"Good" performance from Compass, volumes under pressure

29th Sep 2011 07:31

Compass said it put in "another good performance" in the fourth quarter of the financial year, with organic revenue growth expected to exceed 4%, though the catering giant has seen some pressure on volumes recently.Over the full year, Compass expects total revenue growth of 9%, or about 5% on an organic basis.When taking into account the Japanese earthquake, the profit margin for the full year is expected to be at the same level as last year, but excluding this, the underlying margin is expected to increase by about 20 basis points. Japan accounts for about 5% of Compass's revenues.Compass said its organic growth has been driven by "strong levels of new business wins, an improvement in the underlying rate of retention to around 94% and modest inflationary price increases."The company said that volumes over the full year are likely to broadly flat, with "marginally negative" volumes in the second half offsetting growth in the first half."Whilst the current economic uncertainty is likely to put ongoing pressure on like for like volume in parts of the business, as we look forward, we remain very positive about the opportunities to grow the business," the company said. "We are well placed to capitalise on the significant structural growth opportunities in both food and support services around the world and we are encouraged by the pipeline of new business."---RG