French-based utility company SUEZ has announced solid full-year results for 2019, including organic revenue growth of 3.6%; organic EBIT growth at 4.3%; a cash flow increase at 7%; and leverage down to 3.0x, at constant accounting standards.
The company has also announced that the rollout of Shaping SUEZ 2030 is well underway, with successful implementation of selective growth and disposal strategies, and the Performance Plan across the Group. There is also a new managerial organisation in place.
In fact, SUEZ’s outlook for 2020 is in line with the company’s Shaping SUEZ 2030 targets, with organic growth in revenue set to increase from 2% to 3%; organic growth in EBIT of 5% to 6%; recurring EPS of €0.65 (S$0.99); and recurring Free Cash Flow of €300 million (S$456.5 million).
Bertrand Camus, CEO of SUEZ, commented, “SUEZ has posted solid 2019 results: all the targets set were met or exceeded, with a good growth rate in the fourth quarter. Our Net Income Group Share stands at €352 million (S$535.5 million). We confirm our proposal to pay a dividend of €0.65 per share.
Each of our activities contributed to this good commercial and operational performance. In recycling and recovery, we won major contracts, such as Greater Manchester’s waste management, and began construction of a plastic recycling plant in Thailand. In municipal water, the service contract to produce and distribute drinking water in Senegal started on January 1st, 2020, and we have also strengthened our presence in India. In our technology and environmental services activities, we had strong growth in orders volumes in industrial water, as illustrated by the signature of seven new contracts with key players in the energy and agri-foods industries in the United States, Brazil and Qatar. Our smart solutions are being developed with our customers, as illustrated by the Smart City projects in Dijon, Angers Métropole and Singapore.
The development of these high added-value activities is a key driver of Shaping SUEZ 2030. Our commercial successes have enabled us to deliver organic growth above our expectations, at 3.6%. Our profitability was solid, with 4.3% organic growth in EBIT, driven by pricing and by the efforts of our teams to improve our operational performance. We stabilized our return on capital employed and reduced our debt, two major objectives. I therefore confirm SUEZ ambitious targets for 2021.
The past year marks, above all, the beginning of SUEZ’s transformation with the launch of our strategic plan, Shaping SUEZ 2030. A new management structure adapted to our ambition has been put in place. Prioritizing value creation over volume, we are driving a strategy of selective growth: consolidation of our positions in Europe, targeted international development, acceleration with industrial customers and intensification of innovation efforts in high value-added businesses. We have started work to adapt the composition of our asset portfolio. The implementation of processes to improve our operational efficiency is underway and our performance plan will deliver from 2020.
The energy and expertise of the SUEZ teams were evident throughout the year offering our customers quality and differentiating solutions to make a positive impact on health, quality of life, environment and climate. We are fully focused on the execution and delivery of our strategy with the ambition to make SUEZ the global leader in environmental services.”
