(Reuters) -Sodexo (EPA:EXHO) reported better-than-expected revenue for the third quarter, with solid growth in all business divisions and geographies, aided by price hikes and volume recovery post-Omicron.
For the three months that ended on May 31, the Paris-based company’s organic sales went up by 18.3% to $5.52 billion euros ($5.77 billion). This was more than the average estimate of $5.33 billion euros from analysts the company polled, who thought the company’s sales would be around $5.33 billion euros.
Sodexo, which provides food services for corporations, industrial sites, military forces, government agencies, hospitals, schools, and sports events, kept its April-reduced full-year forecast.
Corporate Services continued to benefit from the reopening of offices, while Sports & Leisure and universities reported increased activity as events and retail venues resumed operations.
After being affected by COVID-19 lockdowns, caterers are currently renegotiating rates and supplier agreements in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which has caused energy and food prices to skyrocket. Both Russia and Ukraine are major wheat exporters.
Chairwoman and CEO Sophie Bellon said in a statement, “We are pushing forward with enhancing the effectiveness of our on-site services group.”
On-site services is the biggest part of Sodexo. It brought in 5.30 billion euros in revenue during the quarter.
Sodexo gave up on the idea of letting an outside investor put money into its voucher business in May. On November 2, during its Capital Markets Day, the company said it would talk about its strategy for the division and its midterm goals.
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