A long-term investor
Wendel is a hands-on investor and shareholder that assists sector-leading companies in their long-term development. Wendel's business model combines the entrepreneurial passion born of a long family tradition with a culture of performance and accountability.
Bureau Veritas
Provider of compliance and certification services
More than 370,000 clients in 140 countries • 900 offices and laboratories. More than 40,000 employees.
| (in millions of euros) | 2007 | 2008 | Var. |
| Net sales | 2,067 | 2,549 | + 23 % |
| Adjusted operating income | 312 | 388 | + 24 % |
| as a % of net sales | 15.1 % | 15.2 % | |
| Net income | 158 | 217 | + 37 % |
| Net financial debt | 671 | 908 |
(1) Consolidated net income (group share) of Groupe
Bureau Veritas
How Wendel is involved
• Supervisory Board:
Frédéric Lemoine (Chairman) beginning April 14, 2009;
Ernest-Antoine Seillière,
Jean-Michel Ropert, Stéphane Bacquaert (Board members)
• Appointments and Compensation Committee:
Frédéric Lemoine (Chairman) beginning April 14, 2009
• Audit Committee: Jean-Michel Ropert
• Risk Committee: Stéphane Bacquaert
Why we invested
Bureau Veritas is firmly established on markets driven by very favorable trends, such as the proliferation and toughening of QHSE regulations and standards, the outsourcing and privatization of certification and inspection activities, increasingly stringent health and environmental protection standards, and the globalization of trade.
How Wendel has helped Bureau Veritas to expand
Au cours des douze dernières années, le chiffre d’affaires du Groupe a été multiplié par plus de cinq et le résultat opérationnel ajusté par plus de dix. Près de 70 acquisitions ont été réalisées depuis 2001 pour un montant investi de l’ordre de 145 M€ par an. Afin d’amplifier son développement, Wendel a introduit avec succès Bureau Veritas en Bourse en octobre 2007. Cette opération a permis d’accroître la notoriété du Groupe et sa capacité à attirer et retenir les meilleurs.
Strong growth in sales and earnings in 2008
Bureau Veritas’ net sales came to €2.5 billion in 2008, a 23% increase, of which 13% was through organic growth. Adjusted operating income on ordinary activities rose 24% to €388 million, vs. €312 million in 2007. On a like-for-like basis compared to 2007, the operating margin, excluding the impact of acquired companies, rose by 50 basis points to 15.6% of net sales. Bureau Veritas’ net income rose 37% to €217 million.
In 2008, Bureau Veritas acquired 15 companies (in particular in Australia, Chile and Peru), which added almost €150 million in annual net sales. Bureau Veritas has a solid financial structure. Net financial debt came to €908 million, with its increase due essentially to acquisitions.
Outlook
While projections are hard to make in the current economic environment, Bureau Veritas has confirmed that its revenues should increase again in 2009, albeit at a slower pace than in 2008, and that its operating margin in 2009 should be stable compared to its 2008 level. Bureau Veritas’ resiliency is an outgrowth of the regulatory and recurrent character of most of its activities, the diversity of its business portfolio, and the existence of structural growth factors such as increasingly stringent regulations, and the privatization and outsourcing of certification and inspection activities.
