Capgemini Q1 affected by $ and £

Capgemini’s revenues grew by 3.7% (at constant currency) to €2185m in Q1. Unlike US companies, the significant decline in value of the € v $ and £ had an adverse affect. At current rates, Capgemini’s revenues fell 1.4% (from €2214m to €2185m)

Outsourcing grew by 2.9%. Professional Services registering the best performance with 9.0%.

By region, North America grew by 6.1%. In Europe, Benelux grew by 7.6% and France by 5.3%, while the United Kingdom registered an anticipated decrease of 4.5% linked to the expected reduction in revenues from HMRC. Growth in the rest of Europe is led by the Nordic countries and Southern Europe (Italy, Spain, Portugal) which registered growth of over 10%.

Bookings in Q1 2008 amounted to €216m – down marginally compared to €2,203 million in Q1 2007. Consulting, Technology and Local Professional Services did best where growth was c10%
Capgemini reconfirmed its objective of achieving full-year revenue growth of between 2 and 5% for 2008 and to increase its operating margin to 8.5% for the full year.

These results were as expected but the growth rate is hardly exciting – below European GDP once inflation is stripped out.