Compass FY profit rises amid solid North America performance

Catering group Compass posted a rise in full-year profit on Tuesday as revenue grew thanks in part to a solid performance in North America.

In the year to the end of September, statutory pre-tax profit rose 18.1% to £1.6m on revenue of £22.9bn, up 3.8% from the previous year. In North America, revenue rose 7.1% on an organic basis, driven by good new business wins and an "excellent" retention rate at 96%.

Meanwhile, revenue in Europe was up 1.6% thanks to good levels of new business in the UK and Turkey, partly offset by dull trading on the Continent, principally in France and Germany. In Rest of World, however, revenue fell 2.5% on an organic basis but the company said the rate of decline has slowed in recent months and this trend is expected to continue into 2018.

Chief executive Richard Cousins said: "Compass had another strong year. North America continues to deliver excellent growth, we are continuing to make progress in Europe and in Rest of World, with trends in our commodity related business improving.

"Our expectations for FY2018 are positive, with growth and margin improvement weighted to the second half. The pipeline of new contracts is encouraging and our focus on organic growth, efficiencies and cash gives us confidence in achieving another year of progress.

"In the longer term, we remain excited about the significant structural growth opportunities globally and the potential for further revenue growth, margin improvement, as well as continued returns to shareholders."