LONDON (ShareCast) - (Sharecast News) - Metro Rod owner Franchise Brands said on Thursday that full-year earnings were now seen ahead of current market expectations as it continued to perform "robustly" during the third quarter, driven by "strong contributions" by its two largest businesses.
Franchise Brands stated Filta's North American business benefited from "strong activity" across all key customer sectors, partly resulting from the elevated price of cooking oil. FB also highlighted that the "strong market price" of used cooking oil, which franchisees collect and sell for recycling, generated additional income throughout the period.

The London-listed group also noted that the movement in exchange rates over the period had enhanced the sterling value of the dollar earnings of the group.

Turning to Metro Rod, Franchise Brands said the business experienced "continued strong momentum" in system sales, particularly in the area of pump service and maintenance.

While Franchise Brands said its business-to-consumer division continued to experience headwinds in franchise recruitment and retention as a result of "the unusual conditions" in the UK labour market, it still expects revenue, adjusted underlying earnings, and adjusted earnings per share for the year-ending 31 December to be ahead of current consensus market expectations of £92.9m, £14.3m and 7.31p, respectively.

As of 1015 BST, Franchise Brands shares were up 4.80% at 157.20p.





Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com

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