(Reuters) – Capgemini reported annual revenue above expectations on Wednesday, while announcing that it expects limited growth in 2024, given the weakness of the economic environment in the first half.
“This year again, the group plans to grow, with a low point in growth in the first quarter, to strengthen its operating margin and maintain its free cash flow generation at a high level,” said CEO Aiman Ezzat. in a press release.
“We hope for a somewhat faster recovery in the second half of the year in sectors such as financial services,” he added at a press conference.
On the Paris Stock Exchange, the stock rose 5.3% at 11:35 GMT, leading the CAC 40, which gained 0.4% at the same time.
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According to Stifel, organic revenue growth in the fourth quarter continued to decelerate but was better than expected. Jefferies also highlighted that the results are “better than analysts’ cautious expectations.”
Revenue in the fourth quarter stood at 5.62 billion euros, an organic decline of 0.9%, but slightly higher than the 1.3% decline expected by analysts, according to Stifel.
The group expects revenue growth of between 0% and 3% at constant exchange rates this year and also forecasts an operating margin of between 13.3% and 13.6% this year, compared to 13. .3% for 2023.
Aiman Ezzat said he expected activity to improve in the United States during the second quarter. The North American market, the group’s second largest, weighed on its results last year, in a context of slowdown in the technology sector.
Revenue in North America fell 6.6% in the fourth quarter, following a 4.4% decline in the third quarter.
Capgemini had 340,400 employees at the end of December, a decrease of 5% compared to the same period the previous year.
The board of directors proposed paying a dividend of 3.40 euros per share for the 2023 financial year, compared to 3.25 euros per share for the 2022 financial year.
(Reporting by Lina Golovnya in Gdansk; French version Nathan Vifflin and Augustin Turpin, editing by Kate Entringer)
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