The group, which delivers catering and other FM services, was reporting figures for the first half of its financial year up to March 31st.
Dominic Blakemore, group chief executive, 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, leading to underlying operating profit growth of 19% on a constant-currency basis.
“Europe is building a strong track record of growth, having benefited from investment and best practice sharing. We have completed the acquisitions of HOFMANNs in Germany and CH&CO in the UK and Ireland, increasing operational flexibility as well as further strengthening our unique sectorised approach to the market.
“As a result of our strong first-half performance and positive outlook, we are raising guidance for underlying operating profit growth to towards 15% for the full year. Beyond 2024, we expect to sustain mid to high single-digit organic revenue growth, ongoing margin progression and profit growth ahead of revenue growth.
“We will continue to reinvest in the business to support future growth, with any surplus capital returned to shareholders, as we maintain our strong track record of delivering long-term, compounding shareholder returns.”
He said that Compass’s strategic focus on people, performance and purpose continued to underpin all that the company did in its ambition to ‘deliver value to all our stakeholders’.
Highlights over the six-month period included:
- Investing US$693m (£548m) in capital expenditure (3.3% of underlying revenue) supporting growth and generating strong returns
- Completing the US$600m (£474m) acquisition of UK-based catering company CH&Co
- Completed the US$500m (£395m) share buyback announced in November 2023.