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Investing.com -- Bureau Veritas (EPA:BVI) reported a solid first-half (H1) performance, with operating profit and EBITA margins beating expectations despite FX headwinds.
Adjusted EBITA reached €491.5 million, which, according to Jefferies, is about 1% ahead of consensus, while the margin rose 40 basis points year-on-year to 15.4%, also beating estimates of 15.2%.
First-half revenue came in at €3.19 billion, marking a 5.7% increase year-on-year and 6.7% growth on an organic basis. The organic growth was in line with expectations.
Adjusted EPS rose to €0.65, up 2.4% or 6.4% at constant currency.
Performance across divisions was mixed. Marine & Offshore delivered 12.7% organic growth, ahead of consensus, though margins declined 89bps.
Agri-Food saw margin expansion of 200bps to 14.3%, outperforming expectations.
Industry and Building & Infrastructure also contributed to the margin upside, with modest outperformance.
In contrast, Certification and Consumer margins came in below or just in line with consensus.
Jefferies analyst Allen Wells said the margin beat was “mainly driven by strong improvement in Agri-Food,” while Building & Infrastructure also surprised positively.
"Overall, we see results today as encouraging again particularly on margins, which will provide support to consensus expectations," he added.
Despite some division-level softness, Bureau Veritas maintained its fiscal 2025 (FY25) guidance, targeting mid- to high-single-digit organic growth, improved margins at constant FX, and strong cash flow.
Free cash flow was down 11.5% year-on-year, though up 3.5% organically, and net leverage remained broadly stable at 1.11x.