Adds analyst quote in paragraph 5, updates shares in 6

By Yamini Kalia

July 21 (Reuters) - Compass Group CPG.L, the world's largest caterer, reported robust third-quarter revenue growth on Tuesday and backed its annual forecasts, as strong demand from AI data centres helped offset rising energy and food costs linked to the Iran war.

The food services sector has remained resilient as companies, hospitals and universities increasingly outsource catering, though the Middle East conflict is testing caterers' ability to absorb higher input costs.

A caterer to Google GOOGL.O, Amazon AMZN.O and Microsoft MSFT.O, Compass also provides services to the defence sector, airline lounges and data centres, reducing its reliance on office workers to hedge against the risk of AI-driven layoffs.

Surrey-based Compass said third-quarter organic revenue grew 7.1%, in line with consensus expectations of 7%, while reiterating its annual profit growth target of over 11% which was upgraded in May.

The reiterated outlook disappointed some investors, who had hoped that the profit target would be nudged up to above 12%, Goodbody Stockbrokers analyst Fintan Ryan said.

Shares in Compass were down 2% at $30.96 by 0834 GMT. The stock has fallen about 1% so far this year.

A BOOST FROM AI HYPERSCALERS, WORLD CUP IN NORTH AMERICA

Over the past 12 months, Compass said it secured $4.3 billion of new business wins, up 16% year-on-year, with half coming from first-time outsourcing clients. Its strongest performing division, Business & Industry, generated more than $2 billion in new business wins, supported by robust demand for food and support services from AI hyperscalers.

Compass also saw a modest boost in North America volumes, an important market for the caterer, from the recent soccer World Cup.

Compass in May said it was insulated from rising costs since about two-thirds of its contracts included dynamic pricing, a practice where prices are adjusted based on demand.

French rival Sodexo EXHO.PA said this month that it expects faster revenue growth from 2027, as it seeks to revive performance through stronger execution and expansion in North America.