![Richard Cousins: Economic conditions are starting to improve Photo of Richard Cousins, Compass Group chief executive](/sites/default/files/styles/single_page/public/images/news/richardcousins2.jpg?itok=-JRmKzKS)
Richard Cousins, Group chief executive, said: “This has been another period of consistent delivery for Compass. Organic revenue growth of over 4% has been driven by strong growth in North America and the fast growing and emerging markets.
“Encouragingly, economic conditions and new business in Europe and Japan are starting to improve.
“The operating efficiencies we’ve generated have enabled us to invest in the many growth opportunities we see, as well as deliver an improvement in the operating margin of 10 basis points, taking it to 7.4%.
“Strong cash generation has underpinned our investment in the business and our commitment to reward shareholders.
“Based on the ongoing strength of our performance, the board is proposing to increase the ordinary interim dividend by 10% to 8.8 pence per share and return a further £1 billion of cash to shareholders through a special dividend.
“Looking forward, the outsourcing proposition remains compelling and I’m positive about the opportunities for further revenue and margin progression.”
Group sales for the half-year totalled £8.7bn, while profit before tax stood at £595m, a 5.7% year-on-year rise. Earnings per share were 24.8p, up 10% on the same period last year, while announced returns to shareholders since 2006 now stand at £6bn.