SODEXHO USA'S HEALTH CARE SERVICES DIVISION ON TRACK FOR RECORD SALES YEAR-NEW CONTRACTS TOTALING MORE THAN $800 MILLION IN PROJECTED VALUE

GAITHERSBURG, MD-April 14, 2005- Sodexho USA, the nation's leading provider of food and facilities management services, today announced that its Health Care Services Division recently signed several new agreements putting it on track for a record sales year. Midway through FY 2005, the division had sold more than 120 new accounts with a projected contract value of more than $800 million and cumulative annualized booked revenues totaling $142 million. Under these new contracts, Sodexho will provide a range of food and facilities-related services to acute and long-term care organizations including healthcare systems and resident communities.

Among the largest of Sodexho's recent wins are agreements with such major healthcare systems as Pleasanton, Calif.-based American Baptist Homes of the West (10 long-term care facilities), Atlanta-based Mariner Health (13 long-term care facilities), Hershey, Pa.-based George M. Leader Family Corporation (12 long-term care facilities) and Houston-based Memorial Hermann Healthcare System (12 acute care facilities).

“As healthcare organizations around the country continue to face budget challenges, and maintain high levels of patient satisfaction, an increasing number are looking to Sodexho to provide high-quality programs and efficiencies,” said George Chavel, president of Sodexho Health Care Services. The division now serves more than 1,800 healthcare organizations across the United States. “At Sodexho, we believe we can have a strong, positive impact on the patient and resident experience in the facilities where we provide services and the work that we do contributes to the overall success of the healthcare organization we serve.”

Other contracts of note for Sodexho this year included Christus Spohn Health System, a 6-site hospital system in Corpus Christi, Texas, the University of Alabama Hospital in Birmingham, Ala. and Christus Schumpert Health System, a 3-site system in Shreveport, La.

In addition, Sodexho expanded a number of existing agreements to provide additional services like environmental services at Children's Hospitals and Clinics in Minneapolis and Christ Hospital in Jersey City, N.J., engineering at Provena Covenant Hospital in Urbana, Ill., and clinical technologies management at Carraway Methodist Medical Center in Birmingham, Ala.

“Our record-pace success is a tribute to our outstanding programs, our excellent teams, and our commitment to keeping patients and residents at the heart of everything we do,” Chavel said. “I am proud of our teams for creating products and services that make a real difference in the quality of daily life for the people we serve.”

Sodexho USA (www.sodexhoUSA.com) is the leading provider of food and facilities management in the United States, with $6 billion in annual revenue and 110,000+ employees. Sodexho USA offers innovative outsourcing solutions in food service, housekeeping, grounds keeping, plant operations and maintenance, asset management, and laundry services to more than 6,000 corporations, health care, long term care and retirement centers, schools, college campuses, military and remote sites in North America. Headquartered in Gaithersburg, MD, Sodexho USA proudly serves as the official food service provider for the US Marine Corps.