Business & Decision: Record Results for First Half of 2006: +63% in Operational Profit, +78% in Net Profit
- Half Year Sales Turnover €65.8m
- Operational Profit: €6.2m
- Net Profit for the Group: €4.1m
Paris, 26 September 2006: Business & Decision, the international consulting and data engineering company specialising in Business Intelligence, Customer Relationship Management, Enterprise Resource Planning and E-Business, today announced operational profit of €6.2 million for the first half of 2006; this represents 9.4% of consolidated sales turnover for the same period.
|
€ million |
First Half of 2006 |
First Half of 2005 |
% Change |
|
Consolidated Sales Turnover |
65.8 |
43.2 |
+52% |
|
France |
42.9 |
33.2 |
+29% |
|
Outside of France |
22.9 |
9.9 |
+131% |
|
Operational Profit |
6.2 |
3.8 |
+63% |
|
Net Profit for the Group |
4.1 |
2.3 |
+78% |
|
Net Profit per Share* |
0.496 |
0.289 |
+71% |
*Not Audited
Net profit has increased by 78% to €4.1 million, which represents 6.2% of consolidated sales turnover for the first half of 2006.
Consolidated sales turnover for the first half of the year was €65.8 million, which represented an increase of 52% against the comparative period for 2005; 27% of this growth was organic.
Group activities from outside of France represented 35% of consolidated sales turnover for the first half of 2006.
Patrick Bensabat, Chairman of Business & Decision commented “These results are very good. Our sales turnover has grown rapidly and I believe it will grow at an even quicker pace in the future. Business & Decision is seen as a leader in the data intelligence and CRM markets. Our objectives over the coming months are to achieve this recognition in other areas of expertise such as E-Business and in specific industry sectors. During the second half of the year, Business & Decision has historically demonstrated strong organic growth and the creation of new market opportunities for the future.”
For the second half of 2006, the Group is confident of demonstrating continuous growth and is expecting to meet its revenue objectives of €140 million in consolidated sales turnover for the year.
Growth of the Business Model Outside of France
Business & Decision has invested heavily in replicating its business model outside of France. The acquisitions of Mi Services (in the UK) and Cognitis Ibérica (in Spain) during the first half of 2006, has enabled the Group to attain critical mass in those respective countries, as well as strengthen its presence in North America.
This is already being realised with a two-fold increase in sales outside of France. The Group is now looking to quickly expand its strategic activities, gain more visibility and accelerate its business model to those countries outside of France.
Bensabat continues: “The first half of the year has seen us meet our objective of improving operational performance. Now, more than ever, we are looking to pursue our strategy of growth outside of France and exploit the potential of our key activities wherever they are relevant.”
Growth in Each Key Area of Expertise
Business & Decision is the undisputed leader in Europe in providing data intelligence solutions and this has played a key part in the Groups performance for the first half of 2006 (+33%). This historical area of expertise accounted for 58% of the Group activities.
Customer Relationship Management (CRM) continues to experience very fast growth (+69.4%) and accounted for 19% of half-yearly sales in 2006.
E-Business (+57.15%), has also contributed to continuous growth within the Group. Strong expertise and successive investments has enabled Business & Decision to reinforce its position as one of the leading E-Business organisations in France.
The Quest for New Talent
Thanks to its unique human resources model, the Business & Decision Group has experienced consistent growth and now counts over 1,700 employees as of the end of September 2006. Headcount has increased by more than 50% over the last 3 years and this has been recognised by Business & Decision being awarded a place in “Europe’s 500”.
Recruitment is a strategic focus for the Groups future development. For the second half of 2006 and the following year, Business & Decision has an ambitious recruitment plan to support its strong organic growth. This means that Business & Decision will be one of the largest (net) employers in France. Business & Decision currently accounts for more than 5% of employment opportunities in the computing sector within France according to Syntec.
Over the next twelve months, more than 600 new recruits will be integrated into the Group (net) and this will raise the bar even higher in terms of its standard of quality and customer service.
The Groups human resources model is so successful that Business & Decision manage to attain an exceptional staff turnover rate of less than 5%.
Next Financial Appointments:
- 2006 Third Quarter Turnover (after close of market): Tuesday, 31st October 2006
- 2006 Fourth Quarter Turnover (after close of market): Tuesday, 30th January 2007
About Business & Decision:
Business & Decision specialises in providing solutions and related consultancy in Business Intelligence, Customer Relationship Management, Enterprise Resource Planning and E-Business. Founded in 1992 and listed on the Euronext Paris since February 2001 (ISIN code FR 00000 7895 8 / BND), the Group has a reputation for its functional and technological expertise and has forged partnerships with all of the key technology vendors. Business & Decision currently employs over 1,700 consultants across the globe and has over 1,200 clients. For more information visit http://www.businessdecision.nl or http://www.businessdecision.com.
Press Contact:
John Simmerman
Business & Decision Netherlands BV
Tel: 020 580 67 30
Fax: 020 580 67 39
E-mail: john.simmerman@businessdecision.com
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