Bouygues

Hello and welcome to the BWIG Q1 2025 Results Conference Call. Please note this conference is being recorded and for the duration of the call your lines will be on listen only. However, you'll have the opportunity to ask questions at the end of the presentation. This can be done by pressing star 1 on your telephone keypad to register your question. If you require assistance at any point, please press star 0 and you'll be connected to an operator. I will now hand you over to Frédéric Delaveau, Head of Investor Relations, to begin today's conference. Thank you.

Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us for the presentation of Bouygues' first quarter 2025 results. This presentation will be led by Pascal Granger, Deputy CEO and CFO of Bouygues Group. Pascal Granger is accompanied by Christian Lecoq, CFO of Bouygues Telecom. Following their presentation, they will be answering your questions. Pascal, I give you the floor.

Thank you, Frédérique. Good morning, everyone. Before listing our highlights, I would like to point out that we had mentioned during the presentation of our 2024 results that the global microeconomic and geopolitical environment was uncertain. The first quarter of 2025 has not proven us wrong. Yet, I am pleased to say that we had a good start of the year. Therefore, first, we confirmed the group outlook for 2025. Second, group sales on COPPA in Q1 2025 were both up year on year. Third, excluding the exceptional income tax surcharge for large companies in France of 33 million euros, the net result attributable to the group was up year on year. I remind you that the effect on the net profit attributable to the Group of the French Finance Law and the Social Security Financing Law for the full year 2025, including mainly the exceptional income tax surcharge for large companies in France, had been estimated at around €100 million. This is still our evolution to date. and more than 40 million euros have already been recorded in the first quarter of 2025, having particularly strong distorting effects on the net result attributed to the group of the first quarter. Fourth, at the end of March 2025, our net debt was lower than at the end of March 2024, after acquisition of nearly 1.2 billion euros made over the year. Last, I have two comments on our business segments. At Equance level, COPPA increased by 44 million euros at 177 million euros and COPPA margin improved by 0.9 points reaching 3.8%. This increase demonstrates successful execution of the strategic performance plan. And in our construction businesses, the backlog at end March reached a new record level at 34.2 billion euros, up 3.8 billion euros year on year, and up 2 billion euros since end December 2024. Let's now have a look at our key figures on slide five. First, let me remind you that Like every year, mainly due to the seasonal nature of COLAS activities and to a lesser extent those of equants, Q1 results are not indicative of half-year and full-year results. This is particularly true this year for the net results attributable to the group, given the tax effects mentioned previously. Group sales stood at 12.6 billion euros, up 2.2% in the first quarter of 2025, compared to the first quarter of 2024. This increase was largely driven by Colas, Bouygues Construction and Bouygues Telecom, which recorded the sales contribution of La Poste Telecom. Like for like, on a constant exchange rate, group sales increased by 0.9%. In the first quarter of 2025, the group COPPA increased by 43 million euros compared to the first quarter of 2024 and reached 69 million euros. This increase was mainly led by Equance. The net result attributable to the group was minus 156 million euros. This amount is not comparable to that of the first quarter of 2024. as it includes an exceptional income tax surcharge for large companies in France of 33 million euros. Excluding this surcharge, on a comparable basis, the net result attributable to the group was up 23 million euros at minus 123 million euros. Net debt was 7.1 billion euros, an improvement of 645 million euros year on year. This is a good performance, even very good if we consider the amount of net acquisition made over the year, mainly including Brick Telecom's acquisition of La Paz Telecom for almost 1 billion euros. This is a theoretical vision. Of course, but without these acquisitions, our net debt would have improved by more than 1.8 billion euros year on year. Net debt at end March is always higher than at end December of the previous year due to the seasonality of our activities. The increase in net debt at end March compared to the level of 6.1 billion euros at end December 2024 was, however, more limited than one year ago. I will provide you more details about these figures later during this call. Let's now turn to the review of our operations on slide 8. Let's begin with the backlog in the construction businesses. As I mentioned during the introduction of this call, the backlog at end March 2025 was at a new record level of 34.2 billion euros, up 12% year on year. This strong year on year growth in the backlog was driven by both Bouygues Construction and Colas. Please note that all geographies represented on the chart, namely France, Europe excluding France, and international excluding Europe, contributed to the growth. Looking into details on slide nine, let's start with Colas backlog, which was up 1.3 billion year on year at 15.1 billion euros, with rail backlog up 18% year-on-year. In roads, the backlog was up 5% year-on-year, of which French and international backlogs were respectively up 5% and up 6% year-on-year. At end March 2025, the backlog to be executed in the current year and the next year were both at a higher level year on year, providing good visibility on our future activity. In Q1 2025, order intake at Colas stood at 4.1 billion euros. In Rhodes, order intake was up year on year, with a strong increase internationally and a slight decrease in France. In rail, new major contracts were awarded. notably in the UK, in order to operate and maintain the on-track machines used for track maintenance across Britain during eight years, a contract worth around 380 million euros. In Morocco, in order to develop the Kenitra Marrakech high-speed line, a contract worth around 250 million euros, to which is also added a contract for the related civil engineering. Moving to slide 10, at Wood Construction, the backlog stood at 18.3 billion euros, up 2.6 billion euros year on year, mainly driven by civil works with the exceptional contract one for the Torrens to Darrington project in Australia in the third quarter of 2024. In building, the French backlog was up 7% and the international backlog was down 3%. To be noted that the backlog to be executed in the current year and the next year were both at the higher level year on year, providing good visibility on future activity. The order intake in Q1 2025 stood at 2.3 billion euros and amounts largely driven by the normal course of business, which means for brick construction, the contracts worth less than 100 million euros. New major contracts were awarded in Q1, for example, for the building of the mother-child unit at Rennes Teaching Hospital in France, a contract worth around 100 million euros, or for the building of the college campus Cardiff and Vail in the UK, a contract worth around 140 million euros, or a data center in France, a contract worth around 110 million euros, or the modernization of airports in Cyprus, worth around 120 million euros. The diversity of these new contracts highlights the know-how of buoy constriction in specific business lines such as healthcare infrastructure, academic buildings, airport facilities, or data centers. Finally, at Bouygues Immobilier, the backlog was at €0.9 billion at end March 2025, a low level reflecting the still changing market environment. Let's have a look at sales on slide 11. The construction businesses recorded results which, like every year, due to seasonality, are not indicative of the first half of the full year results. Sales were up 3% year-on-year and 2% like-for-like at constant exchange rates. First, at Colas, sales were up 3% year-on-year at 2.7 billion euros driven by rail, up 12%, reflecting the momentum in relation to demand for self-mobility infrastructure. Roads were up 2%, with France up 2%, INEA up 6%, Asia-Pacific strongly up 29%, and North America down 9%. Second, brick construction sales were up 3% year on year, at 2.5 billion euros, driven by international building up 13%, while civil works were slightly up and France building was slightly down. Last, at Bouygues Immobilier, sales were up also year-on-year at €0.3 billion, with residential property up 4% and commercial property remaining at a very low level, reflecting the market situation. Next slide. Current operating results from activities of the construction businesses. was minus 240 million euros, improving 24 million euros compared to Q1 2024, driven by BRIC construction and the lower loss at BRIC immobilier level in relation to an adjustment of structure costs implemented in 2024. Please note that in Q1 2024, BRIC immobilier has also reviewed some operations and booked some provisions. COPPA at good construction was up compared to Q1 2024 with a 0.4 points COPPA margin improvement. As usual, Colas had a non-representative minus €305 million current operating result from activities and amounts very comparable to Q1 2024 figure. Let's now turn to the review of operations for Equance on slide 14. Equance continues to deliver significantly improved results in line with its roadmap. Equance backlog was up 1% year-on-year at 26.4 billion euros at end March 2025. The order intake in the first three months of 2025 stood at 5.2 billion euros, with still a gradual improvement in the order intake margin, highlighting notably positive impacts of the pricing lever of the PERFORM plan. Sales were globally stable year on year in Q1 2025, reflecting both the continued selective approach to contract strategy, overall positive market trends, and some wait and see stands in the short term in a few activities in France and Europe. France sales were down 3% year-on-year, and international sales were up 2% year-on-year, despite the ongoing exit from the new-built business in the UK that we mentioned in the previous publications. Equance's contribution to the group COPPA represented €177 million with a 3.8% COPPA margin, up 0.9 points year-on-year. This is a very good start for the year. To end with Equance on slide 15, let me just add that in 2025, Equance will continue to roll out its strategic plan and its targeting. Continued organic growth at a lower pace than in 2024 due to some weight insistence in the short term in a few activities in France and Europe, as previously mentioned. A margin from activities close to 4%, possibly slightly higher. And a cash conversion rate before working capital requirement of between 80% and 100%. As a reminder, ACONS aims to gradually catch up with the organic growth of sector peers and to achieve a margin from activities of 5% in 2027. I now give the floor to Christian Lecoq for a detailed presentation of BookTelecom.