Paris, France — SUEZ should meet its 2017 guidance for organic revenue growth, free cash flow generation and leverage, according to its board of directors. However, Ebit was impacted in the fourth-quarter by €45 million of specific expenses. They were caused mainly by the particular circumstances in Spain and costs associated with the decision to terminate two services contracts in Morocco and India, due to operational difficulties.
This indicator therefore declined by 2 percent on an organic basis. Excluding these items, annual organic growth in Ebit would have been in line with the 1.4 percent trend reported at the earnings presentation at end-September 2017. Additional contribution was given from new “industrial water” business activities, the strong momentum expected in the Recycling & Recovery Europe and International divisions, and the measures taken to adapt to a lackluster environment in Water Europe.
Jean-Louis Chaussade , Chief Executive Officer of SUEZ, commented: „In 2018, we will benefit from the first full-year contribution from Water Technologies & Solutions and from its growth momentum, which is in line with our expectations. Organic Ebit growth at the three other divisions is also expected to accelerate to reach about 3 percent due to the momentum in the International and Recycling & Recovery Europe divisions. At a time of low inflation and inaction on public investment decisions, the contribution from the Water Europe division is expected to be stable. These estimates confirm the relevance of our strategy, which is based in particular on a balance between contributions from the different divisions. That is why I am confident in SUEZ’s growth path, as the Group will capitalize fully on its profitable growth potential.“
Source: SUEZ
