Compass Group plc (LON:CPG) have told the market on Thursday they have delivered revenue growth in their first quarter trading.
The firm noted that organic revenue climbed 5.3% in the three month period which ended on December 31st.
North American revenue was particularly strong, Compass noted. Organic revenue grew 7.5% in this sector, which was one of the headline stats to takeaway for shareholders.
European business stayed consistent, as organic revenue remained flat year on year.
However, the firm did say that its intentions to cut 4,000 jobs over the next two years remained a presence, as the firm looked to stem costs following an annual profit drop.
Looking forward the firm said:
“Following approval from the EU Competition Commission, we completed the acquisition of Fazer Food Services on 31 January 2020 for an initial cash consideration of approximately €420 million.
We also continued to make progress with the disposal programme and have recently sold 50% of our Japanese Highways business for a consideration of £55 million, with agreement to sell the remainder over the next three years. We expect to make further progress with disposals throughout the year.
We have had an encouraging start to the year and our outlook for 2020 remains unchanged with organic growth around the mid-point of our 4-6% guidance range whilst maintaining our strong margin(2). In the longer-term, we remain excited about the significant structural growth opportunities globally, and the potential for further revenue and profit growth combined with further returns to shareholders.”.
November blues for Compass
Compass gave shareholders a pessimistic update in November which led to shares crashing.
Compass reported a 5.7% increase in full year underlying revenues reaching £25.2 billion for the year ending 30 September.
Operating profit rose 4.7% to £1.9 billion.
Operating margin was 7.4% while free cash flow grew 9.3% to £1.25 billion.
Group chief executive Dominic Blakemore said that despite the good performance, Compass was “not immune to the macro environment”.
The update today from Compass will give shareholders some encouragement following a mixed few months for the firm.
Shares in Compass trade at 1,958p (+2.70%). 6/2/20 16:39BST.