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Investing.com -- Capgemini (EPA:CAPP) on Tuesday reported a revenue decline of 1.9% in 2024, with total revenues reaching €22.1 billion, compared to €22.5 billion in 2023.
At constant exchange rates, the drop was slightly higher at 2%, reflecting a challenging economic environment that primarily impacted the Manufacturing sector.
However, the company's focus on high-value technology services, particularly in Cloud and Data & AI, helped sustain its operating margin at 13.3% of revenues, unchanged from the previous year.
Bookings for 2024 stood at €23.8 billion, marginally lower than the prior year by 0.5% at constant exchange rates. However, the book-to-bill ratio remained at a solid 1.08, showing steady demand despite prolonged decision cycles among clients.
Generative AI played an increasingly vital role, accounting for approximately 5% of total bookings in Q4, reflecting growing client interest in AI-driven transformation.
Operating profit saw a modest increase of 0.4% year-over-year, reaching €2.36 billion. The net profit attributable to the group also improved slightly by 0.5% to €1.67 billion.
Basic earnings per share rose 1.2% to €9.82, whereas normalized earnings per share dropped by 1.7% to €12.23, signaling a slight dilution in overall profitability.
Despite the revenue contraction, Capgemini maintained strong cash flow generation. Organic free cash flow remained stable at €1.96 billion, marginally lower by €2 million from the previous year.
The French IT services and consulting company allocated €2 billion for capital deployment, including €827 million for acquisitions.
Shareholder returns continued with €972 million allocated to buybacks and €580 million in dividends, with a proposed payout of €3.40 per share, maintaining a 35% payout ratio.
Regionally, North America, the company’s largest market, recorded a revenue decline of 4.1% at constant exchange rates, with improvements in Financial Services and Consumer Goods & Retail countered by continued weakness in Manufacturing.
The UK and Ireland region performed relatively well, declining only by 1%, driven by resilience in the Energy & Utilities sector. France was among the hardest-hit regions, with revenues down 3.5%, largely due to headwinds in Manufacturing.
The rest of Europe remained stable with a marginal 0.1% increase in revenue, while Asia-Pacific and Latin America saw a slight contraction of 0.3%.
By business segment, Strategy & Transformation consulting services grew 3.2%, indicating strong demand for advisory capabilities. However, Capgemini’s core business, Applications & Technology services, declined 2.1%, reflecting broader industry trends of reduced discretionary spending. The Operations & Engineering services segment also contracted by 2.1%.
Headcount remained stable, with a slight 0.2% increase, bringing the total workforce to 341,100 employees.
Offshore headcount grew by 1.2% to 196,900, representing 58% of the total workforce, while onshore staffing saw a 1.1% reduction.
Capgemini's 2025 financial outlook is conservative, with projected revenue growth between -2% and +2% at constant currency.
They plan to hold operating margin steady at 13.3% to 13.5% and achieve around €1.9 billion in organic free cash flow.
"However, we remain cautious in this uncertain environment, notably around Manufacturing and Europe, and expect H1 2025 constant currency revenue growth to remain in the same range as in Q4 2024," said Aiman Ezzat, chief executive at Capgemini in a statement.