DOWNERS GROVE, ILL. - ServiceMaster officially closed the books on a challenging 2001 that included a struggling economy, difficult weather conditions and a series of acquisitions that mapped the company's course for the future. The company ended the year with $3.6 billion in revenues, which represented a 3 percent increase over its 2000 performance.
ServiceMaster's TruGreen-ChemLawn and TruGreen LandCare outfits combined to generate $1.37 billion in revenue last year, which was essentially the same as the previous year, excluding the revenue generated by the landscape construction work sold off to Environmental Industries. Meanwhile, TruGreen's income fell from $166 million to $143 million during the last 12 months.
"Lawn care revenues were flat for the year reflecting the realization of price increases and growth in ancillary services, offset by lower customer counts," explained the company in a release. "Investments in sales and marketing combined with higher labor costs and overheads caused margin pressure on the segment's lawn care operations. Revenues in landscape maintenance were up slightly for the year, but experienced a decrease in operating profits due to lower demand for enhancement services and increased sales and marketing expenditures."