Paris (Reuters) – The French specialist in Bureau Veritas certification reports solid results in the fourth quarter on Tuesday, pulled by “robust background trends”, shortly after the failure of discussions for potential rapprochement with his Swiss competitor SGS in a very fragmented market.

Last arrival of the CAC40, Bureau Veritas posted a turnover of 1.67 billion euros, up 9.6% in organic for the last three months until the end of December. Its growth therefore slows down after the peak of 13% organic increase in the previous quarter.

For 2025, the certification specialist indicates in a press release provides “moderate organic growth raised to a turnover of its turnover”, as well as “operating margin adjusted in constant exchange rate improvement”, and ” Cash flows at a high level, with a cash conversion rate above 90%”.

To achieve these objectives, Bureau Veritas plans to rely on “a promising pipeline of opportunities, a solid order book and a strong dynamic of the underlying market”.

The Director General Hinda Gharbi described the results for 2024 as “records” during a call with journalists.

The group said it has exceeded its financial objectives for 2024 relating to its organic growth, its margin and its cash flow.

Its turnover increased by 10.2% on an organic basis in 2024.

Bureau Veritas had raised its prospects for 2024 twice, first in July, announcing to bet on “organic organic growth with a turnover” against “moderate to high” before, then again in October By announcing now awaiting organic growth “from 9 to 10% of its turnover”.

M&A in suspense

At the end of January, Bureau Veritas announced the end of its discussions with its Swiss competitor SGS, for a possible rapprochement.

Very fragmented, the certification market is also growing due to the increase in regulations, particularly in environmental matters.

Like its SGS rival, Bureau Veritas is focusing on strong external growth. The group announced 10 acquisitions out of 2024, relating to smaller players in the sector, as well as the sale of two companies.

Questioned during the call with journalists on its M&A strategy and the possibility of getting closer to a larger player in the sector, Hinda Gharbi found that growing by buying many small businesses “takes time” and “requires a lot of ‘efforts”.

“There are targets that can be larger,” said the director general.

“The potential combination between SGS and Bureau Veritas was part of this approach, to say that there is a slightly faster way to execute M&A strategy by associating with much larger targets”, She also explained.

Regarding rumors of discussion with another major player in the sector, the British Intertek, Hinda Gharbi refused to comment.

Bureau Veritas entered the CAC 40 in December 2024, replacing Vivendi there, following the latter’s split.

In 2024, the Bureau Veritas action increased by around 28%.

(Written by Florence Lève, edited by Kate Entringer)

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