Paris, April 5 - French catering and diversified services provider Sodexho Alliance said on Wednesday first half like-for-like sales rose 5.5 percent to 6.55 billion euros ($7.98 billion) but growth could slow in the second half.
"Organic growth in the second half could be lower," chief executive officer Michel Landel said in a statement.
The company has previously forecast sales growth of 4.5 percent to 5.0 percent for the year to the end of August 2006.
The 40-year-old company, which employs more than 320,000 people around the world feeding everyone from school children to convicts, said that headline sales growth, including currency effects and acquisitions, rose 10.9 percent.
It said an 8.2 percent rise in the U.S. dollar against the euro in the first six months of its fiscal year helped lift reported sales by 5.4 percent.
The company said like-for-like sales at its core food and management services division rose 5.2 percent to 6.37 billion euros.
Sales at its much smaller but faster growing vouchers business grew 16.8 percent to 178 million euros. Sodexho shares closed on Tuesday flat at 40.23 euros after having risen more than 10 percent since the middle of March.