Sopra Steria Group (SOP) CMD 2024 summary

Strategic vision and market positioning

• Aims to be a leading European consulting and digital services provider, targeting over €7 billion in revenue by 2028, with at least 60% of revenues from digital and a balanced geographic mix between France and the rest of Europe.

• Focuses on four strategic sectors: public sector, financial services, defense and security, and aeronautics, reinforcing a large account strategy and high-value offerings.

• Plans to double the size of the consulting business to represent at least 12% of group revenue by 2028, with ambitions to reach ~€900m, driven by volume, pricing, and acquisitions.

• Pursues a proactive M&A strategy, allocating €1 billion by 2028 for mid-sized acquisitions in Europe, targeting around €1bn in acquired revenue, especially in Scandinavia, Germany, Benelux, and the UK.

• Emphasizes digital sovereignty, responsible technology, and a shift from service-based to high value-added, consulting-driven offerings, embedding AI, cloud, and cybersecurity.

Financial targets and capital allocation

• Targets revenue above €7bn by 2028, with a CAGR of approximately 6% and organic annual growth post-2025.

• Operating margin expected to reach 10–11% by 2028, with a structural lower limit of 10% across all geographies and business lines.

• Free cash flow to represent 5–7% of revenue, and net profit attributable to the group at 5–6% of revenue.

• Dividend payout ratio set at 35% of net profit, with potential share buybacks depending on operational context, and a leverage ratio target of around 1.5x.

• External growth through acquisitions expected to contribute 2–5% to annual growth, with disciplined ROI targets and a focus on integrating and improving margins of acquired entities.

Business transformation and innovation

• Transformation levers include industrializing offerings, standardizing the operating model, HR modernization, and leveraging GenAI and automation for efficiency.

• Investing in AI, cloud, cybersecurity, and emerging technologies, with a corporate venture arm supporting innovation and partnerships.

• Launched the RAISE program to coordinate AI activities and upskill 4,000+ data and AI experts, aiming for AI integration at scale across all processes.

• Industrialization supported by proprietary tools like the Digital Enablement Platform (DEP) and AI agents for project management and consulting.

• Offshore workforce to increase from 15% to 20% of total headcount, focusing on digital expertise in India, Poland, and Spain.