Compass interims top forecasts
Caterer Compass boasted a strong first half, with reported profit before tax up a better than expected 25%, and said it will buy back a further £400m of its shares over the next 18 months.
Pre-tax profit for the six months to 31 March jumped to £281m from £224m in 2007, or rose 29% to £289m on an underlying basis. Reported revenue climbed almost 8% to £5.59bn.
The company said it remained confident about the second half of the year and of its ability to drive continued revenue and margin growth over the medium term.
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It has continued to experience food price inflation of 4-5%, although a combination of menu planning, waste reduction and price increases are helping it shave 1% off that figure.
"Our ability to manage inflationary pressures has helped us to deliver the 60 basis points improvement in operating margin," added the group.
The interim dividend goes up 11% to 4p per share.
