Capgemini reports very strong H1 2022 results and raises its growth outlook

The Board of Directors of Capgemini SE, chaired by Paul Hermelin, convened today to review and adopt the accounts[1] of the Capgemini group for the first half of 2022. Aiman Ezzat, Chief Executive Officer of the Capgemini Group, commented: “The Group achieved a very good performance in the first half. This is the fifth consecutive quarter of double-digit growth and strong bookings demonstrating our strong momentum and market share gains. Our operating margin continues to improve while we kept on increasing our investments in talent and innovation.

These results illustrate the relevance of our strategy in a market driven by structural demand for digital transformation which will remain a priority for our clients in the coming years.

Recently, we supported our clients on major strategic and value-creating projects, leveraging our expertise in cloud, data and intelligent industry. We also enriched our portfolio of sustainability offerings.

The transition to ‘net zero’ is a priority. We therefore raise our targets for emissions reduction and are proud to be one of the first companies in the world to have its targets validated against the new SBTi standard.

Building on this excellent performance, we raise significantly our growth target for the year and confirm our operating margin and organic free cash flow targets.”

1^ST HALF KEY FIGURES

Capgemini generated revenues of €10,688 million in H1 2022, up +22.7% on a reported basis and +18.5% at constant exchange rates. Organic growth^* (i.e. excluding the impacts of currency fluctuations and changes in Group scope) is +17.2%.

Group growth accelerated in Q2 to reach +19.3% at constant exchange rates and +18.1% organically, confirming the strong momentum observed in the previous quarter.

Intelligent Industry and Customer First business areas, as well as the activities driven by Cloud and Data, confirmed their strong momentum. This illustrates the importance of digital transformation for Group clients and the structural increase in their investments in technology.

Bookings totaled €11,607 million in the first half of 2022, up +22% year-on-year at constant exchange rates. The book-to-bill ratio is 1.09 for H1 and 1.11 for Q2, reflecting ongoing robust commercial momentum.

The operating margin^* is €1,301 million, or 12.2% of revenues, an increase of +25% or +0.2 points year‑on-year. As expected, mix and pricing improvement offset the return of certain operating costs, such as travel expenses, and those of developing Group talent.

Other operating income and expenses represent a net expense of €233 million, virtually stable year‑on‑year.

As a result, Capgemini’s operating profit is up +32% to €1,068 million, or 10.0% of revenues.

The net financial expense is €71 million, down €14 million on H1 2021.

The income tax expense is €327 million and includes exceptional tax expenses[2] of €29 million, compared with €56 million last year. Adjusted for these expenses, the effective tax rate is 29.9%, compared with 31.0% in H1 2021 and 29.2% in FY 2021.

Net profit (Group share) is up +50% year-on-year at €667 million for the first six months of 2022. Basic earnings per share rose by +49% year-on-year to €3.91, while normalized earnings per share^* increased +36% to €4.87. Normalized earnings per share adjusted for exceptional tax expenses rose +29% to €5.03.

The Group generated organic free cash flow^* of €193 million, down as expected from €429 million in the same period of 2021.

OPERATIONS BY REGION

All Group regions posted strong double-digit constant currency growth rates in H1 2022, confirming the acceleration already observed in the first quarter. This growth was fueled by strong momentum in almost all the Group’s sectors.

Revenues in North America (30% of Group revenues in H1 2022) grew by +16.8% at constant exchange rates, driven in particular by the Financial Services and Manufacturing sectors. The operating margin rate was 15.5% compared with 15.7% in the first half of 2021.

The United Kingdom and Ireland region (12% of Group revenues) reported remarkable growth of +22.7% at constant exchange rates, boosted by a strong Public Sector but also by the Consumer Goods & Retail and Energy & Utilities sectors, which are very dynamic. The operating margin reached a record level of 18.4%, compared with 17.6% a year earlier.

France (20% of Group revenues) reported revenue growth of +12.8% at constant exchange rates, with a particularly strong performance in the Manufacturing and Consumer Goods & Retail sectors. The operating margin further improved to reach 10.7%, a marked 3.2 points year-on-year improvement.

The Rest of Europe region (29% of Group revenues) grew +16.9% at constant exchange rates, with the Manufacturing and Consumer Goods & Retail sectors as the top drivers. The operating margin recorded a decline at 9.8%, compared with 11.5% one year earlier.

Finally, revenues in the Asia-Pacific and Latin America region (9% of Group revenues) increased sharply by +41.5% at constant exchange rates. The contribution of Group acquisitions in 2021 combined with organic momentum which remains extremely robust in this region, notably in the Manufacturing and Financial Services sectors. The region reported an operating margin of 9.7%, from 12.5% in H1 2021.

OPERATIONS BY BUSINESS

All Group business lines also reported double-digit constant currency growth rates in H1 2022.

Strategy & Transformation services (8% of Group revenues in H1 2022) and Applications & Technology services (63% of Group revenues and Capgemini’s core business) continue to benefit from broad-based demand for digital transformation, posting growth in total revenues^* at constant exchange rates of +29.7% and +21.1%, respectively.

Operations & Engineering services (29% of Group revenues) grew +13.4% at constant exchange rates, reflecting strong growth in Engineering services and Cloud infrastructure services.

OPERATIONS IN Q2 2022

Q2 revenues grew +24.4% to €5,521 million, up +19.3% at constant exchange rates and +18.1% organically. Almost all regional growth rates accelerated vs. Q1, driven by sectorial trends quite similar to those experienced in the previous quarter.

The United Kingdom and Ireland region continued its excellent momentum growing +24.1% at constant exchange rates. Revenue growth also accelerated sequentially in France and the Rest of Europe, with revenues increasing +14.5% and +17.8%, respectively, at constant exchange rates. Finally, momentum in North America and the Asia-Pacific and Latin America regions remained generally in line with trends at the beginning of the year, growing by +16.7% and +40.7%, respectively, at constant exchange rates.

Bookings totaled €6,134 million in Q2 2022, a +19% increase at constant exchange rates year-on-year.

HEADCOUNT

At June 30, 2022, the Group’s total headcount stood at 352,100, up 22% year-on-year, with a 27% increase in employees in offshore centers to 207,900 (59% of the total headcount).

BALANCE SHEET

Capgemini’s balance sheet structure was relatively unchanged in H1 2022.

At June 30, 2022, the Group had cash and cash equivalents and cash management assets of €2.8 billion. After accounting for borrowings of nearly €6.9 billion, Capgemini net debt^* stands at €4.1 billion at June 30, 2022, compared with €4.8 billion at June 30, 2021 and €3.2 billion at December 31, 2021.

SHARE BUYBACKS

In line with its policy of capital allocation and active management of its share capital, the Group bought back shares for a total amount of €517 million in the first half of the year.

In addition, the Board of Directors approved a new multiyear share buyback program of €800 million, which will supersede the existing multiyear program, under which a balance of €47 million remains available.

UKRAINE & RUSSIA

Since the end of 2021, Capgemini has proactively taken measures to ensure the safety of its teams and their families in Ukraine and has implemented continuity plans for its clients. Capgemini continues to monitor events very closely in order to support its employees in this difficult context.

The war in Ukraine did not have any material impact on the Group’s performance. Indeed, with well under 1% of Group revenues and less than 1% of its workforce, the Group’s total exposure to Ukraine and Russia is very limited.

In Russia, the Group confirms its intention to discontinue its presence – which is very limited in size and relates to very few international brands present in the country – while respecting the rights of its employees and in full compliance with the applicable legislation.

CORPORATE, SOCIAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL RESPONSIBILITY (CSR)

Capgemini elevates its net zero targets, in line with the Science Based Target initiative (SBTi)’s new Net-Zero Standard. The Group’s new headline net zero target is to achieve a 90% reduction in all carbon emissions across scopes 1, 2 and 3 by 2040 compared to a baseline of 2019. At the same time, Capgemini has also set more ambitious near-term (2030) targets. These changes reflect its continued commitment to address climate change in line with the latest climate science, and puts Capgemini amongst the first companies globally to have their net zero targets validated against the new SBTi standard.

In addition, the Group has launched a unique Energy Command Center (ECC), which uses digitalization and the exploitation of measured and projected data to monitor and manage energy performance on its campuses in India, which account for about a quarter of the Group’s energy footprint. With an estimated 20% reduction in energy consumption since its launch, the ECC is making a material contribution to its sustainable development initiatives.

Finally, Capgemini continues its efforts to increase the diversity of its talent and to offer an inclusive work environment. As a result, the proportion of women in the Group’s global workforce rose by 0.7 points in the first half of 2022, to 36.5%. In addition, 94% of the Vice President population has completed inclusion and cognitive bias training in the past 18 months to strengthen the culture of inclusion across the Group. In recognition of its transparency and progress on Diversity & Inclusion, Capgemini was included in 2022 in the Gender Equality Index compiled annually by Bloomberg.

OUTLOOK

Given the strong demand momentum, the Group is raising its growth objective for 2022 and is now aiming for:

• Revenue growth of +14% to +15% at constant currency, instead of +8% to +10% previously. The inorganic contribution to this objective is virtually unchanged and should be around 1.5 points.

The Group’s other objectives for 2022 are unchanged:

• Operating margin of 12.9% to 13.1%;
• Organic free cash flow above €1,700 million.