact on the retention of our field-based colleagues, we did, however, experience a negative impact on our growth. The combination of fewer locations and a complex change agenda saw lower levels of inbound leads and some customers reacting negatively to the change in their technicians, eventually leading to lower customer retention in the migrated branches.

如各位所知，2024 年我們開始試點遷移，以建立單一、統一的外勤營運。雖然這些試點在實現預期成本協同方面非常成功，且並未對外勤同仁的留任造成負面影響，但我們確實在成長方面受到負面衝擊。據點數量減少與複雜的變革議程相結合，導致來電/來訊等主動洽詢線索（inbound leads）水準下降，部分客戶也對技師更換產生負面反應，最終使已遷移分支的客戶留存率下降。

Therefore, we made a decision to pause the full-scale migration throughout last year and to focus on returning the business to growth. This time last year, we outlined a new growth plan to address the root causes of the lead flow and customer retention reductions. And as you know, we saw encouraging signs of progress at the half year and again at Q3. And pleasingly, this has continued into the fourth quarter.

因此，我們決定在去年暫停全面遷移，並專注於讓業務重回成長。就在去年此時，我們提出一項新的成長計畫，以解決線索流量與客戶留存下降的根本原因。如各位所知，我們在上半年以及第三季都看到令人鼓舞的進展跡象。令人欣喜的是，這一趨勢延續到了第四季。

The detailed plan that we set out in 2025 extended across a number of key areas, but was essentially focused on operational execution. For leads, we revised the marketing plan to add greater emphasis on organic leads on more local web content and on beginning to leverage AI optimization for local search. For 2025, we focused on nine core regional brands alongside the Terminix brand, and a key part of the plan was to roll out our small branches under the satellite program to give us greater customer proximity.

我們在 2025 年提出的詳細計畫涵蓋多個關鍵領域，但本質上聚焦於營運執行。在獲取線索方面，我們修訂行銷計畫，更加強調透過更在地化的網站內容取得自然流量線索（organic leads），並開始運用 AI 最佳化在地搜尋。在 2025 年，我們除 Terminix 品牌外，亦聚焦九個核心區域品牌；計畫的一個關鍵部分，是在衛星（satellite）計畫下推動小型分支據點，以提升我們與客戶的接近度。

For sales, we moved ownership of field operations back into the branches, making the branch managers fully accountable for their local sales performance. This was coupled with a dedicated door-to-door pilot over the summer in around 25 territories. And as Paul has already highlighted, we also began driving business simplification, including the outsourcing of a number of key functional activities. Whilst this was all underway, our North America team has been working on plans to build on the successes of 2025 and to introduce a much simpler approach to branches, brands, systems and to pay.

在銷售方面，我們將外勤營運的責任重新下放回各分支，讓分支經理對其在地銷售表現負全責。同時，我們在夏季於約 25 個區域推行專門的逐戶拜訪（door-to-door）試點。此外，如 Paul 已提到，我們也開始推動業務簡化，包括將若干關鍵職能活動外包。在上述工作推進之際，我們北美團隊也在制定計畫，將在 2025 年成功基礎上再向前一步，並為分支、品牌、系統與薪酬導入更簡化的方法。

So let me provide a brief update. Our people, of course, are our greatest asset and our commitment to being an employer of choice is yielding excellent results. We've seen a 19% improvement in Terminix technician retention since the acquisition. And in 2025, North America colleague retention was up a further 2.8% to 82.2%. This is absolutely foundational to our future success.

接下來我簡要更新一下。我們的人才當然是最重要的資產，而我們致力成為首選雇主的承諾正帶來極佳成果。自收購以來，我們看到 Terminix 技師留任率提升了 19%。而在 2025 年，北美同仁留任率再提升 2.8 個百分點至 82.2%。這對我們未來成功而言是絕對的基礎。

On the customer front, we delivered very encouraging improvements in customer satisfaction ratings, and we've continued our focus on the end-to-end customer experience, delivering a 0.4 percentage increase in customer retention now at 80.5%. And this will continue to be an area of maximum focus going forward.

在客戶方面，我們在客戶滿意度評分上取得非常令人鼓舞的改善；同時我們持續聚焦端到端的客戶體驗，使客戶留存率提升 0.4 個百分點至 80.5%。未來這仍將是我們最優先聚焦的領域之一。

Our marketing focus shifted in 2025 to generate more organic leads through local brands and local content, where we optimize the content of around 1,200 individual web pages. And while only a very small part of the overall impact last year, we've also begun to leverage AI to optimize our local search presence so that when customers need pest control, Terminix is increasingly the AI cited domain to be shown in the search results.

我們在 2025 年將行銷重點轉向透過在地品牌與在地內容產生更多自然流量線索，並對約 1,200 個獨立網頁的內容進行最佳化。雖然去年對整體影響仍僅占很小一部分，但我們也開始運用 AI 來最佳化在地搜尋能見度，使得當客戶需要害蟲防治時，Terminix 越來越常成為 AI 引用的網域，並出現在搜尋結果中。

Critically, the successful rollout of our local network of new small branches under the successful satellite program brings us much closer to the neighborhoods where our target customers are living. By the end of last year, we had around 150 of these small branches open.

關鍵在於，在成功的衛星計畫下，我們成功推出在地新設小型分支網絡，使我們更貼近目標客戶居住的社區。截至去年底，我們已開設約 150 個這類小型分支。

In addition, our successful toe in the water with a dedicated door-to-door sales program in 25 territories last year will be expanded to around 40 territories this year. This local approach was reinforced with our focus on nine regional and local brands alongside Terminix, which together drove a turnaround in residential lead flow, which was up 7.1% in the second half against the same period last year.

此外，我們去年在 25 個區域試行專門的逐戶拜訪銷售計畫並取得初步成功，今年將擴大至約 40 個區域。這種在地化做法，配合我們在 Terminix 之外聚焦九個區域與在地品牌的策略，共同帶動住宅端線索流量回升；下半年住宅端線索流量較去年同期成長 7.1%。

As you've already heard from Paul, in addition to growth, efficiency was a big theme for 2025 and will continue to be so in 2026. Clearly, improving our marketing, our lead generation and our sales execution only matters if we're efficiently installing and subsequently billing our new customers. We continue to focus on increasing our speed to install rate.

如各位已從 Paul 那裡聽到的，除了成長之外，效率也是 2025 年的重要主題，並將在 2026 年持續。顯然，改善行銷、線索生成與銷售執行，只有在我們能夠高效率地完成新客戶的安裝/導入並隨後開立帳單時才有意義。我們持續聚焦提升安裝速度（speed to install rate）。

And in 2025, we introduced new KPIs to track the percentage of installs within 24 and 48 hours of signing. Overall, performance was good in '25, but this is another area where there is room for further improvement this year.

在 2025 年，我們導入新的 KPI，用以追蹤簽約後 24 小時與 48 小時內完成安裝的比例。整體而言，2025 年表現良好，但這也是今年仍有進一步改善空間的領域。

By improving these operational performance areas, we have, in turn, improved our financial performance. Organic growth for Pest Control Services increased through the year, achieving 2.2% in H2 compared to 0.1% in the first half. This culminated in a strong fourth quarter, delivering organic growth of 2.6%. And importantly, the progress on contract revenue was particularly pleasing, up by 2.4% in Q4, alongside a healthy 5.6% increase in jobs. So an encouraging 2025 and one on which to build in 2026.

透過改善這些營運績效領域，我們也進一步提升了財務表現。害蟲防治服務的有機成長率在全年逐步提升，下半年達 2.2%，相較上半年為 0.1%。最終在第四季表現強勁，實現 2.6% 的有機成長。更重要的是，合約收入的進展尤其令人欣喜，第四季成長 2.4%，同時工單量（jobs）健康成長 5.6%。因此，2025 年令人鼓舞，也為 2026 年奠定可持續發展的基礎。

Our brand strategy is a core lever for growth and the original plan focused primarily on both the core Terminix and Rentokil brands. The new plan outlined last year saw us add investment and focus on nine highly recognized regional and local brands, which included the relaunch of their stand-alone websites and which delivered an encouraging increase in our inbound lead flow.

我們的品牌策略是成長的核心槓桿，而原先計畫主要聚焦於 Terminix 與 Rentokil 兩大核心品牌。去年提出的新計畫，讓我們加大投資並聚焦九個高度知名的區域與在地品牌，包括重新上線其獨立網站，並帶來令人鼓舞的主動洽詢線索流量提升。

And going forward, we will now invest in around 30 brands and support each of them with our best practice digital and marketing approaches. We'll have the Terminix brand as our national flagship, the nine brands that we supported last year and a further 20 local and regional brands in key cities where their local brand equity is strong.

展望未來，我們將投資約 30 個品牌，並以最佳實務的數位與行銷方法支持每一個品牌。我們將以 Terminix 作為全國旗艦品牌，包含去年支持的九個品牌，並在關鍵城市再加入 20 個在地與區域品牌，這些城市的在地品牌資產（brand equity）較強。

Next, our focus is on the local branch network. And I've already highlighted the impact of the 2024 pilots and our pivot this time last year to focus on more branches. We've now added 150 small local branches, and the path forward is to continue that rollout, where we will open an additional 70 in 2026, taking our local network of branches to around 800 by the end of this year. This combination of keeping more local brands and their branches and by expanding our network of small branches as part of the satellite program gives us greater customer proximity and a stronger local brand presence.

接下來，我們的重點是本地分支網絡。我已提到 2024 年試點的影響，以及我們在去年此時轉向聚焦更多分支的策略。我們目前已新增 150 個小型在地分支，接下來將持續推進該擴張；我們將在 2026 年再開設 70 個，使我們的在地分支網絡在今年底達到約 800 個。透過保留更多在地品牌及其分支，並在衛星計畫下擴大小型分支網絡的組合，我們能更貼近客戶，並建立更強的在地品牌能見度。

The most significant recent refinement to our plan involves our approach to data and branch systems harmonization. Our updated approach provides us with the immediate benefits of operational harmonization. We're launching Branch 360, which is a unified reporting and insight solution. It's been designed to provide a single pane of glass for our field leadership and our sales and marketing teams.

我們近期對計畫所做的最重要精進，涉及我們在資料與分公司系統整合（協調一致）方面的作法。我們更新後的作法，讓我們能立即享有營運一致化的效益。我們正在推出 Branch 360，這是一套整合式的報表與洞察解決方案。其設計旨在為我們的前線領導團隊以及銷售與行銷團隊提供單一視窗（single pane of glass）的資訊呈現。

By integrating data across our current branch infrastructure, this system-agnostic platform delivers consistent KPIs and daily accountability without being dependent on a single fully integrated back-end system. This ensures a standardized management experience across the entire organization regardless of the legacy platforms in place at the local level.

透過整合我們現有分公司基礎架構中的資料，這個與系統無關的平台可在不依賴單一、完全整合的後端系統的情況下，提供一致的 KPI 與每日問責機制。這可確保整個組織在不受各地端既有（legacy）平台影響的前提下，擁有標準化的管理體驗。

Going forward, every branch manager will utilize a standardized performance interface that displays critical financial, operational, leads and sales metrics. Rather than requiring managers to manually extract and interpret data, Branch 360 will push actionable insights and reports directly to them on a daily basis.

展望未來，每位分公司經理都將使用一套標準化的績效介面，呈現關鍵的財務、營運、商機（leads）與銷售指標。Branch 360 不再要求經理手動擷取並解讀資料，而是會每日將可採取行動的洞察與報表直接推送給他們。

Finally, the team in North America has also developed a new approach for pay plans. The original plan required a branch-by-branch system harmonization to have been implemented before we could change the pay plans.

最後，北美團隊也針對薪酬方案（pay plans）制定了新的作法。原先的方案要求必須先完成逐一分公司的系統整合（協調一致），我們才能調整薪酬方案。

Our new approach is to decouple pay plan implementation from systems harmonization. This year, we will harmonize branch manager pay, and then we'll focus on sales team pay in commercial pest control. This removes complexity and frustration of the different plans, and it's something that we expect to be well received.

我們的新作法是將薪酬方案的導入與系統整合（協調一致）脫鉤。今年，我們將先統一分公司經理的薪酬，接著把重點放在商用病蟲害防治的銷售團隊薪酬。這將消除不同方案帶來的複雜性與挫折感，我們預期會獲得良好回響。

Finally, for our largest population, the technicians, we're taking a very pragmatic approach. New colleagues will be onboarded directly onto the new plan from 2027. However, we will give our current colleagues the choice to either opt into the new plan or to be grandfathered in their existing plan with no obligation to change.

最後，針對我們人數最多的族群——技術人員——我們採取非常務實的作法。自 2027 年起，新進同仁將直接採用新方案完成到職導入（onboard）。然而，我們會讓現有同仁自行選擇：可選擇加入新方案，或在無需變更義務的情況下，沿用既有方案並享有既得權益（grandfathered）。

To conclude our dive into North America, we've continued to make good progress on employer of choice and on customer service. We've increased residential lead flow, underpinned by the rollout of 150 small local branches and our additional brands. This execution has led to an improved organic growth performance, which was particularly encouraging in the fourth quarter.

總結我們對北美的深入說明，我們在「首選雇主」與客戶服務方面持續取得良好進展。在 150 家小型在地分公司的推廣，以及我們新增品牌的支撐下，我們提升了住宅端商機流量。這樣的執行帶動了更佳的有機成長表現，第四季尤其令人振奮。

Going forward, we're building on this growth platform with a focus on 30 brands and increasing the number of small local branches, which will continue to roll out at pace this year. And we now have a new simpler approach for branch data and systems and for pay plans. There is still a lot of work to be done, but clearly, we are seeing encouraging progress.

展望未來，我們將在此成長平台上持續發力，聚焦 30 個品牌並增加小型在地分公司的數量，今年也將持續加速推展。同時，我們現在也針對分公司資料與系統，以及薪酬方案，採用更簡化的新作法。仍有大量工作要完成，但顯然我們正看到令人鼓舞的進展。

So before we conclude and take any questions, a brief look at International and our categories as well as at generative AI, which I know will be of interest to you. As you saw earlier, our International businesses continue to operate in strong and resilient growth markets, with revenue in Pest Control up 5.4% in 2025 and increasing by 4% in Hygiene & Wellbeing.

在我們結束並進入提問之前，先簡要看看國際業務與各品類，以及生成式 AI——我知道這會是各位關注的重點。如同先前所示，我們的國際業務持續在強勁且具韌性的成長市場中運作；2025 年病蟲害防治（Pest Control）營收成長 5.4%，而衛生與健康（Hygiene & Wellbeing）營收成長 4%。

International growth markets delivered a solid financial performance with our revenue up 4.4% and profit up by 4.7%. Here, technology and innovation are our core competitive advantages. Our PestConnect deployment continues to progress well with around 100,000 additional devices installed in 2025, bringing our total to over 600,000. And in the Netherlands, for example, over 50% of our commercial pest control portfolio is now connected through technology.

國際成長市場交出穩健的財務表現，營收成長 4.4%，獲利成長 4.7%。在這裡，科技與創新是我們的核心競爭優勢。我們的 PestConnect 部署持續順利推進，2025 年新增安裝約 100,000 台裝置，使總數超過 600,000 台。例如在荷蘭，我們的商用病蟲害防治組合中，已有超過 50% 透過科技完成連網。

Our emerging markets continue to perform well, posting revenue growth of 6.2% and profit growth of 10.8%. And here, we are continuing to execute our cities of the future M&A strategy to capitalize on the development of the mega cities, which has resulted in 24 deals over the last three years and has secured leading market positions in key growth markets, including India and Indonesia, and this will be an outstanding platform for future long-term growth.

我們的新興市場持續表現亮眼，營收成長 6.2%，獲利成長 10.8%。同時，我們持續執行「未來城市」的併購（M&A）策略，以掌握超級城市發展所帶來的機會；過去三年已完成 24 筆交易，並在包括印度與印尼在內的關鍵成長市場取得領先的市場地位，這也將成為未來長期成長的卓越平台。

I won't go into this slide in detail, but it's a summary of our overall Pest Control category performance globally and where organic revenue growth increased from 1.8% in the first half to 3.4% in the second. And similarly, in Hygiene & Wellbeing, which increased organic growth from 0.9% in the first half to 3.6% in the second and, as you can see, has delivered consistent revenue growth post pandemic.

我不會詳細解讀這張投影片，但它總結了我們全球病蟲害防治品類的整體表現：有機營收成長率從上半年 1.8% 提升至下半年 3.4%。同樣地，在衛生與健康（Hygiene & Wellbeing）方面，有機成長率也從上半年 0.9% 提升至下半年 3.6%；如各位所見，疫情後我們持續交出一致的營收成長。

So this is my 50th and my last presentation to you. And looking ahead, if there's just one area in particular that I will be very excited to see develop, it's how the business adopts generative AI to enhance its productivity and efficiency as well as providing further service differentiation to our increasingly digital savvy customer base.

因此，這是我第 50 次、也是最後一次向各位進行簡報。展望未來，如果只能選一個我特別期待看到發展的領域，那就是企業如何採用生成式 AI，以提升生產力與效率，並為日益數位化、精通科技的客戶群帶來更進一步的服務差異化。

Although clearly, it's still early days, we're making good progress. In 2025, we successfully launched Google Gemini AI to all 60,000 plus of our colleagues, and we had over 1 million users in just the first six months alone. On the service side, our innovations like PestConnect Optix, which was launched last year, uses AI to identify individual rodents from images sent from the field. And we've created our own in-house AI portal, lovingly named Rat-GPT, where over 100 dedicated AI agents are already in use or in development.

雖然顯然仍在早期階段，但我們進展良好。2025 年，我們成功將 Google Gemini AI 推廣給超過 60,000 名同仁，且僅在前六個月就累積超過 100 萬名使用者。在服務端，我們如去年推出的 PestConnect Optix 等創新，運用 AI 來辨識由前線傳回影像中的個別鼠類。此外，我們也建立了自有的內部 AI 入口網站，暱稱為 Rat-GPT，目前已有超過 100 個專用 AI 代理（agents）投入使用或正在開發中。

The power of this focus on AI is perhaps best demonstrated by just a couple of brief examples of our Agentic AI solutions currently being piloted. Our prospect prioritization solution is a fully developed system, which uses multiple AI agents to analyze the wide range of leads that we receive. We receive Internet leads. We receive telephone leads, field-based leads, small leads, national account leads, jobs leads, contract leads, leads in high and low-density areas. And what this new agent will do is score each lead based on conversion likelihood, sales value and a range of other metrics, and then will nudge the salesperson to prioritize the best of the leads.

我們對 AI 的聚焦所展現的力量，或許可透過幾個目前正在試點的 Agentic AI 解決方案簡要說明。我們的潛在客戶優先排序解決方案是一套已完整開發的系統，使用多個 AI 代理來分析我們收到的各式各樣商機（leads）。我們會收到網路商機。我們會收到電話商機、現場商機、小型商機、全國性客戶商機、工作（jobs）商機、合約商機，以及高密度與低密度區域的商機。而這個新代理將依據成交機率、銷售價值及其他多項指標為每一筆商機評分，並推動（nudge）業務人員優先處理最佳商機。

Equally impactful is our on-the-go technician assistant. So if you can imagine a technician walking towards a customer site, this GenAI-powered tool will be speaking to the technician, giving them vital information; information about the site's history, the last infestation details, what the open recommendations are, what the bill payment status is and other important practical information. These are just two ways in which we are taking the power of AI and deploying it across the company. Clearly, there are many significant opportunities ahead of us, and we're really only just starting.

同樣具影響力的，還有我們的行動技術人員助理。想像一位技術人員正走向客戶現場，這個由 GenAI 驅動的工具會以語音與技術人員互動，提供關鍵資訊；包括該場址的歷史、上次蟲害（infestation）細節、尚未結案的建議事項、帳單付款狀態，以及其他重要的實務資訊。以上只是我們運用 AI 能力並在全公司部署的兩個例子。顯然，未來仍有許多重大機會，而我們其實才剛起步。

So to wrap up, for the final time, I've included our RIGHT WAY scorecard in the appendix for you to read. But in short, as I prepare to hand over the baton to Mike, I personally feel very encouraged by the group's performance in 2025. Clearly, there is still much more to be done, but I'm very pleased to see our progress in North America, and I'm highly optimistic about the long-term prospects for the company where I will be cheering on from the sidelines in the future.

最後做個總結，這是最後一次，我已在附錄中放入我們的 RIGHT WAY 計分卡供各位閱讀。簡而言之，當我準備把接力棒交給 Mike 時，我個人對集團 2025 年的表現感到非常鼓舞。顯然仍有許多工作要完成，但我很高興看到我們在北美的進展，並且對公司長期前景高度樂觀；未來我也將在場邊為大家加油。

Thank you very much. Paul and I will now be very happy to take your questions, and there will be a brief pause for the operator to line up any questions. Thank you.

非常感謝。Paul 和我現在很樂意回答各位的問題，接下來會稍作停頓，讓接線員安排提問順序。謝謝。

(Operator Instructions) Andy Grobler, BNP Paribas.

(接線員指示) Andy Grobler，法國巴黎銀行。

Just a couple from me, if I may. Firstly, in America and operationally, as the strategy moves to kind of more branches, more systems, more brands and so forth, how would you balance the cost of doing that against and the visibility that you need from a central perspective. Is there a risk that some of these branches become somewhat independent through that process?

如果可以的話，我這邊有兩個問題。首先，在美國以及營運層面，隨著策略走向更多分支據點、更多系統、更多品牌等等，你們會如何在推動這些的成本與從中央角度所需的可視性之間取得平衡。在這個過程中，是否存在某些分支據點變得有點獨立的風險？

And then secondly, just in terms of cash costs with termite costs going up in '25 and looking to '26, what are your expectations going in the longer term for those -- both for those termite costs and for the one-off integration costs over the next two, three, four years?

第二，關於現金成本，白蟻相關成本在 2025 年上升並展望 2026 年，你們對較長期的預期是什麼——包括白蟻成本以及未來兩到三到四年一次性的整合成本？

Thanks, Andy. I'll take the first one and hand it to Paul for the second. Look, I don't think so is the answer to your question in terms of risk either on the cost side or indeed on the risk of loss of control of lots and lots of small branches.

謝謝，Andy。第一個我來回答，第二個交給 Paul。我想答案是否定的：不論是在成本面，或是確實在許多小型分支據點失去控管的風險上，我都不認為會發生。

If I take the second limb of that first. The Branch 360 single pane of glass, in particular, is going to give us the best visibility that we've ever had at branch level. At the moment, if you're a branch manager, across our suite of branches, you've got to have about 42 different tabs if you want to complete the full suite of KPI metrics and measures.

先談第一個問題的第二部分。尤其是 Branch 360 的「單一視窗」（single pane of glass）將讓我們在分支層級獲得前所未有的最佳可視性。目前，如果你是分支經理，在我們的分支體系中，你得開大約 42 個不同的分頁，才能完成整套 KPI 指標與衡量。

And going forward, every single branch is going to have the same desktop open with the same KPIs, metrics, measures, dashboards and push reports going to them centrally. So I actually think we're going to have better control, visibility and consistency across our branches than we've ever had. And many of the smaller branches opened under the satellite program are really an extension of the larger local branch. So they're run by the same branch managers. So I don't think there's any risk there at all of loss of control, quite the opposite, I think.

而未來，每一家分支都會開啟相同的桌面，使用相同的 KPI、指標、衡量方式、儀表板，以及由中央推送給他們的報表。所以我其實認為，我們將在分支之間擁有比以往更好的控管、可視性與一致性。而且在衛星計畫下開設的許多小型分支，實際上是較大型在地分支的延伸。因此它們由相同的分支經理管理。所以我認為完全沒有失控風險；恰恰相反，我認為會更好。

In terms of cost, the smaller branches are relatively cheap, if I can use that word, relatively inexpensive. The costs have been included in our plans, in our budgets, in our forward look on our numbers. So not a significant increase. And the majority of the increased investment on the brand side is actually on organic search. So it's not so much on the paid search, which is quite expensive. It's on organic, supporting their independent websites, web pages, et cetera.

就成本而言，小型分支相對便宜——如果我可以這麼說的話——相對不昂貴。這些成本已納入我們的計畫、預算，以及對未來數字的前瞻預估中。因此不會是顯著增加。而品牌端增加投資的大部分其實是在自然搜尋（organic search）。所以不是花在相當昂貴的付費搜尋（paid search）上。而是投入在自然流量上，支援其獨立網站、網頁等等。

So I think the increased cost is modest. It's all factored into our forward-looking numbers. And I think it's going to give us great, great transparency and consistency on the branch level. So Paul?

所以我認為增加的成本是溫和的。也都已反映在我們的前瞻數字中。而且我認為這將在分支層級帶來非常、非常好的透明度與一致性。Paul？

Look, on the cash side, I think the first thing that we should all remember is this is a very cash-generative business, and we've proven that in 2025. So we brought the leverage down. Cash conversion was at 98%, and we're going to keep pushing really hard on this. The working capital outflows were significantly lower in '25 than they were in 2024. In terms of the sort of one-off areas, the cost of the termite provision, $95 million in 2025 cash cost. We expect it will be about the same in 2026.

就現金面來說，我認為第一件大家都應該記得的是，這是一個現金創造力很強的業務，而我們在 2025 年已經證明了這點。所以我們把槓桿降下來了。現金轉換率達到 98%，而我們會持續非常努力推進。2025 年的營運資金流出顯著低於 2024 年。就一次性項目而言，白蟻準備金的成本在 2025 年的現金支出為 9,500 萬美元。我們預期 2026 年大約也會是相同水準。

Our strategy is to try and close off claims as quickly as we can, whether that's litigated claims or non-litigated claims. It's good to push them through, get them to resolution, and that's our plan so that we can put this behind us as quickly as possible. I can't tell you really exactly what the cash is going to be in '27 and 2028, how that will track down. Expectation is that it will track down because we are dealing with large complex claims now. That's what's put up the provision in the second half. And so we will see it ameliorating over time, but I can't tell you exactly the trajectory on that.

我們的策略是盡可能快速結案，不論是訴訟中的案件或非訴訟案件。推動案件往前走、達成結案是好事，這也是我們的計畫，讓我們能盡快把這件事拋在腦後。我無法非常精確地告訴你 2027 與 2028 年的現金支出會是多少、會如何下降。預期會下降，因為我們現在處理的是大型且複雜的案件。這也是為什麼下半年準備金上升。因此我們會看到它隨時間改善，但我無法告訴你確切的下降軌跡。

In terms of the costs related to the transformation plan, the cost-out plan, we will continue to see those costs in 2026. I'm really pleased with how the plan has gone in 2025, how quickly we've managed to get cost out, but there's a lot more to do. The returns on this, obviously, though, are very, very good. So where we see an opportunity to take cost out of the business, yes, it will have a onetime cost for redundancies or restructuring, but we'll continue to pursue those. Thanks, Andy.

至於與轉型計畫、降本計畫相關的成本，我們在 2026 年仍會持續看到這些成本。我對 2025 年計畫的推進方式、以及我們能如此快速地把成本降下來感到非常滿意，但還有很多工作要做。當然，這些措施的回報非常、非常好。所以只要我們看到有機會從業務中移除成本，是的，會有一次性的成本，例如資遣或重整費用，但我們會持續推動。謝謝，Andy。

And just one further thing. Andy, thank you for however many years it's now been, and best of luck with whatever the future brings.

另外再補充一點。Andy，謝謝你這些年來的支持，不管現在算起來是多少年了，也祝你未來一切順利。

Appreciate it, Andy.

感謝你，Andy。

Suhasini Varanasi, Goldman Sachs.

Suhasini Varanasi，高盛。

A couple for me, please. I just want to get some more color on the door-to-door pilot that you implemented in 2025. In the places where you implemented it, is it possible to understand the proportion of new sales that came from this new channel versus your traditional or digital channels? That's the first one.

我這邊也有兩個問題。我想更了解你們在 2025 年實施的到府拜訪（door-to-door）試點計畫。在你們實施的地區，是否能說明新銷售中有多少比例來自這個新通路，相較於你們傳統或數位通路？這是第一個。

And the second one, I think Business Services has been delivering very strong growth despite the headwinds in vector control services in 4Q. Just wanted to understand the drivers behind this and your expectations for 2026.

第二個，我認為儘管第四季病媒防治服務（vector control services）面臨逆風，商業服務（Business Services）仍交出非常強勁的成長。想了解背後的驅動因素，以及你們對 2026 年的預期。

Thanks, Suhasini. The door-to-door program, we're pleased with it. It did not make a major contribution to the revenue performance, relatively modest, but we were pleased with it. It's our first toe in the water for door-to-door.

謝謝，Suhasini。到府拜訪計畫，我們對成果感到滿意。它對營收表現的貢獻並不大，相對溫和，但我們仍然滿意。這是我們首次嘗試到府拜訪。

And as I've said before, it's become a big channel. I still think we're learning on the job with this. And I'm on the record of saying in the past, I've always had a slight concern about door-to-door that the customer retention rate on door-to-door isn't as strong as it is where a customer has reached out to find us. And that's proven to be the case. So retention rates have been lower in the door-to-door business, but absolutely in line with what we modeled.

而且如我之前所說，這已成為一個重要通路。我仍認為我們在這方面還在邊做邊學。我過去也公開說過，我對到府拜訪一直有點擔心：透過到府拜訪取得的客戶，其留存率不如那些主動聯繫來找我們的客戶。而事實證明確實如此。因此，到府拜訪業務的留存率較低，但完全符合我們的模型預估。

So we put a big tick against the program in 2025 as a success, but as a pilot. And we've included, I'd say, a relatively modest ambition in 2026. We're moving up from 25 territories to about 40 territories. If it continues to go well, and I don't see why it wouldn't, in '26. It will obviously be up to Mike and the team, but I wouldn't be surprised to see that getting potentially materially bigger in '27. So not a big contributor. We don't break it out separately. More to come for in '26.

因此，我們把該計畫在2025年打上一個大大的勾，視為成功，但屬於試點。而我們在2026年的目標，我會說，是相對溫和的。我們將從25個區域擴大到約40個區域。如果它持續進展順利——我也看不出有什麼理由不會——在2026年。這顯然要由Mike和團隊來決定，但我不會意外在2027年看到它可能在規模上顯著變大。所以它不是一個很大的貢獻來源。我們也不會把它單獨拆分揭露。2026年還會有更多進展。

Let's see how we get on. If it continues to go well, I think that could be a much more material potential opportunity in the future.

讓我們看看進展如何。如果它持續進展順利，我認為未來這可能會是一個更具實質性的潛在機會。

Business Services, yes, it's had a really good year actually off a less good year in '24. So you've got a little bit of comp benefit, I would say, '25 on '24. Just a reminder what's in Business Services, half of Business Services or just over half of Business Services is our distribution business, our products distribution business, which is really quite different from everything else. Everything else is a contract portfolio services business. The products business is selling pest products and turf and ornamental products to the industry and to individual consumers.

商業服務（Business Services），是的，實際上今年表現非常好，因為2024年相對不那麼好。所以我會說，2025年相較2024年有一點同業比較基期的好處。提醒一下商業服務包含哪些內容：商業服務的一半或略多於一半是我們的配銷業務、我們的產品配銷業務，這與其他所有業務其實相當不同。其他所有的則是合約組合服務（contract portfolio services）業務。產品業務是向產業以及個別消費者銷售害蟲防治產品，以及草坪與園藝觀賞用產品。

That is a very lumpy business. It can go in waves, and we've had a very strong finish to the year in that business. But it's a good business. It's a good, well-run, solid business. So I don't see -- I'd be surprised if it grows as strongly in '26 as it did in '25, but I would say it's a good performing business, and it's going nicely. The other businesses are contract portfolio businesses. They are Business Service operations.

那是一個波動很大的業務。它可能呈現波段式起伏，而我們在該業務今年年底收尾非常強勁。但它是一門好生意。這是一門管理良好、穩健扎實的好生意。所以我不認為——我會驚訝如果它在2026年的成長能像2025年那樣強勁，但我會說它是一個表現良好的業務，而且進展順利。其他業務是合約組合業務。它們是商業服務的營運。

So we have brand standards, which looks after franchise properties and goes and checks if they are living up to the standards that the franchise owner has set. That's a good business, running very nicely. We've won some big new recent accounts. So I would expect that business to perform pretty well in '26.

因此我們有品牌標準（brand standards）業務，負責管理加盟物業，並去檢查它們是否符合加盟主所設定的標準。那是一門好生意，運作得非常順暢。我們最近贏得了一些大型新客戶。因此我預期該業務在2026年的表現會相當不錯。

We've got our plants business, Ambius, which is a nice business, doesn't grow at the sort of rates that Pest Control does. So that's a slower growth business, and I'd expect that to be similar in '26. So look, I think it's had a great year, slightly flattered by a poor year in '24, but solid businesses, well run, and I don't see why they shouldn't make a decent contribution in '26, but perhaps not at the stellar growth rates we've seen in '25 would be my best view.

我們還有植栽業務Ambius，這是一門不錯的生意，但成長速度不像害蟲防治（Pest Control）那樣快。所以那是一個較慢成長的業務，我預期2026年也會類似。總之，我認為今年表現非常好，多少也因為2024年表現較差而顯得更亮眼，但這些都是穩健、管理良好的業務；我看不出它們在2026年不應該做出不錯貢獻的理由，只是可能不會再有我們在2025年看到的那種耀眼成長率——這是我目前最好的看法。

Annelies Vermeulen, Morgan Stanley.

Annelies Vermeulen，摩根士丹利。

I had two questions, please. So firstly, on the rebranding of the retiring brands, I think you said a lot of those are one-branch businesses. So how many branches or brands does that involve? And what was the criteria for the decision on that segment specifically? Were there certain things that you look for in terms of signing those off?

我有兩個問題，謝謝。第一個，關於汰除品牌的重新品牌化（rebranding），我想你提到其中很多是單一分支的業務。那這涉及多少個分支或品牌？以及針對這個區隔做出決策的標準是什麼？你們在核准（signing those off）時，是否會特別看某些條件？

And then secondly, on the pay plans for the technicians, have you collected feedback on this from your existing technicians? And what was that based on? And if so, do you expect it to meaningfully continue to contribute to improving retention from here? And are there any additional costs associated with having to run two pay plans?

第二個，關於技術人員的薪酬方案（pay plans），你們是否已經向現有技術人員蒐集對此的回饋？這是基於什麼而制定的？如果有的話，你們是否預期它從現在起會在提升留任（retention）方面持續做出有意義的貢獻？另外，因為需要同時運行兩套薪酬方案，是否會產生任何額外成本？

Thanks, Annelies. On the rebranding, those who've got a good and long memory will remember that we've got about 80 brands, give or take. So we're going to keep 30. So that means there's 50 -- I unfairly call them one horse towns. There are 50 brands. They're almost exclusively single city or single town brands. It doesn't mean to say we don't love them and like them, but it doesn't make economic sense to support those 50 individuals. So they are the 50 smallest. In aggregate, those 50 brands don't even represent 10% of the total revenues.

謝謝你，Annelies。關於重新品牌化，那些記性好、記得久的人會記得我們大約有80個品牌，上下浮動一些。所以我們將保留30個。這表示有50個——我不太公平地稱它們為「一匹馬的小鎮」。共有50個品牌。它們幾乎完全是單一城市或單一城鎮的品牌。這並不代表我們不喜歡它們或不重視它們，但在經濟上不合理去支援這50個個別品牌。所以它們是最小的那50個。合計而言，這50個品牌甚至不到總營收的10%。

So they will be retired quietly, slowly, gently over the next couple of years. And the criteria really was just based on scale. It's the ones that have got the least footprint, the smallest brands in small towns and smaller cities. And we tested brand equity as well. So we actually tried to work out how strong are these brands in the market. And the ones where we've got strong brand equity, we've retained and the ones where the brand equity is weak, we've taken a decision that it's better to migrate those to a strong brand equity local brand, whether that's Terminix or it might be one of the other 30.

因此，未來幾年它們將會被安靜地、緩慢地、溫和地逐步退場。而標準其實就是以規模為基礎。也就是版圖最小、足跡最少的那些品牌，位於小鎮與較小城市的最小品牌。我們也測試了品牌資產（brand equity）。所以我們確實嘗試評估這些品牌在市場上的強度。品牌資產強的我們保留；品牌資產弱的，我們決定最好把它們移轉到一個在當地具有強品牌資產的品牌之下，不論是Terminix，或可能是其他30個品牌之一。

On the pay plans, no, look, there's not additional costs. There's the absence of some savings, but it's not material. And again, it's all fully costed in the plan. But as I said in the remarks, it's a very pragmatic decision. As I've explained several times over the last two or three years, we do have quite a distribution on a bell curve of pay for technicians and some have got legacy pay plans that look quite generous compared to the pay plans we've been operating across the business for some time now. And we've just taken a pragmatic decision that we will grandfather those. So if you want to stay on the pay plan that you're on because you like it, because you think it's generous, because you've worked out how to maximize your income, you can stay on it.

關於薪酬方案，不，基本上沒有額外成本。只是少了一些原本可取得的節省，但並不重大。而且如我所說，這些都已在計畫中完整成本化。但正如我在發言中提到的，這是一個非常務實的決定。如我在過去兩三年多次解釋的，我們技術人員薪酬呈現鐘形曲線分布，有些人有沿用的舊薪酬方案，與我們近年在整個業務中運行的薪酬方案相比，看起來相當優渥。我們務實地決定將這些方案予以既有承接（grandfather）。所以如果你想留在你目前的薪酬方案上，因為你喜歡它、覺得它很優渥、或你已經摸索出如何把收入最大化，你可以繼續留在那個方案。

So for the pay plan that we're moving to for the new people that joined from '27 onwards, we're essentially taking an existing pay plan that works quite well. We've modified it slightly. So there's absolutely no reason to believe it will be anything other than business as usual and a successful new pay plan. But it does mean we're running more than one pay plan for longer than we originally wanted.

至於我們要讓2027年起加入的新進人員採用的薪酬方案，我們基本上是採用一個運作得相當好的既有薪酬方案。我們做了一點小幅修改。所以完全沒有理由相信它會不是一切照常、並且是一個成功的新薪酬方案。但這也意味著，我們需要以多於原先預期的時間，同時運行不只一套薪酬方案。

So there was some modest cost improvement originally planned to move to a single pay plan. We've foregone that saving. But as I say, relatively modest and included in our forward-looking plans.

因此，原本規劃轉為單一薪酬方案時，確實預期會有一些小幅的成本改善。我們放棄了那項節省。但如我所說，幅度相對不大，而且已納入我們前瞻性的規劃之中。

Great. Thank you for the engagement, Andy. Best of luck.

很好。謝謝你的參與，Andy。祝你一切順利。

Thank you. Cheers. Pleasure.

謝謝。乾杯。很榮幸。

Bill Kirkness, Bernstein Societe Generale Group.

Bill Kirkness，Bernstein Societe Generale Group。

I have two questions, please. Firstly, as organic growth rehabilitates, I assume there's some market share gains happening. And if so, can you just talk about where you see those? Are they quite broad-based? Or are they focused with the smaller peers or larger operators?

我有兩個問題。第一，隨著內生成長回復，我想應該有一些市占率提升正在發生。如果是的話，你能談談你看到這些提升出現在哪裡嗎？是相當廣泛地發生嗎？還是主要集中在相較小的同業或較大型的營運商？

And then secondly, you mentioned the weather impact in Jan. I just wonder if that's so material as to disrupt this sort of improving momentum we're seeing in North America pest or whether actually you've got enough self-help to drive ongoing improvements regardless of the adverse weather?

第二，你提到一月的天氣影響。我想知道這是否嚴重到足以打亂我們在北美害蟲防治業務看到的這種改善動能；或者其實你們有足夠的內部改善措施（self-help），即使在不利天氣下也能持續推動改善？

Thanks, Bill. Look, market share in pest control is a notoriously difficult endeavor, there's about 18,000 to 19,000 pest control companies in the United States, and we're operating across hundreds of cities. So in any particular town, any particular city, customers have got massive choice. Typically, they've got a choice of 10 to 20 local players. And so trying to work out when we improve where the share improvement is coming from and vice versa is really, really difficult.

謝謝，Bill。你看，害蟲防治的市占率一向非常難衡量；美國大約有18,000到19,000家害蟲防治公司，而我們在數百個城市營運。所以在任何一個城鎮、任何一個城市，客戶都有非常多的選擇。通常他們有10到20家本地業者可選。因此要判斷我們改善時市占率提升是從哪裡來、反之亦然，真的非常、非常困難。

You can only really see in a live dynamic way, whether you're winning or losing share on the big national account piece. And that isn't really what's driving our improvement in organic growth. I'd say it's broad-based, and it's coming essentially from improvement in our operations in residential and termite, and it's across multiple towns and cities. So really difficult to say where we're winning or where we're winning from. But most of it, I would say, is local movement as such.

你真正能以即時、動態的方式看出是否在贏或輸市占的，主要是在大型全國性客戶（national account）那一塊。而那其實並不是推動我們內生成長改善的主因。我會說這是廣泛性的，基本上來自我們在住宅與白蟻業務營運的改善，而且橫跨多個城鎮與城市。所以很難說我們在哪裡贏、或是從誰那裡贏來的。但我認為大多數都屬於這種本地層面的變動。

On the weather, look, the way it works in our North American business, the way the entire industry works in North America is you only get paid and you only recognize revenue once you have done the work. So if you get a weather event, as we saw for a few days in January and you can't get your colleagues out on the road to do their routines. If you're not visiting that customer, then you're not billing that customer and that revenue doesn't happen. But that doesn't mean that revenue has gone. What that means is you work like crazy in the month of February to catch up the visits that you missed in the month of January. And clearly, that's what we will have been doing in February to try and catch up that work as much as possible.

至於天氣，你看，在我們北美業務、也就是整個北美產業的運作方式是：只有在你完成工作之後，才會收款並認列營收。所以如果遇到天氣事件，就像我們一月有幾天那樣，你無法讓同仁上路去跑例行服務。如果你沒有去拜訪那位客戶，就不會向那位客戶開帳，營收也就不會發生。但這不代表那筆營收消失了。這代表你會在二月非常努力地把一月錯過的拜訪補回來。而很明顯地，我們二月就是在做這件事，盡可能把那些工作補上。

February weather, we thought was going to be a bit wobbly as well. At one point, there was a couple of snow days. But in actual fact, the weather in Feb turned out fine in the end. So we draw attention to it simply because it happened. It was material. It wasn't just one day. It was a few days down the Eastern Seaboard. But we will be working very hard to catch it up through February and into March. So we're not flagging a major issue, but clearly some softness in the month of January.

我們原本也以為二月天氣可能會有點不穩。有一度確實有幾天因下雪而停工。但實際上，二月的天氣最後證明還不錯。所以我們特別提到它，只是因為它確實發生了。影響是顯著的。不只是一天。是在東岸沿線（Eastern Seaboard）有好幾天。但我們會在二月到三月非常努力把它補回來。所以我們不是在示警重大問題，但一月確實有些疲弱。

Nicole Manion, UBS.

Nicole Manion，UBS。

One on the price and volume split in North America piece. There are a few mentions in the release about the robust pricing environment. I think that's actually fairly consistent with what you said earlier in the year. But is there anything to call out here in terms of the pricing piece still accelerating or just holding at a similar level?

關於北美的價格與量拆分。新聞稿裡多次提到強勁的定價環境。我想這其實與你們年初的說法相當一致。但在定價方面，有沒有什麼需要特別指出的：例如定價仍在加速，或只是維持在類似水準？

And then secondly, sorry if I've missed this, I think you can sort of back it out from the numbers on branches that you have given in the release and the presentation. But could you just confirm the total branch base number as of the end of 2025 in North America?

第二個問題，如果我漏聽了先說抱歉；我想你可以從新聞稿與簡報中你們提供的分公司數字回推。但能否請你確認截至2025年底北美的分公司總數？

Thanks, Nicole. So in terms of price and volume, we're still very encouraged by what we're seeing on price. We do manage to get inflation plus, which we've seen through the year. And as you've seen, the organic growth has been ticking up quarter by quarter. So we are continuing at a similar level on price and clearly doing better on volume. We're still losing a bit of volume if you look at that number that we printed in the fourth quarter, but it's improving sequentially.

謝謝，Nicole。就價格與量而言，我們對目前看到的定價仍然非常受鼓舞。我們確實能做到「通膨以上」（inflation plus），而這是我們今年一路看到的。如你所見，內生成長逐季上升。所以我們在價格上維持在相近水準，而在量上顯然做得更好。如果你看我們第四季公布的那個數字，量仍然小幅下滑，但按季持續改善。

And in terms of the number of branches, well, we said that by the end of this year, we expect to get up to approximately 800, and that's going to include 220 of these small local branches or satellite branches, which we're at 150 on. So the 70 delta is the change from 730-ish at the end of this year to 800-ish at the end of 2026.

至於分公司數量，我們說過到今年年底，我們預期會提升到大約800家，其中包含220家這類小型在地分公司或衛星分公司；我們目前是150家。所以這70家的差額，就是從今年年底約730家提升到2026年底約800家的變化。

Got it . All the best, Andy.

了解。祝好，Andy。

Appreciate it. Cheers, Nicole. Thanks.

感謝。乾杯，Nicole。謝謝。

Jane Sparrow, JPMorgan.

Jane Sparrow，JPMorgan。

Two questions, please. Just on the regional brands and the Terminix brand, it sounds like the improvement in lead generation is largely being driven by the reinvigorated regional brands. Can you perhaps comment on the main Terminix brand and how that is performing?

兩個問題。關於區域品牌與Terminix品牌：聽起來名單（leads）產生的改善主要是由重新振作的區域品牌所帶動。你能否評論一下主要的Terminix品牌，以及它的表現如何？

And then secondly, of those branches where there's a high proportion of people sticking on the old plan, is there any noticeable divergence on KPIs on your new one pay scorecard versus the other branches where more people are on the new plan, please?

第二，在那些仍有較高比例的人沿用舊方案的分公司中，你們的新「一個薪酬」（one pay）計分卡KPI，與那些更多人採用新方案的分公司相比，是否有任何明顯的KPI分歧？

Jane. Yes. Look, the Terminix brand is doing well, but you're correct in your deduction that the regional brands must have done really well. They did do really well. Super pleased with the performance of quite a number of the nine regional brands. And as I said in an earlier answer, a lot of that has come through really focusing on organic search performance, and that's what's given us the encouragement in part to go with the 30 brands. So that's excellent.

Jane。是的。你看，Terminix品牌表現不錯，但你的推論是對的：區域品牌一定表現得非常好。它們確實表現得非常好。我們對九個區域品牌中相當多個的表現非常滿意。而且如我在先前回答中所說，其中很大一部分來自我們非常聚焦於自然搜尋（organic search）表現；這也在某種程度上鼓舞我們推進到30個品牌。所以這非常好。

But the big, big battleship brand, Terminix, is going well and has performed very nicely. We haven't seen as big percentage increases, but it is performing nicely. And there, we do things like market testing for brand recognition, unaided brand recognition. Can you name a pest control company in the United States? Can you name a pest control company that you would consider using if you had a pest control problem.

但這個像大型戰艦一樣的主品牌Terminix也進展順利，表現相當不錯。我們沒有看到那麼大的百分比增幅，但它的表現仍然很好。在那方面，我們會做一些像是品牌認知度的市場測試、非提示品牌認知（unaided brand recognition）。例如：你能說出一家美國的害蟲防治公司嗎？如果你有害蟲防治問題，你能說出一家你會考慮使用的害蟲防治公司嗎？

And we've had a recent survey on that, and the data has come out very, very strong. It's a powerhouse brand, and it's got fantastic brand recognition. And so it's performing well, but we do support Terminix significantly with paid search as well as organic search. And over time, what we'll be looking to do, particularly as we get more into the AI generative search, we'll be looking to move further down the organic search for Terminix as well. So it's performing well, but a big part of the rebound in lead performance has come from those regional brands and the reason why we're supporting the 30 going forward.

我們最近也針對這點做了一項調查，數據結果非常、非常強勁。這是一個實力非常雄厚的品牌，且擁有極佳的品牌辨識度。因此表現良好，但我們也確實透過付費搜尋以及自然搜尋大力支持 Terminix。隨著時間推進，特別是當我們更深入導入 AI 生成式搜尋時，我們也會希望進一步提升 Terminix 在自然搜尋中的表現。所以它目前表現不錯，但名單表現回升的一大部分來自那些區域品牌，這也是我們未來會持續支持那 30 個品牌的原因。

In the second question, that's way too early to say what that looks like in terms of branches with a high proportion of people on old pay plan, which is largely heritage Terminix brands and then performance of branches with people on newer pay plans. So it's too early to call that. What we have been doing, and Paul has made this observation a few times, we've been much more into the data than we've been before.

第二個問題，就那些舊薪酬方案人員占比較高的分公司（主要是傳承自 Terminix 的品牌）與採用較新薪酬方案人員的分公司之表現差異而言，現在要說那會長什麼樣子還太早。所以現在還無法下定論。我們一直在做的事情，而且 Paul 也觀察提過幾次，就是我們比以前更深入地使用數據。

We've got a Head of Data and Data Science. We've got a small data science team, actually not so small these days, analyzing data from branches and really trying to work out, well, where we've got fantastic performing branches versus poor performing branches, what are the factors that are contributing? Is it tenure? Is it pay? Is it geography? Is it commercial versus residential, all of those factors. And we're getting more insight into that, not ready to call it on that, but pay plan might be one element out of about a dozen, but there is no binary read across between old pay plan equals great performance, new pay plan doesn't. That doesn't exist.

我們有一位資料與資料科學主管。我們也有一個資料科學團隊，其實現在已經不算小了，正在分析各分公司的數據，並且真正試著釐清：哪些分公司表現非常出色、哪些表現較差，以及造成差異的因素是什麼？是年資嗎？是薪酬嗎？是地理位置嗎？是商業客戶對住宅客戶的組合嗎？以及所有這些因素。我們對此正獲得更多洞見，現在還不準備就此下結論；薪酬方案可能只是十多個因素中的其中一個，但不存在那種二元式的對照：舊薪酬方案＝表現很好、新薪酬方案＝表現不好。沒有這回事。

But the point of the question, what drives different branch level performances and what are those factors, that's really why we're super excited about the 360 single pane of glass. Mike and the team are going to have much better data over the next few years than we've certainly had for the last two or three years. But no correlation at this point to call out, Jane.

但問題的核心是：是什麼驅動不同分公司層級的表現、有哪些因素在影響，這正是我們對 360「單一視窗」（single pane of glass）感到非常興奮的原因。Mike 和團隊在未來幾年將會擁有比我們過去兩三年所擁有的更好的數據。但就目前而言，還沒有任何相關性可以特別指出來，Jane。

Okay. All the best for the future apart from the obvious foot front.

好的。祝你未來一切順利，除了那個顯而易見的「腳前方」之外。

Yes. Well, I would say the same to you, Jane. I would say I hope Spurs don't get relegated, but I would be lying if I said that. So good luck, Jane.

是的。嗯，我也會對你說同樣的話，Jane。我會說我希望熱刺不要降級，但如果我這麼說那就是在說謊。所以祝你好運，Jane。

(Operator Instructions) Allen Wells, Jefferies.

（接線員指示）Allen Wells，Jefferies。

Most have been answered, but just two quick ones. Firstly, Paul, just on the $100 million cost saving plan. Obviously, we've had lots of moving parts over the last 12 to 18 months with the change in brand strategy, less closures, more satellites, changing brands, changing remunerations. As we sit here today, could you maybe take a step back and simplify down how we should think about the maiden building blocks of the $100 million and what will be delivered in 2026? That's the first question.

大多數都已經回答了，但我只有兩個很快的問題。第一個，Paul，關於 1 億美元的成本節省計畫。顯然過去 12 到 18 個月有很多變動因素，包括品牌策略調整、較少關閉、更多衛星據點、品牌更換、薪酬調整等。以我們今天所處的狀況，你能否退一步，簡化說明我們應該如何看待這 1 億美元的初始組成要素，以及 2026 年會交付哪些成果？這是第一個問題。

And then maybe just secondly, just following up on the remuneration plan and the allowing of grandfathering, et cetera. Obviously, we're a couple of years into this process now. And what drove the need to change that at this stage? What have you seen? What were staff telling you? And why now? That would be my question.

第二個可能是延續薪酬方案以及允許既有條款延續（grandfathering）等的問題。顯然我們已經推動這個流程好幾年了。那是什麼原因促使你們在這個階段需要做出改變？你們看到了什麼？員工跟你們反映了什麼？以及為什麼是現在？這就是我的問題。

Thanks, Allen. So in terms of the cost plan, I'll happily take a step back and many of you will remember that we had our integration cost savings back in the day. That got a little bit difficult to track through. So when I came in, I said, take the 2024 cost base, there will still be inflation on that cost base, but we will take $100 million of that. And that's what we are tracking well against.

謝謝，Allen。就成本計畫而言，我很樂意退一步說明；你們很多人會記得，我們以前有過整合成本節省的方案。那個方案後來有點難以追蹤。所以我上任後我說，以 2024 年的成本基礎為準，這個成本基礎仍會有通膨，但我們會從中拿出 1 億美元。而我們目前的追蹤進度非常符合預期。

So I've said that we've taken $25 million out of the cost base in 2025. We came sort of at that from a cold start. So most of the savings were manifested in the second half. So if you think about that, that means that on a run rate, it's more than double that, that we're achieving, we are investing back into the business. So whether it's the new capabilities we've talked about in pricing, in data, in many other areas of the business or the additional resources we're making available for marketing and for our additional branch network, that's all being funded.

我也說過，我們在 2025 年已經從成本基礎中削減了 2,500 萬美元。我們算是從幾乎零基礎開始推動。因此大部分節省是在下半年才體現出來。所以如果你這樣想，代表以年化（run rate）來看，我們達成的節省是那個數字的兩倍以上；同時我們也把部分資金再投回業務。無論是我們談到的新能力（例如定價、數據，以及業務的許多其他領域），或是我們為行銷與新增分公司網絡所提供的額外資源，這些都由此提供資金。

So it's a fuel for growth strategy, and we'll continue to do that. So we will tackle back-office costs, we'll tackle inefficiencies, we'll tackle spans and layers, all the normal opportunities that you would see in a very large-scale business to take cost out. There is significant opportunity. What we are doing is going after the right cost at the right time.

所以這是一個「以成長為目標的燃料」策略，我們會持續這麼做。我們會處理後台成本、處理低效率、處理管理幅度與層級（spans and layers），也就是你在一個非常大型的企業中通常會看到的各種降本機會。機會相當大。我們正在做的是在正確的時間針對正確的成本下手。

Some we will leave a little because they might be a bit more disruptive to the business. So the focus at the moment has been on that back office cost, cost of finance of accounts payable, et cetera, et cetera, removing roles, offshoring roles, et cetera. But still lots to do, and we will get that $100 million out by the time we're reporting the 2027 results and to get the margin up to 20% plus.

有些我們會先暫緩，因為它們可能對業務造成較大的干擾。所以目前的重點放在後台成本，例如財務後勤、應付帳款等成本，透過裁撤職位、將職位外包至海外（offshoring）等方式。但仍然還有很多要做，我們會在我們公布 2027 年業績時之前把這 1 億美元省出來，並把利潤率提升到 20% 以上。

And look, in terms of the pay plans, the whole plan that we're coming up with in terms of how we simplify the go-forward integration is not to cause disruption. It's to settle people down. If there was some anxiety in technicians that perhaps they wouldn't like the new plan as much as their current plan, fine. They can just grandfather on to their current plan.

至於薪酬方案，我們正在制定的、用以簡化未來整合的整體方案，其目的不是要造成干擾。而是要讓大家安定下來。如果技術人員對於新方案可能不如他們目前的方案感到焦慮，沒問題。他們可以沿用（grandfather）目前的方案。

We want people to get focused on doing their jobs well. We are an employer of choice in the industry, and that's the most important thing to make people go out and delight customers every day. And if there's something getting in the way of that, then we've removed that. So yes, that's our thinking.

我們希望大家專注把工作做好。我們是業界的首選雇主（employer of choice），而最重要的是讓大家每天都能走出去、讓客戶感到驚喜與滿意。如果有任何事情妨礙了這點，那我們就把它移除。所以，是的，這就是我們的想法。

James Beard, Deutsche Bank.

James Beard，德意志銀行（Deutsche Bank）。

I've got two, please. Firstly, you noted the improvement in residential leads in the second half. I was wondering if you could talk through the time that you expect those to convert over and how that improvement in resi leads is splits between contract and jobbing.

我有兩個問題，謝謝。第一，你提到下半年住宅端名單有所改善。我想請你談談你預期這些名單轉換（convert）的時間，以及住宅端名單改善在合約型（contract）與單次服務（jobbing）之間的拆分情況。

And then secondly, going back on to pay plans, again, you said no change to residential sales staff pay plans in '26. When should we expect any sort of change to residential sales staff pay plans, please?

其次，回到薪酬方案，你也提到在 '26 年住宅銷售人員的薪酬方案不會有變動。請問我們應該在什麼時候預期住宅銷售人員薪酬方案會有任何變更？

Thanks, James. '27 is the answer to the second question. Sorry, I should have said that. In terms of the time it takes from lead into sale into install is a really good question. I mean, that's a proper pest control question, James, that's really down in the weeds, but it's really, really important. Because if it's residential, if you've got a mouse running around your kitchen, when do you want that solved? You want it solved immediately. So the speed from which we can take a residential lead, and the same is true of termite. You've just discovered termites munching away in your basement or your cellar, you want that sorted quickly.

謝謝你，James。第二個問題的答案是 '27 年。抱歉，我應該一開始就說清楚。至於從線索到成交再到安裝所需的時間，這是個非常好的問題。我是說，James，這是個很「病蟲害防治」的專業問題，細節很深入，但確實非常、非常重要。因為如果是住宅端，你家廚房有老鼠在跑，你希望什麼時候解決？你會希望立刻解決。所以我們把住宅線索轉成成交的速度——白蟻也是同樣道理。你剛發現白蟻在你地下室或地窖裡啃食，你會希望能盡快處理好。

And what we've seen is why I mentioned the new KPIs, operational KPIs in terms of how quickly are we getting from the lead to the sale to the install and it only becomes revenue when you do the install. We've got to get faster and we've got to get more consistent at that. So we are now getting a good proportion of the leads converted, sold and installed within 24 to 48 hours. And that's the sort of time window we are giving ourselves because if customers are having to wait three days for their mouse running around the kitchen to be dealt with or for the worry of the fact that termites are in their house, for many customers, that's too long.

而我們看到的情況，也就是我提到新 KPI、營運 KPI 的原因：我們從線索到成交到安裝的速度到底有多快——而且只有完成安裝才會形成營收。我們必須更快，而且必須更一致地做到這點。因此，我們現在有相當比例的線索能在 24 到 48 小時內完成轉換、成交並安裝。這就是我們給自己的時間窗口，因為如果客戶得等三天才有人來處理廚房裡跑來跑去的老鼠，或是因為家裡有白蟻而一直擔心，對很多客戶來說，這太久了。

On the commercial side, time is much less critical. Commercial customers, that's fine. You can come next week, you can come next month unless they've got an emergency. So yes, look, it's a really, really key part of the business. And if we look through 2025, what we saw, particularly in the second half was a -- if you go at the top of the funnel and come down, really good improvements in the leads coming into the business.

在商業端，時間的急迫性就低得多。商業客戶通常沒問題。你下週來、下個月來都可以，除非他們遇到緊急狀況。所以是的，你看，這確實是業務中非常、非常關鍵的一環。如果我們回顧 2025 年，特別是下半年，我們看到——如果你從漏斗頂端往下看——進入業務的線索有非常好的改善。

So MQLs, which we track on a daily basis. We look forward to that. At 4:00 every afternoon, we get a daily report on MQLs. Really good progress on SQLs. So what percentage of MQLs turn into sales-qualified leads. So that's gone really, really well. Really good progress on sales.

也就是 MQL，我們每天都在追蹤。我們會關注這個指標。每天下午 4 點，我們都會收到一份 MQL 的日報。SQL 方面也有非常好的進展。也就是有多少比例的 MQL 會轉成銷售合格線索（sales-qualified leads）。這部分做得非常、非常好。銷售方面也有很好的進展。

So the marketing leads are good leads. They're turning into sales leads. The sales colleagues are selling and then it gets less good in terms of how many of those sales actually get converted into revenue. So that's the critical thing that the team are now working on is the next challenge as they work from the top of the funnel and they're working through down into the middle and into the bottom of the funnel.

所以行銷帶來的線索是好線索。它們正在轉成銷售線索。銷售同仁也在成交，但接下來在「有多少成交最終轉成營收」這一段就沒那麼理想。因此，團隊現在正在努力的關鍵點、也是下一個挑戰，就是從漏斗頂端一路往下推進，推到漏斗中段與底部。

So that's why these KPIs of what percentage of sales are getting turned into activity with the customer is super critical. So good, good progress, and I think that's where Mike will have the team focused this year is improving the conversion of actual sales into -- turning into revenue.

所以，這些 KPI——也就是有多少比例的成交能轉成與客戶的實際作業活動——就變得極其關鍵。因此進展不錯、進展良好；我認為 Mike 今年會讓團隊聚焦在提升「實際成交」轉成——轉成營收的轉換率。

In terms of the split between contract and jobs, I have explained many, many times, we're a portfolio business, portfolio, meaning a book of contract revenues, roughly 75% of the US. For group level, we're more about 80-20. But at North America, US pest, it's 75% contract portfolio, 25% jobs. Really good performance on jobs, over 5% organic growth in jobs in the fourth quarter and improving performance on contract portfolio. But it's that contract portfolio that we've got to get into consistent, healthy positive quarter-on-quarter improvement.

至於合約與單次作業（jobs）的占比，我已經解釋過很多很多次：我們是一個組合型（portfolio）業務；所謂組合型，指的是一個合約營收的帳簿（book），在美國大約占 75%。以集團層級來看，我們更接近 80/20。但在北美、美國病蟲害防治業務這邊，是 75% 合約組合、25% 單次作業。單次作業表現非常好，第四季單次作業有超過 5% 的有機成長，合約組合的表現也在改善。但我們必須讓合約組合做到穩定、健康、逐季（quarter-on-quarter）為正的改善。

We've seen some of that now, but we've got to build on that. It's only when we get that and back to the question we had a while ago about price versus volume. We've got to get that volume growth consistently back into the portfolio. It feels like it's coming. It feels like it's building, but that's where we need to push on in 2026 and into 2027. Only when we get that plus the jobs, will we get the business back into industry levels of growth and beyond. But I'm really confident the team are all over this. But good performance on jobs and an improving performance on contracts as well.

我們現在已經看到一些改善，但必須在此基礎上再加強。而且只有做到這點——回到我們先前談到的價格與量的問題——我們必須讓量的成長穩定地回到這個組合裡。我們必須讓這個量的成長持續、穩定地回到組合中。感覺它正在到來。感覺它正在累積動能，但這就是我們在 2026 年以及進入 2027 年需要加力推進的地方。只有當我們做到這點，再加上單次作業的成長，我們才能讓業務回到產業水準的成長，甚至更高。但我對團隊能把這件事做好非常有信心。總之，單次作業表現很好，合約的表現也在改善。

And all the best in the future, Andy.

也祝你未來一切順利，Andy。

Appreciate it. Cheers. Thank you.

感謝。謝謝。謝謝你。

James Rose, Barclays.

James Rose，Barclays。

I've got a few on commercial, please. In the release, this has been flagged as a particular growth area. I wonder can you expand on your growth plans there?

我有幾個關於商業端的問題。在新聞稿中，這被標示為一個特別的成長領域。想請你們進一步說明在那方面的成長計畫？

Secondly, is it right that commercial branches will be running on new systems, so slightly different ones to resi and termite branches?

第二，商業分公司是否會使用新的系統，也就是與住宅端和白蟻分公司略有不同的系統？

And then finally, how progressed are you in bringing some of the innovations and technology you have in the international and European business into the US. And what's the opportunity there?

最後，你們在把國際與歐洲業務的一些創新與技術導入美國方面，進展到什麼程度？那裡的機會是什麼？

Thanks, James. Yes, look, good question. Rentokil is the undisputed global leader in commercial pest control. The Terminix acquisition brought with it a big business in residential and termite. But Rentokil, which operates in, what, 88, 89 countries is globally renowned for its commercial pest control business. So we should be punching above our weight in commercial in the United States.

謝謝，James。是的，這是個好問題。Rentokil 是全球商業病蟲害防治無可爭議的領導者。Terminix 的併購帶來了住宅與白蟻方面的大型業務。但 Rentokil 在 88、89 個國家營運，在商業病蟲害防治業務方面享譽全球。因此，在美國的商業端，我們應該要有超越自身規模的表現。

And we're not yet where we need to be in commercial. I think in part because we've had so much focus on getting the resi business right and getting the termite business right. We've recently taken the decision to give independent leadership of the commercial business to one person. We've got an individual who probably knows more about commercial pest control than just about anyone on the planet. He's an export from the United Kingdom. So we've given it dedicated leadership.

而我們在商業端目前還沒達到應有的水準。我想部分原因是我們一直把很多重心放在把住宅業務做對、把白蟻業務做對。我們最近決定，讓商業業務由一位人士獨立領導。我們有一位個人，對商業病蟲害防治的了解，可能幾乎比地球上任何人都多。他是從英國派過來的。所以我們給了商業端專責的領導。

In terms of the plan for the business, improving customer retention has to be at the first part of that plan. We still don't have retention where it should be. Customer retention in commercial should be very high typically. It needs to be higher. It is going to be -- the commercial business will all be on PestPac, which is the core system that Rentokil has been using for three or four years now in the United States. So there won't be any great surprises or drama there. So that should be relatively straightforward.

就業務計畫而言，提升客戶留存必須是計畫的第一部分。我們目前的留存率仍未達到應有水準。商業端的客戶留存通常應該非常高。它需要更高。商業業務將全面使用 PestPac，這是 Rentokil 在美國過去三到四年一直使用的核心系統。所以不會有什麼重大意外或戲劇性變化。因此這應該相對直接、順利。

And you're absolutely right to raise the question of innovation. I was chatting to Mike the other day, and he's been introduced to some of the really cool innovations that we've got in pest control and commercial pest control, in particular. And we've got some really interesting ones coming in the pipeline over the next year or 2. But we have manifestly been weakest at deployment of commercial pest control innovation, in particular, our connected solutions in the United States.

你提出關於創新的問題完全正確。我前幾天和 Mike 聊天，他已經接觸到我們在害蟲防治、尤其是商業害蟲防治方面一些非常酷的創新。而且在未來 1 到 2 年內，我們的產品管線還會有一些非常有意思的創新推出。但我們在商業害蟲防治創新的落地部署方面，尤其是在美國的連網解決方案，顯然一直是最弱的一環。

And we're going to fix that. That needs to be a key priority for 2026. We need to see the U.S. really starting to adopt and drive innovation. That's why the individual that's in charge of the business has been chosen in part because he's got great experience with that innovation. So look, I think it's an area we should be punching above our weight given our global position. The systems are relatively straightforward in the innovation agenda. It just needs execution now. We've got the products. We've got the services. We've got the technology. We just have to execute.

而我們會把這件事修正過來。這必須成為 2026 年的一項關鍵優先事項。我們需要看到美國市場真正開始採用並推動創新。這也是為什麼負責該業務的那位主管之所以被選中，部分原因是他在推動創新方面有很豐富的經驗。所以你看，我認為以我們的全球地位，這個領域我們應該要有超出自身規模的表現。在創新議程上，系統其實相對直接。現在只差執行。我們有產品。我們有服務。我們有技術。我們只需要把它執行到位。

And it's easy for me to say, particularly as I'm about to walk out the door and say, over to you, Mike. It is easy to say, but that's what we do around the world. So I'm confident we will do that in the United States.

我這樣說很容易，尤其是我正準備走出門，然後說「交給你了，Mike」。說起來容易，但這正是我們在全球各地一直在做的事。所以我有信心我們也會在美國做到。

Super. Thank you very much, James. I'm looking at Heather across the table here. Are we done with the questions?

太好了。非常感謝你，James。我看向桌子對面的 Heather。我們的提問結束了嗎？

No more questions. Unbelievable. Thank you all very much. I can't believe that is it. As I said earlier, that was my 50th set of results, and I think quite a good one to sign off on. It has been an immense privilege to be CEO of this company for the last few years. We've gone from a reasonably unstructured conglomerate to a pretty focused world #1 in our chosen industries, which is a pretty cool thing, I feel.

沒有更多問題了。難以置信。非常感謝各位。我真不敢相信就到這裡了。如我先前所說，這是我第 50 次發布業績，我想這次相當不錯，作為告別也很合適。過去幾年能擔任這家公司的執行長，是一項莫大的榮幸。我們從一個相對缺乏結構的綜合企業，轉變為在所選產業中相當聚焦的全球第一；我覺得這是一件很酷的事。

And it's been, as I say, a great privilege to be here, but the success we've made in the last decade or so is absolutely down to the people in the organization. I've always said if we get the colleague strategy right in Rentokil Initial, everything else follows. And I think we have got a wonderful culture in this company. So I do want to pay tribute to the 60-odd thousand colleagues and all the ones that went before them in creating the brilliant company that it is.

而且如我所說，能在這裡是一項極大的榮幸，但我們在過去十年左右所取得的成功，完全要歸功於組織裡的同仁。我一直說，只要我們在 Rentokil Initial 把同仁策略做對，其他一切就會水到渠成。我認為我們公司擁有很棒的文化。因此我確實想向約 6 萬多名同仁，以及在他們之前的所有人致敬，正是他們共同打造了如今這家卓越的公司。

And believe it or not, I do want to thank you a lot. It's been great dealing with you for such a long time, doing my best to answer your questions. Will I miss it? I think I probably will a little bit, but I'll get over it. So thank you all for your interest in the company. It's been great getting to know many of you.

而且信不信由你，我也真的很想好好感謝各位。這麼長時間與各位互動非常愉快，我也一直盡力回答你們的問題。我會想念嗎？我想我可能會有一點點想念，但我會調適過來的。所以感謝各位對公司的關注。也很高興能認識在座許多位。

And for the next few weeks, I really look forward to handing over to Mike. We're having a great transition. He's having a lot of fun getting to know all the people around the business, and I'm sure he's going to be a great success. And personally, I think the company is set fair for long-term value creation, which is, at the end of the day, what it's all about.

接下來幾週，我非常期待把工作交接給 Mike。我們的交接進行得很順利。他很享受認識公司各個業務周邊的所有人，我也相信他一定會非常成功。就我個人而言，我認為公司已經具備長期價值創造的良好條件；說到底，這才是最重要的。

So thank you all for your support of the company, your questions and in many cases, your friendship as well. So thank you all very much indeed.

因此，感謝各位對公司的支持、你們的提問，以及在許多情況下，你們的友誼。再次非常非常感謝各位。