2023 ANNUAL RESULTS

 

  • Record 2023 results, above guidance; 
  • 2023 demonstrates Veolia's ability to grow its results thanks to its unique positioning and strict operational discipline
  • Efficiency and synergies objectives exceeded; 
  • Decrease in net financial debt and leverage of 2.7 x, only 2 years after Suez acquisition; 
  • Great confidence for 2024: another year of strong results growth expected.

Very strong organic Revenue growth of +9%(1) to €45.351 m, and +4.4%(1) excluding energy price impact:
-    Solid growth in our 3 businesses;
-    Favorable impact of tariff indexations and of our strict pricing policy.

Strong EBITDA organic growth of +7.8%(1) to €6.543 m, above the guidance range of +5% to +7%:
-    €389 m of efficiency gains above the annual objective of €350 m;
-    €168 m of synergies, above annual target, and €315 m cumulated.

Current EBIT of €3.346 m(2), strong organic growth of +13.7%. (1)
Current net income of €1.33 m(2), up +14.9%(3), above our target of €1.3 bn.
ROCE back to pre-covid and pre-suez levels, at 8.3% after tax.
The increase in Free cash flow to € 1.143m enables a reduction in net financial debt to € 17.903m, with a leverage of 2.74 x.
Proposal to increase the Dividend to €1.25 per share.

Ambitious 2024 guidance:
    • Solid organic revenue growth;(1) (4) 
    • Organic growth(1) of EBITDA between +5% and +6%;
    • Current net income group share above €1.5 bn;(2)
    • Leverage ratio maintained below 3x;(2)
1 at constant scope and forex / 2 Excluding Suez purchase price allocation /  3 At current exchange rates / 4 Excluding energy prices

Estelle Brachlianoff, CEO of the Group, commented: 

The year 2023 will have been another record year for Veolia, exceeding our targets, with sales of 45 billion euros, EBITDA up 7.8% and current net income up 14.9% to 1.335 million euros, double that of 2018. These excellent results are the fruit of our unique positioning in the buoyant ecological transformation market, as well as of our ongoing efforts to maintain strict operational control.
Demand for our services has never been so high, with, for example, a full and fast-growing order book for our Water technologies business, at €5.3 billion, a sign that water scarcity and quality have become one of the primary consequences of climate change for cities and industries alike.
We have also continued to focus on efficiency, achieving savings of €389 million, in addition to the benefits of the Suez acquisition in the form of €168 million in cost synergies, which exceeded our targets.
2023 is the 7th consecutive year of earnings growth. During this period, Veolia, the world leader in ecological transformation, will have absorbed a series of major economic, health, geopolitical and energy shocks. This uninterrupted growth demonstrates not only our resilience and capacity to adapt, but also the relevance of our positioning in the buoyant market of ecological transformation, and our unique geographic footprint with almost 40% of sales outside Europe. We look forward to 2024 with great confidence, perfectly poised for another year of strong earnings growth, and in particular a target of current net income above €1.5 billion.


Impact 2023 strategic plan objectives achieved
In March 2020, as part of its Impact 2023 strategic plan, the Group established a series of financial and extra-financial objectives for 2023. These objectives have been largely achieved, including:
    • Employee engagement rate of 89%, on target to exceed 80%, with 7.5% of Group capital held by employees, who are now our largest shareholder;
    • 15.4 million tonnes of CO2 avoided;
    • Net income before non-recurring items in 2023 of €1.335 million (against a target of €1 billion), a doubling since 2018;
    • 400 million m(3) of water saved by improving water network efficiency, to 76% by 2023.


Objectives 2024
In view of the very strong 2023 results and the good start to the year, we can look forward to 2024 with confidence, and announce ambitious targets:
    • Solid organic growth of revenue;(1) (2)
    • Efficiency gains above €350 m complemented by additional synergies for a cumulated amount of more than €400 m end-2024, in line with the €500 m cumulated objective;
    • Organic growth of EBITDA between +5 % and +6 %;(1)
    • Current net income group share above €1.5 bn;(3)
    • Leverage ratio expected below 3x;(3)
    • Dividend growth in line with current EPS growth.
(1) At constant scope and forex / (2) Excluding energy prices / (3) Excluding Suez PPA


About Veolia
Veolia Group aims to become the benchmark company for ecological transformation. Present on five continents with nearly 218.000 employees, the Group designs and deploys useful, practical solutions for the management of water, waste and energy that are contributing to a radical turnaround of the current situation. Through its three complementary activities, Veolia helps to develop access to resources, to preserve available resources and to renew them. In 2023, the Veolia group provided 113 million inhabitants with drinking water and 103 million with sanitation, produced 42 terawatt-hours of energy and treated 63 million tonnes of waste. Veolia Environnement (Paris Euronext: VIE) achieved consolidated revenue of 45.351 billion euros in 2023.

Important Disclaimer
As the changes in the health crisis are difficult to estimate, we draw your attention to the “forward-looking statements” that may appear in this press release and relating to the consequences of this crisis which may affect the future performance of the Company. 
Veolia Environnement is a corporation listed on the Euronext Paris. This press release contains “forward-looking statements'' within the meaning of the provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance. Actual results may differ materially from the forward-looking statements as a result of a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which are outside our control, including but not limited to: the risk of suffering reduced profits or losses as a result of intense competition, the risk that changes in energy prices and taxes may reduce Veolia Environnement’s profits, the risk that governmental authorities could terminate or modify some of Veolia Environnement’s contracts, the risk that acquisitions may not provide the benefits that Veolia Environnement hopes to achieve, the risks related to customary provisions of divestiture transactions, the risk that Veolia Environnement’s compliance with environmental laws may become more costly in the future, the risk that currency exchange rate fluctuations may negatively affect Veolia Environnement’s financial results and the price of its shares, the risk that Veolia Environnement may incur environmental liability in connection with its past, present and future operations, as well as the other risks described in the documents Veolia Environnement has filed with the Autorité des Marchés Financiers (French securities regulator). Veolia Environnement does not undertake, nor does it have, any obligation to provide updates or to revise any forward-looking statements. Investors and security holders may obtain from Veolia Environnement a free copy of documents it filed (www.veolia.com) with the Autorités des marchés financiers. 
This document contains "non‐GAAP financial measures". These "non‐GAAP financial measures" might be defined differently from similar financial measures made public by other groups and should not replace GAAP financial measures prepared pursuant to IFRS standards.