By Mathias de Rozario and Jakob Van Calster
(Reuters) -French voucher and benefits company Pluxee posted 12.1% organic growth in its first-quarter operating revenue on Wednesday, beating market expectations, aided by sound customer retention and new client acquisitions in its main business.
Pluxee's shares rose more than 11% by 0835 GMT, topping the SBF 120 index of Paris' most traded stocks, and also pulled up French peer Edenred (EPA:EDEN) by 3.6%.
Pluxee's operating revenue was 249 million euros ($257.8 million) in the three months through Nov. 30, above analysts' forecast of 244 million euros in a company-provided consensus.
The organic growth was driven by a strong performance in Employee Benefits, Pluxee's biggest unit that saw 10.4% growth in the period, CEO Aurélien Sonet said in a press release.
Given the challenging economic environment in Continental Europe, Pluxee's main market, it expects organic growth to be more geared towards South and Central America and the rest of the world in the coming quarters.
The fall of the Barnier government in France meant that the exception allowing the use of vouchers for non-directly consumable foods expired on Jan. 1. Sonet assured analysts in a call this should have no impact on Pluxee's results as he expects the senate to resume discussions in January.
The former benefits unit of Sodexo (EPA:EXHO) confirmed its outlook for the 2025 financial year.
Pluxee continued to strengthen its presence in Latin America which recorded 11.1% organic growth and accounted for nearly 40% of the group's total operating revenue in the first quarter.
The recent acquisition of Benefício Fácil, which provides commuter benefits in Brazil, is expected to be completed during the second half of the fiscal year and to be accretive on the recurring core profit margin from year one, Pluxee said.
It added the continued deployment of its partnership with Santander (BME:SAN) in Brazil boosted the results, with around 90% of the business volume migration now completed.
($1 = 0.9657 euros)