(News Bulletin 247) – The current operating profitability of the IT services company fell from 5.3% in 2021 to 4.1% last year. In question, an “industrial accident” in Switzerland and a change in the rule for postponing leave in France.

IT services remain a sector that requires fine management of human resources and staff, especially in times of “war for talent”. Micropole’s half-mast accounts illustrate this perfectly. The digital services company delivered sharply lower financial results for the 2022 financial year on Monday evening, weighed down by various problems.

Already published, turnover increased by 10.7% over one year, in published data, to 135.2 million euros, reflecting an increase of 8.8% excluding exchange rate and scope effects. Current operating income fell to 5.5 million euros against 6.5 million euros in 2021. The corresponding margin thus fell from 5.3% to 4.1%.

A Swiss “industrial accident”

The company attributes the plunge in this account line to several factors. First of all, Micropole explains that it suffered last year from a change in the rule for postponing leave in France, allowing more leave to be taken from the balance of leave from the previous year. Micropole assesses the impact of this one-off effect at a 0.6% margin.

Above all, the company suffered an “industrial accident” in Switzerland. “A poorly controlled increase in the workforce has caused the activity rate to drop significantly in 2022”, underlines the company. The effect amounts to 1.7% operating margin according to Micropole, which ensures that the “situation is being rectified”.

Finally, the group explains that it carried out several investments last year, such as the renewal of the premises of several sites (Levallois, Lyon, Brussels), a strengthening of the recruitment and marketing teams and the strengthening of IT security. “These investments have burdened profitability but were necessary for the future dynamics of the group”, assures Micropole.

A bad exchange rate

The net result of the company’s activities was also divided by three to 1 million euros in 2022. In addition to the decline in operating activities, this indicator was weighed down by an unfavorable exchange rate impact on the euro-Swiss franc parity for 500,000 euros. “A foreign exchange hedge was contracted in 2023 in order to guard against such a variation”, assures the company.

Regarding its prospects, Micropole did not give any quantified objectives for the current year. “The war in Ukraine, the return of inflation, social tensions at the national level generate uncertainty about the evolution of the economic environment in the short term”, explains the company. “However, the group has not, at this stage, observed any change in its activity,” she adds.

On the Paris Stock Exchange, the group’s share is heckled, the title Micropole losing 8.5% around 1:40 p.m.