News Release

THIS ANNOUNCEMENT RELATES TO THE DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION THAT QUALIFIED OR MAY HAVE QUALIFIED AS INSIDE INFORMATION WITHIN THE MEANING OF ARTICLE 7(1) OF THE MARKET ABUSE REGULATION (EU) 596/2014.
 

Majorel Reports Strong Results for 2021 and Positive Outlook for 2022
Net revenue €1,752m | Operating EBITDA €316m | Successful Strategy Execution

Luxembourg, March 17, 2022: Majorel Group Luxembourg S.A. (Euronext Amsterdam ticker symbol: MAJ) ("Majorel", the ''Company"), a leading global provider of next-generation end-to-end customer experience (CX) solutions for digital-native and vertical leading brands, today reports its audited results for the fiscal year 2021 ended December 31, 2021.

FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS

• Net revenue¹ of €1,752 million, up +31%;
• Operating EBITDA² of €316 million, up +61%; Operating EBITDA margin³, up 340bps to 18.0%;
• Majorel expects its net revenue to increase in the range of € 1,850-1,950 million (an increase of 12%-18% compared to the 2021 net revenue without COVID-19 related services); and Operating EBITDA margin to be in the range of 16.0%-17.0% in 2022.

BUSINESS HIGHLIGHTS

• Growth with existing clients: net revenue retention⁴ of 116%;
• Ongoing business expansion: acquired the China business⁵ and entered Croatia;
• Digital expansion: Global Internet clients at 45%, Content Services, Trust & Safety at 21%, and Tech & Expert Services at 9%, each as percentage of total net revenue;
• Q1/2022: Turkish Mayen acquisition completed; Ghana and North Macedonia entered; strategic partnership with Booking.com announced.

Commenting on the strong results, Thomas Mackenbrock, CEO of Majorel, said: "I am pleased to report that we delivered a strong performance in 2021, with double-digit revenue and profitability growth, and have successfully executed our strategy in all areas. Our existing clients have extended their business with us, adding new service lines, new locations, and new solutions while at the same time we have won more than 40 new logos. I'd like to thank our clients for their trust in us and our 69,000 team members worldwide for their passion and commitment. We are also proud of our debut as a public company and I'd like to thank our anchor shareholders and our new shareholders for their confidence and vision. Our success in 2021 is a strong foundation for 2022, and our current outlook is positive."

Otmane Serraj, CFSO of Majorel, said: "I am very proud that Majorel has overachieved on its financial targets for 2021. Total net revenues of €1,752 million for the year represent a +31% increase over 2020, and Operating EBITDA is up +61% to €316 million. This development is supported by strong net revenue retention, which has grown to 116%. In addition, Majorel generated free cash flow of €118 million and the net cash position at the end of the year was €79 million, allowing us strategic flexibility for inorganic growth. Based on our current assessment, Majorel expects for 2022 its net revenue to be in the range of €1,850 million and €1,950 million with an Operating EBITDA margin to be in the range of 16.0-17.0%."

Financial Overview, Business Overview, Corporate Responsibility, Subsequent Events, and Outlook

1. FINANCIAL OVERVIEW

CONTINUED STRONG TOP-LINE GROWTH IN ALL SEGMENTS AND BUSINESS AREAS

Net revenue for 2021 amounted to €1,752 million, representing an increase of +31% compared to the previous year's net revenue of €1,340 million. This development was driven by the strong growth in net revenue generated with existing clients, mainly in the target verticals Global Internet and BFSI. Net revenue in 2021 was impacted by special effects from the COVID-19 related business⁶ (€102 million) and the first-time consolidation of the China business, contributing €98 million to the Company's net revenue. The China operations became part of the Majorel Group as of January 1, 2021. Excluding the two aforementioned special effects, like-for-like net revenue⁷ growth was +16%.

Net revenue and net revenue by business Segment

*Q4 results are unaudited, not reviewed and are based on management reporting.

EASA Segment: Europe, Africa and South America
With an increase of +19%, the EASA Segment has seen strong YOY growth in net revenue for 2021, reaching €1,290 million (2020: €1,086 million). The main drivers for this development were the continued expansion with Global Internet and BFSI clients, as well as the contribution of COVID-19 related services, which were all accounted for in this Segment. Like-for-like, excluding the COVID-19 related business, net revenue in the EASA Segment increased by +9% in 2021, which was also driven by the strong development in the Company's near- and offshore locations in Africa, Eastern Europe and Latin America.

GEMS Segment: Global English, Middle East and South East Asia
The GEMS Segment made a significant contribution to Majorel's success with an annual growth in net revenue of +44%. Net revenue for GEMS was €364 million in 2021 (2020: €253 million). This strong increase has been driven by the Company's continued expansion with Global Internet Clients, particularly in the Philippines, Canada, the US, Malaysia, Egypt, India, and Kenya.

CEA Segment: China and East Asia

The CEA Segment reported net revenue of €98 million for 2021 - in line with the Company's guidance that the CEA segment would contribute 5-7% of group net revenue. The positive contribution from this Segment has been driven by further expansion of the footprint in China, the continuing growth of digital consumer engagement services, and the focus on consumer products and digital clients.

CONTINUED STRONG PROFITABILITY IN ALL BUSINESS SEGMENTS

With an Operating EBITDA of €316 million, Majorel exceeded its latest, increased guidance from November 4, 2021 (€290-€310 million) and grew by +61% compared to 2020 (€196 million). The main drivers of this development were: overall business growth; operational excellence; more complex, value-added services; client portfolio management; improved global delivery mix; COVID-19 related services; the continued high work from home (WFH) rate of 63%; and the first time consolidation of China. Majorel's Operating EBITDA margin expanded by 340bps to 18.0%, compared to 14.6% in 2020.

EBIT amounted to €105 million for the year ended December 31, 2021, corresponding to a decline of -10% compared to the 2020 results of €116 million. This was due to the negative impact from special effects in connection with Majorel's private placement and listing in September 2021, of €128 million. Group Profit amounted to €80 million for 2021, representing a year over year decrease versus €86 million generated in 2020. Earnings per share (EPS)⁸ was €0.8. Free cash flow⁹ was €118 million (2020: €150 million).

The net cash position at the end of the year was €79 million, together with its unused credit facilities allowing the Company strategic flexibility for inorganic growth.

A potential dividend payment will be proposed at the AGM scheduled for June 20, 2022.

Operating EBITDA and Operating EBITDA by Segment

EASA Segment: Europe, Africa and South America

Operating EBITDA for the EASA Segment amounted to €223 million for 2021, a strong increase compared to 2020 Operating EBITDA of €153 million. The Operating EBITDA margin increased accordingly from 14.1% in 2020 to 17.3% in 2021. The margin improvement is driven by Majorel's main profitability drivers, especially: overall business growth, continued operational excellence; more complex, value added services; client portfolio management; continued high work from home rates; further expansion of Tech & Expert Services; and an increasing share of offshore delivery. The COVID-19 related businesses also contributed to the Operating EBITDA growth in EASA in 2021.

GEMS Segment: Global English, Middle East and South East Asia

Operating EBITDA for the GEMS Segment amounted to €75 million for 2021, increasing by +69% from €44 million in 2020. The Operating EBITDA margin increased from 17.5% in 2020 to 20.6% in 2021. Margin improvement in GEMS has been similarly driven by Majorel's main profitability drivers.

CEA Segment: China and East Asia

Operating EBITDA from the first time consolidation of the China business amounted to €15 million for 2021 with an Operating EBITDA margin of 15.4%. The CEA results benefited from the continuing growth of digital consumer engagement services, the growth of consumer products and digital clients, and the expansion of the footprint in China.

2. BUSINESS OVERVIEW - MAJOREL HAS DELIVERED ON ITS THREE GROWTH LEVERS

Growth with existing clients and adding new logos

• Our current client portfolio, which comprises more than 400 clients worldwide from a wide range of industries, has a focus on fast-growing Global Internet and BFSI clients. Retaining and growing their business is the bedrock of our own success and our key focus area for growth. We call this "winning with the winners". We can also point to many clients we first met as start-ups and who are now major multinationals with many thousands of employees worldwide.
• Across all of our verticals, we work and grow with our clients in true partnership, and with deep roots built on trust. In 2021, this resulted in a notable net revenue retention of 116% (2020: 113%).
• Further to deepening and extending our partnerships with existing clients, Majorel also succeeded in adding more than 40 new logos to its client portfolio during 2021 - a strong foundation for building future long-term client relationships.

Ongoing business expansion

• During 2021, Majorel welcomed around 13,000 additional team members to its global workforce. The Majorel family had approximately 69,000 team members on December 31, 2021.
• In January 2021, we acquired Arvato CRM in China, expanding our geographic footprint in this dynamic market and making us one of the few international providers operating at scale in the country.
• In June 2021, we welcomed the German Junokai CX consultancy firm into the Group, strengthening our Tech & Expert Services line of business.
• We also expanded into Croatia and made significant progress in developing our 2020 entry into Kenya - adding an extra dimension to our Global English capabilities.
• We have derived an increasing share of our net revenue from "offshore" delivery. The share of offshore in our global delivery mix rose from 35% in 2020 to 39% in 2021, against a midterm target of 45-50%. Excluding COVID-19 related business, the offshore net revenue share in 2021 would have been 41% in 2021.
• In addition, we prepared the market entry into North Macedonia and Ghana. These organic expansion plans have been realized in Q1 2022 (please see section 4. Subsequent Events, below).

Digital expansion

• In line with our operational targets, Majorel leveraged growth opportunities linked to digital expansion in 2021.
• We realized substantial growth with our digital clients, and this drove an increased share of net revenue from Global Internet clients from 38% in 2020 to 45% in 2021, approaching the Company's mid-term guidance of >50%. The net revenue share of Telco clients was further reduced from 19% in 2020 to 12% in 2021, in line with Majorel's midterm target to reduce the exposure to around 10% of net revenue.
• In terms of business lines, Content Services, Trust & Safety increased its share of net revenue from 17% in 2020 to 21% in 2021 (mid-term target 20-25%). The net revenue share of Tech & Expert Services increased from 5% in 2020 to 9% in 2021 (midterm target 10-15%), supported by the integration of the China business and the Company's technology solutions for the COVID-19 related business.
• Our 2021 acquisitions have already added value to our digital offering. The China business includes a proprietary digital solution platform for managing and implementing complex D2C (direct to consumer) programs, which we plan to develop further. Alongside this, our Junokai acquisition represents an additional step towards expanding our CX consultancy/advisory services in EMEA - supporting wide-ranging clients in aspects of digital transformation of customer service.
• We also created a new business, MajUP, to offer solutions exclusively for startups. Our around 30 years of CX experience, combined with our own startup spirit, makes us a perfect partner to meet their immediate and long-term needs.
• Our proprietary vertical digital solutions continue to support our global digital offer. These include Majorel Digital Banking(TM), supporting financial service providers in digitalizing and optimizing their processes and services to drive cost efficiencies, revenues and value-added services. The platform also includes Majorel Switch(TM) for bank account switching services and Majorel Navigator(TM) for next-generation insurance sales based on account information analysis.

3. CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY (ESG)

We see Corporate Responsibility (CR) as a fundamental part of Majorel's DNA and a natural extension of the Company's core values - Creativity, Excellence and Respect. Our CR framework comprises five pillars: Diversity, Equity & Inclusion; Environment & Local Communities; Employee Rights & Fair Working Conditions; Wellbeing & Resiliency; and Corporate Citizenship.

The diversity of our workforce plays a crucial part in our success and we are also expanding our potential talent pool by offering opportunities through impact sourcing. This initiative is making an important difference, reaching people in disadvantaged circumstances (whether socially, economically or through disability) who are typically missed by traditional recruitment programs.

In the wider world, we are committed to making a positive impact, being an active contributor to our host communities, and treading as lightly as we can. We have also defined a roadmap with the destination of being a climate neutral enterprise by 2030.

4. SUBSEQUENT EVENTS

• We continued to successfully execute our strategy since the end of 2021, and have maintained our momentum with further geographic expansion and additional business growth.
• We executed the acquisition of Mayen Telekomünikasyon Hizmetleri A.Ş.("Mayen"), one of Turkey's leading independent nearshore CX providers. Mayen became part of Majorel as of January 1, 2022, strengthening our delivery network for Europe and allowing us to offer expanded services to our international clients - especially in the Global Internet vertical.
• On January 24, we announced our entry into North Macedonia, in Skopje, further adding to our strong footprint for European languages. On January 25, we communicated our entry into Ghana, Accra - further strengthening our already leading position in Africa.
• On February 10, we announced an agreement to an expanded strategic partnership with our client Booking.com to transfer 12 of Booking.com's 14 internal CX service centers in Europe, Asia Pacific, and the Americas to Majorel. It also fulfils our strategic goal of expanding our geographic footprint into new countries - South Korea, Japan, Thailand and Lithuania - and further consolidates our existing presence in the other markets too. The new partnership agreement is expected to commence in the second quarter of 2022 after the transfer of the service centers from Booking.com to Majorel takes place, which is subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals and completion of works council consultations.
• We will continue to monitor risks on an ongoing basis, including macroeconomic developments and changes in local labor markets. Moreover, we will keep a careful watch on the saddening events unfolding in Ukraine, including economic consequences around the world and their potential impact on our business.

5. OUTLOOK

This outlook is based on Majorel's current assessment on the development of the business in 2022 and the general CX market, combined with economic and labor market conditions in the Company's geographic footprint. It remains to be seen how recent events in Ukraine, and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, may impact the business environment and world economy in this year.

Based on current visibility, Majorel continues to expect strong organic growth from existing clients, supplemented by new logo wins and the positive impact from the effects of the acquisition of Mayen and the expanded strategic partnership with Booking.com (subject to customary closing conditions). This would result in an increase of 12% to 18% compared to the net revenue without COVID-19 related services in 2021. The company anticipates some COVID-19 business will remain in 2022, but at a much smaller scale than 2021 - this would approximately offset the expected limited negative business impacts resulting from the Ukraine crisis.

Against this background, Majorel expects its net revenue in 2022 to again increase and to be in the range of
€1,850-1,950 million. Further, the Company expects its Operating EBITDA margin for 2022 to be between 16.0%-17.0%, also factoring in the above mentioned effects.

Please find below in the Appendix, the primary Consolidated Financial Statements: Profit and Loss; Comprehensive Income; Financial Position; Cash Flow; and Changes in Equity.

WEBCAST WITH ANALYSTS AND INVESTORS

Thursday, March 17, 2022 at 15:00hrs CET

If you want to participate in the conference call, please pre-register by clicking here and you will then receive the dial-in details: https://event-registration.arkadin.com/6220b33b820c352429f1f474

To follow the presentation, participants of the conference call can use the following link (only slides, no audio): https://www.webcast-eqs.com/majorel20220317/no-audio

If you just want to follow the presentation without participating in the conference call, you can follow the webcast via livestream and you will receive the audio via your Internet browser. No dial-in to the conference call is required. https://www.webcast-eqs.com/majorel20220317

A presentation of the 2021 results is currently available on the Investor Relations section of Majorel's website (www.majorel.com).

FINANCIAL CALENDAR (INDICATIVE)

Q1 2022 Trading Update: May 5, 2022

Capital Markets Day: June 9 - 10, 2022

Annual General Meeting: June 20, 2022

H1 2022 Results: August 30, 2022

Q3/9M Trading Update: November 3, 2022

ABOUT MAJOREL

We design, build and deliver next-generation end-to-end CX solutions for many of the world's most respected digital-native and vertical leading brands. Our comprehensive east-to-west global footprint in 35 countries¹⁰ across five continents, with around 69,000 team members¹¹ and 60 languages, allows us to deliver flexible solutions that leverage our expertise in cultural nuance, which we believe to be essential for true excellence in CX. We have deep domain expertise in tech-augmented front to-back-office CX. Additionally, we offer Digital Consumer Engagement, CX Consulting, and an innovative suite of Proprietary Digital Solutions for industry verticals. We are a global leader in Content Services, Trust & Safety. We believe the 'Majorel difference' to be our culture of entrepreneurship.

CONTACT

Investor Relations
Insa Calsow
EVP, Investor Relations
ir@majorel.com

Media Relations
Andrew Slater
SVP, Global Marketing & Communications
media@majorel.com

DISCLAIMER
This announcement is released by Majorel Group Luxembourg S.A. ("Company") and contains information that qualified or may have qualified as inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) 596/2014 (MAR). This announcement is made for the purposes of MAR and pursuant to Article 2 of Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2016/1055.

Some of the financial and business information in this announcement is unaudited and not reviewed, and based on management reporting. It does not purport to contain all information required to evaluate the Company and/or its financial position. All forward-looking statements are based on the Company's present expectations of future events and are subject to a number of factors and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements. For a detailed description of these factors and uncertainties, please refer to the "Risk Factors" section of our Prospectus, available at https://www.bourse.lu/issuer/MajorelGroupSA/105258. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any of these forward-looking statements.

NOTES
¹ Net revenue for the Group corresponds to revenues as reported in our management reporting less certain direct, order-related external costs which are part of external expenses and costs of materials and consist mainly of cost of services purchased (subcontracted or outsourced services). Net revenue for each Segment correspond to the according Segment revenues less certain direct, order-related inter-Segment and external costs. Management reporting data exclude revenues from minor activities (primarily the Sonopress Business) outside the Majorel Group's core business which are reported in the consolidated income statement (the "Sonopress Business" is defined as certain non-core business activities historically carried out by Arvato de Mexico, S.A. de C.V., which was wound down in 2021).
² Operating EBITDA is defined as EBIT (earnings before interest and taxes) adjusted for depreciation/amortization, impairment and reversal on intangible assets, property, plant and equipment and right-of-use assets, adjusted for (i) impairment on goodwill and other intangible assets with indefinite useful life as well as gains from business combinations, (ii) impairment on carrying amounts on assets held for sale, (iii) impairment/reversals on other financial assets at amortized cost, (iv) impairment/reversals on investments accounted for using the equity method, (v) results from disposals of investments, (vi) fair value measurement of investments, and (vii) restructuring and other special items. We use Operating EBITDA to assess the operating performance of our business as Operating EBITDA shows our EBIT as adjusted for depreciation and amortization, which are non-cash charges, and specific periodic outcomes to enhance comparability of results over periods. When comparing Operating EBITDA with peer group data, it should be taken into account that the total adjustments in a given year do not represent the full amount of all special effects incurred in a given year, as rather only material effects subject to certain thresholds will be considered for the purpose of calculating Operating EBITDA.
³ We define Operating EBITDA margin as Operating EBITDA divided by net revenue.
⁴ Net revenue retention is defined as net revenue generated by clients in FY2021 divided by net revenue generated by the same cohort of clients in FY2020 (excluding China Business).
⁵ China Business means the acquisition of Shanghai Majorel Commercial Services Co., Ltd. (previously, Shanghai Bertelsmann Commercial Services Co. Ltd.), Shanghai Majorel Digital Marketing Co., Ltd. (previously, Shanghai Bertelsmann-arvato Information Services Co. Ltd.) and Shanghai Majorel CX Business solutions Co., Ltd. (previously, Bertelsmann-Arvato Commercial Services (Shanghai) Co., Ltd.).
⁶ COVID-19 Business means contracts to provide services in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.
⁷ Change in like-for-like net revenue corresponds to net revenue growth year over year, adjusted for certain specific, probably non-recurring items. For 2021 to 2020 like-for-like net revenue comparison the contribution of the first time consolidation of the China business and COVID-19 related business were adjusted.
⁸ Basic earnings per share (EPS) is calculated by dividing the net profit attributable to shareholders by the weighted average number of ordinary shares in issue during the year, excluding ordinary shares purchased by the Group and held as treasury shares and the shares held under the liquidity program, if any. Diluted earnings per share is calculated by adjusting the weighted average number of ordinary shares outstanding to assume conversion of all dilutive potential ordinary shares. There is currently no category of dilutive potential ordinary shares.
⁹ Free cash flow is defined as Operating EBITDA less adjustments minus increase/plus decrease in net working capital after net cash out from pensions, payments from leases and net investments in property, plant and equipment and intangible assets excluding net payments from acquisitions and disposals of financial assets
¹⁰ As of February 28, 2022.
¹¹ As of December 31, 2021.

APPENDIX: CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

Consolidated statement of profit and loss

Consolidated statement of comprehensive income

Consolidated statement of financial position

a) As of December 31, 2021, the subscribed capital amounts to €1 million (December 31,2020: €404 thousand).

Consolidated statement of cash flow

Consolidated Statement of Changes in Equity

a) As of December 31, 2021, the subscribed capital amounts to €1 million (December 31, 2020: €404 thousand).