Press release

STRONG H1 2023 OPERATING AND FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE; HIGHER ORGANIC REVENUE GROWTH EXPECTED FOR FULL-YEAR 2023

Jul. 28 2023

H1 2023 KEY FIGURES1

  • Revenue of EUR 2,904.2 million in the first half of 2023, up 7.8% year on year and up 9.4% organically (including 10.3% in the second quarter)
  • Adjusted operating profit of EUR 434.2 million, up 5.7% versus EUR 410.9 million in H1 2022, representing an adjusted operating margin of 15.0%, with year-on-year variances attributed to forex and mix effects
  • Operating profit of EUR 372.9 million, broadly stable versus EUR 375.2 million in H1 2022
  • Adjusted net profit of EUR 276.3 million (EUR 0.61 per share) up 11.1% versus EUR 248.6 million in H1 2022
  • Attributable net profit of EUR 232.5 million, up 3.2% versus EUR 225.2 million in H1 2022
  • Free cash flow of EUR 131.9 million, up 1.5% year on year with increased capex and a well-controlled working capital requirement in the context of the strong topline growth in Q2
  • Adjusted net debt/EBITDA ratio reduced to 0.95x as of June 30, 2023 versus 1.10x last year

H1 2023 HIGHLIGHTS

  • Growth driven by the vast majority of the portfolio across all geographies (Americas, Middle East, Europe, Africa and Asia Pacific) backed by good momentum on the sales pipeline
  • Maintained traction for Sustainability and energy transition solutions across the entire portfolio, representing 55% of Group sales through the BV Green Line of services and solutions
  • Bureau Veritas GHG emissions (mid-term) targets approved by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) and progress towards the 2025 CSR ambitions

2023 NEW OUTLOOK

Based on the half-year performance, a healthy sales pipeline and the significant growth opportunities related to Sustainability, Bureau Veritas now expects for full-year 2023 to deliver:

  • mid-to-high single-digit organic revenue growth (up, from mid-single-digit organic revenue growth previously);
  • a stable adjusted operating margin at constant exchange rates;
  • strong cash flow, with a cash conversion2  above 90%.

Hinda Gharbi, Chief Executive Officer, commented:
“The strong organic revenue growth, resilient margin performance and very solid financial structure delivered in the first half of 2023 reflect the full engagement of all our teams and the strength of our diversified and growing portfolio of activities and our global geographical footprint. This excellent performance and our confidence in the overall trends in our businesses for the coming months allows us to revise our topline growth outlook upwards.
Looking further ahead, our worldwide leadership position in services focused on Sustainability, energy transition and supply chain evolution makes us a bellwether and thought leader for our sector and for society as a whole. We will continue to drive innovation and customer centricity with Sustainability at the core of what we do to take the Group to the next chapter of our history.”

1 Alternative performance indicators are presented, defined and reconciled with IFRS in appendices 6 and 8 of this press release.
2 Net cash generated from operating activities/Adjusted Operating Profit.

DOWNLOAD THE PRESS RELEASE