Philippe Salle, Elior’s chairman and chief executive, said: “The first nine months of our fiscal year are solid, with 2.7% organic revenue growth and an EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation) margin that was close with the one of the first nine months of 2013-2014.
“During the third quarter the trends observed since the beginning of fiscal 2014-2015 continued, with an acceleration of growth and profitability for our concession catering operations, and a mixed picture for contract catering which led us to adapt our operational management to different regions and market segments.
“As a result of our solid performance for the period we are raising our revenue growth forecasts and standing by all of our other financial targets for full-year 2014-2015.”
Consolidated revenue totaled €4.28bn (£3.14bn) in the first nine months of 2014-2015. The 5.9% increase on the equivalent period of 2013-2014 reflects solid organic growth of 2.7% over the period.
The October 2014 acquisition of Lexington in the UK added 0.9% to revenue growth, net of the effect of the disposal in December 2013 of non-strategic concession catering operations in Argentina and Morocco.
Contract Catering & Support Services revenue was up €166.5m (£122m), or 5.6%, on the first nine months of 2013-2014, coming in at €3.12bn (£2.3bn) and representing 73% of total consolidated revenue.
Organic growth was 2% over the period, driven by a particularly strong performance in international markets.
The calendar effect – corresponding to the year-on-year difference in the number of working days – was only slight during the first nine months of 2014-2015, representing 0.1% of revenue.
Changes in the scope of consolidation pushed up Contract Catering & Support Services revenue by 1.3%, fueled by the acquisition of Lexington which had a €39m (£28.6m) favourable impact.
In international markets, revenue rose 11.8% year on year to €1.45bn (£1.06bn). Organic growth was 3.6%, propelled by the US, the UK and Spain, while Italy posted a slight overall contraction.
Business remained brisk in the UK, thanks to a robust showing both from existing sites and sites opened in the past 12 months.
In the education market, the slowdown in business in Italy was partially offset by revenue increases in other countries, particularly Spain and the UK.
While the healthcare market reported significant growth for the period, driven by good performances in the US, the UK and Spain.
On August 4th Elior acquired Starr Restaurant Catering Group (SRCG), a high-end restaurant and catering group based in the United States. Founded in 2008, SRCG operates multiple sites, primarily in New York, Philadelphia and Miami. It generated revenue of US$40m (£26m) in 2014 and is a market leader in providing high level full-service catering.