Spie Drops on Paris Stock Exchange After a "Somewhat Sluggish" 2025 Performance
Spie shares fell by nearly 5% on Friday morning on the Paris Stock Exchange after the engineering group released results for its 2025 fiscal year that were deemed "rather disappointing." Around 11:00 AM, the stock was down 4.8%, marking the second-largest decline on the SBF 120 index, which itself was down 0.1%.
2025 Performance Largely in Line, But Somewhat Weak
The multi-technical services group reported production of €10,379.9 million for 2025, up 4.8% compared to 2024, with organic growth reaching 2%, driven notably by particularly strong activity in Germany.
This figure came in slightly below the market consensus, which stood at €10,424 million.
In a reaction note, UBS analysts highlighted especially the weaker-than-expected organic growth in the fourth quarter, at +1.5% versus the market's forecast of +2.1%.
Ebita reached €793.5 million in 2025, representing another double-digit increase (+11.4%) after a +21.9% rise in 2024.
The operating margin stood at 7.6%, a performance in line with previously announced guidance and up 40 basis points year-on-year.
At €524 million, compared to €570 million in 2024 and a consensus of €538 million, free cash flow (FCF) came in below specialist forecasts.
Margin Target Raised, But Already Priced In
Portzamparc lamented a "somewhat sluggish" publication in terms of activity, but preferred to emphasize that the energy and communications specialist had raised its operating margin (Ebita) target to 8% by 2028, up from at least 7.7% previously.
"The maintenance of the average annual growth assumptions presented at the 2025 Capital Markets Day (CMD) nevertheless suggests a rebound in organic growth and an acceleration in bolt-on acquisitions (targeted acquisition strategy, Ed.)," the research firm noted.
At Jefferies, where the publication was deemed "rather disappointing," analysts pointed out that the market consensus was already targeting an 8% margin by 2028, while describing the outlook for 2026 as "cautious."
For the current fiscal year, Spie set relatively vague objectives, forecasting "strong overall growth" driven by continued organic growth and robust bolt-on acquisition activity, accompanied by further Ebita margin expansion.
No-Surprise Governance Changes
Having reached the age limit, Gauthier Louette announced he would not seek renewal of his CEO mandate when it expires in April 2026, leading the group to separate the roles of chairman of the board and chief executive officer.
As expected, Markus Holzke, currently managing director of Spie's strategic branch in Germany, Switzerland, and Austria, was unanimously appointed CEO by the board, while Patrick Jeantet was chosen as non-executive chairman.
The stock, up 1.7% this year in a Paris market now down 1.7%, has gained more than 20% over the past 12 months.
Since its IPO in 2015, the share price has nearly tripled.
Gauthier Louette currently works at Spie Capag, as Chief Executive Officer-Pipeline Division from 1998, SPIE SA, as Chairman & Chief Executive Officer from 2011, SPIE Oil & Gas Services SAS, as Chairman from 2010, SPIE SAG GmbH, as Chairman-Supervisory Board, SPIE Belgium SA (Belgium), as Chairman, SPIE Efficient Facilities GmbH, as Chairman-Supervisory Board, SPIE SAG Group GmbH, as Chairman-Supervisory Board, SPIE Germany Switzerland Austria GmbH, as Chairman-Supervisory Board, SPIE Schweiz AG, as Chairman, SPIE France SAS, as Chairman from 2017, Fédération Nationale des Travaux Publics, as Director, Syndicat des Entrepreneurs de Travaux Publics de France, as Director, Syndicat des Entreprises de Génie Électrique et Climatique, as Director, SPIE ICS AG, as President, and SPIE Nederland BV, as Member-Supervisory Board. Mr. Louette also formerly worked at SPIE Operations SAS, as Chief Executive Officer from 2003 to 2010, SPIE Ouest-Centre SAS, as Chairman & Chief Executive Officer, Spie Holding GmbH, as Chief Executive Officer, SPIE Sud-Ouest SAS, as Chairman, Financière SPIE SAS, as Chairman, SPIE ICS SAS, as Chairman, SPIE Nucléaire SAS, as Chairman, SPIE EST SAS, as Chairman, SPIE Ile-de-France Nord-Ouest SAS, as Chairman, Clayax Acquisition 4 SAS, as Chairman, Softix AG, as Chairman, SPIE UK Ltd., as Director, CISEC - Soluções Técnicas de Engenharia e Serviços SA, as Director, SPIE International SAS, as Director, Spie Maroc, as Director, and Spie Management 2, as Manager. Mr. Louette received his undergraduate degree from Ecole Polytechnique and undergraduate degree from Ecole Nationale Supérieure de Techniques Avancées.
SPIE SA specializes in providing multi-technical services in the electrical, mechanical and climatic engineering, communication systems fields as well as specialized service related to energy. The group ensures the design, implementation, operation and maintenance of energy saving and environmentally friendly facilities.
Net sales are distributed geographically as follows: France (32.3%), Germany (34.5%), the Netherlands (16.7%) and other (16.5%).
This super rating is the result of a weighted average of the rankings based on the following ratings: Valuation (Composite), EPS Revisions (4 months), and Visibility (Composite). We recommend that you carefully review the associated descriptions.
Investor
Investor
This super composite rating is the result of a weighted average of the rankings based on the following ratings: Fundamentals (Composite), Valuation (Composite), EPS Revisions (1 year), and Visibility (Composite). We recommend that you carefully review the associated descriptions.
Global
Global
This composite rating is the result of an average of the rankings based on the following ratings: Fundamentals (Composite), Valuation (Composite), Financial Estimates Revisions (Composite), Consensus (Composite) and Visibility (Composite). The company must be covered by at least 4 of these 5 ratings for the calculation to be carried out. We recommend that you carefully review the associated descriptions.
Quality
Quality
This composite rating is the result of an average of rankings based on the following ratings: Returns (Composite), Profitability (Composite) and Quality of Financial Reporting (Composite), and Financial Health (Composite). The company must be covered by at least 2 of these 3 ratings for the calculation to be performed. We recommend that you carefully read the associated descriptions.
ESG MSCI
ESG MSCI
The MSCI ESG score assesses a company’s environmental, social, and governance practices relative to its industry peers. Companies are rated from CCC (laggard) to AAA (leader). This rating helps investors incorporate sustainability risks and opportunities into their investment decisions.
![Gauthier Louette](data:image/svg+xml,<svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="16" height="16" fill="%231b1b1b" class="bi bi-person-fill" viewBox="0 0 16 16"><path d="M3 14s-1 0-1-1 1-4 6-4 6 3 6 4-1 1-1 1zm5-6a3 3 0 1 0 0-6 3 3 0 0 0 0 6"/></svg>)
