Compass Group PLC

Good morning, everyone. Welcome to the first quarter results call. I'm delighted to have Petros here with me today, who took over as our CFO in December. We've had a great start to the year with strong organic revenue growth and a couple of exciting strategic acquisitions. Growth was strong across all of our regions, but we're particularly pleased with Europe, which continues to build a solid track record of performance. We were positively surprised by the like-for-like volumes, particularly in B&I, which have benefited from more return to office and hospitality events around Christmas compared to the year before. The outsourcing environment continues to be strong with good recent wins and our first-time outsourcing rates in line with last year. As we focus on core markets with significant growth opportunities, We're using our scale and the strength of our balance sheets to invest both organically and through M&A. This quarter, we completed the acquisition of Hoffmans in Germany and agreed to buy CH & Co in the UK. Both businesses have exciting growth potential through exposure to a diverse portfolio of sub-sectors and more flexible operating models. Two weeks ago, we also announced the disposal of our small operations in China. Until these deals complete, our guidance remains unchanged. Operating profit growth is expected to be towards 13%, delivered through high single-digit organic revenue growth and ongoing margin progression. You'll remember that we said in November there'd be some lumpiness this year. The first half benefiting from stronger pricing was nearly weighted towards the second half of the year. It's been a great quarter and we're delivering on our strategic growth priorities. By focusing on the attractive opportunities in our core markets and investing in CapEx and M&A, we're unlocking future growth. As a result, profit growth will continue to exceed revenue, generating strong cash generation and long-term compounding shareholder returns. Thank you. We'll now turn the line back to the operator to take your questions.

Thank you. As a reminder, if you would like to ask a question, please press star 1 on your telephone keypad. Thank you. We'll now take our first question from Jamie Rollo with Morgan Stanley. Please go ahead.

Thanks. Good morning, everyone. Three questions, please. First, it would be great if you could please break down the organic sales number into price, like-for-like volume, and net new, and perhaps just elaborate a little bit more on that lumpiness and timing of contract mobilization. Secondly, do you think your guidance is a tad conservative? Because I dedicate factors in any volume growth for the year, and also that volume growth should be quite accretive to margins. And then just on the M&A side, that's two quite big transactions in Europe. Are you aiming to replicate what the company did in the U.S. 20 to 30 years ago with a broader base portfolio of brands? And should we therefore expect several more years of hype in the M&A? And will you be getting more disclosure on these two deals? Thank you.