Egis reported turnover of €1.22bn (+7.9 %), driven principally by its road operations and building engineering activities The distributable net profit was €49.8m, an increase of €18.9m on 2018’s figure. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) increased by €24.7m to €113.8m. In 2019, there was an engineering order intake of €881m, up by 6% compared to 2018. The order book stood at 18 months of turnover, slightly down on the previous year. The company’s workforce continued to expand, growing by 6% from 2018 to 15,800.
The company said that the public health crisis resulting from the Covid-19 outbreak has caused disruption in all the group’s activities in France and around the world. In view of this, it said that it is focusing on guaranteeing the safety of its employees and the operational continuity of its essential activities. While the crisis will inevitably affect the group’s results for 2020, Egis’ people and management teams are already at work preparing an exit strategy and ensuring the group’s resilience.
“In 2019 we beat the growth and profit targets that we had set ourselves thanks to excellent results in our various markets,” said Nicolas Jachiet, chairman and CEO of Egis. “Although the group is today experiencing the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, we are taking steps to guarantee its resilience by adjusting our activities in response to new market constraints. And we are already making plans for continued growth once the crisis is over.”
Jachiet has announced his retirement and is to leave the group on 31st October 2020. Laurent Germain has been appointed to take over as chief executive officer. An open selection process was conducted which attracted candidates from inside and outside the group. Germain is currently the chief executive officer of global engineering and technology consulting group Segula Technologies. This appointment is scheduled to be approved at a future meeting of the board of directors, with Germain joining the group on 2nd July.
Most of the growth was organic but there was also some growth from its latest acquisitions: Hong Kong design consultancy Inhabit and Plantier, a French design office specialising in building structure design and construction studies.
Jachiet said: “I take great pride in the growth and international development accomplished by Egis’s teams throughout the 15 years during which I have led the group. While I have made a personal choice to retire, I look forward to supporting Laurent Germain in the coming months so as to lay the foundations for a transition that is beneficial to Egis. Our leading priority will naturally be to pursue the actions that we have initiated to respond to today’s public health and economic crisis, whilst guaranteeing the safety of our employees and our business continuity for our clients. And the Group will make every effort to return to the pursuit of ambitious development, working for a sustainable future for the benefit of populations, in accordance with its vocation.”
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