Elior cites control of UKmargins as international earnings soar

French-owned caterer Elior announced this week that sales for the six months ended 31 March increased by 15.9% to €1.175b (£759.8m) compared with the same period last year.

For the company's international business, earnings before interest, taxes and amortisation (EBITA) stood at €24.4m (£15.7m). This represented an increase of 77% over last year, on sales up 49%.

The group said in a trading statement that the strong increase in EBITA was partly due to its "good control of margins in the United Kingdom in a difficult economic environment".

Co-presidents Francis Markus and Robert Zolade said the results were in line with their forecasts. For the full year, they said, turnover should increase by 14%.