Compass Group plc (LON: CPG) said on Tuesday that its pre-tax profit came in lower in fiscal 2020 than last year. The company attributed the decline to weaker revenue due to the ongoing COVID-19 crisis that has so far infected more than 1.5 million people in the United Kingdom and caused over 55 thousand deaths.
At £13.43 per share, Compass Group is currently about 30% down year to date in the stock market after recovering from an even lower £10.15 per share in March. If you want to invest online in the stock market, you’ll need a reliable stockbroker; here’s a comparison of the top few to make selection easier for you.
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Compass Group reports £19.94 billion of revenue
The British multinational reported £210 million of pre-tax profit in the financial year that concluded on 30th September. In comparison, it had posted a significantly higher £1.49 billion last year. Compass Group resorted to a share offer valued at £2 billion in May to reduce debt and cushion the economic blow from the Coronavirus pandemic.
In terms of revenue, the world’s largest contract foodservice company recorded £19.94 billion in fiscal 2020 versus the year-ago figure of a higher £24.88 billion. According to Compass Group, the COVID-19 crisis weighed on volumes in several segments, including education, sports and leisure, and business and industry, in all regions.
In separate news from the UK, meat processor Cranswick plc said its profit in the fiscal first half came in higher than last year as COVID-19 increased in-home consumption in recent months.
Compass Group refrains from declaring a final dividend
Compass Group’s board decided in favour of keeping the final dividend suspended on Tuesday in a bid to shore up finances amidst the pandemic. The company said:
“The board will keep future dividends under review and will restart payments when it is considered appropriate to do so.”
Compass Group also said on Tuesday that operating margin in fiscal 2020 stood at 2.9% – almost matching 3% that the company had forecast earlier. For the fiscal first quarter of the newly started financial year, the Chertsey-based company now expects its underlying operating margin to print at close to 2.5%.
Compass Group performed fairly upbeat in the stock market last year with an annual gain of more than 15%. At the time of writing, it is valued at £24 billion and has a price to earnings ratio of 20.69.
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