The firm – which provides food service for offices, universities and sports venues – said pre-tax profits grew by 21% to $1.2billion (£1.03 billion) in the six months to March 31
Catering giant Compass Group has reported a surge in revenues and profit, partly driven by workers returning to the office on Monday.
The company, which supplies food services for offices, universities, and sports venues, announced that pre-tax profits rose by 21% to $1.2 billion (£1.03billion) in the six months leading up to March 31. The firm’s statutory half-year revenues hit $20.7 billion (£17.8billion), an increase of 11.2%, with its office canteen division and the “continued return to office trend” being credited as part of the factors fuelling the rise.
Chief financial officer Petro Parras praised the ongoing trend of office workers returning to work, highlighting Monday in particular as driving volume growth. Compass noted a steady recovery in office attendance post-Covid, with Monday now equalling Thursdays.
The company stated that the trend of returning to work on Mondays began in the US, but increases have also been observed in the UK and Europe. Fridays continue to trail behind the first four days of the week, although office workers who visit the canteen then tend to splurge more indulging in a nicer lunch or a few extra snacks.
The firm also attributed the widening gap in the cost of high street lunch options versus its canteen prices to its revenue increase. After a solid half-year performance, it has ramped up its earnings outlook for the full year, expecting an underlying operating profit growth “towards 15%”.
Compass chief executive Dominic Blakemore said: “The group has delivered a strong set of results, with balanced double-digit organic revenue growth and good underlying operating margin progression across all regions. Europe is building a strong track record of growth, having benefited from investment and best practice sharing.”
Commenting on the report, Steve Clayton, head of equity funds at Hargreaves Lansdown, stated that Compass had met market expectations with a “strong” report. “Compass is firing on all cylinders, with all regions delivering double-digit organic revenue growth in the first half,” he professed.
Clayton further observed that Compass had skillfully managed pricing and menu mix to counterbalance inflation’s impact, emphasizing that food price inflation “is no longer the scale of challenge that it once was”.