- Current operating income of €3.4 million
| IN MILLIONS OF EUROSIFRS STANDARD(*) | 2012 | 2011 |
|---|---|---|
| Sales figures | 119,6 | 119,7 |
| Current operating income | 3,4 | 6,4 |
| Other operating income and expenses | (1,1) | (0,8) |
| Operating income | 2,3 | 5,7 |
| Net income | 0,6 | 3,6 |
(*) : Audited figures
Consolidated results 2012
Micropole, an international consulting and engineering group specializing in Business Intelligence, e-Business, ERP and CRM, achieved stable revenues of €119.6 million in its 2012 financial year (-2.7% on a like-for-like basis). Two acquisitions strengthened the group's high value-added services and its international position.
Current operating income amounted to 3.4 million euros versus 6.4 million euros in 2011. In a very deteriorated economic environment, 2012 was significantly impacted, in particular by the lower profitability of the Swiss subsidiary. Net income was €0.6 million.
A solid financial situation
At the end of 2012, the group's equity amounted to 58.5 million euros (vs. 58.7 million euros in 2011). The group's cash position remained at a satisfactory level at 13.0 million euros, compared with 13.8 million euros in 2011. This slight decrease is directly linked to the tightening of payment terms for certain key accounts, which also impacted net debt, which stood at 7.7 million euros (vs. 3.9 million euros in 2011).
Highlights of 2012
The year 2012 was marked by the Group's continued international development, which now represents 27% of revenues. In line with its strategy, Micropole expanded its activities in its host countries, in particular via its Business Intelligence offerings, with the acquisition of Velixis in Belgium and the opening of a new Micropole China office in Beijing. At the end of 2012, the group also acquired the Swiss consulting firm Beryl, which specializes in risk management and organizational optimization in the financial sector.
From the point of view of the analysis by geographical sectors, the slowdown was more marked in France and Switzerland:
- France was significantly impacted by the sluggishness of economic activity in general. Fiscal 2012 highlighted an acceleration in the difference in dynamics between activities, which made it possible to arbitrate on halting certain investments.
- Switzerland, in particular, has been strongly affected by the difficulties in the banking sector, with a mechanical effect on the subsidiary's business and profitability.
- The Benelux region continued its profitable growth in 2012, driven by its positioning as a support for clients whose business is strongly international.
- Finally, Micropole's Chinese subsidiary got off to a very satisfactory start in its first financial year.
The Group's various offerings were impacted overall by the economic slowdown, which resulted mainly in a significant decline in occupancy rates. However, the most resilient activity remains Business Intelligence, driven by flagship or innovative offerings such as :
- Enterprise performance management or EPM, offering solutions for steering, managing and optimizing the company's activity;
- Agile BI, which brings flexibility and reactivity to the business intelligence system of companies;
- MPM, or Marketing Performance Management, which relies on the measurement of marketing actions to create value, build lasting customer loyalty and prospect for new markets and customers.
Master Data Management (MDM), an offer in which Micropole is the leader, and which enables the governance and optimization of reference data, essential to the performance of the company's business departments, has also remained at a very dynamic level.
Outlook for 2013
The 2012 financial year therefore revealed disparities between some of the Group's activities, which enabled investments to be directed and new differentiating, high value-added offerings to be implemented. Micropole has thus ceased its management, installation and support activity on BlackBerry infrastructures, and has relaunched its historical activity around CRM. This offer, which has been enhanced by the major developments in cross-channel and digital marketing, and which enables companies to take full advantage of all their customer data, has already led to the signing of several significant projects. Our strategy remains more than ever focused on high value-added services, business expertise and international development.
" Micropole continues to rely on its industrial and financial fundamentals, and has taken the necessary actions to achieve its priority objective of improving its profitability. In addition, at the beginning of 2013, we have seen a stabilization, or even a positive trend in the Group's occupancy rates. In addition, the companies' projects on innovative technologies with high return on investment, such as data mining, cross-channel, data visualization, or mobile BI, are all significant growth prospects for the group, in the short and medium term. While maintaining our vigilance on profitability, we are confident in the group's continued development ", comments Christian Poyau, Chairman and CEO of Micropole.
