Profits show Compass is pointing in right direction

Supplying healthy US hospital food, Disney's staff canteen, the Mammoth Mountain ski resort in California and miners canteens in Australia all helped Compass post a strong 7.7 per cent rise in first-half profits yesterday.

The world's largest food service company with operations in 50 countries serving four billion meals every year, Compass saw emerging markets and US growth offset a much weaker European market. Revenues rose 8.6 per cent to £8.6bn, up from £7.9bn for the same period in 2011. Sales in the emerging markets – boosted by new contract wins such as supplying Rio Tinto miners with food – saw business in tyhat area grow by 12.4 per cent.

Laura Chesters