Compass feasts on US demand for its services
COMPASS posted a four per cent rise in third quarter sales yesterday after a strong appetite for its services in North America helped offset tough conditions in Europe.
The FTSE 100 catering firm, which operates in 50 countries and serves 4bn meals a year, also saw operating profit margin increase by 20 basis points in the quarter to 30 June.
In Europe and Japan, organic revenue declined by 3.4 per cent as it continued to exit loss-making contracts, however the group said that efforts to cut costs were helping to offset the impact on profitability.
Compass said it had maintained “good trading momentum” in North America, where sales rose 7.7 per cent year-on-year, while its fast growing emerging markets division was buoyed by strong performances in Brazil and Turkey.
“Our overall expectations for the full year remain positive and unchanged,” the group said.