Rest of the World

The margin in the Rest of the World businesses has increased by 160 basis points overall

The Rest of the World businesses have delivered revenue of £1,263 million (2009: £1,137 million) and organic revenue growth of 1.4%. Operating profit increased by £20 million, or 30% on a constant currency basis, to £87 million (2009: £67 million on a constant currency basis). The margin has increased by 160 basis points overall on a constant currency basis to 6.9%, and is now broadly in line with the Group average.

We are continuing to see good levels of new business wins across most countries in the region, including a new contract with Microsoft in South Africa. In China we have been awarded the China Medical City, a pharmaceutical focused business park and Han’s Laser, which specialises in the production of laser related equipment; and in Chile, we have been awarded several large remote site contracts linked to the mining industry. The drive for efficiencies across all five MAP disciplines has contributed to the excellent margin progression.

In Australia we continue to see very good levels of new business wins across all sectors. Rio Tinto-Hamersley recently awarded us the Brockman 4 Production project in Western Australia, Catholic Healthcare outsourced their catering services for the first time to us and we have won a contract with News Limited to run their staff restaurant. An ongoing focus on food cost in particular has enabled Australia to deliver further margin improvement.

Revenue in the Japanese business continues to be impacted by declines in the Business & Industry and Sports & Leisure sectors. However, we have again made further excellent progress in driving efficiencies in all areas of cost, including overheads, to deliver another increase in the margin.

In Brazil, new business wins across all sectors have been very positive. Recent awards include Brenco, a leader in the field of renewable energy, Johnson & Johnson and the Colegio Panamby Bilingual School, based in São Paulo. The actions taken last year by the management team have continued to deliver cost efficiencies which are moving the margin forward in this exciting business. The acquisition of Clean Mall and FB Facility marks our entry into the Brazilian support services market.

Our UAE based joint venture continues to perform well with double digit organic growth being seen in the support services and offshore sectors. A focus on food and logistics costs has assisted in moving the margin forward across the business.

Our businesses serving the energy and extraction sector, which has a focus on blue chip international clients, have continued to deliver strong double digit organic revenue growth and enjoy excellent retention rates. In Azerbaijan we have recently been awarded a multi service contract by BP to service their offshore locations in the Caspian Sea.