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Investing.com -- Elis (HE:ELISA) reported first-quarter revenue on Monday that came in slightly below expectations, impacted by calendar effects and weakness in parts of Europe.
The company posted revenues of €1.132 billion, up 2.5% like-for-like, just under Bernstein’s forecast of €1.139 billion and a 2.7% rise.
Shares of Elis fell more than 2% on Tuesday following the results.
Analysts at Bernstein attributed about 1.5 percentage points of the growth miss to fewer billing days in February and the timing of Easter, which affected the Hospitality segment.
Adjusted for calendar effects, organic sales growth would have been closer to 4%, in line with the company’s full-year outlook.
Stronger-than-expected performance in France, Latin America and Spain helped offset softer results in Scandinavia and Germany.
Bernstein cited contract losses in German public healthcare and competitive pressure in Denmark as headwinds.
Elis maintained its full-year targets, including an EBITDA margin improvement. Bernstein said the group is on track with its €150 million share buyback program, about 42% complete, and its debt reduction efforts.