Current Operating income at €3.4 m
| IN MILLION EUROS IFRS NORMS(*) | 2012 | 2011 |
|---|---|---|
| Turnover | 119.6 | 119.7 |
| Current operating income | 3.4 | 6.4 |
| Other products and operating costs | (1.1) | (0.8) |
| EBIT | 2.3 | 5.7 |
| Net profit | 0.6 | 3.6 |
Consolidated income 2012
Micropole, an international consulting and engineering group, specialized in the fields of Business Intelligence, e-Business, ERP and CRM, attained a stable turnover of 119.6 million euros during FY 2012 (-2.7% like-for-like). Two acquisition operations took place, strengthening the group’s high-value-added service provision offer as well as its international positioning.
The operating profit amounts to 3.4 million euros, as against 6.4 million euros in 2011. In the context of this deteriorated economic climate, 2012 was significantly impacted, notably by lessened profitability of the Swiss subsidiary. Net profit stands at €.0.6 m.
A solid financial situation
At the end of 2012, group shareholder’s equity amounted to 58.5 million euros (as opposed to 58.7 million euros in 2011). The group cash flow was kept at a satisfactory level of 13.0 million euros, as against 13.8 million in 2011, this slight dip being directly linked to the hardening of settlement terms of some key account customers, a factor which also impacted the net debt, standing at 7.7 million euros (vs. 3.9 million euros in 2011)
2012: significant events
2012 was notable for the continuation of the group’s international expansion, which today accounts for 27% of our turnover. In line with its strategy, Micropole has thus extended its business in the countries where it had set up operations, notably through its Business Intelligence offers, with the acquisition in Belgium of the Velixis company and the opening of a new Micropole China office in Beijing. At the end of 2012, the group also acquired Beryl; the Swiss consulting company specialized in risk management and organizational streamlining in the financial sector.
In terms of geographical zone analysis, the slowdown was most evident in France and Switzerland:
- France was clearly impacted by the generally flat economic environment. FY 2012 pointed up an acceleration in the differences in dynamic between the different group businesses, which enabled arbitration on the halting of some investments.
- Switzerland especially was significantly affected by banking sector related issues, with automatic repercussions on the business and profitability of the subsidiary.
- The Benelux area continued to show profitable growth in 2012, driven by its positioning on partnering customers with highly international –geared businesses.
- Lastly, the Chinese subsidiary of Micropole got off to a very satisfactory start for its first year of business.
The different group offers were impacted overall by the economic slowdown, as is mainly demonstrated by a considerable drop in activity rates. Business Intelligence remains the most resilient business, boosted by flagship or innovative offers such as:
- Enterprise Performance Management or EPM, offering steering, management and streamlining of corporate business activity.
- Agile BI, which enables bringing flexibility and reactiveness to corporate decision-support systems.
- MPM or Marketing Performance Management, based on measurement of marketing operations to create value, foster long-term customer loyalty, and prospect for new markets and customers.
Master Data Management or MDM, an offer on which Micropole is a leader, and which enables the master data governance and streamlining crucial to the performance of corporate business management, also maintained its positive dynamic.
Prospects 2013
FY 2012 has thus pointed up disparities between some of the group’s businesses, this already enabling the management to gear its strategic investments and implement new, differentiating, and high-value-added offers. Micropole has therefore dropped its business of management, installation and support on BlackBerry devices, and has re-activated its traditional CRM business operations. This offer, enriched by the major enhancements brought by cross-channel and digital marketing applications which provide companies with the opportunity to fully utilize all of their customer data, has already led to the signing of several significant projects. More than ever, the strategy remains geared to high -value- added service provision, business expertise and international development.
« The group continues to base itself on its business and financial fundamentals and has taken the necessary steps to meet its priority objective of profitability gains. At the beginning of 2013 we have noticed stabilization of the group’s activity rates, not to say a positive tendency in this regard. In addition, corporate projects on high-ROI, innovative technologies such as Data Mining, Cross-channel, Data visualization, or mobile BI hold significant growth prospects for the group, both short and mid-term. By remaining watchful on profitability, we are confident in the groups continuing development », comments Christian Poyau, Micropole CEO.
