Aramark reported Tuesday a narrower-than-expected fiscal second-quarter loss, revenue that fell less than forecast and raised its free cash flow outlook, citing “clear positive trends” for its businesses as the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic takes hold. The food, facility and uniform company’s stock was still inactive in premarket trading. The net loss for the quarter to April 2 narrowed to $77.6 million, or 30 cents a share, from $202.3 million, or 80 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Excluding nonrecurring items, the adjusted per-share loss was 24 cents, beating the FactSet loss consensus of 34 cents. Revenue fell 24.4% to $2.82 billion, but topped the FactSet consensus of $2.75 billion. For fiscal 2021, the company raised its free cash flow guidance to a range of neutral to $250 million from neutral to $200 million, and said it expects organic revenue improvement over the course of the year. The stock has lost 2.2% year to date, while the S&P 500 has gained 11.5%.
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