New business makes for tasty quarter at Compass

7th Feb 2019 07:35

(Sharecast News) - Catering company Compass said organic revenue for the three months to December 31 grew by 6.9%, driven by new business wins, good retention rates, new UK Defence contracts and a positive sporting events calendar.The company added that it had made "an excellent start to the year" and now expected to be slightly above the middle of its target 4-6% organic growth range for the full year, with "modest margin progression".Compass said year on year currency movements had a positive translation impact on revenues and profit in the quarter of £107m and £10m respectively.Organic revenue in North America increased by 8.0% with good growth across all sectors, particularly in business & industry and sports & leisure, Compass said. In Europe, organic revenue grew by 6.4% reflecting continued momentum from new business wins, notably the significant impact of defence contracts in the UK mobilised in the second half of 2018, a beneficial sports & leisure calendar and continuing good growth in Continental Europe.Organic revenue in Rest of the World increased by 2.8%, with ongoing good performance in developing markets partially offset by the run-off of the last offshore construction project in Australia.If current spot rates were to continue for the remainder of the year, foreign exchange translation would positively impact 2018 revenue by £508m and operating profit by £43m.