(BFM Stock Exchange) – The specialist in outsourced customer relations has delivered an activity greater than expectations under the fourth quarter. But its objectives for 2025 are tarnished by the loss of a visa request management contract which has an impact of a percentage point on its income.

Formerly Star value of the Paris Stock Exchange, Teleperformance has lost a very large part of its aura in recent years. The fault of a serious brake on its growth as well as fears that the rise of generative artificial intelligence only ultimately turned its activity model.

However, the various publications delivered last year had, on the whole, rather reassured investors in its trajectory.

This is not the case with the annual results unveiled Thursday evening by the specialist customer relationship specialist.

The title has been undergoing its strongest fall on the Paris Stock Exchange for almost a year, this Friday, February 28. Teleperformance action takes 10% around 10:25 a.m. and accuses the highest drop in CAC 40.

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Specialized services disappoint

Teleperformance published an activity greater than expectations in the fourth quarter, with a growth of 4% in pro-forma data, that is to say by eliminating the effects of exchange and variations in the redemption of the Luxembourg Group Majorel. According to a consensus quoted by Royal Bank of Canada, analysts tamed on an increase of 3.8% over the period.

In detail, TeleperFormance has delivered a better performance than expected in its so -called “Coeur de vocational” activities ¸ which bring together for example the customer relationships, content methods or digital marketing. In these activities, growth reached 3.8% in pro form data, while consensus had more modest expectations (+2.6%).

On the other hand, Teleperformance clearly missed the mark in its so -called “specialized” services (interpretation, collection of claims, visa requests, assistance in recruitment processes) which represent 14% of income. These services display an increase of 5.2% in pro formal data when analysts expected growth of 11%.

This disappointment is essentially explained by the loss of a large contract in the management of visa requests. Retired from this impact, growth would have exceeded 10%

Objective of margins lower than expectations

The loss of this major contract constitutes the big black point of the publication. After having grew the growth of the fourth quarter, this commercial setback will also weigh on the increase in income and on the margins of 2025.

Which is reflected in the perspectives delivered by Teleperformance. The company said that it was counting, this year, to display growth in comparable data between 2% and 4%. By excluding the impact linked to this loss of contract, encrypted at a percentage point, the range goes to 3%-5%.

The company also counts on a retired operating profit margin (current Ebita) or up 10 base points (0.1 percentage point).

Royal Bank of Canada notes that Teleperformance’s growth target for 2025 is roughly online with expectations (3.4%increase). On the other hand, the projection of margin is clearly below the consensus, which anticipated an increase in profitability of 50 base points. And this while the company will benefit from the rise in power of the extraction of the synergies of the acquisition of Majorel.

This disappointment on margins forecasts is still explained, by the loss of the visa request management contract which “will weigh disproportionate” on profitability, underlines the Canadian bank.

In addition, Deutsche Bank notes that the company has published a current Ebita of 1.54 billion euros for 2024, a little less than some 1.55 billion euros expected by consensus, due to a fall in profitability in its “core business” services.

At the end of this publication, Oddo BHF reiterates its advice to “outperformance”, due to the low valuation of the title. But the broker recognizes that the objective of margin for 2025 has something to weigh on the action.