Compass Group PLC (LSE:CPG) shares warmed up 5% after the catering group raised its profit guidance for the full year after reporting strong organic growth in its third quarter.
Organic revenue for the FTSE 100-listed group rose 8.6%, and for the nine months of its financial year is up 8.5%. North America led with 9.6% growth in the quarter, while international revenues grew 6.6%.
For the full year, underlying operating profit growth is now expected to be "towards 11%", on a constant currency basis, driven by organic revenue growth above 8% and ongoing margin progression.
This compares to guidance given at its interim results for "high single-digit" underlying operating profit growth driven by organic revenue growth of over 7.5%.
The impact from currency translation is expected to have a $57 million impact on revenue and $13 million on operating profit if current forex rates continue for the remainder of the year, Compass added.
Net new business growth remained within its 4-5% target range, supported by client retention above 96%.
Compass also announced the acquisition of Netherlands-based Vermaat Groep for an enterprise value of €1.5 billion, a premium food services company that operates in Europe, on top of net M&A expenditure to $1.1 billion for the year to date.
The company said recent acquisitions are integrating ahead of plan and are delivering strong performance.
Shares rose 130p to 2,654p in early trading on Tuesday.