PARIS (Agefi-Dow Jones)–Technology consulting and engineering group Alten said on Tuesday it expects “satisfactory” organic sales growth and operating margin in 2022, after seeing its profitability recover year past its pre-health crisis level.
“In an unchanged context, Alten should achieve satisfactory organic growth and operating margin” in 2022, the company said in a press release. “The growth of the activity will depend on the evolution of the health crisis but also on the geopolitical and macroeconomic environments”, she however warned.
Executives formulated these outlooks as Alten recorded a sharp rebound in its results in 2021. Over the period, its operating profit from activity more than doubled compared to its 2020 level, to 319.9 million euros. euros (+125%). The operating margin on activity then stood at 10.9% of turnover last year, against 6.1% the previous year.
Alten’s profitability has thus “exceeded its level before the health crisis”, commented the company, which specifies that it had “preserved the fundamentals of its gross margin” and “controlled its costs” last year.
The engineering and technology consulting group also reported net income group share of 207.8 million euros for 2021, up 112% compared to 2020 and slightly above expectations. The analyst consensus compiled by FactSet was for a net profit of 203 million euros for 2021.
As the group had already announced at the end of last January, Alten saw its turnover reach 2.93 billion euros last year, up 25.4% in published data and 12. 9% at constant scope and exchange rates.
Free cash flow generated by the business decreased by 35.9% in 2021, to 158.1 million euros, or 5.4% of revenue.
Net cash stood at €219.8 million as of December 31, 2021, compared to €195.6 million as of December 31, 2020.
In addition, after 7 acquisitions made in France and internationally in 2021 and since the beginning of 2022, the group “will continue its strategy of targeted external growth”, he indicated.
-Dimitri Delmond, Agefi-Dow Jones; 01 41 27 41 37; [email protected] ed: ECH
ALTEN FINANCIAL RELEASES:
http://www.alten.fr/investors/publication-financiere
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February 22, 2022 11:42 ET (16:42 GMT)