Compass Group PLC (LSE:CPG) will serve up full-year results on Monday that will also be the caterer's first investor update since July, when it upgraded revenue guidance and maintained its profit margin target.
In the third quarter, organic revenue growth accelerated from the first half, with underlying sales at 109% of their pre-Covid levels, with new business growth accelerating thanks to more companies outsourcing their catering for the first time "due to ongoing operational challenges and heightened inflation".
“Longer term, we expect revenue and profit growth above historical rates, returning margin to pre-pandemic levels, and rewarding shareholders with further returns,” the FTSE 100-listed group said.
The shares jumped on the news, regaining their pre-pandemic levels and only slipping slightly in the four months since.
For Monday's results, the City analyst consensus is for revenue to rise from £18.1bn a year ago to £25.1bn and operating profit to steam up from £812mln to £1.5bn, with a full year underlying profit margin of 6.1% that implies stronger second half than first.