Bureau Veritas' LEAP | 28 Strategy Delivers Outstanding Results in 2024; Confident 2025 Outlook
25.02.2025 - 08:30:27Bureau Veritas (BOURSE:BVI):
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Hinda Gharbi, CEO Bureau Veritas (Photo: Business Wire)
2024 key figures1
› Revenue of EUR 6,240.9 million in the full year 2024, up 6.4% year-on-year and up 10.2% organically (including 9.6% in the fourth quarter),
› Adjusted operating profit of EUR 996.2 million, up 7.1% versus EUR 930.2 million in 2023, representing an adjusted operating margin of 16.0%, up 11 basis points year-on-year and up 38 basis points at constant currency,
› Operating profit of EUR 933.4 million, up 13.2% versus EUR 824.4 million in 2023,
› Adjusted net profit of EUR 620.7 million, up 8.0% versus EUR 574.7 million in 2023,
› Attributable net profit of EUR 569.4 million, up 13.0% versus EUR 503.7 million in 2023,
› Adjusted Earnings Per Share (EPS) of EUR 1.38, up 8.7% versus EUR 1.27 in 2023,
› Record Free Cash Flow of EUR 843.3 million, up 27.9% year-on-year and cash conversion of 114%2,
› Adjusted net debt/EBITDA ratio of 1.06x as of December 31, 2024, versus 0.92x last year,
› Proposed dividend of EUR 0.90 per share3, up 8.4% year-on-year, payable in cash.
2024 highlights
› 2024 financial targets of organic growth, margin and cash flow exceeded,
› Tangible achievements and successes delivered in the first year of the new LEAP | 28 strategy,
› Strong growth recorded in the Americas, the Middle East, Africa, Asia-Pacific and Europe,
› Sustained growth momentum in sustainability services across the full portfolio,
› In line with the LEAP I 28 focused portfolio strategy and through active portfolio management, in 2024 the company completed: i) the acquisition of 10 bolt-on companies for a total annualized revenue of c. EUR 180 million; ii) the divestment of its Food testing business and of a technical supervision business on construction projects in China (c. EUR 165 million in annualized combined revenue),
› Double-digit shareholder returns based on EPS growth of c. 9%, a dividend yield of c. 3% and enhanced by a EUR 200 million share buyback program announced in March 2024,
› First A3 long-term credit rating by Moody’s,
› EUR 1 billion bond issuances to refinance four US Private Placements in advance with a nominal amount of USD 755 million as well as the bond debt of EUR 500 million maturing in January 2025,
› Good progress towards achieving the 2028 CSR ambitions with multiple recognitions by several non-financial rating agencies,
› Inclusion of Bureau Veritas in the CAC 40 Paris stock index in December 2024.
2025 outlook
Building on a strong 2024 momentum, a robust opportunities pipeline, a solid backlog, and strong underlying market growth, and in line with the LEAP | 28 financial ambitions, Bureau Veritas expects to deliver for the full year 2025:
› Mid-to-high single-digit organic revenue growth,
› Improvement in adjusted operating margin at constant exchange rates,
› Strong cash flow, with a cash conversion2 above 90%.
Hinda Gharbi, Chief Executive Officer, commented:
“2024 was an excellent year with the launch of our LEAP | 28 strategy in Q1-2024 and the delivery of record results on most fronts. I take this opportunity to thank all our colleagues around the world for their contributions and for their commitment.
This transformative strategic plan is built around three pillars: a focused portfolio, a performance-led execution, and an evolved people model. In its first year, we delivered tangible results in line with our commitment to make a step change in growth and returns. We recorded an organic growth of 10.2%, solid margin improvements of 38 basis points and adjusted EPS growth of 17.0% at constant currency. We also successfully completed our EUR 200 million share buyback initiative. Additionally, we significantly accelerated our M&A program with ten acquisitions and two important divestments.
Looking ahead, our focus remains on executing our growth and margin accretion plans and further accelerating our M&A program. Building on this strong momentum, we start 2025 with confidence that Bureau Veritas is well positioned for continued progress and for superior value creation.”
2024 KEY FIGURES
On February 24, 2025, the Board of Directors of Bureau Veritas approved the financial statements for the full year 2024. The main consolidated financial items are:
|
IN EUR MILLION |
2024 |
2023 |
CHANGE |
CONSTANT CURRENCY |
|
Revenue |
6,240.9 |
5,867.8 |
+6.4% |
+10.8% |
|
Adjusted operating profit(a) |
996.2 |
930.2 |
+7.1% |
+13.4% |
|
Adjusted operating margin(a) |
16.0% |
15.9% |
+11bps |
+38bps |
|
Operating profit |
933.4 |
824.4 |
+13.2% |
+20.1% |
|
Adjusted net profit(a) |
620.7 |
574.7 |
+8.0% |
+16.2% |
|
Attributable net profit |
569.4 |
503.7 |
+13.0% |
+22.2% |
|
Adjusted EPS(a) |
1.38 |
1.27 |
+8.7% |
+17.0% |
|
EPS |
1.27 |
1.11 |
+13.8% |
+23.0% |
|
Operating cash-flow |
1,004.8 |
819.7 |
+22.6% |
+27.0% |
|
Free cash-flow(a) |
843.3 |
659.1 |
+27.9% |
+32.4% |
|
Adjusted net financial debt(a) |
1,226.3 |
936.2 |
+31.0% |
|
|
(a) Alternative performance indicators are presented, defined and reconciled with IFRS in appendices 6 and 8 of this press release |
||||
2024 HIGHLIGHTS
› 2024 financial targets exceeded on all metrics
› Double-digit organic revenue growth in the full year
Group revenue in 2024 increased by 10.2% organically compared to 2023, including 9.6% in the fourth quarter, benefiting from robust market underlying trends across businesses and geographies.
› Improvement in adjusted operating margin at constant exchange rates
The Group delivered an adjusted operating margin of 16.0%, up 38 basis points at constant currency and up 11 basis points on a reported basis compared to 2023.
› Strong cash flow, with a cash conversion4 above 90%
The Group achieved a strong cash flow with a cash conversion of 114% in 2024.
› Achievements delivered in the first year of the new LEAP | 28 strategy
› Focused portfolio
In the full year 2024, the Group entered into agreements for:
› The acquisition of ten companies, representing annualized cumulated revenue of c. EUR 180 million,
› The divestment of two companies, representing annualized cumulated revenue of c. EUR 165 million.
In line with the LEAP | 28 strategy of active portfolio management, Bureau Veritas has activated an M&A program to:
› Expand leadership:
- The Group aims to expand leadership for businesses in existing strongholds with established leadership positions, through a combination of rapid organic scaling and inorganic expansion.
- The execution started with a focus on Buildings & Infrastructure (Capex & Opex). In the fourth quarter of 2024, the Group signed agreements for the acquisition of two companies (IDP Group in Spain and APP Group in Australia), strengthening its leadership in the B&I division. The acquired companies generated a combined revenue of c. EUR 117 million in 2023.
- Additionally, in January 2025 Bureau Veritas announced that an agreement was signed to acquire Contec AQS, an Italy-basedcompany that provides services in construction, infrastructure and Health, Safety & Environment (HSE) domains for public authorities, infrastructure operators, and private manufacturing companies. The company employs c. 190 highly skilled experts and generated revenue of c. EUR 30 million in 2024.
› Create market new strongholds:
- The Group aims to accelerate growth in selected markets to create new long-term strongholds, investing early in fast-growing strategic sectors, where the Group has a clear path to market leadership.
- In Renewables: the Group signed agreements for the acquisition of two players, (for combined annualized revenue amounting to c. EUR 11 million), expanding capabilities in the energy and renewables sector.
- In Sustainability: the Group acquired Aligned Incentives (US-based and EUR 3 million in annualized revenue) focusing on sustainability transition services by augmenting the product circularity services.
- In Cybersecurity: the Group completed the acquisition of Security Innovation, (US-based and EUR 20 million in annualized revenue) specialized in software security services.
- In Consumer Technology Testing: the Group acquired three companies in Asia (combined annualized revenue of c. EUR 20 million) to expand its position in testing and certification services for the Electrical and Electronics segment.
› Optimize value & Impact:
- The Group aims to optimize value and impact from the remainder of the portfolio by managing their performance in a granular and consistent way. Businesses that do not meet stringent financial performance hurdles will be candidates for performance improvement or portfolio high grading.
- On the M&A front, the Group has an opportunistic approach for these businesses. Specifically, in Consumer Product Services: the Group strengthened its positioning in luxury through the LBS Group acquisition in Italy (annualized revenue of c. EUR 9 million). Details of M&A in appendix 7.
- As it actively manages its portfolio the Group:
- Divested its technical supervision business on construction projects in China (EUR c.30 million in annualized revenue);
- Signed an agreement in the fourth quarter of 2024 to sell its Food testing business (EUR 133 million of revenue in 2023) to Mérieux NutriSciences for an Enterprise Value of EUR 360 million and net proceeds from disposals of c. EUR 290 million. The divestment of the Canada and US businesses was completed during 2024; the divestment of the Japan, South East Asia and Africa businesses was completed in January 2025. The remaining part (mainly Australia and Latin America) is being executed and is expected to close by the end of the first semester of 2025.
For more information, the press releases are available by clicking here.
› A performance-led execution
As part of its LEAP | 28 strategic roadmap, Bureau Veritas is implementing two Group-wide performance streams to drive efficiency and productivity across its operations.
› The first stream, focused on Operational Leverage, aims to improve the Group’s gross margins through programs such as new commercial and pricing methodologies while modernizing and digitalizing the process delivery.
› The second stream is focused on the Scalability of functional costs, where the Group intends to keep those costs as low as possible, leveraging the company’s scale and digital enablement.
The ambitions attached to these Operational Leverage and Function Scalability programs are a respective 100-basis-point and an 80-basis points improvement, with half of the gains reinvested to drive further growth and margin expansion.
Tremendous work was achieved in 2024 to complete a comprehensive process mapping exercise to identify opportunities for improvement across the organization. Basing on this assessment, the Group started the rollout of well-defined programs to enhance the operating models of select functions. They aim to define and structure the Group's data management, bringing greater visibility to the delivery workflows, and to capture scale benefits across various processes. The performance management initiatives have centered on increasing the granularity and visibility of key operational metrics. Additionally, Bureau Veritas has deployed pricing enhancement tools, which also contributed to the financial performance. As an illustration :
› In the Marine & Offshore activity, the Group implemented new tools to reduce contract leakage and improve pricing applications. This implementation helped optimize ad hoc service invoicing and boost divisional revenue and margins. This approach will be replicated to other business lines like Buildings & Infrastructure and Industry.
› Additionally, during the year, the Group launched its Smart Certification program to modernize its service delivery by automating audit planning, reporting, and back-office tasks. The SmartCert platform will eliminate time-consuming manual tasks, allowing the Group to scale its operations, optimize resource utilization, and generate reports more efficiently.
The Group's strategic actions have yielded tangible financial results, as evidenced by the 33-basis point year-over-year improvement in its organic operating margin in 2024. These early outcomes prove promising and augur well for the multi-year program, which will imply investment, learning, and comprehensive change management across the organization.
› Double-digit shareholder returns
In line with its LEAP | 28 strategy, the Group aims to deliver double-digit shareholder returns within the period.
In 2024, double-digit shareholder returns were achieved based on EPS growth of c. 9%, a dividend yield of c. 3% and enhanced by a EUR 200 million share buyback program announced in the first quarter of 2024.
› Proposed dividend of EUR 0.90 per share for 2024
The Board of Directors of Bureau Veritas is proposing a dividend of EUR 0.90 per share for 2024, up 8.4% compared to the prior year. This corresponds to a payout ratio of 65% of its adjusted net profit.
This is subject to the approval of the Shareholders’ Meeting to be held on June 19, 2025, at 3:00pm at the Bureau Veritas Headquarters, Immeuble Newtime, 40-52 Boulevard du Parc, 92200, Neuilly-sur-Seine, France. The dividend will be paid in cash on July 3, 2025 (shareholders on the register on July 2, 2025 will be entitled to the dividend and the share will go ex-dividend on July 1, 2025).
› 2024 share buyback program
The Group executed the EUR 200 million share buyback program announced in March 2024, through:
› The acquisition of EUR 100 million on April 5, 2024, completed under the Wendel placement,
› The acquisition of the remaining EUR 100 million, bought by the Group on the market between May and June 2024.
The repurchased shares will be used for cancellation and other purposes as authorized by shareholders at the 2023 Annual Meeting.
› First A3 long-term credit rating by Moody’s and bond issuances
Bureau Veritas received its first long-term credit rating of A3 from Moody's with a “stable” outlook on April 24, 2024. This will help the Group diversify its funding sources, gain enhanced access to capital markets, and manage debt maturities. The full rating report is available on moodys.com.
Subsequently:
› In May 2024, Bureau Veritas issued a EUR 500 million bond maturing in May 2036 with a 3.5% coupon,
› In November 2024, Bureau Veritas issued a EUR 500 million bond maturing in November 2031 with a 3.125% coupon.
These issues were carried out to refinance four US Private Placements in advance with a nominal amount of USD 755 million as well as the bond debt of EUR 500 million maturing in January 2025.
CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY COMMITMENTS
› Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) key indicators
|
|
UNITED NATIONS’ SDGS |
2023 |
2024 |
2028 TARGET |
|
ENVIRONMENT/NATURAL CAPITAL |
|
|
|
|
|
CO2 emissions (Scopes 1 & 2, 1,000 tons)5 |
#13 |
149 |
135 |
107 |
|
SOCIAL & HUMAN CAPITAL |
|
|
|
|
|
Total Accident Rate (TAR)6 |
#3 |
0.25 |
0.24 |
0.23 |
|
Gender balance in senior leadership (EC-II)7 |
#5 |
29.3% |
26.7% |
36% |
|
Number of learning hours per employee (per year) |
#8 |
36.1 |
41.3 |
40.0 |
|
GOVERNANCE |
|
|
|
|
|
Proportion of employees trained to the Code of Ethics |
#16 |
97.4% |
98.8% |
99.0% |
› The Group is recognized by non-financial rating agencies and joined the United Nations Global Compact
On February 26, 2024, Bureau Veritas joined the United Nations Global Compact, the world’s largest CSR (corporate social responsibility) initiative. With this move, the Group confirms its commitment to abiding by the Ten Principles of the voluntary initiative, which seeks to advance universal principles on Human Rights, labor, the environment, and anti-corruption.
On March 5, 2024, the Group was ranked #1 out of 72 companies in the “Research and Consulting” sub industry by Morningstar Sustainalytics. With an 8.9 rating, it was classified in the "Negligible risk" category.
On January 21, 2025, the Group was included in Sustainalytics’ 2025 ESG top-rated companies by region and industry based on ESG risk rating score.
On October 8, 2024, Bureau Veritas was awarded a gold medal (top 5%) in the Ecovadis Sustainability Rating, with a score of 77/100, up 10 points versus the last rating in May 2024, and well balanced across all categories (environment, labor & Human Rights, ethics and sustainable procurement).
On October 23, 2024, the Group improved its ESG performance in the S&P Global Rating (DJSI), achieving a score of 84/100 for 2024 and ranking #2 out of 184 in the Professional Services Industry category, which encompasses the TIC sector.
On February 7, 2025, Bureau Veritas was named in CDP’s prestigious ‘A List’, based on the Group’s climate reporting in 2024. This prestigious accolade underscores Bureau Veritas' unwavering commitment to mitigating climate risk and accelerating the transition towards a decarbonized economy as a part of its LEAP | 28 Strategy which puts Sustainability at its core.
› A year of significant recognition & awards
› Bureau Veritas enters the CAC 40 Paris stock index
In December 2024, the Euronext Expert Indices Committee announced the inclusion of Bureau Veritas in the CAC 40, the benchmark index of the Paris stock exchange, effective from December 20, 2024. This achievement underscores the Group's consistent operational success and marks a significant milestone in Bureau Veritas' remarkable journey.
› 2024 Transparency Awards
In July 2024, Bureau Veritas won the Transparency Award in the "CAC Large 60" category, recognizing its excellence in financial communication and public information transparency. The Group ranked among the top 3 of 121 companies evaluated.
› Extel
In September 2024, the Group was also named a Most Honored Company in the Developed Europe & Emerging EMEA Executive survey by Extel in 2024, among c. 60 companies in the Business & Employment services sector. The Group obtained the following distinctions: Best CEO (Top 2), Best CFO (Top 1), Best Investor Relations team & Best Investor Relations professional (Top 1), Best ESG program (Top 2) and Best Investor Relations program & Best investor event (Top 2).
OPERATIONAL APPOINTMENTS
› Khurram Majeed appointed Executive Vice-President, Commodities, Industry and Facilities, Middle East, Caspian and Africa
On April 1, 2024, Khurram Majeed became Executive Vice-President for the Middle East, Caspian and Africa, overseeing the Commodities, Industry and Facilities segments. This new regional organization aims to capitalize on the region's growing market opportunities in natural resources, construction and industry. It will enhance customer focus, accelerate solution deployment, and optimize resource utilization. Khurram Majeed is a member of the Group Executive Committee.
For more information, the press release is available by clicking here.
› Maria Lorente Fraguas appointed Executive Vice-President and Chief People Officer
On July 25, 2024, the Group announced the appointment of Maria Lorente Fraguas as Executive Vice President and Chief People Officer, effective from October 1, 2024. This key role will support the LEAP I 28 by evolving the Group’s people model, developing strategic skills, and enabling new ways of working through technology. Maria Lorente Fraguas is a member of the Group Executive Committee.
For more information, the press release is available by clicking here.
2025 OUTLOOK AND 2028 AMBITION
› 2025 outlook
Building on a strong 2024 momentum, a robust opportunities pipeline, a solid backlog, and a strong underlying market growth, and in line with the LEAP | 28 financial ambitions, Bureau Veritas expects to deliver for the full year 2025:
› Mid-to-high single-digit organic revenue growth,
› Improvement in adjusted operating margin at constant exchange rates,
› Strong cash flow, with a cash conversion8 above 90%.
› LEAP | 28 ambitions
On March 20, 2024, Bureau Veritas announced its new strategy, LEAP | 28, with the following ambitions:
|
2024-2028 |
|
|
GROWTH CAGR |
High single-digit total revenue growth9 |
|
With: |
Organic: mid-to-high single-digit |
|
And: |
M&A acceleration and portfolio high-grading |
|
MARGIN |
Consistent adjusted operating margin improvement9 |
|
EPS CAGR9 + DIVIDEND YIELD |
Double-digit returns |
|
CASH |
Strong cash conversion8: above 90% |
Over the period 2024-2028, the use of Free Cash Flow generated from the Group’s operations will be balanced between Capital Expenditure (Capex), Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A) and shareholder returns (dividends):
|
ASSUMPTIONS |
|
|
CAPEX |
Around 2.5%-3.0% of Group revenue |
|
M&A |
M&A acceleration |
|
DIVIDEND |
Pay-out of 65% of Adjusted Net Profit |
|
LEVERAGE |
Between 1.0x-2.0x by 2028 |
ANALYSIS OF THE GROUP'S RESULTS AND FINANCIAL POSITION
› Revenue up 6.4% year-on-year (up 10.2% on an organic basis)
Revenue in the full year of 2024 amounted to EUR 6,240.9 million, a 6.4% increase compared to 2023.
The organic increase was 10.2% compared to 2023 (including 9.6% in the fourth quarter of 2024), benefiting from solid underlying trends across most businesses and geographies.
By geography, the Americas (27% of revenue, up 12.5% organically) delivered strong growth led by a double-digit increase in Latin America and solid growth in North America. Europe (35% of revenue, up 5.6% organically) achieved robust growth, primarily led by high activity levels in France and in Southern and Eastern parts of the continent. Business in Asia-Pacific (28% of revenue, up 9.2% organically) benefited from mid-single digit growth in China, and double-digit growth for Australia and India. Finally, activity was very strong in Africa and the Middle East (10% of revenue, up 23.9% organically), supported by Buildings & Infrastructure and energy projects in the Middle East.
The scope effect was a positive 0.6%, reflecting bolt-on acquisitions (contributing to +1.1%) realized in the past few quarters and partly offset by the impact of small divestments completed over the last twelve months (contributing to -0.5%).
Currency fluctuations had a negative impact of 4.4% (including an easing negative impact of 2.5% in Q4), due to the strength of the euro against most currencies.
› Adjusted operating profit up 7.1% to EUR 996.2 million (organic margin up 33 bps)
Full year adjusted operating profit increased by 7.1% to EUR 996.2 million and up 13.4% at constant currency.
|
CHANGE IN ADJUSTED OPERATING MARGIN |
|
|
IN PERCENTAGE AND BASIS POINTS |
|
|
2023 adjusted operating margin |
15.9% |
|
Organic change |
+33bps |
|
Organic adjusted operating margin |
16.2% |
|
Scope |
+5bps |
|
Constant currency adjusted operating margin |
16.3% |
|
Currency |
(27)bps |
|
2024 adjusted operating margin |
16.0% |
This represents an adjusted operating margin of 16.0%, up 11 basis points compared to the full year 2023:
› The organic adjusted operating margin increased by 33 basis points year-on-year to 16.2%, with revenue growth and operating leverage delivering higher margins in Marine & Offshore, Industry, Certification and Consumer Products Services, partly offsetting lower margins in Agri-Food & Commodities and Buildings & Infrastructure.
› Scope had a slight positive impact of 5 basis points.
› Foreign exchange trends were a negative impact of 27 basis points on the Group’s margin due to the strength of the euro against other currencies.
Adjustment items decreased significantly to EUR 62.8 million versus EUR 105.8 million in 2023, and comprised:
› EUR 44.3 million in amortization of intangible assets resulting from acquisitions (from EUR 57.1 million in 2023),
› EUR 4.0 million in write-offs of non-current assets mainly linked to Marine & Offshore (EUR 22.1 million in 2023),
› EUR 13.7 million in restructuring costs, relating chiefly to commodities-related activities and Consumer Products Services (compared to EUR 30.3 million in 2023),
› EUR 0.8 million in net losses on disposals and acquisitions (EUR 3.7 million in net gains in 2023), linked to the divestment of activities which occurred during the period offset by the acquisitions’ costs.
Operating profit totaled EUR 933.4 million, up 13.2% from EUR 824.4 million in 2023, and up 20.1% on a constant currency basis.
› Adjusted EPS of EUR 1.38, up 8.7% year-on-year and 17.0% at constant currency
Net financial expense amounted to EUR 50.7 million in 2024, compared to EUR 46.0 million in the same period of 2023. The difference in net finance costs is mainly attributable to the differences in coupon between the bond redeemed in September 2023 and the one issued in May 2024.
In 2024, the Group recorded higher unfavorable exchange rate effects compared to the previous year, with a gain of EUR 5.9 million (compared to a gain of EUR 6.9 million in 2023).
Other items (including interest costs on pension plans and other financial expenses) stood at a negative EUR 24.8 million, from a negative EUR 29.4 million in 2023.
As a result, net financial expenses slightly increased to EUR 69.6 million in full-year 2024 compared with EUR 68.5 million in 2023.
Consolidated income tax expense stood at EUR 273.8 million for 2024, compared to EUR 240.7 million for 2023. This represents an effective tax rate (ETR- income tax expense divided by profit before tax) of 31.7% for the period, versus 31.8% in 2023. The adjusted effective tax rate decreased by 60 percentage points compared to 2023, to 30.5%. It corresponds to the effective tax rate adjusted for the tax effect of adjustment items. The decrease is mainly due to a reduction in the amount of withholding taxes incurred over the period.
Attributable net profit for the period was EUR 569.4 million, versus EUR 503.7 million in 2023. Earnings per share (EPS) were EUR 1.27, compared to EUR 1.11 in 2023.
Adjusted attributable net profit totaled EUR 620.7 million in 2024, up 8.0% versus EUR 574.7 million in 2023. Adjusted EPS stood at EUR 1.38 in 2024, an 8.7% increase versus 2023 (EUR 1.27 per share) and of 17.0% based on constant currencies.
› Record Free Cash Flow of EUR 843.3 million (+27.9% year-on-year)
The full year 2024 operating cash flow increased by 22.6% to EUR 1,004.8 million versus EUR 819.7 million in 2023. This was fueled by a working capital requirement inflow of EUR 60.8 million, compared to a EUR 53.6 million outflow in the previous year, despite strong revenue growth delivered in the fourth quarter (up 9.6% organically).
The working capital requirement (WCR) stood at EUR 293.0 million as of December 31, 2024, compared to EUR 379.8 million as of December 31, 2023. As a percentage of revenue, WCR decreased by 180 basis points to a record low of 4.7%, compared to 6.5% at the end of 2023. This showed the continued strong focus of the entire organization on cash metrics, under its “Move For Cash” program. This program involved optimizing the "invoice to cash" process, accelerating billing and cash collection procedures across the Group.
Purchases of property, plant and equipment and intangible assets, net of disposals (net capex), amounted to EUR 139.8 million in 2024, down 2.6% compared to the 2023 figure of EUR 143.5 million. This showed disciplined control, with the Group’s net capex-to-revenue ratio achieving 2.2%, down 20 basis points compared to the level in 2023.
Free cash flow (operating cash flow after tax, interest expenses and net capex) was strong at EUR 843.3 million, up 27.9% year-on-year, compared to EUR 659.1 million in 2023. At constant exchange rates, growth was 32.3%. On an organic basis, free cash flow increased by 31.2% year-on-year.
|
CHANGE IN FREE CASH FLOW |
|
|
IN EUR MILLION |
|
|
Free cash flow for the period ending on December 31, 2023 |
659.1 |
|
Organic change |
205.5 |
|
Organic free cash-flow |
864.6 |
|
Scope |
7.7 |
|
Free cash flow at constant currency |
872.3 |
|
Currency |
(29.0) |
|
Free cash flow for the period ending on December 31, 2024 |
843.3 |
› Solid financial position
The Group has a solid financial structure with most of its maturities beyond 2027. Bureau Veritas had EUR 1.2 billion in available cash and cash equivalents, and EUR 600 million in undrawn committed credit lines as of December 31, 2024. The adjusted net financial debt/EBITDA ratio was maintained at a low level of 1.06x. The average maturity of the Group’s financial debt was 5 years, with a blended average cost of funds over the year of 3.0% (excluding the impact of IFRS 16), compared to 2.7% at December 31, 2023 (excluding the impact of IFRS 16).
At December 31, 2024, adjusted net financial debt was EUR 1,226.3 million, i.e. 1.06x EBITDA compared with 0.92x at December 31, 2023. The increase in adjusted net financial debt of EUR 290.1 million (including the impact of debt from acquired companies) versus December 31, 2023 (EUR 936.2 million) reflects:
› Free cash flow of EUR 843.3 million,
› Dividend payments totaling EUR 406.9 million, corresponding mainly to dividends paid to non-controlling interests and withholding taxes on intra-group dividends,
› Net share buyback totaling EUR 173.7 million, as part of the Group’s LEAP | 28 strategy,
› Acquisitions (net) and repayment of amounts owed to shareholders, accounting for EUR 266.8 million,
› Lease and interest payments (related to the application of IFRS 16), accounting for EUR 149.9 million,
› Other items that increased the Group's debt by EUR 15.8 million (including foreign exchange).
2024 BUSINESS REVIEW
MARINE & OFFSHORE
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IN EUR MILLION |
2024 |
2023 |
CHANGE |
ORGANIC |
SCOPE |
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