1st Half 2001 Results and Perspectives
12 October 2001
During a meeting held on October 11, 2001 under the chairmanship of Serge Kampf, the Board of Directors of Cap Gemini S.A. reviewed the audited consolidated financials of the Cap Gemini Ernst & Young Group as of June 30, 2001, and discussed future perspectives.
1. RESULTS as of June 30, 2001: the audited consolidated financials for the first-half of 2001 of the Cap Gemini Ernst & Young Group confirm the provisional results published on July 30:
- consolidated revenue of 4,440 million euro, up 70% over the 2,611 million euro recorded for the first-half of 2000 and which only included the Ernst & Young consulting operations from May 23 to June 30, 2000 (at comparable structure and constant exchange rates, this increase is 6.3%);
- operating income of 269 million euro, that is 6.1% of revenue compared to 221 million euro and 8.5% of revenue in the first-half of 2000, including the Ernst & Young consulting operations from May 23 to June 30, 2000 (at comparable structure, the operating income was 409 million euro as of June 30, 2000, that is 10.0% of revenue);
- Group net income exclusive of minority interests of 111 million euro, that is an increase of 16.4% compared to that recorded for the first-half of 2000 (95 million euro after restatement of the American tax saving in accordance with the formula used for the closing of 2000 accounts); this result includes an 85 million euro charge corresponding to the restructuring plan launched at the end of the first-half and a capital gain of 29 million euro from the sale of the business process outsourcing operations in the United Kingdom;
- net earnings per share of 0.88 euro (0.98 euro last year) for an adjusted average of 126.8 million shares.
2. FUTURE PERSPECTIVES: in an economy that had already experienced a heavy slowdown over the last few months, the shock caused by the September 11 attacks – which cost the Group significant losses in revenue and bookings – has pushed back by at least one or two quarters the hope of a recovery in growth. The United States is obviously the worst affected but the American recession threatens to bring about in numerous countries a crisis whose scale and length no-one dares predict.
Given the information gathered from its clients in the 30 countries where it has a significant presence, the Group is today considering several hypotheses which range from moderate growth continuation (a scenario which underpinned the objectives announced on June 26 but which is now considered optimistic) to a reduction in the global volume of business activity which the persistence of a general depressed climate would generate.
While awaiting better visibility on which of these hypotheses will turn out to be correct – and after a third quarter which, although its exact results are not yet known, will no doubt be far below our previous objectives – the Board of Directors has decided:
- to indicate for the moment no new figure regarding the current fiscal year or the first budget drafts being studied for 2002
- to prepare or accelerate a certain number of measures of precaution (cost squeeze, pruning of the operational structures, relocating certain production activities, expansion of development centers,…) whose implementation will enable the Group to weather the storm better should a recession in Europe be confirmed, and to rapidly take advantage of the recovery when it happens.
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