British caterer Compass serves up second annual forecast upgrade this year
Q3 organic revenue growth beat expectations at 10.3%
Shares rise 4.9% to top of FTSE 100
Compass says pricing has moderated, in line with inflation
Adds CEO comments in paragraphs 3-4, analyst in paragraph 8
By Yadarisa Shabong
July 23 (Reuters) -Caterer Compass CPG.L raised its annual profit and revenue forecasts for the second time this year on Tuesday, after third-quarter revenue beat expectations as more people eat in office canteens rather than in pricier high-street restaurants.
Shares in the FTSE 100-listed company rose nearly 5% to the top of the London blue-chip index .FTSE.
"We're able to better manage inflation when we're able in particular to change our menu mix more than high street restaurants would be able to do," CEO Dominic Blakemore told analysts.
"So we believe that (the value) gap has widened through the last several years and made us more attractive to our consumers," he said, adding that even if the broader economic picture were to improve, that gap remains.
The world's largest catering group lifted its annual underlying operating profit growth forecast to above 15% and organic revenue above 10% for the year ending September. It had previously said profit and revenue would rise towards 15% and 10%, respectively.
Compass had emerged as a much bigger business from the pandemic as companies turned to outsourcing to meet their canteen needs, although it has had to contend with high food prices and increased labour costs.
However, as inflation eases, pricing has moderated, Compass said.
"There are underlying structural drivers feeding demand for outsourcing and that's playing into the group's hands. Regulation, and the value that bulk procurement offers are but a few," Hargreaves Lansdown analyst Derren Nathan equity said.
The British company, which caters tostaff and students at the likes of Microsoft MSFT.O, Shell SHEL.L and Harvard Business School, reported a 10.3% rise in organic revenue for the quarter ended June 30, on growth across its regions and sectors.
Analysts had expected an organic revenue growth of 9.5% for the quarter, according to a company-supplied consensus.
In the past eight months, Compass has exited several markets, including China and Brazil.
French rivalSodexo EXHO.PA, which is catering the Paris Olympics, had reported slower quarterly sales growth earlier this month, citing a slowdown in China.
Reporting by Yadarisa Shabong in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu and Louise Heavens
免责声明: XM Group仅提供在线交易平台的执行服务和访问权限，并允许个人查看和/或使用网站或网站所提供的内容，但无意进行任何更改或扩展，也不会更改或扩展其服务和访问权限。所有访问和使用权限，将受下列条款与条例约束：(i) 条款与条例；(ii) 风险提示；以及(iii) 完整免责声明。请注意，网站所提供的所有讯息，仅限一般资讯用途。此外，XM所有在线交易平台的内容并不构成，也不能被用于任何未经授权的金融市场交易邀约和/或邀请。金融市场交易对于您的投资资本含有重大风险。
所有在线交易平台所发布的资料，仅适用于教育/资讯类用途，不包含也不应被视为用于金融、投资税或交易相关咨询和建议，或是交易价格纪录，或是任何金融商品或非应邀途径的金融相关优惠的交易邀约或邀请。
本网站上由XM和第三方供应商所提供的所有内容，包括意见、新闻、研究、分析、价格、其他资讯和第三方网站链接，皆保持不变，并作为一般市场评论所提供，而非投资性建议。所有在线交易平台所发布的资料，仅适用于教育/资讯类用途，不包含也不应被视为适用于金融、投资税或交易相关咨询和建议，或是交易价格纪录，或是任何金融商品或非应邀途径的金融相关优惠的交易邀约或邀请。请确保您已阅读并完全理解，XM非独立投资研究提示和风险提示相关资讯，更多详情请点击 这里。
