Bureau Veritas is the world’s second-largest provider of compliance and certification services in the areas of quality, health, safety, environment and social responsibility (QHSE-SR). The group derives approximately 50% of its sales from high-growth countries.
€5,099.7m
€397.3m since 1995 (2)
> 78,000
400,000
76% of headcount activity covered
86% of sites certified
30%
+15% growth in overall revenue
Bureau Veritas is ideally positioned in markets driven by long-term structural trends. QHSE regulations and standards are proliferating and becoming tougher to meet. Increasingly, certification and inspection activities are being outsourced. Health and environmental protection standards are becoming more stringent. And trade has become global.
Since it was founded in 1828, Bureau Veritas has gradually built up its globally renowned expertise. The market that Bureau Veritas addresses has numerous barriers to entry. Operating certification and approval are mandatory in each country. Service providers must offer a comprehensive range of inspection services (in particular for major clients) and extensive geographical coverage both locally and internationally. They must provide high value-added solutions through first-rate technical expertise and enjoy a reputation of independence and integrity. Wendel has gradually increased its holding in Bureau Veritas. When Wendel made its initial €25 million investment in 1995, obtaining 19% of the share capital, Bureau Veritas generated annual sales of less than €400 million. Wendel then supported the company’s growth, until it held 99.2% of the capital in 2004. In 2007 Bureau Veritas was listed on the stock exchange, enabling it to continue its international expansion.
2016-2020 Ambition
In February 2020, Bureau Veritas announced that the achievement last year of its 2016-2020(1) ambition was no longer relevant in the context in the of COVID-19 crisis.
Bureau Veritas' solid fundamentals remain unchanged and clearly demonstrate the soundness of its strategy. Bureau Veritas will announce its next strategic plan in September 2020, continuing the current successful trajectory.
The Group will uphold its extra-financial commitments for 2020 and in particular aims to:
As of April 1, 2020, Bureau Veritas has indicated that current developments in the epidemic are threatening the global economy with a systemic crisis. In response, the Group is deploying its best efforts to protect its business activities and ensure continued excellence in the quality of the services it provides to its clients. In these unprecedented circumstances, the 2020 targets are no longer relevant. It is still too early to revise them at this stage.
(1) As a reminder, the financial ambition for 2016-2020 was as follows: increase Group sales by €1.5 billion in 2020 (compared to 2015), at the exchange rates used for the original Plan in 2015 as presented at the Journées Investisseurs (Investor Days) in October 2015, half of which was to come from organic growth and the other half from external growth; to achieve organic growth of between 5% and 7% between now and 2020; to achieve an adjusted operating margin higher than 17% in 2020, at the exchange rates used for the original Plan in 2015 as presented at the Journées Investisseurs in October 2015; to continue to generate significant available cash flow.
(2) Bureau Veritas defines attributable “adjusted” net income as attributable net income adjusted for other operating expenses net of tax.
(3) Net financial debt as defined in the calculation of bank covenants.
CSR (corporate social responsibility) has always been a priority for Bureau Veritas. Indeed, social, environmental and ethical issues are given central importance in all of the company’s activities.
As a global leader in QHSE (Quality, Health, Safety, Environment), Bureau Veritas is continuously developing ever more innovative services to meet society’s needs. As such, in the face of the major ecological and social challenges of our century, Bureau Veritas is using its expertise to support secure, sustainable development. The company is also committed to promoting diversity, gender equality and basic respect for individuals in the workplace through tangible initiatives.
Reduce accident rates by 50% by 2020 (TAR,LTR) (1)
Achieve 25% female representatives on the Group’s executive management team by 2020
By 2020 :
- Reduce CO2 emissions by 10% per full-time equivalent employee
- Increase the use of renewable energies by 10%
- Achieve 75% of Group activities ISO 14001 certified
(1) TAR: Total Accident Rate; LTR: Lost Time Rate. Compared to 2014 consolidated results.
(2) Compared to 2015 consolidated results.
A new approach to sustainability, built on a comprehensive suite of services to help companies transition to a circular business model.
Didier Michaud-Daniel
CEO
Aldo Cardoso
Chairman of the Board
Board of Directors
André François-Poncet (Vice-Chairman)
Stéphanie Besnier
Claude Ehlinger
Jérôme Michiels
Strategic Committee
André François-Poncet (Chairman)
Stéphanie Besnier
Nomination & Compensation Committee
Claude Ehlinger
Audit and Risk Committee
Jérôme Michiels
As a majority shareholder, Wendel votes Bureau Veritas' resolutions in accordance with the best ESG governance practices.