Arcadis Nv S/Adr

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for standing by. I am Vassilios, your course call operator. Welcome and thank you for joining the Arcadis conference call and live webcast to present and discuss the second quarter and half year 2024 results. All participants will be in a listen-only mode and the conference is being recorded. The presentation will be followed by question and answer session. Anyone who wishes to ask a question may press star followed by one on their telephone anytime during the call. Should anyone need assistance during the conference call, you may signal an operator by pressing star and zero on your telephone. At this time, I would like to turn the conference over to Ms. Christine Dish, Investor Relations Director. Ms. Dish, you may now proceed.

Thank you. Good morning and good afternoon, everyone, and welcome to our conference call. My name is Christina Dis. I'm Investor Relations Director at Arcadis, and we are here to discuss Arcadis' second quarter and half-year 2024 results, released this morning. With us on the call are Alan Brooks, our CEO, and Virginie Dupera, our CFO. We will start with the presentation, which will be followed by Q&A, and we would like to call your attention to the fact that in today's session, management may reiterate forward-looking statements which were made in the press release. Please note the risks related to these statements, which are more fully described in the press release and on the company's website. Now, please, over to you, Alan.

Thank you, Christine, and good day, everybody. Welcome to our Q2 and half-year results call. Arcadis has delivered another strong set of results this quarter, with a record order intake of 1.1 billion euros. This reflects growth of 8.6%. with ongoing client demand for our sustainable and digitally enabled services continuing to drive success. This has resulted in net revenues of €991 million, with solid organic growth of 6% for the quarter, highlighting our strong market position across all four global business areas. Backlog now stands at €3.4 billion, reflecting an organic growth of 5.6% year on year. We have seen a significant improvement in our operating margin. This has increased from 9.7% in the same period last year to 11.5% for the quarter. Our market-leading positions, talented team, long-standing client relationships, and complementary set of services have enabled us to continue driving profitable growth. Notably, we are seeing significant public and private sector investment in our core markets. This is expected to drive further pipeline opportunities over the coming years. We have also secured several large multi-year framework wins this quarter. I will share more detail about these shortly. but together it provides significant visibility into our backlog developments and revenue in years to come. With us, let me spotlight four key areas where we have seen significant wins and growing interest in our solutions and expertise. One Arcadis solution area where we are seeing strong growth is in water optimisation. Arcadis has a rich heritage in water, rooted in Dutch water management. This strong foundation has enabled us to become pioneers in integrating cutting-edge digital technology with water management to address critical issues such as water scarcity, aging assets, and demand for clean drinking water. In the UK market, this expertise has been applied to support successful bids as part of the AMP8 framework. This £96 billion five-year investment framework is focused on the long-term sustainability of water resources and infrastructure to meet the future demand. The level of investment represents a massive 90% increase on the previous Amp7 cycle, the largest capital investment in water and wastewater assets ever in the UK. Last quarter, we announced wins with Thames Water and South West Water, And in Q2, we have secured a five-year contract with United Utilities to replace aging assets and support their capital investment program across the Northwest of England. We now have relationships with 10 out of the 11 UK water utility companies, underscoring our commitment to delivering high value projects across the water market. And finally, when it comes to cutting edge technology, Our solutions, like Waterfinder, leverage advanced analytics and digital twins. Digital twins are virtual models of physical objects, and in the case of Waterfinder, help us to rapidly locate leaks and minimize costly, time-consuming efforts from manual surveys. Our solutions have been proven to enhance operational efficiency and sustainability by up to 30%. This year, we ranked number one in water treatment and desalination by engineering news record in the US, underlining our leadership and expertise in water optimization and preservation solutions. Now turning to our advanced industrial manufacturing solution area, we are seeing increased demand for our data center advisory services, particularly among big tech and semiconductor clients. This is being fueled by significant public and private sector investments. For example, in 2024 alone, US$22 billion have been invested in data centers globally. In the private sector, we are seeing considerable investment from major technology companies into AI and related technology. And more than half of the $52 billion subsidy for the semiconductor industry is now being dispersed under the US CHIPS Act. This includes $8.5 billion in federal funding to Intel and a further $6.1 billion to Micron. When it comes to data centers, their substantial energy requirements mean that our clean energy solutions are increasingly in demand. With the AI chips consuming three times more energy than traditional chips, the demand for more efficient solutions is only projected to grow. This market emphasis on sustainability, energy efficiency, and decarbonization combined with massive influx of capital indicates a robust and growing market for our services. Our integrated approach spanning facility design, to sustainability advisory ensures that we can address all aspects of our clients' needs. We are uniquely positioned to bring together multiple disciplines from the outset of any project or programme, from landscape architects to ecologists through to engineers and design specialists. As such, we are well positioned to help our clients achieve both operational efficiency and sustainability goals. Key wins this quarter include the design of a major multimillion dollar semiconductor facility and a new data center campus, both in the US, as well as supporting the delivery of a new multipurpose clinical research building in North America. Whilst geopolitical factors including election cycles, trade policies, and incentivization programs undoubtedly play a role in market dynamics, across our places business, we are well positioned to adapt. Our global structure and reach mean that we can readily deploy teams where demand is highest, remaining agile to respond to existing client needs while simultaneously positioning for future demand in line with recovery. So in mobility, the strength of our global rail and transit expertise continues to drive success. especially in the US, UK and Australia. We expect this to grow with significant levels of investment in public transport, including allocations through Network Rail's Control Period 7 investment plans in the UK and the Infrastructure Investment in Jobs Act in the US. Arcadis is already a beneficiary through the 16 billion US Hudson Tunnel project, where we are working as delivery partners to help improve reliability and resiliency of commuter and intercity rail transit. Forward-thinking infrastructure investment like this is critical, and we are well-positioned to capitalise, building on the best practice drawn from our work on other game-changing projects around the world, including California High Speed Rail, High Speed in the UK, and TGV in France. It is this combination of global knowledge alongside local delivery expertise that is critical when it comes to facilitating cross-border collaboration and exemplifies the benefits of our GBA approach. A recent project win in Australia demonstrates the scale of transformation that can be achieved through our work. The Australian government is investing 500 million dollars in planning a high-speed rail network and this will be pivotal for sustainable long-term growth. We are developing this business case and providing technical advisory services for a new high-speed rail link that will be key to connecting regions and communities. It will unlock growth, improve access to critical services and provide sustainable travel alternatives that will reduce emissions and cut road congestion across Australia's entire east coast. And finally, turning to our intelligence business area, we are seeing growing demand for our digital asset management solutions, driving increased alignment across all of our global business areas. For our resilience clients, including water and utility companies, digital transformation is key. It is estimated that in the US, a water main breaks every two minutes, and 1.7 trillion gallons of drinking water are lost each year due to leaking pipes. Competing pressures from rising costs and aging assets call for urgent solutions. The market potential is clear. From the total $55 billion allocated to water-related projects, through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. $43 billion has been channeled through the US Environmental Protection Agency via state revolving funds designated for water utilities. We are in a unique position to capitalize on this opportunity through the seamless integration of smart digital solutions to help optimize asset lifecycle planning. Enterprise Decision Analytics, or EDA, is one such example. It offers predictive and prescriptive analytics, modeling and optimization alongside AI machine learning and adaptive pathways. This, in essence, helps clients balance risk and cost considerations to improve overall asset performance and ultimately business returns. EDA significantly speeds up reporting and decision-making. It means that clients can do the right work on the right assets at the right time, crucially enabling them to better manage budgets and make better use of expenditure. A significant EDA win this quarter was the city of Henderson in Nevada. We have secured a three-year contract with a two-year renewal option. to implement EDA to support lifecycle planning and optimization of their half a million water and wastewater assets. These include reservoirs, HVAC, sewer mains, and water meters. This state of the art technology is key when it comes to helping clients improve financial stability, affordability, and resiliency of their assets. As well as in the water sector, EDA is being successfully used by multiple clients in the rail and transit and energy transition sectors, notably in the US and Canada. Other clients include the Nevada Department of Transport, Infrastructure Ontario and the Ministry of Transportation in Ontario. EDA's ability to help clients deliver the best value from their investment means it remains a key focus and core product in our suite of intelligent solutions. And with that, I will now hand over to Virginie, who will take you through our financial results for the second quarter and the half year 2024 in more detail. Thank you.