(Adds details on outlook, costs, liquidity, background)
Sept 30 (Reuters) - UK-based Compass Group expects
to report a roughly one-fifth fall in organic revenues for 2020,
the company said on Wednesday, saying it was taking a 100
million pound ($128.30 million) impairment charge on European
and North American contracts.
The world's biggest caterer, which employs around 600,000
people and served billions of meals across 45 countries before
the COVID-19 pandemic struck, said virus-led closures of
businesses and schools reduced organic revenue by 19% in the
year to Sept. 30.
"The pace at which our revenues and margins will recover
remains unclear, especially given the possible increase in
lockdown measures in the Northern Hemisphere through the winter
months," the company said.
Shares in the company fell 5% at opening.
The company, however, added that performance across most of
its markets have seen an improvement as schools and businesses
start reopening.
The fall in organic revenues was 36% year on year in the
fourth quarter compared to 44% in the third, the company said.
Compass has a vast spread of cafeterias and catering
operations, serving office workers at Google, Shell and HSBC, as
well as schools, old age homes, prisoners and the armed forces.
At the peak of coronavirus-induced lockdowns in May more
than half its operations were closed, and the company has raised
2 billion pounds in new capital to reduce debt.
It said "resizing costs" will amount to about 130 million
pounds in the year, and that the company expects liquidity at
the end of September to be around 5 billion pounds.
($1 = 0.7794 pounds)
(Reporting by Yadarisa Shabong in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak
Dasgupta and Patrick Graham)