(Reuters) – French vouchers and cards provider Edenred on Thursday hiked its target for 2022 core profit for the second time this year, citing strong growth momentum driven by inflation and increased digital solutions development.
Edenred, which helps companies manage staff expenses and benefits and is known for its “Ticket Restaurant” vouchers, now expects its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) to come between 810 million and 840 million euros ($791 million and $821 million) this year.
The company last raised its EBITDA forecast in July to 770-820 million euros.
Vouchers and cards providers like Edenred stand to benefit from higher inflation as a rise in meal prices drives up the maximum values of employee benefit cards.
“Our solutions, which are synonymous with higher purchasing power for employees and greater efficiency for fleet managers, are even more relevant in today’s inflationary environment,” Chief Executive Bertrand Dumazy said in a statement.
The group, whose payment solutions range from meal and commuter vouchers to fuel cards and employee engagement platforms, reported an operating revenue of 484 million euros in the third quarter, beating analysts’ 465 million euro estimate in a company-provided consensus.
In France, its operating revenue reached 71 million euros in the quarter, up 8.7% on the year both on reported and like-for-like basis, driven by the Fleet & Mobility Solutions business and strong sales momentum of the Ticket Restaurant meal benefits, the group said.
($1 = 1.0234 euros)
(Reporting by Federica Mileo and Diana Mandiá in Gdansk; editing by Milla Nissi)
