ATOS : 2016 record results Revenue+10% Operat

Revenue+10%

Operating margin +20%

Net income Group share +40%

Free cash flow +47%  

Proposed dividend +45% at € 1.60 per share in cash  

Stronger ambition for 2017  

Bezons, February 22, 2017 - Atos, a global leader in digital services, today announces record results in 2016 and the over-achievement of all its 2016 financial objectives . 

R evenue was € 11,717 million , up +9.7% year-on-year , +12.8% at constant exchange rates , and +1.8% organically . Revenue grew by +1.9% organically in the fourth quarter , materializing the good sales momentum and the continued revenue trend improvement. This dynamism was particularly led by the Atos Digital Transformation Factory answering the strong demand of large organizations in their digital transformation. 

Operating margin was € 1,104 million , representing 9.4% of revenue , compared to 8.3% in 2015 at constant scope and exchange rates. This improvement by +110 basis points was notably resulting from more cloud based business and the continuous execution of the Tier One efficiency program through industrialization, global delivery from offshore locations, and continuous optimization of SG&A. In addition, operating margin benefitted from ongoing cost synergies including the integration of Unify. 

The commercial dynamism of the Group was particularly strong in 2016 with record order entry reaching € 13.0 billion , +16.2% compared to € 11.2 billion statutory in 2015. It represented a book to bill ratio of 111% in 2016, of which 119% during the fourth quarter of 2016 . Full backlog increased by +11.9% year-on-year to € 21.4 billion at the end of 2016, representing 1.8 year of revenue. The full qualified pipeline represented 6.4 months of revenue at € 6.5 billion , compared to € 6.2 billion published at the end of 2015. 

Net income was € 620 million , +41.9% year-on-year and net income Group share reached € 567 million , +39.6%. Basic EPS Group share was € 5.47 , +36.1% compared to € 4.01 in 2015 and diluted EPS Group share was € 5.44 , +36.5% compared to € 3.98 during 2015. 

Free cash flow reached € 579 million in 2016, +47.3% compared to € 393 million in 2015, materializing a strong improvement of operating margin conversion rate to free cash flow, reaching 52.5% in 2016 compared to 43% in 2015 and in line with the circa 65% 2019 objective. N et cash position was € 481 million at the end of 2016. 

Thierry Breton , Chairman and CEO said: " In 2016, we achieved an excellent performance by overreaching all our financial commitments . Atos delivered revenue growth across all sectors, as well as record margin improvement and free cash flow conversion. Accelerating innovation in cybersecurity, automation, and analytics, mirroring the booming demand from our customers, combined with a rigorous execution of our strategy were the key factors of this success. Our very solid financial performance materialized the alignment of our comprehensive Digital Transformation Factory with rising client needs.  

With this record performance, Atos' teams have built a unique foundation to deliver our new 3-year plan "2019 Ambition", matching new expectations of our clients, gaining new market shares, driving more profitable growth and cash generation, while continuing to enhance value creation for our shareholders.  

Indeed, year after year, Atos Board of Directors has carefully designed a Group able to embrace the global digital transformation while offering stronger visibility and resilience in a less predictable environment. We can count on the now tier-one technological profile of Atos, on its very solid balance sheet, and on the quality and dedication of our 100,000 digital technologists to strengthen our leadership in digital transformation and to deliver stronger financials in 2017, the first year of the new 3-year plan ."  

2017 objectives  

Revenue growth : Circa +6% at constant exchange rates, above +2% organically . 

Operating margin : Between 9.5% and 10.0% of revenue. 

Free cash flow : Operating margin conversion rate to free cash flow between 55% and 58% .

2016 key figures  

2016 performance by Division  

Infrastructure & Data Management: positive revenue organic growth and increasing operating margin in a context of successful transition of Atos' customers to hybrid cloud infrastructures  

Infrastructure & Data Management revenue was € 6,595 million , +0.9% at constant scope and exchange rates. The division continued the transformation of classic infrastructures to hybrid cloud environments. This resulted in positive organic growth, driven by significant revenue increase in transitional and transformation services. New services such as cloud orchestration, growing volumes, and new contracts globally compensated for the decrease in the unit prices, while increasing margin. This trend materialized in the US market which is particularly receptive to our Infrastructure & Data Management end-to-end offering, notably in manufacturing, health, and telco & media sectors. Germany grew in all markets with digital transformation projects for large customers, more particularly Industry 4.0. Asia Pacific also contributed to growth mostly thanks to higher volumes in Financial Services and in Telco, Media & Utilities. 

During the fourth quarter of 2016, revenue in Infrastructure & Data Management grew by +1.1%. 

Operating margin was € 682.9 million , representing 10.4% of revenue compared to 8.5% in 2015 at constant scope and exchange rates. This strong improvement by +190 basis points came from the top line and from the successful and faster than planned completion over 2016 of the integration and restructuring of the Unify service activities as well as from continued significant savings throughout all geographies. The successful migration to the Cloud of several customers' infrastructure also generated significant unit cost reductions. 

Business & Platform Solutions: steady top line improvement quarter after quarter coupled with better project and workforce management  

Revenue in Business & Platform Solutions was € 3,194 million , up +0.8% organically. Growth acceleration mainly came from Germany and France increasing in all markets. The division continued to accelerate its revenue trend during the fourth quarter with +1.2% organic growth. 

Operating margin was € 206.1 million , representing 6.5% of revenue , an improvement of +20 basis points compared to last year at constant scope and exchange rates. The division is implementing a strong transformation plan to further increase its competitiveness and profitability as early as in 2017. 

Big Data & Cybersecurity: high revenue growth led by a strong demand for state of the art solutions deriving in increasing operating margin  

Revenue organic growth in Big Data & Cybersecurity reached +12.8% at constant scope and exchange rates, leading to € 666 million revenue in 2016. Initially based in France in the public sector and to a lesser extent in Germany, the business was successfully expanded to most of the Group geographies with an increasing contribution from the private sector. The demand for High Performance Computing remained very strong in order to support the growing Big Data processing needs of our clients, as well as for encryption, access management solutions, and intrusion testing solutions. The demand also increased for security operating centers protecting customers on a worldwide basis and 24 hours a day. 

Organic growth reached +9.3% in Q4 2016 in Big Data & Cybersecurity. 

Operating margin was € 111.9 million , up by +9.7% compared to 2015 at constant scope and exchange rates and representing 16.8% of revenue . The division managed to keep this high level of operational profitability while focusing on top line in order to benefit from the strong existing demand. 

Worldline: Strong organic momentum and a large acquisition reinforcing European leadership  

From a contributive perspective to Atos, Worldline revenue was € 1,261 million , improving by +3.7% organically. On a standalone basis, revenue reached € 1,309 million, up +3.5% at constant scope and exchange rates. Merchant Services & Terminals grew by +7.4% thanks to double digit growth in Commercial Acquiring in Benelux, but also India and Central Europe, and to the dynamic of the payment terminal business. Financial Processing & Software Licensing grew by +4.8% driven by more transaction volumes and customer projects. Mobility & e-Transactional Services successfully sold several new offerings in e-Ticketing and Connectivity Solutions, while, due to the termination of two historical contracts, revenue declined by -2.3% organically. 

During the fourth quarter, Worldline grew by +3.3% organically and integrated Equens, a leading European player in the payment industry. The first effects of the integration and synergy plan related to this acquisition enables Atos to start 2017 on very solid grounds. 

Contributive operating margin was € 196.9 million , or 15.6% of revenue , +130 basis points compared to 2015 at constant scope and exchange rates. This strong improvement was led by Merchant Services & Terminals, thanks to volume transaction growth, favorable pricing mix, and a tight cost control. Standalone OMDA increased by +90 basis points, reaching € 258.7 million and representing 19.8% of revenue. 

A detailed presentation of Worldline 2016 performance is available at worldline.com , in the investors section. 

2016 revenue performance by Market  

In 2016, revenue grew organically in all the Group vertical markets :

Manufacturing, Retail & Transportation remained the largest market segment of the Group (35% of total Group revenue) and grew by +0.6% organically to € 4 058 million in 2016. In this sector, Atos developed pioneering offerings in Industry 4.0 for manufacturing, digital payments and customer experience in retail, and transportation as a service. Manufacturing, Retail & Transportation revenue growth was led by Germany and South America. 

Public & Health was the second market of the Group (28%) with total revenue of € 3,329 million, up +3.8% organically. A specific focus was made in 2016 to build new offerings in Digital Transformation, more particularly on citizen centricity for central governments, smart cities and education, and patient centricity for healthcare. Growth mainly came from the Defense area in France and from North America. Big Data & Cybersecurity and Infrastructure & Data Management organic growth was particularly strong in Public & Health (+11.1% and +7.2% respectively), thanks to contract signatures with new logos and add-on businesses with existing clients. 

Telecom, Media & Utilities represented 20% of the Group revenue and reached € 2,352 million, an increase by +2.1% compared to 2015 at constant scope and exchange rates. Atos built new offerings focused on network infrastructure transformation, digital media, sport digitization with the Olympics, and Smart Grid in utilities. Most of the geographies generated growth in this market, more particularly in the US and Germany. 

Financial Services represented 17% of the total Group revenue at € 1,978 million, +0.4% organically compared to 2015. In the area of the Digital Transformation, the Group strongly focused on real time, customer-centric business engagement, digital payment transformation and fintech support for banking, as well as smart agility for insurance. These innovative offerings were developed in a fast moving regulatory environment for the customers of the Group. Worldline had a solid performance in that market with a double digit organic growth. 

2016 performance by Business Unit  

While revenue increased by +1.8%, the Group improved globally its operating margin rate by +110 basis points in 2016, +140 basis points excluding pension schemes optimization one-offs . 

In 2016, Germany, North America, Worldline, France and "Other Business Units" contributed to the Group revenue organic growth:

• North America was up +4.5%, benefitting from a solid trend maintained throughout the year, notably with a new sales dynamic in migration to Orchestrated Hybrid Cloud;
• Germany confirmed its recovery with +5.3% organic growth, turning back to a healthy organic growth in all Divisions, notably thanks to new major deals won in Infrastructure & Data Management and strong actions undertaken in Business & Platform Solutions by the new management;
• UK & Ireland was almost stable. The +4.5% high growth during the second half of the year offset the first half base effect thanks to a strong activity in the public sector with contract ramp-ups and increased volumes and projects;
• France reached a solid +2.3% organic growth rate, largely fueled by the strong demand for Big Data & Cybersecurity solutions and also with the increase of activities in Business & Platform Solutions;
• Benelux & The Nordics. 2016 was impacted by the ramp-down of contracts mainly in Financial Services. The new management team appointed in summer is actively focused on the Business Unit recovery in order to return back to growth;
•  "Other Business Units" also positively contributed to the Group revenue growth, thanks to a good performance in Asia Pacific, Middle East & Africa, and South America;
• Worldline continued to contribute to the Group organic growth with +3.7% over the period, the sustained dynamic of its payment businesses compensating for the effect of the two contracts terminated. 

Global structures costs as a percentage of revenue increased by +20 basis points compared to 2015 at constant scope and exchange rates, mostly due to pension plan optimization booked in H1 2015. In 2016, the Group continued to execute its pension schemes optimization plan which resulted in € 41 million (recorded in H2 for the UK), compared to € 74 million in 2015. 

In 2016, the Group operating margin benefitted from the full effect of costs synergies on acquired businesses. The margin improvement was particularly visible in the main Business Units such as Germany, North America, the United Kingdom, France, and Worldline. 

Commercial activity  

The commercial dynamism of the Group was particularly strong in 2016 with a record order entry reaching € 13.0 billion , +16.2% compared to € 11.2 billion statutory in 2015. It represented a book to bill ratio of 111% in 2016 compared to 105% reached in 2015. Commercial activity was particularly strong during the fourth quarter of 2016 with a book to bill ratio of 119% . 

Commercial dynamism translated into healthy 2016 book to bill ratios in all Divisions. Infrastructure & Data Management book to bill ratio reached 109% . Business & Platform Solutions order entry represented 114% of revenue thanks to several contract wins in UK & Ireland in particular as well as in Benelux & The Nordics and in France. The level of booking was also high in Big Data & Cybersecurity at 130% . Worldline book to bill ratio reached 106% .

In line with the dynamic commercial activity, the full backlog increased by +11.9% year-on-year to € 21.4 billion at the end of 2016, representing 1.8 year of revenue. The full qualified pipeline represented 6.4 months of revenue at € 6.5 billion, compared to € 6.2 billion published at the end of 2015. 

Operating income and net income  

Operating income reached € 813 million in 2016, +38.0% year-on-year, resulting from the following items:

Costs for staff reorganization, rationalization, and integration amounted to € 167 million compared to € 190 million in 2015, materializing the strong actions initiated in the second half of 2015 to significantly decrease the level of restructuring. 

Amortization of Purchase Price Allocation of acquired companies represented €-96 million . The amortization of the equity based compensation plans amounted to €-50 million , compared to €-33 million in 2015. 

Other items amounted to € 22 million compared to a charge of €-33 million in 2015. They included the gain on the sale of the share in Visa Europe to Visa Inc. for € 51 million, partially offset by a settlement in H1 of an old litigation in Germany.

Net financial result was a charge of €-49 million , including the costs of pensions and of the straight bond issued mid-2015. Total tax charge was €-145 million , representing a decreased effective tax rate of 19.0% due to Tax Losses Carried Forward inherited from Bull acquisition. 

As a result, net income was € 620 million , +41.9% compared to € 437 million in 2015. Non-controlling interests amounted to € 53 million and were related to the minority shareholders in Worldline. Therefore, the net income Group share reached € 567 million , +39.6% compared to € 406 million in 2015. 

Besides, net income of Unify Software & Platforms discontinued operations benefited from the faster than planned integration and restructuring and reached € 12 million, above the target set at the time of the acquisition and a strong improvement compared to 2015, supporting the € 100 million 2017 EBITDA target.

Basic EPS Group share was € 5.47 , +36.1% compared to € 4.01 in 2015 and diluted EPS Group share was € 5.44 , +36.6% compared to € 3.98 during 2015. 

Free cash flow  

Operating Margin before Depreciation and Amortization (OMDA) was € 1,375 million representing 11.7% of revenue, compared to € 1,200 million in 2015 (11.2% of revenue).

As planned, total cash-out for reorganization, rationalization, and integration was €-149 million compared to €-238 million in 2015, fully in line with the € 150 million targeted in 2016.

During 2016, capital expenditures totaled € 421 million , representing 3.6% of revenue , compared to € 441 million in 2015 (3.8% of revenue). Change in working capital negatively contributed by €-38 million , due to a growing activity in the public sector. It represented a positive €+49 million in 2015 mainly thanks to the optimization of Bull's working capital.

Cash-out for financial costs was €-18 million (€-17 million in 2015) and tax paid was €-129 million compared to €-106 million in 2015. Finally, other items totaled €-40 million , compared to €-54 million in 2015.

As a result, the Group free cash flow totaled € 579 million , an increase by +47.3% compared to € 393 million in 2015. The operating margin conversion rate to free cash flow, reaching 52.5% in 2016 strongly improved compared to 43% in 2015. 

Net cash evolution  

Net acquisitions / disposals in 2016 amounted to €-707 million , mainly related to the acquisitions of Unify, Anthelio, Paysquare and Komerçni Banka Smartpay. 

Capital increase , mostly related to proceeds from stock-options totaled €+28 million in 2016 compared to €+58 million in 2015.

As part of the sale of Visa Europe , the Group received €+36 million from Visa Inc. 

The cash-out resulting from the option for the payment in cash of dividend on 2015 results was €-47 million compared to €-31 million last year, roughly in line with the increase of the dividend per share from €0.80 to €1.10. 

As a result, Group net cash position as of December 31, 2016 was € 481 million , compared to € 593 million on December 31, 2015. 

Human resources  

The total headcount was 100,096 at the end of 2016 (including the Unify Software & Platforms discontinued operations), compared to 91,322 at the end of 2015. During the year, 5,200 staff joined the Group from Unify, 1,700 from Anthelio, and 1,200 from Equens, Paysquare, and Komerçni Banka Smartpay. 

Dividend  

During its meeting held on February 21, 2017, the Board of Directors decided to propose to the next Annual General Meeting of Shareholders a dividend in 2017 on the 2016 results of € 1.60 per share in cash, up by +45.4% year-on-year, and doubling in two years in line with the increase of the net Income Group share.

Appendix  

Atos' consolidated and statutory financial statements for the year ending December 31, 2016, were approved by the Board of Directors on February 21, 2017. Audit procedures on these financial statements have been performed by the statutory auditors and their audit reports will be issued after the completion of the specific verifications required by French law and of procedures for the purposes of the Registration Document filing. 

Revenue and operating margin at constant scope and exchange rates reconciliation  

Currency exchange rates negatively contributed to revenue for a total of €-299 million, mainly coming from the British pound depreciating versus the Euro while the American dollar had almost no effect on a full year basis. 

Scope effects amounted to €+1,128 million. This was mainly related to the positive contribution of Xerox ITO (6 months for €+553 million), Unify (11 months for €+534 million), Equens, Paysquare, and Komerçni Banka Smartpay (3 months for €+78 million), and Anthelio (3 months for €+43 million). Other effects were related to (i) the early termination of the DWP WCA contract (2 months), (ii) the disposal of on-site services in France (2 months), and (iii) the sale of the Occupational Health business in January 2016 (12 months). 

Same effects as well as the reclassification of the cost of equity based compensation are reflected in the operating margin at constant scope and exchange rates. 

Q4 2016 revenue performance by Division  

Q4 2016 revenue performance by Business Unit  

  Q4 2016 revenue performance by Market  

Conference call  

Today, Wednesday, February 22, 2017, Thierry Breton; Chairman and CEO, Elie Girard, Chief Financial Officer, and Patrick Adiba, Chief Commercial Officer, will comment on Atos' 2016 annual results and answer questions from the financial community during a conference call in English starting at 8:00 am (CET - Paris). 

You can join the webcast of the conference: 

• on atos.net , in the Investors section
• by smartphones or tablets through the scan of:
• by telephone with the dial-in:

France       +33 1 76 77 22 24      code 3339502

UK             +44 20 3427 1905      code 3339502

US             + 1 212 444 0481       code 3339502

Forthcoming events  

April 25, 2017              First quarter 2017 revenue

May 24, 2017              Annual General Meeting

July 26, 2017               First half 2017 results

October 24, 2017        Third quarter 2017 revenue 

Contacts  

Media :                

Terence Zakka | +33 1 73 26 40 76 |  terence.zakka@atos.net                                                                                

Investor Relations :              

Gilles Arditti | +33 1 73 26 00 66 |  gilles.arditti@atos.net                            

Benoit d'Amécourt | +33 1 73 26 02 27 |  benoit.damecourt@atos.net                                                           

About Atos  

Atos SE (Societas Europaea) is a leader in digital transformation with circa 100,000 employees in 72 countries and annual revenue of € 12 billion. Serving a global client base, the Group is the European leader in Big Data, Cybersecurity, Digital Workplace and provides Cloud services, Infrastructure & Data Management, Business & Platform solutions, as well as transactional services through Worldline, the European leader in the payment industry. With its cutting edge technologies, digital expertise and industry knowledge, the Group supports the digital transformation of its clients across different business sectors: Defense, Financial Services, Health, Manufacturing, Media, Utilities, Public sector, Retail, Telecommunications, and Transportation. The Group is the Worldwide Information Technology Partner for the Olympic & Paralympic Games and is listed on the Euronext Paris market. Atos operates under the brands Atos, Atos Consulting, Atos Worldgrid, Bull, Canopy, Unify and Worldline. 

For more information, visit: atos.net . 

Disclaimers  

This document contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, including references, concerning the Group's expected growth and profitability in the future which may significantly impact the expected performance indicated in the forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties are linked to factors out of the control of the Company and not precisely estimated, such as market conditions or competitors behaviors. Any forward-looking statements made in this document are statements about Atos' beliefs and expectations and should be evaluated as such. Forward-looking statements include statements that may relate to Atos' plans, objectives, strategies, goals, future events, future revenues or synergies, or performance, and other information that is not historical information. Actual events or results may differ from those described in this document due to a number of risks and uncertainties that are described within the 2015 Registration Document filed with the Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF) on April 7, 2016 under the registration number: D.16-0300 and its update filed with the Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF) on August 4, 2016 under the registration number: D.16-0300-A01. Atos does not undertake, and specifically disclaims, any obligation or responsibility to update or amend any of the information above except as otherwise required by law. This document does not contain or constitute an offer of Atos' shares for sale or an invitation or inducement to invest in Atos' shares in France, the United States of America or any other jurisdiction. 

Revenue organic growth is presented at constant scope and exchange rates. Operating margin is presented excluding the amortization of equity based compensation plans and free cash flow is presented excluding proceeds from equity based compensation.

Business Units include North America (NAM: USA, Canada, and Mexico), Germany , the UnitedKingdom & Ireland , France , Benelux & The Nordics (BTN: Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and Sweden), Worldline , and Other Business Units including Central & Eastern Europe (CEE: Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Switzerland, and Turkey), Iberia (Spain and Portugal), Asia-Pacific (APAC: Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, and Thailand), South America (SAM: Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, and Uruguay), Middle East & Africa (MEA: Algeria, Benin, Burkina Faso, Egypt, Gabon, Ivory Coast, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritius, Morocco, Qatar, Senegal, South Africa, Tunisia, and UAE), Major Events, and Cloud & Enterprise Software. 

Atos decided, as early as upon its acquisition, to retain only a part of the Unify business. As a result, the Software & Platforms business, along with the customers and the countries that were planned to be managed through indirect channels, have been accounted for as discontinued operations since they are in the process of being disposed. Therefore, as Atos is well engaged in the disposal process for the Unify business it has decided to divest, financial KPIs presented in this document reflect only the business of Unify it will ultimately retain, unless otherwise expressly stated. The forward looking statement regarding the Unify business to be potentially disposed of is also provided separately. In the event that the disposal is not concluded at the latest at the release of H1 results, the business to be potentially disposed of will thereafter be integrated and reflected in the KPIs.

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