Press Release
Cegelec: significant growth in EBIT (12.7%)
and orders (13.1%) in 2008
Paris, 16 March 2009
Cegelec, an international group providing technological services to companies and public authorities, ended 2008 with earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) of €157 million. Excluding Faceo, which was sold in October 2007, this represents a year-on-year increase of 12.7%. At €213 million, free cash flow rose significantly faster than EBIT for the second year in a row.
Excluding Faceo, order intake grew by 13.1% to €3,216 million, and revenue increased by 3.1% to €3 billion.
Cegelec is now looking to 2009 with confidence, thanks not only to these solid results, but also to its ability to redeploy part of its operations to sectors and countries that are less affected by the financial crisis and by broadening its solutions portfolio in certain segments. Business growth will also depend on how long it takes the stimulus packages implemented in a number of countries to take effect.
Cegelec will work with its new shareholder, Qatari Diar, to strengthen its position in the Middle East and develop operations in the various markets where the subsidiary of Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund is present.
Market conditions in 2009 should also enable Cegelec to pursue its acquisitions strategy. In 2008, the acquisition of eight companies in France, Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands brought in additional full-year revenue of €75 million.
Major contracts signed during the year in the industry market – which represents 23% of consolidated revenue – included the upgrade of the Arzew refinery power grid in Algeria and several industrial equipment contracts for the pharmaceutical and food industries, particularly in China where the Group is supporting its customers’ local expansion. A contract was also won in Brazil with ThyssenKrupp, already a customer in Germany, to build the electrical installations and instrumentation for the steelmaker’s new TKCSA complex, the largest construction site in South America.
In the energy infrastructure market, which accounts for 15% of revenue, contracts were awarded for the extension of the Vridi 2 power plant in Côte d’Ivoire, the upgrade of the Edea 1 power plant in Cameroon and the electrical installations for the Schacht Konrad waste storage site in Germany. Other infrastructure projects, which account for another 15% of revenue, included the supply and installation of electrical and safety equipment for tunnels in Hamburg, Germany and in Algeria, as well as the electrification of the first tramline in Rabat, Morocco.
New contracts in the building sector, which accounts for 20% of revenue, include the HVAC system for French bank Société Générale's new trading floors at the La Défense business district near Paris and the electrical equipment and HVAC infrastructure for several new hotels in Morocco. Lastly, industrial and multi-technical maintenance, which represents 27% of revenue, remains an important source of recurring business since it generally involves multi-year contracts.
