10th Feb 2006 07:00
Compass Group PLC10 February 2006 10 February 2006 Compass Group PLC: Chairman's AGM Statement Compass Group holds its AGM today at the Queen Elizabeth II Centre, London, at11:00am. At this meeting Sir Francis Mackay, Chairman of Compass Group PLC, willprovide shareholders with the following update: Current Trading and Outlook In the first four months of the year, overall the Group is trading in line withexpectations. Net new business (new business less lost business) is developingas we had planned. We are seeing good success in new contract wins and as wehave previously discussed, we are continuing to exit or renegotiate contractsthat do not meet our financial criteria. The Group has substantially completedthe restructuring programme announced in 2005 and remains on track to deliverthe targeted £50 million of overhead cost savings. Tight cost control willcontinue to be a central feature of the Group going forward. Trading has remained strong in the first four months of the year in NorthAmerica, driven by new contract wins across all of the primary business sectors.In the UK, the primary business sectors are trading in line with ourexpectations, with the State Education sector continuing to be the mostchallenging. In Continental Europe, our management teams continue to focus on improvingclient retention and tighter cost management. The early results of this focusare in line with our expectations. In the Rest of the World, the planned scale back of our presence in the MiddleEast military business is proceeding as anticipated, with profits expected to beno more than £5 million in the full year as previously communicated. Theremainder of the Rest of the World business has continued to perform well in thefirst four months, particularly the remote site sector in Australasia and ourbusinesses in South America. Sale of Travel Concessions Business The Group announced on 28 September 2005 its decision to sell its TravelConcessions business, primarily Select Service Partner (SSP). We continue to seegood growth in the underlying business, particularly in Europe. The sale processis progressing well and we are encouraged by the level of interest. The saleprocess remains on schedule for completion by mid-2006. Management The process to recruit a new Group Chief Executive, led by Sir Roy Gardner andthe Nominations Committee remains ongoing and we are making good progress. 2006 Calendar In advance of announcing the interim results on 16 May 2006, the group willprovide its customary pre-close trading update at 7:00am on 28 March 2006. Michael J Bailey, Chief Executive, said: "This is very much a case of 'steady as she goes'. Trading in the first fourmonths is in line with our expectations and we are pleased with our performancein both winning new business and in retaining existing contracts." ENDS Enquiries: Compass Group PLC +44 (0) 1932 573000Investors/Analysts: Andrew MartinMedia: Paul Kelly Websitewww.compass-group.com This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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