Rentokil's beleaguered City Link parcel delivery unit got a boost in profits owing to recent postal strikes.

As per rough estimates, Royal Mail strikes could benefit the City Link in the range of £1 to £2 million.

The Communication Workers' Union has resorted to a series of strikes in a row over pay and modernization of the department.

Alan Brown, CEO of the company, said, "The customers who switch into parcel-delivery services will switch back to Royal Mail later on, so it tends to be a pretty short-term benefit."

Alan Brown predicted that the company would return to profit during the last three months of the year.

The pest-control company, Rentokil, posted a rise of 3.2 per cent in its third- quarter revenue to £622.6 million.

Company pre-tax profit (before one-time items) soared to £49.6 million.

In the recent London trading, shares in Rentokil closed at 105p, down 6.3 per cent.