On heels of strong Q4, foodservice giant Elior Group sharpens focus on waste reduction

Between July and September, Elior Goup recorded its best quarter since the pandemic began, with revenues equivalent to 85% of those generated over the same period in 2018-2019. The catering giant's fourth-quarter rebound has prompted a positive outlook 2022 and beyond and energized its strategic goals for for 2024.

"Today, Elior is perfectly organized for a return to sustainable, profitable growth based notably on an optimized cost structure and new offers that are even more suited to market expectation," said Elior Group chief executive Philippe Guillemot, who added that the past two years has been "totally unprecedented for the entire contract catering sector."

Elior's full fiscal year 2020–2021 revenues, were however, were were down slightly, compared with 2019-2020.

Provided that the health situation gets back under control, improvement in Elior's operations should continue gather momentum in the new year, even amid higher-than-expected inflation, a subject of negotiations with its clients.

For fiscal 2021-2022, the company said it expects organic growth of at least 18% and an adjusted EBITA margin of between 2% and 2.5%.

Elior said its 2024 strategic plan, initiated in 2019, is "perfectly suited" for challenges in year ahead and will allow it to seize new opportunities. The company's value-proposition goals for 2024 include reducing its carbon footprint by 12% and food waste by 30% and achieving an energy that's 80% renewable.

Founded in 1991 in France, Elior Group the world's second-largest contractor in the catering and support services sector. Its foodservice and vending machine operations serve the business and industry, education, healthcare and leisure markets.