5 coronavirus things: Compass North America to report 19% revenue loss for FY2020

In this special edition of 5 Things, Food Management highlights five things you may have missed recently about developments regarding coronavirus and its impact on onsite dining.

Here’s your list for today:

Compass Group PLC, the British parent company of the largest foodservice contract firm in the U.S., reported in a preclose trading update that it will realize an approximately 19% drop in organic revenues worldwide for its 2020 fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30. That same percentage of revenue loss was expected for the North American unit while Europe was expected to drop 25% and the rest of the world 9%.

“Performance in North America improved as clients in Education began to re-open for the school year and Business & Industry slowly started to recover,” the company’s statement noted. “Healthcare remained strong, whilst our Sports & Leisure business was still closed.”

Read more: Compass Group takes 100 million pound charge as revenues sink

Undergraduate enrollment in U.S. colleges dropped 2.5% for the current academic year, led by a 11.2% drop in international students, according data released by the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. Community colleges were the hardest hit, with 8% decline, while public four-year universities were only down 0.4% and private non-profit four-year institutions saw a drop of 3.8%. Graduate schools actually saw an increase of 3.9%.

Related:5 coronavirus things: COVID surge didn’t follow Florida schools reopening

Read more: Covid Risk, Online Classes Spur U.S. College Enrollment Drop

The Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC), a regional authority that finances and coordinates local mobility plans in California’s Bay Area, has set a requirement that large office-based employers should have at least 60% of their employees work remotely on any given workday by 2050 in order to help cut carbon emissions. The work-from-home directive is just one of 35 strategies in MTC’s Plan Bay Area 2050, a 30-year roadmap to guide regional transportation funding required by state and federal law. It comes at a time when many major locally based firms such as Facebook, Twitter and Google have already indicated that they intend to maintain loosened work-from-home policies even after the current COVID crisis ends, calling into question the amount of onsite dining they will be requiring in their facilities going forward.

Read more: The Murky Case for Mass Telecommuting

Related:Free meal program a real amenity for B&I essential staff working onsite

Nearly half the local restaurant surrounding the California State University Fullerton (CSUF) campus have closed since most students were sent home last spring. Similarly, most on-campus eateries such as the food court in the student union that are operated by CSUF’s Auxiliary Services Corp. (ASC) are also shuttered but could reopen whenever the school returns to in-person classes, says ASC CEO/Executive Director Chuck Kissel.

“ASC eagerly awaits the campus’ and ASI’s (Associated Students) decision to open the building and stand ready to open concepts at that time,” he told the Daily Titan campus newspaper. “In the meantime, really no revenue with little to no expenses, just missed opportunity.”

Read more: Lack of students forces local restaurants to close their doors

In a potential sign of life for the devastated conference/convention market, organizers for the LA Comic Con have booked the entire 800,000-square-foot Los Angeles Convention Center for an in-person event scheduled for Dec. 11-13 this year. Safety will still be prioritized for the thousands anticipated to attend an event that has drawn some 42,000 to each of its sessions in the past. This year, per-session tickets are being capped at 12,000 to maintain social distancing. In addition, masks will be required, and the event floor will have one-way aisles and deep sanitizing between sessions.

"After planning over the last six months, working with the LA Convention Center and taking guidance from the State, LA County Health and the Mayor's Office—we believe our new plans and procedures allow us to do so safely, with full CV-19 safety precautions in place," organizers announced on their website.

Read more: LA Comic Con Could Draw Thousands For In-Person Event In December

Bonus: Best Concepts: Chartwells’ Mood Boost teaches the connection between how students feel and what they eat

Contact Mike Buzalka at [email protected]