* Sees full-year EPS growth of 14 percent
* Currency moves to add 120 million stg to operating profit
* Underlying full-year revenue to grow around 1 percent
* Shares 3 percent, hit 12-month high
(Adds analyst comment, updates shares)
By Rhys Jones
LONDON, Sept 29 (Reuters) - Compass Group Plc, the world's biggest caterer, sees 14 percent growth in yearly earnings per share on the back of new business wins, cost cuts and a weak pound, sending its shares to a 12-month high.
The British company, which feeds office and factory workers, soldiers and schoolchildren, said it expected underlying sales to grow around 1 percent in the year to the end of September. It said favourable currency moves would add around 120 million pounds ($191 million) to annual operating profit.
Compass said contract wins with the likes of Google Inc in Australia and Electrolux AB in Sweden would help push full-year margins up 60 basis points and it expected demand to pick up in coming months.
"Encouragingly, throughout the year the level of new contract wins and underlying retention has remained strong," the group said in a statement.
"In the medium-term, a combination of the growth in outsourcing and global economies recovering should produce an upswing in demand."
Its shares, which have underperformed the FTSE All Share index by 11 percent this year, were 3 percent up at 370.6 pence by 0905 GMT, valuing it at around 6.6 billion pounds. They rose as high as 376.9p, their highest since last September.
"Comments on organic revenue growth and margins should please investors, as should its confidence about driving further efficiencies," said analyst Tony Shepard at brokerage Charles Stanley, who sees Compass as good value compared with its main competitor Sodexho and the wider equity market.
Compass, which counts Chelsea Football Club, London's O2 arena and the Bank of England among its clients, said it was performing well in the fourth quarter, with year-on-year margin growth of around 70 basis points expected.
In spite of the positive stance Compass said like-for-like sales and volume growth at its Business & Industry and Sports & Leisure units continued to be hit by reduced levels of employment and less discretionary spend by clients.
Compass is expected to report a pretax profit of 755 million pounds for the year to the end of September, up from 565 million pounds a year earlier, according to a Reuters Estimates poll of 17 analysts.
Sales volumes in the education, healthcare and defence, offshore and remote site sectors, however, had been solid throughout the year.
The company expects annual sales to be down 5.5 percent and 1 percent in Britain and Ireland and continental Europe, respectively, but its North American division should increase revenue by 1.5 percent. (Editing by Matt Scuffham and David Holmes) ($1 = 0.6298 pound)