Dassault Systems lowered it Q1 2020: the company is now expecting revenue growth in the range of 14%-17%, down from a 20-23% guidance (that includes the acquisition of Medidata). The company has suffered from weaker than expected new license and services revenues. Meanwhile, revenues of Medidata were on a “momentum and license renewals were up too.
EDAG Accelerates its Portfolio Shift in 2020 While Coping with COVID-19
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Tuck-In Acquisitions Continue Despite the Stock Markets Melt-Down
Despite the stock market melt-down, ER&D vendors have continued to make tuck-in acquisitions in the past two weeks. The acquired firms were of small size and not likely to impact the net debt of their new owners. However, should the Covid-19-China-US trade-war-Stock Markets meltdown-oil price crisis degenerate into a recession, we expect suck tuck-in acquisitions to become scarce.
Akka Launches a Mandatory Offer for Data Respons
Akka has launched a mandatory offer for Data Respons (DR) that will provide shareholders the opportunity to sell their DR shares. The company has been active on the stock markets since the end of its tender offer on February 13, raising its stake from 72.9% to 78.1%. Akka is hoping to reach 95% of shares and launch a squeeze-out offer later one.
Veeva Demonstrates the Clinical Trials Market is Fast-Growing. An opportunity for ER&D Vendors
eeva is a Wall Street darling with an eye-popping market cap of $21bn. The uniqueness of Veeva is that its SaaS applications run on top of Salesforce’s Clouds. This approach positions Veeva in the high-growth ecosystem of Salesforce (which grows by 20-25% each year).
Covid-19: Slowdown in ER&D Spending Now Likely
Currently, Covid-19 has only affected China significantly, although having spread in South Korea, Japan, and Northern Italy.
Several ER&D vendors have been impacted so far: Ricardo has warned that the situation in the Chinese automotive market would have a “material” effect on its profit.
Bertrandt: Soft Quarter in Q1 FY20
Bertrandt had a soft quarter in Q1 FY20 (corresponding to calendar Q4 2019): revenues were flat (+0.4%) to EUR 263m, impacted by project delays, and reduced utilization rates in its Digital Engineering (DE) unit (-3.0%). DE, Bertrandt’s largest unit (55% of revenues), suffered from Germany OEMs shifting their R&D spending to digital.
Tech Mahindra To Acquire a Semiconductor Engineering Firm
Tech Mahindra made a surprise move in semiconductor engineering services. The company is to acquire Cerium
LTTS Unexpectedly Slows Down in Q3 FY20
LLTS’ revenue growth in Q3 FY20 decelerated from 11.9% at CC in Q2 to +7.5% in Q3. The company was hit by a deteriorating situation in its Telecom & High-Tech (-26%), which was impacted by the ramp-down of two clients in its Semiconductor sub-vertical that represents (we estimate) 40% of its Telecom & High-Tech sector. LTTS, also, had flat growth (+2%) in its Industrial Products, with large accounts reducing their spend.
Oncodesign Restructures into Two Business Units
Oncodesign has restructured its business into three distinct business units (BU): Service, Biotech, and AI. Each BU will have its own objectives and delivery organization.
Sweco Acquires An Architecture Bureau in Belgium
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2020: A Year of Slowdown for ER&D Service Vendors
We are expecting a slowdown in ER&D spending in 2020. Learn more here.
Ricardo Sells Dolphin N2 to CNH Industrial
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Charles River Labs Acquires Hemacare for USD 380m
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Belcan Acquires in Software Engineering
Belcan strengthened its software engineering capabilities with the acquisition of Base2 Solutions, a firm headquartered in Bellevue, WA and with an office in California. Base2 has a similar client base to Belcan, with major clients including Boeing, Thales, and L3Harris in aerospace and defense.
KPIT Had A Solid Q2. Strategic Questions Remain
Automotive engineering pure-play KPIT continued on its growth momentum in Q2 FY20 (+15.2% yoy), enjoying a satisfactory EBITDA margin of 13.4%. KPIT’s financial performance was, however, a notch below that of Q1 both in terms of revenue growth (Q1: +19.3%) and margin (14.6%).
Assystem In Line in Q3. Continues to Review its Non-Nuclear Operations
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Sweco: Steady Performance in Q3 2019
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EDAG: More of the Same in Q3 2019
EDAG’s financial performance in Q3 2019 was very similar to that of Q2: revenues were down
Accenture Acquires Two Firms in October YTD
It has been almost three years since Accenture launched Industry X.0, and we estimate that Accenture acquired nine competitors in these 36 months. The pace is accelerating with Accenture having five competitors in 2019, YTD.
Wipro Expecting An Acceleration in E&IS from Q3 Onward
During its Q2 FY20 earnings call, Wipro provided some light about the performance of its Industrial & Engineering Services (E&IS) unit.
It is not so long ago that Wipro was corporate India’s strongest name for ER&D services, mostly servicing clients in the network equipment provider industry and also semiconductor manufacturers.
Evotec signs a multi-year deal with Takeda
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Airbus’ next priority is digital manufacturing
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TCS acquires parts of GM’s Technical Center in Bengalore
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Ricardo: the diversification strategy is taking time to bear fruit
Ricardo announced mixed results for full-year FY19. Revenues were up 2% to £384m, with flat CC/CS growth. We estimate that revenues declined slightly (flat to -1%) in H2, impacted by a collapse in Technical Consulting (TC), it ER&D unit.