Bureau Veritas posts H1 2022 results

July 28, 2022

IIOA member Bureau Veritas reports its results for the first half of 2022.

Revenue rose to 2,693.4m EUR, an increase of 11.4% or 6.9% (constant currency). Revenue increased 6.5% organically, with 5.2% coming in Q2.

Key points Bureau Veritas highlight in the H1 results are:

Growth driven by the whole portfolio and most geographies
58% of Group sales related to Sustainability
Activity in China was negatively impacted by lockdown measures
Limited impact from Russia/Ukraine war.

By geography, Bureau Veritas reports the following:

‘Americas was the best performing region (27% of revenue; up 16.4% organically), led by a 9.8% increase in North America (driven by Buildings & Infrastructure) and by a 28.4% increase in Latin America (led by Brazil notably)
Europe (34% of revenue; up 2.9% organically) was primarily led by strong growth in Italy and the Netherlands
Business in Asia Pacific (30% of revenue; up 1.9% organically) was impacted by the lockdown measures in China (concentrated in Q2) while double digit growth was delivered in Southern Asia (led by India) and high single digit growth in Australia
Africa and the Middle East (9% of revenue), strongly outperformed the rest of the Group with organic revenue growth of 12.3%, essentially driven by Buildings & Infrastructure and energy projects in the Middle East.’

Within the overall figures, Certification grew by 6.2% (1.9% constant currency), with 4.1% organic growth, to 209.2m EUR. This growth was fueled by the rising demand for Sustainability and ESG-driven services.

Bureau Veritas reports that, ‘The Certification business delivered solid organic growth of 4.1% in the first half of 2022 (including 4.0% in the second quarter), against challenging comparables (year of recertification for several schemes related to QHSE and Transportation). This was supported by strong sales development, notably as regards Sustainability and robust price increases.

Most geographies experienced solid organic growth. The Americas, Africa and the Middle East performed above the divisional average, fueled notably by stellar growth in Latin America (and Brazil in particular), Asia was at a par (led by South & Southern Asian countries) while Europe grew below the average (primarily led by the UK and Italy). The countries that grew the most are those where the mix has been diversified in recent years (shift from traditional schemes towards new services), as illustrated by Brazil, Australia, Thailand and some Eastern countries, which all saw high double-digit organic growth in the period.

Within the Group’s portfolio, strong growth was achieved in Corporate Responsibility & Sustainability, Enterprise Risks (led by Cybersecurity and IT management systems solutions), Food certification (fueled by food product certification, food safety and food sustainability) as well as in Training & Personnel services; conversely, business declined for QHSE and Transportation (reflecting fewer man days) due to tough comparables against the prior year linked to the year of recertification.

During H1, Bureau Veritas Sustainability services grew by more than 16%, driven notably by buoyant demand for Greenhouse gas emission verification services related to Carbon footprint assessments, Offsetting & removals projects and Neutrality or net zero goals.

Business continued to benefit from the overall rising client demand for more brand protection, traceability, and social responsibility commitments all along the supply chain. While a major part of the demand for ESG is on a voluntary basis, the regulatory framework is expected to be a growth driver in the medium-term. The EU corporate sustainability reporting directive (CSRD) currently sets the rules for European non-financial data reporting in a more standardized way and opens the sustainability assurance market to independent assurance service providers (IASP), including TIC players. This will support growth from 2025 onwards.

In the first half, the Group accelerated the commercial deployment of its new offering Clarity, from both a geographic and a business point of view. Clarity was launched in December 2021, and supports companies in managing their ESG strategy, measuring their performance and tracking their implementation. The commercial pipeline is well oriented and contract wins are now capturing a large range of sectors, including Food & Beverage, industry, Retail and Hospitality.’

Regarding the outlook for the full year results, Bureau Veritas states, ‘Based on a solid sales pipeline around the Group’s diversified portfolio and the significant growth opportunities related to its sustainability range of services and solutions, and assuming there are no new Covid-19 lockdowns in its main countries of operation, Bureau Veritas still expects for the full year 2022 to achieve mid-single-digit organic revenue growth’.

See further details in the full Bureau Veritas H1 2022 report.