Compass share price rises after serves up good growth ahead of its Twickenham meeting
Annual revenue at Compass, the world’s biggest catering company, will be at the top end of projections, the firm said today.
The Chertsey-based firm was the stand-out performer on the FTSE 100. Shares rose almost six per cent, just in time to wow shareholders heading rugby’s Twickenham stadium for its annual general meeting.
Revenue swelled by 8.2 per cent in North America, while in Europe 2.1 per cent growth beat expectations. Turkey helped drive a four per cent increase in sales across the rest of the world.
Compass expects “modest margin progression” over the full year to September. Most of this will be weighted towards the second half of its financial year.
Read more: Richard Cousins: The City pays tribute after death of Compass CEO
“The US is far and away Compass’s most important market,” said Steve Clayton a fund manager at Hargreaves Lansdown, which holds 3.5 per cent of Compass’ stock.
“The only negative news from Compass today is their estimate of currency swings looking forward. Sterling has been recovering of late and with the large majority of its income earned abroad, this creates a drag on profits, when reported back into pounds.
He added:
An estimated hit of almost £100m in the current year will hold back earnings growth. Without this, the underlying performance of the group would likely have seen analysts reaching for their pencils to upgrade numbers.
Read more: Compass Group shares open lower after the tragic death of its CEO