Press release

EXCELLENT H1 2021 OPERATING AND FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE; 2021 FULL YEAR OUTLOOK UPGRADED

Jul. 29 2021

H1 2021 Key figures1

  • Revenue of EUR 2,418.4 million in the first half of 2021, up 14.3% organically (of which 22.5% in the second quarter) and up 9.9% year on year
  • Adjusted operating profit of EUR 378.2 million, with a margin of 15.6%, an increase of 583 basis points versus the prior year, benefiting from operational leverage and cost efficiencies
  • Operating profit of EUR 346.1 million versus EUR 59.6 million in H1 2020
  • Attributable net profit of EUR 196.9 million versus a loss of EUR 34.1 million in H1 2020
  • Adjusted net profit of EUR 214.7 million (EUR 0.48 per share) versus EUR 87.4 million (EUR 0.19 per share) in H1 2020
  • Free cash flow of EUR 228.9 million (9.5% of Group revenue), led by a disciplined capex policy (2.2% of Group revenue), despite a working capital requirement increase (7.6% of Group revenue, up 50 basis points year on year) driven by very strong revenue growth
  • Adjusted net debt/EBITDA ratio further reduced to 1.30x as of June 30, 2021 versus 2.00x last year

Alternative performance indicators are presented, defined and reconciled with IFRS in appendices 6 and 8 of this press release.


H1 2021 Highlights

  • Strong performance of the Group’s portfolio of activities, helped by the comparables, with organic revenue growth across the six businesses. Organic revenue up 4.1% versus 2019
  • Accelerated momentum for Sustainability and ESG-related solutions across the entire portfolio
  • Acquisitions of bolt-on companies in strategic areas (renewables, sustainability certification, cybersecurity and consumer in China) for total revenue of around EUR 25.0 million
  • Solid financial position with EUR 1.27 billion of available cash and cash equivalents at the end of June

2021 Outlook Upgraded

Based on the excellent half-year performance, considering tough comparables in the second half, and assuming no severe lockdowns in its main countries of operation due to Covid-19, Bureau Veritas now expects for the full year 2021 to:

  • Achieve strong organic revenue growth;
  • Improve the adjusted operating margin;
  • Generate sustained strong cash flow.

Didier Michaud-Daniel, Chief Executive Officer, commented:

"The strong half-year growth in margins and cash illustrates an excellent operating and financial performance across the whole of the Group’s portfolio. This reflects the benefit of the deep transformation since 2015 that has led Bureau Veritas to become a more diverse, resilient, agile and client-centric company. Our 14.3% organic revenue growth was fueled by improving end markets, accelerated momentum for sustainability-driven services and a strong focus on sales performance across the organization.

In the first half, we continued to see a rising demand towards quality, safety, traceability and environmental stewardship which perfectly positions us for a new step forward in our development. Through our BV Green Line of services and solutions dedicated to sustainability, we are uniquely positioned to help our clients across multiple sectors to implement, measure and monitor their ESG commitments in a more transparent, credible, and data-driven way than self-declaration. We also have the expertise to support them with their energy transition, encouraged notably by large-scale government investment programs around the world.

We now expect strong growth for 2021, and upgrade our full year outlook accordingly.”

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