(Updated with details, stock market price, analysts’ comments)
April 1 (Reuters) – Sodexo EXHO.PA on Friday cut its forecast for organic revenue growth for the full year, citing uncertainties related to the COVID-19 pandemic and the closure of testing centers in the UK, as well as the war in Ukraine.
The group, which is among the largest catering companies in the world, along with Britain’s Compass Group CPG.L, now expects organic revenue growth around the low end of the 15% to 18% range. , disclosed in October 2021, for its fiscal year ending August 31, 2022.
“The environment remains uncertain. We are seeing local resurgences of COVID-19, several contract start-ups in Russia that will not take place and Testing Centers in the UK have closed earlier than expected,” said the Managing Director. Sophie Bellon, in a press release.
The spike in food prices triggered by the war in Ukraine is also clouding the outlook for the global economy.
“Inflation is a subject on which we are working a lot. We are very, very vigilant because indeed, the situation around the war in Ukraine is bringing some volatility to certain commodities, so it is something that we are monitoring like the milk on the fire,” said CFO Marc Rolland.
However, the group remains confident in its ability to manage price pressure on margins.
JP Morgan analysts nevertheless consider the group’s forecasts “very optimistic”.
On the Paris Stock Exchange, Sodexo shares fell more than 7% around 08:34 GMT.
The group said the Omicron and Delta variants of the coronavirus impacted the recovery in the second quarter.
Last July, the group announced a new contract last July to operate 121 additional fixed and mobile testing centers in the United Kingdom for one year, extendable by six months, but free tests ended on Friday in England.
Sophie Bellon ensures that the group has already redeployed 1,000 people within Sodexo and 1,000 other people have asked to be redeployed to other contracts and other Sodexo subsidiaries.
The company posted recurring operating profit of 538 million euros in the first half of 2022, slightly beating analysts’ forecast of 530 million euros, and said it has seen better momentum since late February.
(Report by Federica Mileo and Diana Mandiá; French version Dina Kartit, edited by Nicolas Delame and Matthieu Protard)