French engineer Egis has announced its full-year results for 2019, showing a 28% leap in pre-tax profit to €114m on an 8% increase in turnover to €1.2bn.
The results were driven by a 68% increase in revenue from roads, 30% from rail and 28% from buildings. However, the company warned that the Covid-19 outbreak has caused disruption in all its activities in France and around the world, and that its focus was now on the health of its employees and maintaining essential activities. Â
The company’s major projects for the year included the Gebze-Izmir motorway in Turkey and the WestConnex motorway in Sydney, as well as the Dublin Tunnel and the start of the RN1 highway in Congo. Mobility services also saw healthy growth, in particular through the management of the Florida expressway E-Pass administration centre. Â
Nicolas Jachiet, chairman and chief executive of Egis, commented: "In 2019, we beat the growth and profit targets that we had set ourselves thanks to excellent results in our markets. Although the group is today experiencing the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, we are taking steps to guarantee its resilience by adjusting our activities in response to new market constraints. And we are already making plans for continued growth once the crisis is over."
The French market accounted for 36% of the company’s turnover in 2019, with 23% being in the rest of Europe and 14% in the Middle East.
The company commented that its future plans were based around the "climate emergency", which it said was "an absolute priority", and has set itself the target of becoming a carbon-neutral business by 2050 at the latest.
The other focus will be the development of digital technology, which it said was "profoundly changing the organisation and very nature of our lines of business". For example, it plans to use building information models on 90% of its design work by the end of the year. It said: "We have launched a comprehensive transformation plan to change our internal processes, develop new service offerings, reinforce the structural technological bricks of digital tech and enhance our skills in all job areas connected with this sector of the future." Â
It added that developing smart mobility solutions and sustainable city construction would be its major strategic goals.
Jachiet has announced his retirement and is to leave the company on 31 October 2020. State-owned Caisse des Dépôts, the majority shareholder of Egis, had recommended that he be replaced by Laurent Germain, currently the chief executive of French engineer Segula Technologies.
Image: The Sydney WestConnex scheme was among Egis contract wins in 2019 (WestConnex)
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