(Reuters) – French catering and food services group Sodexo on Thursday raised its second-half revenue and profit margin forecasts, betting on the full reopening of schools in the Americas.
The Paris-based company said it now expects an operating profit margin of 3.5% for the six months ended August 31, compared with 3.1% forecast earlier.
Revenue is now estimated to rise 15% on a like-to-like basis, versus the previous outlook of 10% to 15% growth.
Analysts had expected Sodexo to post sales up 15.5% for the second half, according to consensus estimates cited by Midcap Partners.
“We remain convinced that once vaccination is rolled out, our activities will rapidly come back to pre-COVID levels,” Chief Executive Denis Machuel said in a statement.
(Reporting by Sarah Morland and Dagmarah Mackos; Editing by Aditya Soni)
