Aug. 18 (Bloomberg) -- U.K. stocks fell, paced by shares of BHP Billiton Plc, the world's biggest mining company, and Rentokil Initial Plc, the biggest pest-control business.

The benchmark FTSE 100 Index lost 8.1, or 0.2 percent, to 4350.6 as of 8:04 a.m. in London. The FTSE All-Share Index also fell 0.2 percent to 2159.34.

BHP Billiton shed 12 pence, or 2.3 percent, to 512. The company said fiscal full-year net income climbed 78 percent to $3.38 billion from the year-earlier period, as soaring Chinese demand boosted prices for iron ore, copper and other raw materials. Analysts expected profit of $3.43 billion, according to the median estimate of eight surveyed by Bloomberg News.

Rentokil dropped 4 pence, or 2.6 percent, to 153. The business-services group may say it won't sell its conference and parcel-delivery business, the Financial Times reported, without citing anyone.

To contact the reporter on this story: Alexis Xydias in London at axydias@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: August 18, 2004 03:10 EDT