Aubay's Board of Directors, which met on September 15, 2021 under Chairman Christian Aubert, approved the consolidated financial statements for the first six months of 2021. The financial statements have been reviewed by the company's Statutory Auditors who will shortly issue their reports.

After demonstrating exceptional resilience in 2020, the Group has embarked on a strategy of commercial success. It reported organic growth of 8.5% in the first half of 2021, outstripping the benchmark market.

Operating margin from ordinary activities above projections

Operating margin from ordinary activities stood at 9.6%, the best first-half performance ever achieved in the history of the Group and higher than estimated when the half-yearly results were published in July, thanks in particular to a consultant productivity rate of 93.8% compared to 92.7% at June 30, 2020.

The Group's operating margin for the period came in at 8.2% for activities in France and 11.1% for activities overseas, compared with 7.5% and 10.1%, respectively, in 2020.

Operating profit of €21.3 million

Operating profit rose 22.4%, after taking into account the cost of performance shares of €0.5 million and a net operating expense of €0.6 million, primarily comprising restructuring expenses, which was lower than in the same prior-year period. 

Sharp increase in net income attributable to owners of the parent (6.7% of net margin)

Net income attributable to owners of the parent came in at €15.6 million, a record half-year high for the Group. The tax expense of €5.7 million reflected a decrease in the Group's average tax rate to 27%.

Net cash (excluding rental liabilities) stable at €44 million

Cash flow stood at €25.5 million or 10.9% of revenue. The change in WCR amounted to negative €14.3 million compared to a negative €4.2 million for the same period of the previous year, in line with the strong growth in revenue and the usual seasonal nature of our business. After taking into account the payment of a dividend in May for an amount of €4.3 million, net cash was stable at €44 million at June 30, 2021, and should significantly increase during the second half of the year.

Proposed interim dividend of €0.34

In light of the strong increase in net income and the Group's excellent financial position, the Board of Directors has decided to pay an interim dividend of €0.34 per share in respect of 2021. The interim dividend will be paid on November 10, 2021.

Outlook for 2021

Aubay operates on a market that still offers excellent visibility with numerous calls for tender issued by clients. The Group continues to achieve commercial success and productivity remains high. The headcount is still increasing, and is set to hit the 7,000 mark in the short term.

Management is very confident that the following 2021 targets, revised upwards in July, will be achieved:

• Annual revenue of between €456 million and €465 million;
• Operating margin from ordinary activities between 9.5% and 10.5%.

Aubay will publish its 2021 third-quarter revenue on October 20, 2021 after the close of trading.

Glossary

Organic revenue growth: This refers to growth calculated for a constant scope of activity for a given period, excluding revenues from companies that were acquired or sold during the period. As Aubay conducts most of its business in the euro zone, any impact from changes in exchange rates is minimal.

Operating profit from ordinary activities: this indicator corresponds to operating profit before the cost of free shares and other income and expenses that are unusual, abnormal or infrequent and that are booked separately in order to facilitate understanding of an entity's recurring operating performance.

Operating margin from ordinary activities: this indicator, which is expressed as a percentage, is the ratio of operating profit from ordinary activities to revenue.

Net debt or net cash (excluding rental liabilities): this indicator represents the difference between an entity's cash and debt. If the result is negative, it is referred to as net debt. If it is positive, it is referred to as net cash.

About Aubay

Aubay is a digital services company working alongside some of the biggest names in the Banking, Finance, Insurance, Manufacturing, Energy, Transport and Telecoms sectors. With 6,562 employees in 7 countries (France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Italy, Spain, Portugal and the United Kingdom), Aubay generated revenue of €426.4 million in 2020.

Euronext, Compartment: B - ISIN FR0000063737-AUB - Reuters AUBT.PA - Bloomberg AUB:FP

Contacts

Nicolas Bouchez - Actus Finance - Tel.: +33 (0)1 53 67 36 74 - E-mail: nbouchez@actus.fr

David Fuks – Co-Chief Operating Officer – Finance Department – Tel.: +33 (0)1 46 10 67 67 – E-mail: dfuks@aubay.com

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