Soldiers and school kids help Compass beat slump
COMPASS Group,the world’s biggest caterer, showed its recession-proof credentials yesterday, posting a 33 per cent profit rise which topped market expectations and propelled its shares to a seven-year high.
The company, which feeds office workers, soldiers and schoolchildren, said underlying pre-tax profit for the year to end September reached £784m, up from £589m the year before as it benefited from new business wins, a weak pound and cost cutting.
Market expectations had ranged between £715m and £788m, with the consensus at £764m.
Shares in Compass, which have risen by 37 per cent since the start of the year, closed up by 6.29 per cent to 427.3p.
The group, which counts Chelsea Football Club and London’s 02 arena among its clients and provides catering services to 17 of the 20 biggest banks in Canada, said full-year revenue totalled £13.4bn , up 17.5 per cent.