Sopra Steria Group Un/Adr

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to this quarter one 2026 revenue announcement for the first part of the conference. Participants will be able to listen only during the Q&A session. Participants can ask a question by dialing hash five on your telephone keypad. I'll now hand the floor to Rajesh Krishnamurthy, CEO. Over to you. Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to this conference call to comment Soprasteria's revenue in Q1, 2026. I'm here with Etienne Designeaux, Group CFO, with whom I will lead this session. I'll start with a few general comments on the quarterly performance. Next, I'll go over the figures for our four reporting units. Finally, we'll finish with a Q&A session. Revenue in Q1 2026 stood at 1,463,200, growth 3.4% when compared with Q1 last year. At constant exchange and scope, growth in revenue was 3.2%. As previously announced, The revenue in Q1 2026 includes the first significant impact of the conclusion, which has been planned for several years and announced in 2023, of the SST program with the spider banks. The negative impact, which is not recurring, of the conclusion of this program was 1.2 points over the quarter. Thus, excluding the impact of the SST program, Underlying organic growth for Q1 was 4.4%. Q1 2026, this confirms the rebound in business activity which we observed as of Q4 2025. Business momentum improved across most of our geographies. All the group's reporting units, France, the UK, Europe excluding SFT and Solutions, saw growth in the first quarter. Even if the basis for comparison was favourable, Q1 2024 saw a contraction of 4.9%, but we've seen an acceleration in the aeronautics sector, which showed growth of 15% over 12 months, and in defence, security and space, which posted growth of 7% over 12 months. The consulting business confirmed its rebound with organic growth of 5%. Business in Q1 2026 highlights that there is significant demand from our customers to implement transformation through technology. We've seen growing interest in terms of matters linked to AI, cybersecurity, and digital dependency. These are many topics where Soprasteria is well positioned. Now I'd like to suggest that we move on to the detailed analysis of the performance by reporting unit. Let's start with France. In France, revenue stood at 650.1 million euros. Organic growth in revenue experienced a clear acceleration, so plus 7.2% over 12 months, compared with the fourth quarter of 2025, which stood at 1.6%. With the exception of energy and telcos, which were still contracting, all the reporting units' verticals demonstrated positive growth. The most buoyant verticals were transport, aeronautics, public sector, with growth rates above 10%. Defence, security, space and financial services also experienced sustained growth between 5% and 10%. Now for the UK. In the UK, revenue stood at €220 million. Organic growth was 4.2%. The basis for comparison was particularly favourable because in Q1 2025, there was a contraction of 10.1%. This being said, the NHS FBS platform business was solid. So with the next-gen business process services services, especially for recruitment, private sector and then financial services. For Europe, excluding SST, the division returned to growth in this quarter after having experienced an average quarterly contraction of around 2.6% in 2025. Organic growth was thus 1.6%. Italy, Switzerland, Scandinavia and Spain demonstrated dynamic growth Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands posted a moderate contraction, but a lot less pronounced than in the fourth quarter of 2025. We're expecting ongoing improvement and a return to growth in these three countries over the coming quarters. SFC posted revenue of 31.9 million euros, compared with 47.7 in Q1 2025, so this is aligned with expectations. In total, including SFT, Europe generated revenue of €507.8 million, or an organic contraction of 1.6%. Now for solutions. Solutions generated revenue of €85.3 million, organic growth of 0.9%. The business focusing on human resources, which represents two-thirds of the unit, activity was stable, whereas the property management business was very buoyant. To conclude, Q1 2026 confirms the return to growth in our business that started in the fourth quarter of 2025. Our customers are still investing in a technology-driven transformation, and they're displaying a growing interest in matters linked to AI, cybersecurity, and digital dependencies. We've got a significant exposition to strategic sectors like aeronautics, defense, space, public sector, and financial services, which represents 70% of revenue. And this is where there's significant investment momentum. We're drawing on an entrepreneurial model, which makes us agile, and where most of our work is carried out under a fixed price or an outcome-based agreement, so 60% of revenue at the end of 2025. And this enables us to ensure that we share the value created by our solutions with our customers. The environment is quite uncertain, even more so since the end of February, but our profile gives us a high level of resistance with an exclusively European presence, lack of exposure to sectors like industry or goods exporting companies, with the exception of aeronautics, strong foothold in public and parapublic sectors, and a commercial strategy focused on close customer relationships and our top 100 customers. So based on this, we're confirming our goals for 2026 in terms of organic growth in revenue, operating margin, and cash generation. while recalling that quarterly seasonal impacts will be as pronounced as in 2025. I'd now like to suggest that we open the Q&A session. If you'd like to ask a question, please dial hash 5 on your telephone keypad. Please limit yourself to two or three questions max. The next question is from Nicola David at Oddo. Your line is open. Over to you. Good morning, Rajesh. Good morning, Etienne. Good start to the year. I've got two questions which are linked. The first is, last February, you were expecting Q1 to be aligned with the annual guidance. But finally, here your Q1 is above your guidance. Where were the positive surprises? when compared with the initial expectations. And then in February, you were expecting excluding SFT. Obviously, that's going to increase over the next quarters. This implies an increase in growth, excluding SFT over the coming quarters at growth level. So are you confirming that we can see an acceleration in growth, excluding SFT at group level over the next quarters? Thank you, Nicola. So we don't give quarterly guidance. We gave an indication at the start of last year. That was an exception. With starting the year aligned with our forecast, you've obviously understood the annual guidance. In some geographies, Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, we're expecting an acceleration in growth rate. compared with what we've seen at the start of the year, so an improvement on last year as well. So the business is volume related than France, UK. We're not necessarily expecting acceleration here, but we've got a favorable basis for comparison in the first quarter, but that will be less so in the coming quarters. And then with SFT, obviously you've got in mind, We've got the deflation impact, which is going to slow down. Obviously, Rajesh gave you the revenue, a few 10 million euros in the first quarter. Obviously, that's going to be eliminated. It'll be roughly 5 million by quarter. And then, obviously, Rajesh has also reminded us that the environment is highly volatile. So today, we're focused on our annual guidance target of growth between 1% and 2%, excluding SFC 3% to 4%. Thank you. So just to understand, when you say Q1 is aligned with the guidance, this Q1 at 3%, does this contain any positive surprises? So we're not expecting to have to review our yearly guidance. Okay, thank you.

The next question comes from Michael Breist from UBS. Please go ahead.

Good morning. Two from me. Can you confirm the 2020-8 outlook is also intact and unchanged today? And then I noticed in terms of headcount, there was 800 people added in the international delivery centres. Can you talk about the strategy around offshoring? And I think previously you said you wanted to get to about 20% by 2028 from those markets. Is that still the case? Thank you.

Thank you for your question. So we haven't changed our 2028 strategy. as mentioned in the press release. So that was the first question. Now with regards to offshoring, I'll let Regis reply. So obviously we're carrying on developing offshore, but we have to take into account the fact there's a strong acceleration in AI and the efficiency that we can bring to our project. We're investing in our AI backbone project, which enables us to accelerate and gain in efficiency. and we'll be working with our customers on the acceleration of migration from the legacy to our new project. So we're looking at this very closely. We're looking at how we carry on using our offshore programs closely. The next question comes from . Your line is open. Over to you. Good morning, gentlemen. Three questions from me. Firstly, clarification, Etienne. I had SFT, which went down to 5 million as of Q2. Now you're saying Q3. So has that been pushed back with regards to your initial expectations? So what are you expecting from SFT in Q2? Will that be at the same level as Q1? So I just want to clarify that. Next, a question on the figures for France. I missed the start of the call, so perhaps you went over these details. But this 7.2, if you could detail this, so the basis for comparison and then the ramp-up of a certain contract that you won last year and then the boost from aeronautics, what does this look like or what What would be the normative run rate for France for the coming quarters? And then last question, if you could just come back to the UK and Belgium, where there's been discussions with governments with regards to contracts. I just wanted a bit of reassurance with regards to what's going on. that this is not going to impact the public sector business in Belgium and in the UK. Thank you, Laurent, for these three questions. So for the first question, the impact of SFT, I had the second half in mind, but we're talking about 5 million euros in Q2 going forward. So the growth rate in France, yes, obviously we're very happy with the performance in France, Rajesh gives the details for the group and for France. The vertical markets are not growing at the same speed. We're driven by airline. This obviously applies to the group and France. Growth here, a comparison basis which was quite favourable. We started the year with a contraction last year and then growth came back throughout the year for Airbus. So we've got this favourable basis for the come year. Harrison, obviously, that's going to progressively be eliminated. And then for defence as well, that's holding up well. Defence, security and space driven by our activities that came from CS Group. Consulting is rebounding as well, struggling last year in France. With the public sector, obviously, we know the reason for this. The budget was voted late. This year, once again, the budget was voted late, but our customers in the public sector have anticipated the matter. So we've got a clear rebound in the public sector, which we observed as of Q4 last year, and it's been confirmed in Q1. It's difficult to give you the split or give you the rebound or the basis for comparison. But perhaps in financial sector, we can say that the contract that we signed last year We've got like a commercial momentum going here with positive momentum linked to the business that we started last year. The only sector that is slightly contracting, but mid-single-digit, that is energy and telcos, which is slightly below the other sectors. So for the nine months remaining, We should expect four or five percent organic. Mechanically, the comparison will be less favorable, but we should expect a single-digit growth. And then the last question on the contract in the UK and Belgium. So today we haven't really observed an issue linked to these projects. Belgium, the i-Police program that was unilaterally stopped by the federal police in Belgium, but we've known about this for two years now. So there's a Very little revenue that's been recorded. I was in Belgium myself. I met some customers. It's more a political matter. Today, we don't see an impact on Belgium or in the UK with regards to these matters. So just to be clear, there's... There's no other issues with other public sector tenders? No, no, not at all. In the two regions? No. Thank you. Next question comes from Derek Marcon at Bernstein. Your line is open. Over to you. Good morning, gentlemen. I've got several questions. The first is on the U.K., Could you give us a little bit more detail on performance? You've given some qualitative comments on NHS SBS and NSNI, but could we have a little bit of a breakdown that we usually get between the platforms, SSCL, NHS, private, public, etc., a little bit more granularity with regards to the 4% growth in Q1? And then for Aeroline... In France, is there a one-off impact here which won't last, which won't be ongoing into the coming quarters? Or is there a recovery or is investment restarting at Airbus and it's going to be sustainable? Obviously, some things were discontinued or stopped in 2025. Are they going again in 2026? And then third question on headcount. When we look at the sequential, we don't see growth. We see a contraction. So how can we link the good performance in terms of organic growth displayed in Q1 and the fact that in terms of sequential net hiring, we're not seeing the same trend? And then could you give us some details on the strong increase in demand Ex-sure that we've seen in previous quarters. What's linked to NS&I? What's linked to other customers? How's it working with your global delivery centres? Thank you. So I'll take the first question for the UK. So the growth rate in the UK, 4.2%, isn't that different. NHS was a little bit above that, about 5%. But for former SSCL and the rest of the business, this is about the level, about 4% for the UK. Now, for airline in France, driven by Airbus, but not just Airbus, we already said at the start of the full-year publication, we've seen the recovery of Airbus starting from the summer of 2025. We've got mid-term outlook. Pat, you heard the Airbus call yesterday. So we've got mid-term outlook, which is positive. They've got some production issues to deal with in the short term, but this is nothing new. That's well known. And I think all of the value chain will benefit from this recovery, which isn't short term. Obviously, quarter by quarter, we'll have a comparison basis which is more favourable in Q1. And that will progressively be eliminated, but we should see growth in the coming quarters. That's what we think today. Then the third question on headcount. So if we look at internal headcount, which are disclosed, they're up in the figure's that you've had. We've also got subcontracting and our subcontracting rate is up. We've had to ramp up quite quickly on various contracts. We are recruiting significantly, but for obvious reasons, we have to be able to manage risks. We have to increase the subcontracting rate, which is up versus the end of last year and the end of this quarter. And then the last quarter on offshore contracts, So a significant part linked to NS&I, including the transfer of staff. And then apart from that, we're not expecting a strong increase in offshore activity. It will continue at a normal pace. I don't have all the history, but we've got good momentum. Nothing exceptional going on here. Clear. And then for the UK, if we take all the business... lines at about 4%, and then NHS slightly above that. We've seen contract ramp-ups, which could explain a Q1 performance, which explains why the performance is where it is, and it might continue in the coming quarters. Can we just have an explanation of of the booster or a bit of information on the contract that started last year. Where's the growth coming from and is this something that's going to last throughout the year? I'm going to give you the same comment that Rajesh gave for the full year. We've got like a bumpy year in the UK, so you don't need to look at a snapshot for the quarter. Take a step back. We're not expecting standardized growth, a standard level of growth quarter by quarter. We've got a highly favorable basis for comparison in Q1. It will be different in Q2. There's different factors that impact the UK, NHS double-digit growth. in Q2 2025 compared with 2024. So we're expecting a flat year in the UK. Very clear. Thank you. Just as a reminder, if you'd like to ask a question, please dial hash 5 on your telephone keyboard.

The next question comes from Wolfgang Speck from Barenburg. Please go ahead. Yes, hello.

Good morning. Two additional ones from my end. First one on local market, Germany, Belgium, Netherlands. You expected improving trends in the coming quarters. Can you elaborate a little bit what are your expectations based on other new contract starts or ramp ups we should expect? And then on daily rates, do you see any potential for, let's say, selected improvements in some regional markets or in selected industries, or are customers currently rather reluctant to accept step-ups?

So for the first question on growth rates expected in Germany, Netherlands, and Belgium, and these three entities, We saw a contraction throughout every quarter in 2025, even if the pace of this contraction did improve in Belgium at the end of the year. We're starting 2026 with a modest contraction, a lot lower than the levels we saw last year, low signal digits in terms of negative growth. And we're expecting – for these three entities, we're expecting a progressive improvement for Germany – Belgium, and the Netherlands, which could lead us to growth in the second half of the year in these three geographies, so Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands. So that's my comment on those regions. And then your second question on daily rates, we've got very low inflation at the moment in Europe. Obviously, there are differences between the different countries, but about 1.5% France, low inflation in terms of salaries. We're going to have to be very disciplined here. So the increase in daily rates is going to be moderate this year, same applies to the increase in our costs.

Thanks a lot.

The next question comes from Lorando from Quetta Chevreux. Over to you. Thank you. Just a follow-up question. If you could just give us an update on Ordina, on the two geographical regions. There were some integration issues in Belgium between the three different subsidiaries. In Belgium, is everything under control in terms of organization? And then for the Netherlands, fewer integration issues, but the turnover had slipped. What means that today you've got a recovery? Is it the market or have you changed? I think there was a change in CEO. Has this enabled you to have more confidence? Yeah, so in Belgium, we had a difficult integration. There were three entities of roughly the same size for the integration here. So we had a difficult context, but now the new organization is in place. We have the new CEO who's taken over since September and the new organization. I myself traveled to Belgium last week and we confirmed that the situation is under control and the contraction that we've experienced will be reversed. And as Etienne said, we will return to Brexit. For the Netherlands, as you've said, we haven't had any integration issues, but there was a problem linked to the organization. There was a Benelux CEO. We've reorganized the activity. We've got a CEO in Beilux, and then we have a CEO for the Netherlands. We've recruited a new CEO who arrived in September as well. Got off to a great start within the company, and today we – In the Netherlands, we've got lots of activities linked to resources. So with strong acquisition, obviously, mechanically, this is linked to turnover if we haven't replaced people. So we've seen a significant reduction, the attrition. This is under control. And this is more linked to the changes we've made rather than market activity. Okay, thank you. There are no more questions for the time being, so I'll hand the floor back to Mr. Krishnamoorthy for the conclusions. So thank you very much for your questions, and we'll be seeing you in three months. Thank you very much, and goodbye.