We rarely talked about Denmark-based NNIT. The company is the former IT captive of Danish pharmaceutical firm Novo Nordisk, thus the name NNIT, which stands for Novo Nordisk IT.
AFRY Protected Well Its Bottom Line In Q3
AFRY, once again, protected its bottom line during the pandemic. The company limited its Q3 2020 EBITA margin decline to 40 bps to 6.7%. AFRY reduced its expenses by SEK 480m in Q3, a level similar to QA (SEK 490m).
Assystem Lowers its Guidance Two Day Before a New Lockdown
Assystem announced its results two days before France back into a full lockdown. Despite a good financial performance in Q3 2020, the company changed, again, its guidance for full-year 2020.
Sweco’s Latest Acquisition Raises Many Questions
Sweco’s latest acquisition raises many questions. The company acquired a Norwegian architect firm, TAG Arkitekter (TAG).
Cyient Gradually Back to Expansion
Cyient Suffering from its Vertical Mix From the numbers, it may not show. But Cyient is
Wipro Acquires A Semiconductor Engineering Specialist
Wipro joined many competitors in acquiring a semiconductor engineering specialist. ER&D service vendors are rushing into this market, attracted by its long-term growth potential. Indeed, we estimate to ten the number of semi-conductor M&As since 2015. Altran, through the Aricent, GlobalEdge, and SciConTech transactions, has been the most acquisitive. However, all the industry’s brand names have been active, e.g., Tech Mahindra, HCL Tech, Alten, LTTS, and Cyient.
Akka Raises EUR 200m. Share Up 40%
Akka’s share was up by almost 40% on Tuesday (October 6). The company reassured investors by raising EUR 200 at favorable terms for existing shareholders
Assystem Reassures About Expleo’s Financials
Become a ERD Services premium reader to access all of your content, by contacting us at dominique@ERDservices.org
Assystem Upbeat about Nuclear Engineering
Become a ERD Services premium reader to access all of your content, by contacting us at dominique@ERDservices.org
Ricardo Suffers from its Exposure to Automotive in FY20
Ricardo paid the price for its exposure to the automotive sector, which represents 55% of total revenues. After a stable H1 FY20 (the ending June 30, 2020), H2 collapsed with revenues down 23% at cc/cs (our estimate). Surprisingly, Ricardo performed worse than an automotive pure-play such as EDAG (-14.8% during the same period) and Akka (-20.3% at cc/cs).
Charles River Acquires Cellero for its HemaCare Business
In August, CRL acquired a small firm, Cellero, headquartered close to Boston for USD 38m. Cellero brought a geography presence to HEMA (which is based in California).
Bertrand Does Better than Competitors in Q3
Bertrandt reported its Q3 FY20 results (calendar Q2 2020). Revenues were EUR 205m, down by a massive-20.9% yoy, and the EBIT margin was -0.9% (Q3 FY19: +2.7%). Yet, Bertrandt’s results were better than those of EDAG ( yoy revenues down by 32.6%) and Akka (-31.4% yoy at CC/CS).
EDAG Declined by 33% in Q2 2020
We were expecting EDAG would have a difficult Q2, as the company is very European and services mostly the automotive sector. However, we had not anticipated a decline of this scale: revenues were down by 32.6% in Q2. Unsurprisingly, the EBIT margin was significantly in negative territory (-14.4%).
Assystem Bounced Back in June
As expected, Assystem suffered in Q2 2020: revenues declined by 13.7% yoy CC/CS during the quarter. Staffing was down by 16.3%, while Energy & Infrastructure did somewhat better (-13.3%). The core nuclear engineering business was down by 10.1% (our estimate).
Alten Does Better than Expected in Q2. H2 Outlook Is Uncertain
Alten announced better than expected revenues in Q2 with a CC/CS decline of 18.4% (we expected -23%), after a growth of 4.0% in Q1. During H1, the decline was 7.3% (guidance: -9%).
UPDATED: Akka Suffers Greatly from its Lack of Client Diversification in H1 2020
Revenues Collapsed in H1 2020 Akka suffered greatly in H1 2020, with revenues down by 20.3%
Unofficial: Renault Selects its Four ER&D Preferred Vendors
According to unofficial sources, Renault has now finalized its list of preferred ER&D service vendors, reducing it from nine vendors to four. The four winners are Akka, Bertrandt, Expleo, and Segula. They will now grab 80% of Renault’s ER&D spending and double their market shares.
Earnings Preview: Revenues of Alten to Plunge in Q2
ER&D’s largest pure-play globally, Alten, will be announcing its Q2 2020 revenue by the end of July. The company had a very decent Q1, with a 4% CC/CS revenue growth. However, it warned that revenues would be down by ~22% in Q2.
Expleo’s New CEO: A Perfect Resume and Daunting Challenges
We just learned that Expleo has a new CEO, Rajesh Krishnamurthy. On paper, Mr. Krishnamurthy, has everything right for Expleo. He is a French citizen of Indian origin. He has held senior roles at Infosys, including one as head of the Energy, Utilities, and Telco division, a major responsibility as Infosys is organized by vertical. He also led Infosys Global Consulting.
Ricardo Exits the Automotive Engine Testing Business
Ricardo divested, as expected, its engine testing and prototype facility in Belleville, MI. The company had looked for a buyer for more than one year and even bought the property to make the sale of the facility easier.
Assystem Adds Risk Management to its Nuclear Engineering Portfolio
Assystem made a tuck-in acquisition with British risk management firm, Corporate Risk Associates (RCA). As its name suggests, RCA is a risk consultancy that is active across several sectors (including nuclear, oil & gas, defense).
COVID-19: Cyient Warns of 15-20% Decline in Revenues in Q1 FY21
Cyient surprised, negatively, the markets by announcing a decline of 9.7% in its Q4 FY20 revenues (to USD 149m) and an adjusted EBIT margin down 440 bps (to 8.4%).
Renault Considering R&D Outsourcing to Save EUR 200m Annually
Renault is considering R&D outsourcing to save EUR 100-200m annually. The company currently works with approximately 15 ER&D vendors and wants to reduce its number of preferred partners to five.
Assystem: Unpleasant Surprise in Nuclear Engineering in Q1 2020
Become a ERD Services premium reader to access all of your content, by contacting us at
Will COVID-19 Accelerate the Adoption of Additive Manufacturing?
The media have reported numerous examples of volunteers, globally, producing missing equipment, mostly protective masks, for health care professionals exposed to the COVID-19 disease.