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Welcome to the SPIE 2026 First Quarter Revenue Presentation. [Operator Instructions] Now I will hand the conference over to Gauthier Louette, Chairman and CEO, to begin today's conference. Please go ahead.

Good morning, everyone. Thank you for joining us today for our first quarter revenue call. I'm with Markus Holzke, the CEO of SPIE Germany, Switzerland, Austria; Jérôme Vanhove, our Group CFO; and Alexandra Bournazel, our Head of Investor Relations. As you know, Markus will become Group CEO as of April 30, and I'm very pleased to welcome him on this call.

On the M&A front, SPIE has made a strong start to 2026. Underlying trends remain fully intact and are even strengthening as the current geopolitical crisis further highlights the urgent need for Europe to transition to low-carbon electricity.

Let me start with safety, which remains a core commitment for the group. Next Tuesday, on April 28, SPIE will hold its Safety Day 2026. Safety workshops will be organized all across our sites in all our countries. Safety is a continuous training effort. Our health and safety code and its 10 life-saving rules apply to everyone across all trades and activities, making sure that every employee returns home safely each day is at the very heart of our commitments.

Next, I'd like to share a few recent contract examples that reflect our strong positioning. In Germany, we have been mandated to install 5 new substations for transmission system operator, TenneT, a long-standing client relationship built on sustained trust. The framework agreement runs for around 8 years. Implementation is scheduled to begin in summer 2026 with phase commissioning continuing through to the end of 2033. The award of this contract highlights SPIE expertise as an implementation partner for complex grid infrastructure projects and demonstrates how the structured approach is helping to accelerate grid expansion and the energy transition.

In France, SPIE built on several years of successful collaboration with ALK, a Danish pharmaceutical laboratory, covering both maintenance operations and clean room construction. We completed an electrification project for the plant located in Vandeuil, in Marne. We replaced gas equipment with electrical solutions, installing heat pumps and new electrical infrastructure, allowing the site to reduce its CO2 emissions by nearly 305 tons per year while also improving its energy performance. This contract illustrates the ability of SPIE's team to combine the skills to offer bespoke multi-technical solution while supporting both performance and decarbonization objectives.

In the Netherlands, we entered in a new multiyear maintenance contract for Hutchison Ports ECT in the Port of Rotterdam, a site where we have been leveraging our expertise over many years. The contract covers all electrical maintenance activities at the ECT Delta and in the Euroromax terminals, including inspection and high-voltage servicing of more than 200 cranes as well as the installation of 7 strategically located EV charging hubs to support the energy transition across the Port area. With this contract, SPIE reinforces its role as a trusted partner to support the energy transition, valued for its ability to incorporate sustainability requirements into maintenance operations.

Now moving on the key highlights for the quarter. on Slide 8. Total revenue grew by 1.7% at constant FX, including minus 0.9% in organic growth and 2.7% of M&A contribution. We made an exceptionally strong start to the year on the M&A front with 4 bolt-on acquisitions in Q1, representing approximately EUR 667 million of acquired annual revenue across our core geographies. With a solid balance sheet, continued focus on operational excellence and financial discipline, we reiterate our strong confidence in achieving our 2026 guidance.

On the first quarter, organic growth was hampered by a stronger-than-usual impact from seasonality, which was more than offset by the contribution from acquisitions. Both Germany and Northwestern Europe faced a very demanding comparison base with organic growth of 7.2% and 7.5%, respectively in Q1 2025. Central Europe as well as Germany were also temporarily impacted by adverse weather conditions during the first weeks of the year, but will gradually catch-up over the coming quarters. During the quarter, the internal transfer of the former ROBUR non-German operations from Germany to Global Services Energy and Central Europe has no impact at group level. Overall, this performance once again demonstrates the resilience and balance of our multi-local multi-technical model.

In Germany, revenue grew 1.2% year-on-year and organic growth was flat against a high comparison base of 7.2%. Outdoor activities, in particular, High Voltage and City Networks and grid were affected by adverse weather conditions at the beginning of the year, but we have secured operational capacity to ensure that we catch up on this over the coming quarters. Beyond the short-term seasonality effect, the underlying momentum in Germany remains very strong, driven by sustained demand for energy efficiency solutions and solid positioning in fast-growing segments such as data centers, cybersecurity or cloud and managed solutions.

In Industrial services, our performance was supported by recurring maintenance operation and our pertinent exposure to attractive end markets such as automation, logistics, food and pharma. The PIK and Cyqueo acquisitions completed last year contributed close to 6% with integration progressing well and the internal reallocation of the former ROBUR non-German operations to Global Services Energy and Central Europe had a minus 1.4% impact with no impact that we see at group level.

France on Slide 11, France delivered a solid performance in Q1 2026 with 1.9% total growth, of which 0.6% organic. As expected, City Networks and Building Solutions continued to weigh on overall growth. City Networks remained impacted by the slowdown in mature fiber optic rollout programs, while Building Solutions reflects both a degree of macro-related customer caution and our disciplined selective focus on high-value projects. The other 4 divisions, Technical Facility Management, Industry, ICS and Nuclear Services continue to perform well, supported by long-standing client relationships and a diversified sector exposure. In particular, Industry benefited from the fast-growing renewable and battery storage markets where ICS leveraged strong positions in cloud, cybersecurity, digital workplace solutions, data and AI.

Lastly, Nuclear Services performed strongly, driven by high-quality execution of maintenance programs, notably the Grand Carénage. The Artemys acquisition completed at the end of January 2026 contributed 1.3% to the growth.

Northwestern Europe, the total growth was slightly positive at 0.3% despite a minus 0.9% organic growth against a demanding comparison base in Q1 2025 of plus 7.5%. The organic decrease was more than offset by the 1.6% contribution from the 2025 acquisition of Rovitech and Voets & Donkers.

In the Netherlands, project-driven activity in Building Solutions reflected a degree of seasonality with several larger contracts recently launched and set to contribute more meaningfully as they ramp up over the coming quarters.

ICS delivered strong growth, capitalizing on its strengthened position in data center services and the contribution of recent acquisitions.

Industry Services remained resilient, driven by energy storage and advanced technologies despite structural pressure in the petrochemicals.

Belgium also had a slower start to the year against a high comparison base, notably in High Voltage services, while the order book continued to show strong momentum. In Central Europe, total growth reached plus 7.5%, while organic growth was minus 8.2% as adverse weather conditions in the first weeks of the year weighed on outdoor activities such as high voltage, telecommunications and transport infrastructure. This disruption were, however, short-lived and production is expected to catch up progressively over the next quarters. The backlog continues to build up, supported by strong investment dynamics linked to the energy transition.

Bolt-on acquisitions contributed to growth by 13.2%, reflecting the sustained M&A activity of last year and also the internal transfer of former ROBUR operations located in Austria, which contributed to an additional 1.4%.

And finally, Global Services Energy. It was down minus 4.4% year-on-year, including minus 4.1% organic. In an already challenging backdrop for oil and gas activities, operations began to be affected in March by the outbreak of the conflict in Iran, which did lead to the suspension of certain ongoing maintenance contracts in Qatar and in Iraq.

In wind activities, momentum remained strong. The business was expanded through the internal transfer of the international wind operation, formerly ROBUR Wind from SPIE Germany. It brings around 600 new colleagues and approximately EUR 14 million of annual revenue, ordering the offering across the full life of wind assets and adding maintenance capabilities for wind turbine generators and [indiscernible] related.

Regarding M&A, as I said earlier, SPIE kicked off the year with an outstanding level of M&A activity, announcing 4 acquisitions and adding EUR 667 million annual revenue. In Germany, SPIE signed agreements to acquire ROFA Industrial Automation Group and SGS. Markus will elaborate on this. Executed at a high single-digit EBITDA multiple, both acquisitions are expected to be accretive to adjusted EPS from the first year of consolidation. SPIE also expanded its footprint in Central Europe through 2 acquisitions, contributing a combined EUR 57 million of annual revenue. BLOCK Group in the Czech Republic is a recognized specialist in clean room design, engineering, procurement and construction. INVIZO in Slovakia is a provider of building security system and smart technical solutions. All these 4 acquisitions will be self-financed in line with SPIE's disciplined financial policy and commitment to maintaining a sound leverage profile. This acceleration of our M&A activity reflects the group's continued focus on high-value technical services and its proven ability to execute selective, high return bolt-on transactions.

And now I will hand over to Markus for a deep dive into the German acquisition.

Thank you, Gauthier, and good morning, everyone. ROFA Industrial Automation Group is a leading player in industrial services in Germany with EUR 430 million in revenues in 2025 and a sustained high single-digit margin. ROFA brings leading capabilities in industrial automation, conveyor systems and intra-logistics with more than 1,200 highly qualified employees. This acquisition will enable SPIE to move further up the industrial value chain while adding a resilient diversified customer base across automotive, food, health care, logistics and pharmaceuticals, providing significant cross-selling opportunities for SPIE. At the bottom of the slide, you can see a selection of well-known blue-chip customers.

And moving over to the acquisition of SGS Industrial Services. SGS will strengthen the group's expertise in electrical and mechanical installation for power facilities and industrial plants. The company generated EUR 180 million of annual revenues in 2025 with an EBITDA margin slightly north of 10%. SGS employs 800 skilled employees who can be deployed flexibly to meet project-specific requirements. Together with a diversified client base, this broadens SPIE's value chain and creates additional meaningful cross-selling opportunities. ROFA and SGS will significantly reinforce SPIE's industrial services platform, building on the successful integration of ROBUR in '24. And as Gauthier mentioned earlier, both acquisitions are expected to be accretive to adjusted EPS from the first year of consolidation. The closing of these 2 acquisitions is expected before the end of June 2026.

And with that, I will now hand over to Jérôme.

Thank you, Markus, and good morning, everyone. Let's move on to the revenue bridge, which provides a breakdown of our 1.5% total revenue growth in Q1 2026. Our bolt-on M&A activity contributed plus 2.7% or the equivalent of nearly EUR 65 million. This reflects, on the one hand, the contribution from the 2025 acquisitions, mostly notably SD Fiber in Switzerland. Voets & Donkers and PIK AG. And on the other hand, the 2 months contribution from the 2026 acquisition, Artemys in France following its closing end of January 2026. The minus 0.1% disposal impact reflects the sale of the small noncore elevator service business in the Netherlands, which represented an annual revenue of circa EUR 7 million. The former ROBUR non-German operations previously reported within SPIE Germany were internally reallocated into 2 blocks. First, the international wind activities representing approximately EUR 40 million of annual revenue were transferred to Global Service Energy. Second, the industrial activities based on Austria -- in Austria amounting to around EUR 10 million were transferred to Central Europe. This internal reallocation is, of course, and as said already neutral on the total group revenue.

Currency effect had a marginal impact of minus 0.2%, mainly driven by the euro-U.S. dollar exchange rate and partially mitigated by the appreciation of the Polish zloty against euro. Thank you for your attention.

I now hand back to Gauthier.

Thank you, Jérôme. And moving on to our outlook for 2026. So we do fully confirm the 2026 outlook that we shared at the beginning of the year. We expect strong total growth driven by further organic growth and active bolt-on M&A, which will contribute significantly from this year onwards. We have no doubt that the EBITDA margin will continue to expand. The proposed dividend payout ratio will remain at 40% of adjusted net income attributable to the group. Today marks my 44th and last presentation of SPIE performance. And more than ever, it is a good time to be a European electrical engineer. Following our AGM on April 30, Markus will take over as the new CEO of SPIE. We have worked closely together for more than 13 years, and I'm fully confident that he will lead the group to great successes. I would like to thank you for your continued interest in SPIE and for the quality of our exchanges. Thank you for your attention.

And now Markus, Jérôme and I are happy to take your questions.

[Operator Instructions] The next question comes from Remi Grenu from Morgan Stanley.

Just I mean, 3 on my side. So the first one would be on the impact of weather in Q1. So if you could potentially help us a little bit quantify what was the impact, so we can try to assess what was the underlying business momentum. And maybe as part of that discussion, it could be helpful to hear a little bit about the organic growth in March and the exit rate, which I guess was probably less impacted by the weather. So that would be the first topic.

The second one is on France. It seems to be doing a bit better. So where are we in terms of growth within Building Solutions? Is it back to kind of flattish trend or still negative? And on the fiber rollout there, do you expect -- when do you expect the drag to completely disappear?

And then the third topic, just taking maybe a step back, I think, you made some comments back in '22 and '23 that higher oil and gas prices were pushing clients to invest in energy efficiency, electrification and back then you -- SPIE was benefiting from that. So given the current context, is it something that you would expect to happen again? And do you have any discussion with clients that would support that view basically?

Yes. Well, thank you, Remi. Regarding weather, it was during the first weeks of the year, particularly in Germany and in Central Europe, we see in Poland, people told us these are worst winter in 10 years or more than 10 years. It also had some impact elsewhere, but to a lesser extent. It's obviously linked with the proportion of works we do outdoor. So typically, high-voltage distribution works are impacted. But also when you have areas where civil works contractors get delayed, then we have to come after them, obviously, they create some postponement as well. But it's something that is obviously behind us. And coming to your point, we did see a distinctly stronger March, that's for sure. The important thing that we were able to save capacity by way of holidays, trainings, so we managed to save productive man hours for later, which will help us catch up on this delay in the beginning of the year. And that's something that has been done very efficiently in all countries where we operate.

Regarding France, there's still a drag from optic fiber and it's is going to be less than last year, but it will further create a drag this year, and it's possible that it will plateau next year. We're not sure yet.

Regarding Building Solutions, we are in negative growth territory and we are very selective in terms of order intake, and this was the case we see last year, which with an impact on the revenue this year. But we are -- when we are selective, it means we target interesting projects, a bit more sophisticated, with more and more demanding customers in terms of quality and intricacy of what they do. And it means it's a better margin. So I think the important message for Building Solutions is that we managed to protect, if not progress our margins further. And I think it's good that you mentioned the trend. And clearly, the war in the Gulf is a stark reminder of how important it is to move to electricity. As you have seen in France, the government has issued a plan to foster further electrification of the country and we still have a very significant usage of fossil fuels. And it's a trend that we see with all our customers. So it is only further reinforced by the current events. But if we look at Industrial customer moving from gas fired furnaces to electrical ones, we see a lot of work with regard to heat pumps, et cetera. So it's a major concern. We see quite a surge now also in the electrification of fleet and so with an impact on the recharge point network. So it is a very positive trend, which will only be reinforced by the current events. And that's something where -- which will create a headwind for SPIE going further.

And just congratulations on the fantastic job you've done at SPIE over the last few decades.

Thank you, Remi. It's always a team effort.

The next question comes from Aleksander Peterc from Bernstein.

I'd also like to extend my congratulations to you, Gauthier, for your excellent stewardship of SPIE over the years and great success here. Just a couple of things from me. The first one, I'd just like to come back to France. We had this nice surprise with the return to year-on-year growth. Was there anything outstanding in the first quarter that drove this outperformance? Or should we now model growth for France at the like-for-like level more confidently in positive territory for the rest of the year?

And the second question, just on the recently announced acquisitions, there's quite a lot of them. Can you tell us if they altogether will have a positive contribution to group EBITDA margins already this year or next year?

So with regard to France market, it is -- there is nothing really outstanding in terms of a peak in a project or something for the start of the year. It is a very normal course of events. And we mentioned the parts which have been helping such as technical facility, such as Nuclear, which has a positive trend. The year is still young, so I will not make any guess on the organic growth for the whole year. We see, as I said, positive trend in some areas, but we see also on other areas, customer with an element of cautiousness. So early to say how the whole year is going to shape.

And with regard to acquisitions, altogether, they do create some margin variation. We have to see when it happens over the year, depending on the exact timing of closing. Specifically, the last year acquisition in Australia, Worley, which is Worley Power Services and which we plan to close hopefully by the middle of the year. This one is dilutive. It's dilutive to group, but it's also dilutive to the oil and gas or the GSE segment. But overall, positive impact.

The next question comes from Christophe Chaput from ODDO.

Again, I wish you the best for the coming months and the coming years. The first question is on EBIT margin. So your guidance is obviously an improvement for the full year. But would you say that H1 is going to improve as well because it probably depends in a certain extent on the level of catch-up. In Q2 you are going to make regarding the weather condition because the high voltage, let's say, could create a kind of negative mix on profitability in H1, I assume. So I just wanted to check that.

By the way, regarding the weather condition, I'm not sure you quantified in terms of EUR 1 million, the impact on top line regarding the Q1. If you can help us, let's say, in that respect, it could be great.

And the last one is regarding the life pipeline of M&A. So obviously, you signed a lot of deals year-to-date. Usually, the life pipeline represents an amount of sales of EUR 400 million, EUR 500 million. What -- how much it represents, let's say, actually after, again, the fantastic deal you signed in H1?

Thank you, Christophe, and thank you for your kind words. With regard to EBITDA margin, we -- even with this impairment we had on the first quarter, we're not worried about the margin progression over the year. And as you have seen in the past, it tends to be fairly continues over the year. So we do not expect H1 to be affected -- H1 margin to be affected by the slower start to the year and definitely not. Yes, I didn't quantify weather conditions because it's not easy to do. And -- but again, I think the main thing is to see this ability to catch up over the rest of the year, thanks to the capacity saved. And that's really something we are very confident about. And maybe for the pipeline of acquisitions, Jérôme, you say a word?

Yes. Definitely a strong start to the year, as you noticed, Christophe, but not making our pipeline empty, not at all. It does not pertain only to what we could do for the rest of the year 2026. We also have in the pipeline some very interesting targets that might generate concrete realizations for '27 and beyond. So again, we still benefit from the heavily fragmented nature of our market, constituting all along the year, new opportunities to come.

[Operator Instructions] the next question comes from Allen Wells from Jefferies.

Just 2 quick ones from me, please. Firstly, maybe just in France, you've talked about obviously being selective given the challenges in the Building Solutions business for a while. But can you remind us the negative growth seen in the first quarter, is that sequentially an improvement? Or is that still getting worse versus maybe what we saw in the second half of last year? I'm just trying to understand if this is getting better, is it getting stable or if we're still seeing headwinds in that market?

And then secondly, just in the Energy business, could you just maybe just expand out what the exposure is to the Middle East within that business and how you think about the potential impact for the year? And then maybe linked to that, is there a chance of catch-up in that business as we move through the year should the conflict end? Or are there kind of capacity limitations that may prevent that?

Allen, thank you. Well, with regard to Building Solution, it's -- again, as the quarterly organic growth for a given division has its limits in terms of meaning. But yes, we see an improvement compared to where we were for the whole year last year in this first quarter. So -- and again, it's on the back of the work we did last year to really focus on interesting contracts, and we didn't have a bad order intake at all at the end of the day last year. So we're at a gradual -- it is so far an improvement compared to last year, definitely.

With regard to Middle East, our overall exposure is in the range of EUR 100 million. It is euro. So it is in Qatar, in Iraq, in Saudi and a bit in Abu Dhabi. So we have demobilized fairly swiftly with good understanding with the customers. So first, we have paid on standby and then we demobilized some of the sites. Nobody has been hurt at SPIE, which is also obviously very important. We are in talks with customers. Some of them, they want us to stay. And for instance, in Iraq, we work for Total, and we are staying working at some -- preparing some works for or doing some sort of maintenance right now. In other areas like in Qatar, we did demobilize the site. So it will have an impact on the top line at least in H1, obviously. And then it's early to say what's going to happen next. So we are following this, obviously, on a day-by-day basis. It will be difficult to catch up per se. I think in this range, in this field compared to what we had for the winter in Europe. I think what is lost is lost and because it's maintenance. So you tend to do the same amount of maintenance with the same amount of people. So there might be a bit of need to restart the operations to a bit more people, but it will not be very significant.

In terms of margin, this is not the best area for our oil and gas activities, Middle East. So the margins tend to be in the mid-single digit compared to the rule of oil and gas. So the EBIT margin is not significant at all. The EBIT impact for [ these are significant ].

The next question comes from Eric Lemarie from CIC CIB.

I got 4 questions, if I may. The first one on weather. I was wondering if you have been over pessimistic regarding the impact from the weather, notably in Germany, the consensus expected minus 2% in organic and it was flat. And actually, I was wondering whether you had any positive impact from the weather for some of your activities at it was -- it is the case for VINCI as the group mentioned last night.

I've got a second question on GSI. Could you tell us maybe the split between oil and gas, wind and solar and the trend for this market in Q1? Because you mentioned notably a strong momentum in wind activities, but -- maybe you can tell us an idea of the growth there in Q1.

Third question on the German stimulus package. I was wondering if you have any new comments on the way you see the potential impact of the German plant on your business?

And the last question on Markus. I was wondering what will be your priorities and what will be -- what will you do differently compared to Gauthier in your view?

Well, I would be hard put to find a positive impact of the weather conditions. We -- I think it's not that we've been over pessimistic about the weather impact. I think we have been positively surprised by the strength of catch-up at the end of the quarter. So that's mainly that and that's as an overall picture. Oil and gas and wind and renewables, the split is roughly 90-10, so 90% oil and gas, 10% renewable, which is mainly wind. We have a few operations for maintenance of solar plants in Qatar, but it's mainly wind. And yes, the start to the year has been good in our wind connect activity. So the former Correll acquisition, we had a good start to the year, which is linked to the schedules of the various projects we're involved in. So we -- I won't give an organic growth by subsegment, but we had a good start -- definitely a good start in wind. And maybe for stimulus package, I will hand over to Markus.

Yes. Thank you, Gauthier. Well, the stimulus packages, they are supporting the sectors where we already work in. So for us, it is always hard to identify, is it an additional project or is it a regular budgeted project. The authorities, they do not necessarily tell us. But we see an increased pipeline in these sectors and also an increased number of won orders. So we already see some effects within this year.

And then I'll take the fourth question right away regarding priorities and what am I going to do differently. First of all, I'm completely honored to be able to take this role, and I have a deep respect for what Gauthier has done over all these decades. Working 13 years together with Gauthier, he has been a great role model to me. And I am a child of this compounder model of SPIE. So what I've done over the last 13 years is visible in Germany and Central Europe and Switzerland and Austria. So the priorities, you can see as well from these periods. For me, there is no reason to change. That is the first fact. And from the priorities, I got a good view on the territories I was touched on in the past. And now for me, it is to get a very detailed view on the geographies where I had less exposure so far.

There are no more questions at this time. [Operator Instructions].

All right. If there are no further questions, thanks a lot for your attendance this morning. Thank you for your interest in SPIE. Do not forget, it's never been a better time to be a European engineer in electricity, and the yet -- the best is yet to come. Thanks a lot. Have a good day.

Thank you, ladies and gentlemen. That concludes our call.

Welcome to the SPIE 2025 Full Year Results Conference Call.

[Operator Instructions]

Now I will hand the conference over to Gauthier Louette, Chairman and CEO; and Jerome Vanhove, Group CFO. Please go ahead.

Good morning, everyone. Thank you for joining us today for our full year results. I am with Jerome Vanhove, our Group CFO; and Alexandra Bournazel, our Head of Investor Relations.

In 2025, we recorded a high-quality performance with outstanding cash generation. It does illustrate once again the strength and agility of our model, the relevance of our strategy and the quality of our execution. We are well ahead on our EBITA margin trajectory, and we are upgrading our 2028 margin ambition accordingly.

To begin, I would like to share a few recent contract examples that reflect our strong positioning. In Germany, we have been awarded 3 new substation contracts in Baden-Wurttemberg, supporting Netze BW grid expansion plan. This builds on a long and trusted partnership with more than 70 projects delivered together since 2006.

As general contractor, SPIE will oversee the full project scope from planning to commissioning. This project will enhance grid reliability and support the integration of renewable energy, fully in line with Germany's energy transition priorities. This award reaffirm SPIE's ability to deliver end-to-end grid infrastructure projects and its contribution to modernizing Europe's power networks. In France, SPIE is strengthening its long-standing partnership with Bouygues Telecom for the operation and maintenance of its national data center network.

This new contract builds on 15 years of collaboration and covers mission-critical services across Bouygues Telecom's historic data center sites in the Paris region from high and low-voltage power systems to generators, inverters, ventilation and air conditioning. SPIE is also expanding its support to wider footprint, with the assignment now extending to additional sites, reflecting Bouygues Telecom's trust in SPIE facilities operational capabilities. And this contract underscores SPIE's ability to run critical digital infrastructure at scale while supporting both performance and decarbonization objectives.

On Page 6, SPIE has signed a European framework agreement with Tesla for the deployment of battery energy storage systems, building on existing collaboration in Belgium, the Netherlands and France. This renewable 3-year agreement applies to SPIE subsidiaries across Europe with BESS installation expertise and will support further expansion in Europe, notably in Poland and Germany.

SPIE will deliver high value-added services for Tesla Megapack projects, including engineering, Balance of Plant works, grid connection and commissioning. This agreement highlights SPIE's ability to deliver standardized multi-country execution in fast-growing energy infrastructure segments. And now to Global Services Energy, SPIE is reaching a new milestone in offshore wind with a major contract on Dogger Bank, set to become the world's largest offshore wind farm. Through its subsidiary, SPIE Wind Connect, the group will carry out the full termination and testing of the inter-array cables on the final phase of the project on behalf of DEME. Once operational, Dogger Bank will be capable of supplying renewable electricity to around 6 million U.K. homes. This project showcases SPIE's ability to deliver highly complex offshore energy infrastructure and reinforces its role in accelerating the energy transition.

Now moving on to the key takeaway. So total revenue grew by a solid 4.8%. Our EBITA margin reached a record 7.6%, a new step-up of 40 basis points, driven by pricing power, selectivity, operational excellence and accretive acquisitions. Free cash flow was outstanding at EUR 424 million (sic) [ EUR 524 million ] underpinned by best-in-class working capital management and 108% cash conversion, well above our 100% target. Bolt-on M&A activity remained active with 9 acquisitions in 2025. And we also have done a very dynamic start to 2026, with the signing of an agreement to acquire ROFA Industrial AG, a strategic step-up in industrial services in Germany. Finally, we reaffirmed our sustainability leadership with 50% of revenue aligned with EU taxonomy. This is the number one position within the SBF 120.

So on Page 9, let's take a closer look at our main financial KPIs. I'm pleased to report that revenue was well above the EUR 10 billion mark as announced in our 2025 guidance. The 5% constant FX growth was well balanced between a 3.2% contribution from acquisitions and a 2% organic growth. EBITA was close to EUR 800 million, up 11.4% with a further 40 basis point step-up in margin after the 50 basis points increase in 2024. The outstanding free cash flow reached EUR 524 million, bringing leverage down to 1.3. Bolt-on M&A was sustained with the 9 acquisitions we have completed, representing EUR 347 million in annual revenue. And finally, our adjusted net income grew by 9%, and we will recommend a dividend of EUR 1.08 per share, up 8%.

Looking at the top line growth on Page 10. At constant exchange rates, revenue grew by 5%, driven by 2 segments: Germany, which continued to deliver a very high growth of 10.3%, well-balanced between organic growth at 5.3% and the contribution from acquisitions at 5%. Northwestern Europe, which also performed strongly with revenue up 5.1%, driven by a 4.3% organic growth. Meanwhile, France maintained a solid level of resilience against a muted economic backdrop with a slight 0.8% revenue contraction.

Central Europe increased sharply by 13.6%, mainly driven by a 12.1% contribution from acquisitions, while organic was at a robust 1.5%. Global Services Energy was down 4.4%. This reflected a more selective approach as well as the leveling off following an exceptional H1 2024, which benefited from a one-off shutdown maintenance contract. Overall, this performance underscores the strength and balance of our multi-local, multi-technical model. Looking at acquisitions, the 9 acquisitions completed this year were well balanced across our European footprint.

Together, they add EUR 347 million of annual revenue. Just to mention the most recent ones, PIK AG and Cyqueo in Germany, adding EUR 62 million in annual revenue in the integration and maintenance of complex audiovisual systems as well as cybersecurity, cloud and data. Artemys in France adding EUR 82 million in annual revenue in digital transformation and strengthening our offer in the strategic areas of cloud, big data and cybersecurity. Worley Power Services, EUR 70 million in annual revenue in technical maintenance for power generation assets. Building on its presence in Australia since 2012, SPIE Global Services Energy is now positioned to play a key role in the country's energy transition from coal and gas to renewable resources.

Meanwhile, the integration of all 2024 acquisitions has progressed well and according to plan. Looking ahead, we maintain a robust pipeline of bolt-on acquisition opportunities within a highly fragmented market. And we have had a very good start to this year with the signing of an agreement to acquire ROFA Industrial AG, which I will describe in more detail on the next slide. On Page 12, ROFA Industrial Automation is a leading player in highly attractive markets such as industrial automation, conveyor systems and intralogistics.

Building on the Robur acquisition completed in 2024, it will enable SPIE to move further up the value chain while bringing a diversified client portfolio and new cross-selling opportunities. ROFA will add around EUR 430 million in annual revenue and 1,200 highly qualified employees. It also offers a sustained high single-digit EBITA margin profile and it will be mid-single-digit EPS accretive from the first year. ROFA is a very welcome addition that will reinforce our leadership position in the German industrial services market, the largest and most dynamic in Europe. Looking now at our EBITA margin, we delivered a new step-up of 40 basis points to a record 7.6%. Germany improved by 40 basis points, reaching 7.9% and remains our best-performing geography.

It is also our largest contributors in terms of EBITA in absolute value. Northwestern Europe delivered a remarkable 110 basis point increase, reaching 7.4% margin, now only slightly below Germany. Central Europe continued to catch up, posting an 80 basis point improvement. France held firm at 7.1%. Global Services Energy remains our top performer with an EBITA margin of 10.2%. Once again, this margin expansion reflects our unwavering focus on rigorous contract selectivity, pricing discipline and high quality of delivery.

Moving now to the segment and starting with the largest one, Germany. Germany delivered a 10.3% revenue growth and is now firmly established as the group's primary growth engine. High-voltage activities were particularly dynamic, as illustrated by the example I mentioned earlier. We also benefited from sustained demand for energy efficiency and from our strong positions in data centers, tunnel emission systems and battery energy storage systems. In Industrial Services, performance was supported by our maintenance activities and our targeted presence in fast-growing segments such as automation, logistics, food and pharmaceutical. EBITA margin increased by 40 basis points to 7.9%. This reflects a favorable mix from high-voltage growth, the accretive impact of recent bolt-on acquisitions and our continued focus on operational excellence and contract selectivity.

On Page 15, France. Revenue in France was broadly stable, demonstrating strong resilience amidst a muted economic backdrop. Revenue decline was concentrated in 2 divisions: City Networks, reflecting the ongoing ramp down of mature fiber optic rollout programs and Building Solutions, where we continue to apply a high level of selectivity to preserve margin quality, and we did secure a solid backlog of high-value projects.

The other 4 divisions delivered sound performance supported by the diversified sector exposure, including aeronautics, defense, BESS Systems and the mission-critical nature of the services, particularly in data center or nuclear facilities. Our healthy EBITA margin held firm at 7.1%, thanks to our lean and flexible cost structure and our sustained operational discipline. Northwestern Europe delivered strong performance, both in terms of revenue growth and EBITA margin improvement. Revenue growth was driven by a strong organic performance of 4.3% despite a very high comparison base in Q4. As a reminder, we had a growth of 11.9% in Q4 '24. EBITA margin improved by 110 basis points, the highest gain across all our segments to reach 7.4%.

The Netherlands has now become the group's second largest growth contributor. This reflects SPIE's strong positioning in key markets such as high-voltage services, building energy efficiency, data center services and critical infrastructure. It also underscores our exposure to high-growth sectors like food and pharmaceutical, energy storage and advanced technologies. In Belgium, rising investment in energy efficiency remains a key growth driver with a step-up in grid investment and booming demand for battery energy storage systems. Building Solutions and Technical Facility Management also contributed meaningfully to the performance.

In Central Europe, I'm on Page 17, revenue rose by 14.7%, fueled by the 12.1% contribution from bolt-on acquisition, reflecting sustained M&A activity in Poland and Switzerland since the start of the year. Poland and Slovakia confirmed the return to organic growth in the second half, driven by renewed momentum in high-voltage activities after delays in the first half. The substantial backlog continued to grow. Austria maintained a high level of activity underpinned by strong dynamics in transport infrastructure and transmission and distribution services. Overall, EBITA margin increased by 80 basis points, supported by operational excellence initiatives and a particularly robust contribution from Australia and Switzerland.

Lastly, in Global Services Energy, revenue declined 4.4% organically due to an exceptionally high comparison basis in H1 2024 as well as a highly selective approach in oil and gas maintenance activities. We preserved strong margin levels in the context of low oil prices with a 10 basis point EBITA margin increase to 10.2%, marking the highest level among all segments. Currency had a negative 4.2% impact, driven by depreciation of the U.S. dollar. Offshore wind activities continued to gain momentum, supported by our strengthened market positioning and enhanced technical capabilities following the successful integration of Correll Group.

And a word on the shareholding structure on Page 19. As a service company, our employees are our greatest asset. SPIE's 2025 employee shareholding plan was once again a success with around 2,025 people across 70 countries participating, a 16% increase compared to 2024. Employee now own 10% of the company. And as a result, SPIE now ranks among the few companies in the SBF 120 where employees are the largest shareholder. After the SHARE FOR YOU 2025 plan, more than 1 employee in 2 is the group shareholder. By involving our employees in our entrepreneurial journey, we enable them to participate in our long-term value creation. In H1 2026, we will launch a share buyback program to partially offset dilution.

And now I will hand over to Jerome, who will take you through our financial performance.

Thank you, Gauthier, and good morning, everyone. I'm starting with a brief overview of our 2025 income statement. We delivered a solid revenue growth at EUR 10.4 billion, up 4.8% year-on-year or 5% at constant foreign exchange. This reflects a healthy 2% organic growth, mainly driven by Germany and Northwestern Europe. EBITA margin improved by 40 basis points year-on-year, another step up to 7.6%. As a result of both top line growth and margin expansion, EBITA reached EUR 793 million, up 11.4%. And finally, I would highlight our adjusted net income at EUR 458 million, up 9% year-on-year.

Moving on to our revenue bridge, which provides a breakdown of our 4.8% total revenue growth. In addition to the already mentioned organic growth standing at 2%, our Bolt-on M&A activity continues to support our total growth. The acquisitions contributed materially to the overall increase with 3.2% impact, representing nearly EUR 318 million of additional revenues, of which EUR 198 million of full year contribution effect from transactions which were closed already in 2024 and EUR 120 million on a pro rata temporary basis for -- from the 2025 acquisitions, as most of them were closed rather late in the last quarter and will contribute fully from 2026 onwards. The disposal of our small Belgium IT support business in late 2024 had just a limited impact of minus 0.2%. Finally, the currency effects at group level were close to neutral over the period at minus 0.1%.

Let me now turn to our adjusted net income for the year. At EUR 458 million, adjusted net income was up 9% year-on-year, and this reflecting on strong EBITA growth. Net interest mainly include a rather steady cost of net financial debt and growing IFRS 16 interest cost, this in line with the business expansion. The other financial charges increased mainly as a consequence of negative net foreign exchange impact this year, especially at Global Service Energy and this due to a weaker U.S. dollar against euro.

Our normative tax rate increased slightly to 30.2% and reflecting the gradual change in geographical mix at group level, notably the growing profit contribution from Germany. So a strong adjusted net income evolution overall despite some FX-related headwinds and a slight increase in our normative tax rate. Turning now to our usual bridge from adjusted net income to reported net income, which includes the main noncash IFRS items, starting with the IFRS accounting treatment of the ORNANE convertible bond. As a reminder, the derivative component of the ORNANE is revalued at fair value at each closing period, and this based on SPIE's share price.

Given the sharp increase in our share price over the period, plus 64% from January 1st to December 31st, we recorded a noncash IFRS charge of EUR 176 million, supporting the fair value adjustment of the ORNANE, thus mitigated by a EUR 43 million deferred tax asset. Let me remind you that under U.S. GAAP, the accounting treatment of this convertible bond ORNANE would have just no P&L impact. You will find in the appendix of this presentation the updated version of the slide we presented already at midyear on that topic. As a direct consequence, reported net income group share decreased in 2025 compared to '24.

Turning to our working capital, which remains a structural strength of SPIE's business model. As a reminder, we operate with structurally negative working cap and this throughout the year. At December end, it remained practically stable at around negative EUR 1 billion. Expressed in days of revenue, our working cap stood at minus 34 days, a slight 2 days deviation, mainly in comparison to the previous year, and this mainly due to the reduction of an historical factoring program in Germany and a decrease of net tax liabilities at the end of December. Overall, our continued focus on early invoicing, disciplined cash collection contributed to this excellent performance.

Once again, I'm turning now to free cash flow. Once again, our cash conversion based on our operating cash flow was above 100% target at 108%, supporting obviously a very strong free cash flow at EUR 524 million. This remarkable cash conversion reflects the quality of our earnings, but as well as the close monitoring of the working cap. This high level of free cash flow puts us well on track to deliver on our 2028 midterm target, which I remind is a cumulative EUR 2 billion of free cash flow over the period 2025 to 2028 included.

Moving to Page 26. As mentioned, this outstanding EUR 524 million free cash flow allowed us to self-finance first EUR 234 million of acquisitions, pay out EUR 182 million of dividends to our shareholders and carry out EUR 39 million of anti-dilutive share buyback to partially offset the dilutive impact of our employee shareholding plan, so-called SHARE FOR YOU program. All this was achieved while slightly reducing net debt from EUR 1.262 billion down to EUR 1.145 billion, evidencing once again our cash-generative model.

Moving to our leverage ratio. We further deleveraged throughout the year, and our leverage ratio decreased to 1.3x at the end of 2025. This is excluding IFRS 16 impact. Historically, we have consistently demonstrated the deleveraging capacity of our business model, and we have only releveraged twice each time following the self-financing of rather more significant value-creative acquisitions.

Finally, our financial structure. Our financial and balance sheet structure remains strong, supported by a well-diversified long maturity debt and attractive financing condition. In May 2025, we successfully issued a EUR 600 million sustainability-linked bond, which was largely oversubscribed. It carries out an attractive fixed coupon of 3.75% and matures in 2030.

Now SPIE's entire debt profile is linked -- sustainability linked, in line with our long-term ESG framework. 81% of our gross debt is at fixed rate with a very stable weighted average cost of debt at 3.4%. Liquidity at the end of 2025 stood at EUR 1.8 billion, including nearly EUR 800 million of available cash and EUR 1 billion of undrawn revolving credit facility, which allows us, obviously, to finance upcoming M&A, starting with ROFA. Lastly, our credit rating is unchanged at BB+ with a stable outlook from Standard & Poor's and a positive one from Fitch.

Turning to our dividend, recommended dividend. In light of that strong financial performance, the Board of Directors will recommend to the AGM a dividend of EUR 1.08 per share up 8% year-on-year. This represents a 40% payout ratio, fully in line with our long-standing commitments to a sustainable and growing dividend distribution. This dividend to be paid fully in cash includes an interim dividend of EUR 0.30 per share, which was already paid in September 2025, thus with the remaining EUR 0.78 per share to be paid in May 2026 after the approval of such a dividend by the AGM. As usual, an interim dividend will also be paid in September 2026, representing 30% of the approved 2025 dividend.

Thank you for your attention, and I'll hand back to Gauthier.

Thank you, Jerome. As you know, sustainability is at the core of our business. In 2025, we met all our environmental targets, underscoring the commitment and effectiveness of our approach to sustainability. To highlight some metrics in particular, 50% of our revenue is now aligned with the EU taxonomy. Our Scope 1 and 2 emissions have decreased by 30% since 2019. We also made significant progress on Scope 3 with 68% of our procurement-related emissions now made with suppliers that have set ambitious reduction targets.

Safety remains an absolute priority. The absolute number of severe accidents was only 6% lower in 2025 than in 2019. However, the severe accident frequency rate improved by 22% over the same period, demonstrating our relentless improvement efforts in this area. Regarding our people, our efforts toward gender diversity did pay out and building on the strong progress achieved by the end of 2025, we are now launching a new 2030 sustainability roadmap with increased ambition across both environmental and social dimensions.

Regarding our people, again, at SPIE, our employees are our greatest asset with 55,000 talented and highly committed professionals, including 2,700 apprentices. In 2025, our recruitment strategy led to approximately 7,400 new hires. The resignation rate continued to decrease, standing at 5.9% in 2025 compared with 6.6% in '24 and 7.3% in '23. To the taxonomy, after 6 years of measuring our progress, the share of our revenues aligned with the EU taxonomy reached 50% in 2025, which makes us a top performer within the SBF 120.

SPIE is part of the solution and a key enabler for energy transition.

Looking at our carbon footprint. Today, SPIE's direct carbon footprint is 30% below its 2019 level, beating our 2025 target of a 25% reduction. This performance is mainly driven by the widespread adoption of electric vehicles across our fleet, a critical lever for us, since vehicles account for around 90% of our Scope 1 and 2 emissions. And on Scope 3, when we say that 68% of our suppliers are now engaged in reducing their carbon footprint, it's important to understand that it means more than 3,300 suppliers.

Moving now to our outlook for 2026. We anticipate another year of strong financial performance. We are targeting a strong total growth, driven by further organic growth and active Bolt-on M&A. We aim at continued expansion of our EBITA margin, obviously translated to 100% cash conversion. The proposed dividend payout ratio will remain at 40% of adjusted net income attributable to the group.

And now to the governance evolution. I informed the Board of Directors of my decision not to seek the renewal of my mandate of Chairman of the Board and CEO. I'm very pleased that the choice of the Board has fallen on Markus Holzke as the new CEO. Markus did build up Germany to become the largest segment and top contributor of the group. We have worked closely together for more than 13 years, and I am absolutely confident that he will be very successful in his new role.

And looking at our 2028 guidance. In light of the remarkable progress achieved along our EBITA margin trajectory, we are upgrading our 2028 margin ambition. We now expect EBITA margin to expand further to reach 8% by 2028, resulting in EBITA surpassing EUR 1 billion by the end of the period. Our other financial targets remain unchanged.

Thank you very much for your attention. And before we move to Q&A, just in case you would have forgotten, let me repeat once again, it's a good time to be a European electrical engineer.

[Operator Instructions]

The next question comes from Aleksander Peterc from Bernstein.

I just have a few questions, if I may. But first of all, thank you, Gauthier, for your excellent service as the head of SPIE. You will be missed. I'm very sure of that. So first of all, on the organic sales growth in '26, can you tell us if you will be within the 3% to 4% range? I know you don't give precise guidance at this time of the year, but it would be helpful to understand if the biggest moving part is France, meaning that if France is just flat, you will be able to reach that 3% range. And if it's below, you could be a touch below and conversely above -- a touch above that 3% lower limit.

And then the second question is, when I look at the pro forma indicators in your financial report, I can see that you would have printed an EBITA margin of 7.8% already in '25 had all of the acquisitions been acquired from the 1st of January. Does this mean that this 7.8% margin is already in the bag for the year and you can actually do a bit better with some improvement in other -- in your core businesses and the economies of scale and so on?

Well, towards the 2026 organic growth, well, as you know, we don't give a precise guidance at this stage. And I think it's fair to say that the trend of -- long-term trends of our business remain unabated and unchanged compared to what we have experienced over the last years. There are a number of moving parts, including obviously the view on France, which remains in muted backdrop and with a number of uncertainties. We have other areas where we see a very positive trend.

So far, we will remain as we said, and I will not make any bet on exactly where we're going to be at the end of the year. Regarding your second question, I think it's -- our calculation is that the pro forma EBITA for '25 with the contribution of the acquisition is 7.7%. It's clear that we are aiming at further progressing the margin, and we are very confident regarding the guidance we have given 2028. And you will see we expect that 2026 we mark further progress towards that goal. So there is no hesitation whatsoever in this regard.

The next question comes from Remi Grenu from Morgan Stanley.

Really appreciated the discussions over the last few years and all the best for what's coming next. Just a few questions on my side. So the first one is on Germany. So clearly reaccelerated in Q4 after the slight weakness and phasing impact in Q3. Can you provide maybe more details on the current trading? And if we should extrapolate the level of organic growth you had in Q4 as a little bit more underlying potential and what's expected from this year? And if that acceleration has anything to do with potential government investment or what we've heard from infrastructure spending starting to really hit the market? So yes, first question on Germany.

The second one is on France. So on top of the organic growth, I think the margin declined a little bit in the second half of the year. So I just want to understand what's happening there and if we should expect the trend to continue if it was about pricing or just the impact of lower organic growth?

And the third one is on your acquisition, so ROFA. Can we have more details about that company, maybe the growth rate over the last few years, country exposure because I think that there are some exposure to China and the U.S. there. So what the company is doing in these countries? And would be great also to have any more information on what they actually do and who they compete with, so we have a good understanding of what they do.

Yes. So regarding current trading in Germany, we have been more impacted than usual by winter, clearly which is something that we're going to catch up. But winter was harsh this year, as you all know. But other than that, when we look at the current level of order intake and level of activities on the areas which are not impacted by weather, we're doing fine. So no worries about that. So it's not a direct extrapolation in Q4, clearly for Q1 for the reason I just mentioned. The underlying trends are strong, and we are continuously further building backlog in energy infrastructure.

So very, very confident for the whole year in Germany. The infrastructure spending, I think it would be fair to say that it's not hitting the market yet in terms of call for tenders or orders. It has definitely an impact on the confidence level and the mood of our customers in Germany, which is good also for what we do in Tech FM, et cetera, because the level of spend is steady. But not an impact yet. It's going to come. And clearly, the political consensus around this package is now very strong and well established. So again, very confident for the year in Germany.

Regarding France, we expect trends to be maybe not dissimilar to last year. As you know, we are mainly impacted by 2 things. One is the optic fiber, which probably accounts for 1% organic growth decrease in our top line. This will still be a bit -- we still have a bit of this headwind in '26, but -- and should then end up plateauing towards the end of the year. And then the other headwind was on commercial installation. We've been very selective and this is always an area where price competition is the most fierce and especially when the economy is a bit down.

So we've been selective, and we really concentrated on high-value contracts such as data centers, for example, and we had a few interesting success in this regard. So we have built up a very decent backlog, and we expect less headwind this year from this area. And as you pointed out, margins are very resilient, and we have an agile cost base. We are extremely disciplined on pricing. So we did show a very resilient margin in France this year. With regard to ROFA, we're talking a growth rate that is in the low to mid-single digit all together. It's very good margins.

So they are active in the industrial automation business and in intralogistics. So these are areas where there's a constant high level of spend, with factory technology evolving fast. When they work in China or the U.S. to accompany a German customers, so they build on their know-how and their relationship with these customers in Germany and accompany them in other geographies where basically the erection is done locally, but all the engineering and systems preparation is done in Germany. I think it's very much a German content and a bit of local erection.

The next question comes from Rory McKenzie from UBS.

Rory from UBS. Gauthier, I want to say congratulations on your career at SPIE. Although I can't believe that after all your efforts over the years, you're now going to negatively impact the staff turnover ratio. My first question was about the outlook for margins in France, which is now behind 3 other divisions. Which areas are you seeing pressure? Are you currently expensing many costs in terms of moving people around to reposition?

And I guess, ultimately, do you expect France to improve its margins by 2028 in these targets? And then secondly, I just want to ask more about ROFA. Can you just explain how it fits into the existing German business? It sounds like a newer area or certainly a lot bigger exposure here now. So how does it sit alongside Robur? How much overlap is there? And are there longer-term plans to expand these services across the rest of Europe?

Well, regarding margin, so France, I mentioned the two areas where we've seen the most of difficulties last year. I could have mentioned that other areas have been doing well. For instance, technical facilities, we did saw growth last year. And we also had a bit of growth in Industrial Services. And these areas are at good margins. So it does help as well. We are not worried about the level of margin in France. If at all if we see it moving, it will be upwards. I think we have reacted quickly to the situation. We have adapted the cost base, both the variable part and the fixed cost base.

So it's -- we think we are bottoming out in '25 in terms of margin for France.

And regarding ROFA, it is an area, they have the customer in the logistics, in some customer in the defense, some customer in the automotive sector. And we think that we'll be able to open up a broader area of other customers for them, thanks to the platform of Robur customers. So we do expect commercial synergies in this regard. And clearly, in an area which is evolving fast, which is exposed to a lot of technological upgrade and to also a need of the customer to adapt quickly. So we do expect commercial synergies to happen. The company is very well run. And so it's fairly lean as well. So we don't expect a lot of cost synergies. It's more really on the top line side.

The next question comes from Eric Lemarie from CIC CIB.

Yes. I've got 3 questions, if I may. So first one on the 2028 margin guidance of 8%. Could you tell us if you expect some convergence of the margin by segments between France, Germany and the other areas in Europe? So I'm not talking about GSI, but more about the segment. Second question on the governance. Could you tell us if Markus speak French? And could you tell us where he will be based, will he be based in Paris region or in Germany?

And I know you can't answer to that question, but I was surprised you didn't want to stay as Chairman. I don't know if you can tell us something about that. And the last question on GSI. It's still relatively small in terms of revenues and it's very profitable. And you just announced this acquisition in Australia. And I was wondering if you -- if SPIE plans to maybe accelerate on the M&A for this GSE segment in order to make it larger.

So regarding the margin guidance, well, we think every segment will continue to progress. We mentioned the strong catch-up last year of Central Europe. The year before, we had seen quite a good step-up of Belgium as well within the Northwestern segment. But we definitely see more and more potential in Germany, in the Netherlands, by far not the end of teaser, and the other segment will contribute as well. So it's really a global effort of the company. But clearly, when I look forward, I see Germany and Netherlands leading the pack. But again...

You mean you see Germany and Netherlands leading the pack in terms of million euro or in terms of margin? I mean, do you expect...

No, in terms of margin progress. In terms of margin, which, by the way, converts into million euro because Germany is the largest segment. So it will be the largest segment with the best margin. So you see it's a major contributor. It's the #1 contributor.

Of course, yes.

Regarding -- so talking of Markus, yes, it does speak French. It's probably -- we will further work on it, it's fair to say, but it does speak French and he will be based in Cergy at our headquarters. And regarding the -- Chairman, well, I think it's a very French thing to do to remain as a Chairman when you've been CEO. There are a number of countries where it is forbidden. I think it's for a good reason because you need the new CEO to take his full role.

And especially in my case because I've been there for so long, I think it would not be rendering him a service to be hovering around. So we worked very closely with Markus for 12 years. I think we know each other inside out. I think I know that he has all the qualities to fulfill the job, and it's better that I give him some breath. And the last thing, I've been very hands-on for all this years. So I'm not sure I would re-enjoy the nonexecutive stuff.

Regarding the GSE acquisition, it's -- I think it's a very good move. We are now reinforcing a presence in a good area for energy -- for energy transition. There's a lot to do in Austria in this regard. It's also skewed towards renewable energy, this acquisition. So it was a very good opportunity. We need to focus on integration, and will we see whether we see further opportunities going forward. But at the moment, one thing at a time, and it's far away, and we have a good setup down there since 2012, but this is a further step, and we really need to concentrate on the quality of acquisitions.

The next question comes from Laurent Gelebart from BNP.

Three questions on my side. The first one regards France. Do you expect organic growth in France to improve versus 2025? That's the first one. The second one is on ROFA, could you let us know when you are going to close the deal, i.e., for competition for the modeling? And can you explain a bit the business model, i.e., what is the share of recurring activity at ROFA? Is it bigger orders proportional sales compared to the other activity of SPIE or more or less similar? And what is the share of new builds versus basically maintenance stuff. And the last one regards AI. Do you believe that AI could cause pricing pressure or not at all for your activities?

So regarding organic growth in France, again, we don't give you an answer per segment, but I think I've mentioned the two headwinds we had last year. I think the fiber optic will remain a drag, but it will be different in the commercial business. So I don't see it worsening, that's for a start, and I don't expect that it will be improving compared to 2025. Regarding ROFA, the closing will be in...

Very likely towards the end of Q2. So you may fairly assume 6 months contribution for the year.

And regarding the activity, it is -- there is a share of upgrades and not too much maintenance, which is, by the way, a synergy we might really develop because their customers would like to take a part of the maintenance of the installation, but they do focus on installation of small or medium-sized projects and one of slightly larger. It's a very recurring customer base.

So there's a very solid customer base. And these customers tend to modify the installation on a regular basis with a rapid change in technology. So it is a very, very strong relationship with the customer in a series of discrete projects.

And on AI?

Regarding AI, well, it's hard to say. First of all, it does create opportunities, as we've mentioned in the past regarding the sheer amount of data, which is needed, which has to be stored, transported backup, et cetera. So we've seen increase of data centers and much more powerful data centers than in the past. And we're looking at data centers at 16,000 watts per square meter where 15 years ago, we're talking 2,000 to 3,000 watts per square meter. So it's a totally different kettle of fish.

Well, we use it also to create opportunities with our customers because we are now able to much better understand, describe the way the assets work. So we have a large number of initiatives in this regard. We have a few productivity issues as everybody, but it's not really something major with us, productivity gains. And whether it does create price pressure or not at all whatsoever, as we look at it now. It just creates business opportunities with helping our customers to better understand their assets.

There are no more questions at this time. So I hand the conference back to the speakers for any closing remarks.

Well, thank you very much for your attention. It's -- for me, it is the last of this financial results presentation. Obviously I'm -- I thank you for the interest you take in SPIE. And again, I can only repeat that it's a good time to be an electrical engineer. It has been, for me, a very good time to be an electrical engineer, and I'm sure that Markus will take the company to new heights.n I'm really confident about the future of SPIE. Thanks a lot.

Welcome to the SPIE 9 months conference call. [Operator Instructions].

Now I will hand the conference over to Gauthier Louette, Chairman and CEO; and Jérôme Vanhove, Group CFO. Please go ahead.

Good morning, everyone. Thank you for joining us today for our Q3 Conference Call. So we did record a solid performance over the first 9 months. It does illustrate the strength and agility of our model, across a well-balanced vertical and geographical footprint. We do fully confirm our outlook for 2025. And our long-term trajectory is supported by deep rooted structural demand in energy solution and digital transformation.

To begin, I would like to share a few recent contract examples that reflect this positive momentum. So talking about mission-critical services. This example pertains to a museum in Berlin. After more than 2 decades of providing technical facility management services for the German historical museum in Berlin. SPIE has been commissioned by the Institute for Federal Estate BimA, to continue for another 5 years.

A key requirement to ensure optimal indoor climate conditions across more than 23,000 square meters of exhibition space to preserve the museum's sensitive collections. This is a good resection of speed know-how in delivering reliable, sustainable subtilty management solution for complex and culturally significant buildings.

In France, SPIE has been awarded a national contract to provide temporary cryogenic sealing services across all the packing systems as the nuclear power plants. By underwriting circuit through freezing, this advanced technique eliminates the need for full plant shutdowns, and it does allow maintenance operations to proceed without interruption. This contract showcases SPIE's position as a trusted partner delivering innovative, safe and efficient solutions for the nuclear industry.

In the Netherlands, the acquisition of Votes and Donkers is strengthening SPIE's expertise in industrial cooling installation, treatment systems, heat pumps, industrial automation and the engineering of process equipment. This business, generating EUR 30 million in annual revenue and employee EUR 69 million enhanced SPIE's footprint in key growth sectors such as the food pharmaceutical industries, where energy efficiency and process variability are critical.

In Austria, SPIE has been awarded a contract by the Austrian highway operator Spefinox to supervise its motorway network of more than 2,200 kilometers through a centralized monitoring and control system. This new platform will enable efficient management of internal system, emergency core networks, traffic signs, lighting controls and monitoring equipment.

It integrates over 33,000 connected traffic units and approximately 6 million interacting data points, allowing the system to issue immediate warnings in case of an accident, and to instantly propose a diversion route, if necessary. This further highlights SPIE's strong expertise in intelligent transport infrastructure and large-scale digital integration.

And last example SPIE has been sector to carry out the termination and testing of internal cables for our offshore wind project located approximately 20 kilometers of the course of Thailand. Execution of this began in August 2025 with completion scheduled in 2026. Once operational, this project is expected to generate 1,000 gigawatt hours of renewable electricity annually. This is enough to power approximately 200,017 households and to reduce CO2 emissions by over 400,000 metric tons each year.

Again, this is a concrete demonstration of SPIE's offshore wind expertise and our commitment to contributing to the energy transition. Now moving to our key takeaways. Over the first 9 months, revenue has increased by 4.4%, including a solid 2.2% organic growth, with 5% in Germany and 6.5% in North Western Europe.

This reflects our strong fundamentals and sustained market demand. Our active bolt-on M&A contributed 3.6% revenue growth, it represents an additional EUR 255 million of revenue from 2025 acquisition and the carryover from 2024. We are firmly on track to meet our 2025 targets, which we fully confirm today.

Moving to our financial highlights on Page 10. I already mentioned the solid 9 months revenue growth to reach EUR 7.5 billion. Q3 2025 revenue was up 4.7%, including 1.8% organic growth. In high-voltage activities, underlying trends remain highly positive, supported by strong order intake and excellent backlog.

Following exceptional growth in H1, projects in Germany and Netherlands progressed as planned at a more measured pace. France was very resilient in the muted domestic macroeconomic backup. Central Europe confirms the anticipated positive inflection driven by the progressive conversion of the substantial high-voltage backlog into revenue.

Our bolt-on M&A strategy remain active, supported by a healthy pipeline of opportunities. We signed 5 acquisitions to date. It represents EUR 133 million in annual revenue across attractive markets in Poland, Switzerland, the Netherlands and Austria.

On Page 11. At constant exchange rates, revenue grew by 5.5% over the first 9 months, driven by 2 segments, Germany, which continued to deliver a very high growth of 11.8%, well balanced between organic growth at 5% and the contribution from acquisitions at 6.8%. And North Western Europe, which also performed strongly with revenue up 7%, driven by a 6.5% organic growth.

Meanwhile, France continued to demonstrate strong resilience with revenue down by only 0.6%. Central Europe grew by 9.6%, with acquisitions contributing 9.4%, as anticipated, organic growth returned to positive territory with a sharp acceleration in Q3, about 10%.

Global Services Energy decline reflected the exceptionally high comparison basis as H1 2024 benefited from a one-off shutdown maintenance operation in West Africa. Overall, this performance underscores the strength and balance of our multi-local multi-technical model.

Looking at segments and starting with Germany. Germany is our #1 revenue contributor. It continues to show a strong momentum with 11.8% revenue growth over the first 9 months. Underlying trends remain highly positive across the board.

After delivering exceptional growth in H1, high-voltage activities progressed at a more measured pace in Q3, in line with project scheduling. City networks and grid performance was well supported by overall sustained demand from the DSOs, while weigh down in Q3 by the uneven pace of fiber deployment. Tech FM and Building Solutions maintained strong momentum, as illustrated by the example provided in the introduction.

In a more challenging environment, Industry Services held up well, supported by recurring maintenance activities and energy projects, particularly in LNG and hydrogen. Finally, acquisition delivered a strong 6.8% uplift driven by the full year impact of 2024 transactions.

Moving to France on Page 13. In France, revenue was broadly stable over the first 9 months, demonstrating strong resilience against the subdued domestic macroeconomic environment. Softness remained contained to building solutions and to city networks due to the gradual wind down of mature fiber optic rollout programs.

Tech FM capitalized on its stream of recurring revenues and long-standing client relationships. Industry and ICS both confirm the resilience, thanks to diversified sector exposure, extensive technical capabilities and the mission-critical nature of their operations.

Nuclear Services delivered a solid performance over the first 9 months, supported by healthy maintenance activities. North Western Europe on Page 14. North Western Europe recorded a 7% revenue growth, driven by a strong 6.5% organic growth, the 0.5% perimeter effect reflects a positive 1.8% contribution from acquisition, partially offset by the disposal of Belgium subscale IT support activities.

The Netherlands delivered a strong performance despite a demanding comparison base in high voltage services and phasing effects in Q3. The backlog continued to build up, fueled by strong social demand. Other activities continue to benefit from our leadership position in energy efficiency, solutions, data center services and our exposure to high-growth sectors such as food, pharmaceutical, energy storage and advanced technologies.

In Belgium, high-voltage services remained a key growth driver with a step-up in grid investment and booming demand for battery energy storage systems. Building Solutions and Technical facility management also contributed meaningfully to the performance. In Central Europe, revenue rose by 10.5% over the first 9 months of 2025, fueled by the 9.4% contribution from bolt-on acquisition and reflecting the sustained M&A activity in Poland since the start of the year. Currency tailwind reflects the appreciation of the Polish zloty and the Swiss franc against the euro.

In Q3 2025, revenues surged by 30.4%, making a turning out with organic growth close to 10%. In particular, Poland and Slovakia confirms the anticipated positive inflection with a sharp organic growth acceleration driven by High Voltage activities. The substantial backlog is beginning to convert into revenue. Austria maintained a high level of activity, building on strong momentum in transport infrastructure and transmission and distribution services.

Global Services Energy maintained a selective approach to contract acquisition to ensure healthy margin levels across geographies. Over the first 9 months, revenue declined by 7.8%, including minus 4.6% organic growth. The minus 3.2% currency impact is mainly due to the working of the U.S. dollar across the euro. The organic trend reflects a particularly high comparison base in H1 2024, linked to an exceptional shutdown maintenance operation and nearly flat Q3 contribution.

Oil and gas maintenance activities were resilient in the currently low barrel price environment. Offshore win activities continued to gain traction following the successful integration of Korean Group. And then a word to our employee holding program. So again, this year, we launched our Share For You program during the third quarter of the year. It was a nice addition and it proved once again to be a great success.

Indeed, it was a record success around 25,000 employees participated including 6,000 first-time investors, 70 countries were involved. Upon completion, the estimated share of employee shareholders will account for around 8% of SPIE's capital. As you know, involving our employees in the SPIE entrepreneurial adventure is very important to us and is a key factor to our success.

The final results of this plan will be announced in December, and the Group plans to renew its anti-dilutive share back program early 2026.

And now I will hand over to Jerome, our CFO.

Thank you, Gauthier, and good morning, everyone. I'll start with our revenue bridge, which provides for a breakdown of our 5.4% total revenue growth over the first 9 months. As already pointed out, revenue reached EUR 7.5 billion with a solid 2.2% organic growth, driven mainly by Germany and North Western Europe.

External growth contributed 3.6%, representing EUR 255 million additional revenue. This was mainly attributable to the full year impact of the 2024 acquisitions, notably ROBUR, [indiscernible] and Otto in Germany. The bulk of the 2025 acquisitions contribution came from Elektromontaz n Poland and SD Fiber in Switzerland.

The disposal of our Belgian IT support activities at the end of 2024 had a limited minus 0.2% impact. Finally, currency effects were broadly neutral at group level, with a slight positive contribution from the appreciation of the Polish zloty and the Swiss franc against Europe, offset by a negative impact from the weakening of the U.S. dollar over the same period.

Moving to acquisitions. Our bolt-on M&A activity remained dynamic over the period, fully aligned with our strategy to reinforce leadership in attractive markets. Since January, we have announced 5 new acquisitions, representing about EUR 133 million of annual revenue. These deals further strengthen our position in Poland, Switzerland, the Netherlands and Austria.

In Q3, particularly, we announced 2 acquisitions, Votes and Donkers in the Netherlands completed in August, adds around EUR 30 million in revenue and in the domain of specialized industrial services. ECOexperts Automation in Austria is adding EUR 7 million revenue and expands our expertise in tunnel traffic engineering. The closing is expected later in Q4.

Meanwhile, the integration of all 2024 acquisitions is progressing smoothly. As we look ahead, our disciplined approach and healthy pipeline of bolt-on acquisition give us confidence in sustaining external growth momentum across a highly fragmented market.

And with this, I hand over back to Gauthier.

Thank you, Jerome. Based on these solid results, we confirm our full year outlook. We expect strong total growth pushing revenue well above the EUR 10 billion mark, including further organic growth and active bolt-on M&A. We expect a continued expansion of our EBITDA margin to at least 7.6%.

And by the way, the quality of this margin will be, as usual, reflected in our strong cash generation. Finally, as every year, we intend to maintain a dividend payout of around 40% of adjusted net income. So thank you for your attention this morning. In case you would have forgotten, let me repeat. It's a good time to be an electrical engineer.

And now with Jerome, we are now ready to take your questions.

[Operator Instructions]

The next question comes from Simona Sarli from BofA.

In your prepared remarks, you mentioned that high-voltage projects in Germany and Netherlands, they are progressing at a more measured pace. And that was also, by the way, Germany impacted by an even pace of fiber deployment.

So first question is, is this a temporary trend? And do you expect to pick up again in activity in Q4 and 2026? Or how should we think about it? Also, if you consider that there is talent scarcity for qualified technicians and engineers, I assume that currently, you are pricing above inflation, which potentially would imply negative volume progression. So can you elaborate and give an update on the competitive landscape, specifically for Germany, and Northwestern Europe and distinguish between high-voltage distribution and technical facility management.

Yes. Well, as you know, our high voltage project and be it transmission lines or substations that are fairly chunky. And so that's created some lumps in the revenue. And we have a decent timing of starting this project and then the comparison with the same quarter last year due to this timing impact, might vary. So it does create volatility in the top line. I think it's not the first time it does happen. But what's really important to keep in mind that this is altogether a growing business. And our backlog keeps expanding very significantly in this area. Be it in the Netherlands or in Germany or in Belgium or in Poland.

And as you have seen in Poland, we had some phasing effects in the second -- in the first half of the year. And then we have a positive inflow in the second half of the year. So it's not that the market is slowing down. I think it is just the impact on the revenue top line, with this volatility impact, but it is a very strong, very good market with expanding backlog and not only is the backlog expanding in revenue. It is also expanding in pricing, as you just mentioned. So we should remain extremely positive on these markets.

Fiber is -- it's other moving part, it's really linked with the somewhat haphazard decisions of the customers. There's more stop and go. We've seen that in the past in the Netherlands. We're seeing that today in Germany. So projects start is much more difficult to produce, when projects are going to start and what is the amount of investment customers decide to launch. But again, Germany is much less advanced than other European country in terms of optic fiber deployment. So it is a good market to be. If you look at the big picture. And again, on the finance of the government, there is a focus on accelerating the deployment of optic fiber.

Can I please just ask for a follow-up. Specifically for transmission and distribution. Can you remind us how much do they contribute in terms of revenues in Germany and Northwestern Europe and the growth trends in Q3 versus H1.

And secondly, how much of your transmission and distribution exposure is recurring versus new build? And if you noticed a significant slowdown in your build activity.

It's -- Germany, it's roughly transmission and distribution, it accounts for roughly 30% of our revenue and in Central Europe, it's probably above -- around 40%. It's -- we have 2 different things. In transmission, it is mainly new build or total revamping of existing lines. You have lines where you have to hire the pylons and replace the cabling. So at least you don't have to negotiate a new write-off way. But it's basically new bid on existing write-off way.

And on the transmission, it's -- on distribution, sorry, we have a framework agreement. So usually in existing networks, which need to be very significantly reshuffled and sometimes you also have to create additional substations.

And there was the point on differentiating a little bit the growth trends between the 2 segments. And if you have seen also a slowdown.

Over last year, clearly the -- what has started with the energy transition and energy vendor in Germany and what happened in Netherlands as well. It's -- lot of new projects have been built -- have been launched, sorry, and need to be built for transmission. And so for the line, it is for the substation. And then it has a an impact on the distribution because you need to connect the distribution network to this new front line, let's say. So the main impact on distribution is yet to come.

The next question comes from Aleksander Peterc from Bernstein.

I'd just like to understand whether we should see more of this high-voltage phasing effects that affect Q3 in Germany and in Northwestern Europe, is there going to persist for longer particularly against a very high basis of comparison in the year ago quarter in Q4, where you had Northwest Europe, which was up 12% last year.

So against that drop, should we expect more of a bit of a subdued growth rate in this area. And in a similar vein, Central and Eastern Europe bouncing back very strongly as those Slovakia and Poland contracts come on stream, should we extrapolate relatively strong growth for this geography over the next couple of quarters? Or is it just a one quarter high growth.

Well, I think we have to differentiate between phasing and comparable basis. So clearly, the Netherlands, yes, it is a very high comparison basis for the last quarter of the year. And then we have the fading effect we mentioned, for instance, in Poland that we had anticipated. And so we think as the whole high voltage activity will remain on the high level -- on a high level. It's -- and again, we have also a very high backlog to work at in the years to come. But again, the quarterly growth of this activity, it's more difficult to forecast.

Okay. And for Central and Eastern Europe, is it going to continue over the next couple of quarters?

Well, I think this year -- again, we have a good backlog to work at in Central Europe for high voltage. We have also other activities in Central Europe in which -- and we'll see how they behave in the quarters to come. But again, we do think at country levels that will -- why the comparison basis is very strong in the Netherlands, as you mentioned, we're talking double-digit growth over the same time in Q4 last year. We expect a more positive development in Germany for Q4 altogether.

The next question comes from Remi Grenu from Morgan Stanley.

Two questions on my side. The first one is on France. I mean, I not after a quantified guidance, but just wanted to have your view on qualitative thinking on the outlook for 2026. I mean if we put together like potentially the tough political environment continuing in the country, the municipal election happening in March and wondering what could be the impact on you guys, but then the potential for growth in nuclear, which might be a little bit better. So if you integrate all of these elements, I just wanted to have your view and mindset on outlook for France for next year. That would be the first question.

And then the second one is anything that you can tell us on early discussions or thinking around labor cost inflation going into 2026, I guess, probably tempering a bit, but equally, you are in dense markets where it's difficult to find labor. So you're thinking as well on labor cost inflation going into next year?

Yes. Well, obviously, we are working on our budgets for France for next year. And as you know, at speed, it is a bottom-up exercise and with a lot of conversation from all our project managers and site managers with our customers trying and see what are the intentions for next year. So this is an ongoing process. We are -- no, we are fairly confident in the fact that we should not see too much movement compared to where we are this year, right? It's -- again, our markets are very -- our activity is very resilient.

We are involved in a lot of maintenance. We have very diverse activities. There are areas in France, which are doing well like data center, you mentioned nuclear, which is in a good position. So altogether, not too worried about 2026 and especially not worried about our ability to maintain the margins. And so it's again, France has proven in the past to be extremely resilient, and we've been to a number of fluctuations and be it economical or political in France. So not worried at all.

And again, absolutely confident to maintain our margin level. So with regard to inflation, it is abating, I would say that January, we are back into normal territory as the usual range of between 1% and 2% inflation -- sorry, inflation depending on the countries. And so it's not really a cause for concern. And I think we have amply demonstrated in the past our ability to pass inflation to customers.

The next question comes from Eric Lemarie from CIC.

I've got 2, if I may. The first one on M&A. Do you expect a bit more contribution from M&A in 2026 in you offshore pipeline compared to 2025 contribution? And could you tell us maybe some words about the deal multiples today? Is there any changes. So in terms of the multiples. And the last point on M&A. I understand you are currently particularly focused on integration. Does it mean that you are less focused on looking for new targets?

And my second question is on competition. What about your views on competition intensity? Do you see any new players trying to enter your key markets trying to grab some market shares?

So maybe I'll start with the competition. It's -- no, it is not different from what we've seen so far changes here. And I think it is worth mentioning that we have seen over the last year a good improvement in terms of pricing disciplines amongst the major players. So that's really something that we don't see no loose canons anymore.

And that's very good for the market generally. With regard to integration, yes, we have quite a bit of hope for integration to be done. This is done by the operational teams in their respective areas. So it doesn't prevent us from sourcing and more acquisition, which is done by the M&A teams in the various countries and also centrally with the support of the regional managers.

But we wanted to mention that quite a number of acquisitions to integrate with high volume and to stress the fact that this is going well. And I think our teams are now well versed to integration processes, and we are very successful look at what we are doing right now. And maybe Jérôme, if you want to complement on the pipeline.

Yes, it stays definitely pretty rich, and we have all as Gauthier mentioned our M&A team across the various countries where we are active, pretty active and working on several opportunities. So likely a few more to come before year-end. And with respect to 2026, it's a bit early to say what could be the magnitude. I would just remind you that as part of our 2028 guidance.

Our aim is to deliver on average across that period of time, EUR 400 million to EUR 500 million of annual turnover being acquired. And please bearing in mind that talking about M&A and especially because we stay heavily selective, it's not necessarily something linearized month over month. Do remember that the year 2024 was an excellent milesima with more than EUR 450 million of annual turnover acquired and more than EUR 800 million of total contribution from M&A. And to that effect, it could move a bit from one year to another. No reason to believe that '26 will be a bad year in that respect on the contrary.

[Operator Instructions]

The next question comes from Rory McKenzie from UBS.

Rory here with 2 questions, please. Firstly, I'm sorry to come back on the project phasing topic, and I'm sorry for my French. But there's a certain sense of deja vu from Q3 last year, where organic growth also slowed with lots of mentions of project phasing. At that time, I think you said you had visibility on some of that work landing in October, and so you were a bit more explicit about expecting a stronger Q4. Can you say the same thing this year? Or is it just too hard for you to forecast at this stage?

And then secondly, a few other comments around your industry businesses sounded just a little bit weaker perhaps. Can you remind us of your exposure to different kind of end industries within that? And just maybe talk through the strategic positioning and what you're trying to do within what, of course, is a somewhat pressured European industrial base?

Thank you, Rory. So yes, I understand your deja vu feeling. And for instance, in Central Europe, we did mention project phasing. And as you see at some stage, it goes the other way. And so projects saving is definitely on the negative. We also have positive project phasing. Again, I'd like to say that what we look at for Q4 is France stabilizing, and we look at a more positive outlook for the Q4 in Germany, definitely. Less so in the Netherlands because of the very high comparison basis. I think it is more than 10%, maybe 11% comparison basis for North Western Europe or even 12% for Q3 last year. And so you see this creates a very tough comparable. And again, Central Europe, we have more positive outlook for the end of the year. So that's broadly what we are looking at right now.

And again, project phasing is project phasing for the reasons I mentioned, and lumpier projects, sometimes hesitant days of starting for various administrative reasons, et cetera. But the backlog in High Voltage keeps piling up, both in volume and in margin. So it's really -- we are in a very strong position in this regard. And it has never been stronger, and it bodes well for the future in the countries I mentioned, including Belgium, basically.

And now for end industries, it's an interesting question because obviously, we see a lot happening in the industry sector at the moment. We have areas like petrochemical industries, which are in a tough spot, clearly, with both the effect of higher energy prices and the strong competition of Chinese products, which are not sold in the U.S. for the moment, and we tend to flood the European market.

This is for petrochemical industry. For more specialized industry like pharmaceutical or fruit is going decently. And also it's worth mentioning that for these sectors and generally for the industry, there is strong focus on energy, so moving from gas to electricity and implementing energy saving processes. So it does have to maintain a very decent level of order intake and activity in this area.

The next question comes from David Cerdan from Kepler.

Could you please clarify what you expect for Q4? So basically, do we expect Q4 to be better than the 1.8% reported in Q3?

And second question is regarding France. Do you think that you will come back to something close to 0, maybe in Q4 or 2026?

Well, we're not giving this kind of precise guidance for organic growth per segment, I'm sorry about that. We do not do it because it's difficult to forecast. And there are so many moving parts, which I've just described, I'm afraid I cannot be more accurate today. Again, as is -- we will have resilience in France, I'm not worried. And we anticipate better profile in Q4 in Germany, and I will not repeat what I said towards Northwestern Europe.

Okay. And just for the margins. So you have not changed your objective of at least 7.6%. Do you think that you could do a little bit better than at least 7.6%?

Thank you for asking question about the margin, by the way, because it remains the main focus of SPIE. It is margin over volume. And and we want the margin to be reflected in cash generation. So this is the model. And we have given the guidance for the year, it is a guidance for the year. So I won't say more more today, but we are very confident in meeting the guidance.

The next question comes from Eric Lemarie from CIC.

Yes. I've got a follow-up one on margin. In terms of margin, you should be finally very close to your 2028 guidance of at least 7.7%. And you mentioned again this target in 2025 of at least 7.6%, so how should we see this? Is there a ceiling in terms of profitability? Or on contrary, could you lift your 2028 guidance in advance because you will probably reach this guidance in advance.

Well, we'll focus first, obviously, on delivering on 2025. Then we'll have a look at what our budget of '26 looks like. And then because, yes, we are very close to the '28 guidance. I think at some stage, we have to revisit a bit our trajectory going forward. We're not saying there's a ceiling.

We've been looking every year very hard on moving the margin upwards and then the impact also from acquisitions, which can be dilutive or which can be relative from the mix effect, et cetera. So we do not consider that the 7.7% are intangible and we'll revisit this strategy thoroughly. And once...

May I ask a follow-up one. On data center, could you tell us your exposure today in data center? And in terms of growth, what you got?

Well, our data center exposure as a big installation or maintenance. It's about 3% of our activity. And we have -- it's a market which is moving well. First, we do concentrate on renewing our maintenance contracts for data centers and to know they are a very demanding customer because internal data centers is mission-critical. So it's very important to have to satisfy the customer and absolute confidence in our ability to maintain the data center. So we're very successful in that.

So we renew these maintenance contracts. And then we have quite a number of data center projects happening in overall geographies for various reasons, including artificial intelligence, but not only. And we are a significant player in that project which has normally a good profile in terms of margin and cash generation.

There are no more questions at this time. So I hand the conference back to the speakers for any closing remarks.

Well, thank you very much for your attention today. Thank you for the interest you take in SPIE. We are going to work very hard on delivering on our guidance for the year. And we are in a very good market with very interesting long-term trends. So more than ever, it's a good time to be an electrical engineer. Thanks a lot. Have a good day.

Welcome to the SPIE 2025 Half Year Results Conference Call. [Operator Instructions]

Now I will hand the conference over to Gauthier Louette, Chairman and CEO; and Jérôme Vanhove, Group CFO. Please go ahead.

Yes. Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for joining us today for H1 results conference call. I'm joined by Jérôme Vanhove, our Group CFO. And I'm also very pleased to welcome Alexandra Bournazel, our new Head of Investor Relations.

Our first half results confirm the strength of our model, the relevance of our strategy and the quality of our execution. Energy transition and digital transformation are firmly anchored as lasting growth drivers across our markets, and it does allow us to confidently navigate the current geopolitical and macroeconomic uncertainties.

To begin, I would like to share a few recent contract examples that reflect this positive momentum. In Germany, SPIE is delivering the full technical installation for a new 16-megawatt data center in Schwalbach near Frankfurt. Some of the waste heat generated during operation will be recovered and sent directly into the municipality network, creating a highly efficient and sustainable energy cycle. This project also integrates a number of eco-friendly features such as rain water collection for outdoor irrigation, a vegitized facade and an on-site photovoltaic system. The project is designed to achieve a power user effectiveness below 1.2 with 100% system availability.

In the Netherlands, we installed 500-kilowatt hour modular battery system to support EV charging at Volvo's headquarters. This solution allows Volvo to store electricity from both solar panels and the grid during off-peak hours and release it when demand is high, effectively addressing grid congestion and ensuring a more reliable charging process. The project includes data collection and smart energy management to support the shift towards the fully gas-free and sustainable energy system and it is a step forward in Volvo's global ambition to reach net zero emissions by 2040.

In Poland, SPIE carried out the installation of mechanical and electrical systems in a large industrial complex near Lódz. The project features a unique heating and cooling system with 6 outdoor air source heat pumps, generating 3.6 megawatts of power. This project showcases SPIE ability to deliver demanding installation covering a large scope from industrial gas system to fully integrated building management system with effective collaboration of our specialized subsidiaries in Poland.

In France, SPIE Nucléaire signed a contract as part of the consortium to carry out ventilation system study for EPR2 reactors. The contract is part of the plan to build 6 new EPR2, some new generation reactors in France by 2050 to support the country's low-carbon energy strategy. And this contract illustrates SPIE's active contribution to this new program. It is a second contract for SPIE linked with new EPR generation.

Now moving to the key H1 highlights on Slide 6. Revenue increased by 5.8% with a solid 2.4% organic growth. EBITA margin stood at 6%, reflecting a new step-up of 40 basis points. Our structurally negative working capital improved over 12 months, highlighting our steadfast focus on financial discipline. As a result, leverage ratio decreased significantly compared to June last year with a historically low H1 seasonal releverage. Bolt-on and M&A activity remains sustained with EUR 96 million in annual revenue acquired, focusing on attractive markets. Finally, these H1 results strengthen our confidence to meet our 2025 targets. We even firm up our margin guidance to at least 7.6%.

Taking a closer look at the key figures for H1. Revenue amounted to EUR 4,979 million, up 5.8%. As I said, growth was well balanced between the 3.8% contribution from acquisition and a 2.4% organic growth. EBITA was EUR 301 million. That is another double-digit increase of 13.2% and also a new margin step-up of 40 basis points after the 50 basis points achieved in 2024. Our margin trajectory is extremely solid, and this is a core strength to our value creation model.

On the balance sheet side, as I mentioned, leverage was down by 0.5 turn over 12 months to 1.9x EBITDA at the end of June 2025.

And now focusing on revenue growth. At constant exchange rates, revenue grew by 5.9% in H1, driven by 2 segments: Germany, which once again delivered very high growth of 15%, well balanced between organic growth at 6.6% and the contribution from acquisition at 8.4%. North-Western Europe, which also performed strongly with revenue up 8.9%, driven by strong organic growth at 8.1%. Meanwhile, France continued to demonstrate good results, with revenue down only slightly by 0.8%. Central Europe grew by 0.9%, driven by a 5% contribution from acquisition, offsetting a minus 4.1% organic decline. Global Services Energy reflected normalization after an exceptional H1 2024, which has benefited from a one-off shutdown maintenance contract. Overall, this performance underscores the strength and balance of our multi-local, multi-technical model, which continues to deliver across the range of geography and market environment.

Moving to Slide -- to the margin page. We delivered another step-up of 40 basis points, reaching an outstanding 6% in H1 2025. All segments contributed positively, 40 basis points in Germany and as much as 100 basis points for North-Western Europe. Once again, this margin expansion reflects our unwavering focus on rigorous contract activity, pricing discipline and high-quality execution. It was also supported by a favorable mix effect from very strong growth in Transmission & Distribution Services and by the slightly accretive contribution from some acquisition completed in 2024.

So talking of acquisition. In H1, we signed 3 new acquisitions. LTEC in Poland, adding EUR 19 million in annual revenue, strengthening our capabilities in building automation and management systems. SD Fiber in Switzerland, adding EUR 70 million revenue in the fast-growing fiber optic services market. Rovitech in the Netherlands, EUR 7 million revenue, complementing our data center offering in the country. And meanwhile, the integration of all 2024 acquisitions is progressing well and fully in line with our plans. Looking ahead, we maintain a robust pipeline of bolt-on acquisition opportunities, providing good visibility on sustained external growth momentum in a highly fragmented market.

Turning to the segment and starting with Germany. With a 15% revenue growth in H1, Germany is now our #1 revenue contributor. High Voltage recorded very high growth, supported by exceptionally favorable project phasing in H1. Technical Facility Management delivered a solid performance with energy efficiency, extremely established as a lasting growth driver. In Building Solutions, the example I shared earlier does illustrate our strong position in data centers, while our Transport Infrastructure business is also a strength. In Industry Services, performance was solid as well, driven by our sector-specific positioning, focused notably on pharmaceutical, wind and LNG projects. EBITA margin increased by 40 basis points to 5.6%. This improvement reflects a favorable mix effect from the strong growth in High Voltage, the accretive impact of acquisition completed in 2024 as well as relentless focus on operational excellence and contract selectivity.

In France, revenue was broadly stable in H1, demonstrating strong resilience in a subdued local macroeconomic context. Only 2 divisions saw a decline in H1. City Networks with the ongoing ramp-down of mature fiber optic roll-out activities. Building Solutions, where we kept a high level of selectivity and secured a solid backlog of quality projects. Tech FM continued to benefit from a solid recurring revenue and long-standing relationship with high-quality clients. Industry and ICS both confirms their resilience, thanks to diversified sector exposure and the mission-critical nature of the services they provide. Lastly, Nuclear Services posted a solid performance, supported by strong execution of the maintenance programs. EBITA margin improved by 10 basis points, which clearly demonstrates our lean and flexible our cost structure is.

Moving to North-Western Europe. We delivered an outstanding performance, both in terms of revenue growth and EBITA margin improvement. Organic revenue growth was very strong at 8.1%. EBITDA margin increased sharply by 100 basis points, the highest gain across all segments to reach 6.9%.

The Netherlands indeed delivered an excellent performance, confirming strong positioning in key markets such as High Voltage, Energy Efficiency for buildings or data center services. In Belgium, High Voltage services are emerging as a key growth driver, supported by a step-up in grid investments from the national TSO and booming demand for battery energy storage systems. Building Solutions and Technical Facility Management also contributed meaningfully to the performance.

In Central Europe, revenue grew by 1.6%, entirely driven by a 5% contribution from acquisitions, mainly in Poland. Organic growth was minus 4.1%, but is expected to turn positive in the second half, supported by a high backlog. In Poland, revenue was impacted by delay in project execution High Voltage. That said, the outlook for this activity remains very positive, driven by high energy transition investments. Austria sustained a high level of activity, supported by strong momentum in transport infrastructure as well as in Transmission and Distribution services. Overall, the EBITA margin increased by 30 basis points in H1, reflecting the continued focus on operational excellence and a strong contribution from Austria.

And lastly, Global Services Energy's revenue declined by 8.2% due to an exceptionally high comparison basis in H1 2024, which have benefited from a one-off shutdown maintenance projects offshore Nigeria. Business trends were solid in oil & gas maintenance activities. In offshore wind energy, commercial momentum is positive as we are leveraging our expertise and technical capabilities following the integration of Correll Group. EBIT margin increased by 20 basis points to 8.6% in H1 2025.

And I will now hand over to Jérôme, who will comment the financial results.

Thank you, Gauthier, and good morning, everyone. Starting with a quick overview of our first half financial performance. We delivered revenue of EUR 4.979 billion, up 5.8%. This performance reflects a healthy level of organic growth, notably in Germany and North-Western Europe and proven resilience in France. External growth accounted for 3.8%, mainly including the contribution from the 2024 acquisitions. EBITA reached EUR 301 million, increasing sharply by 13.2%, underpinned by a 40 basis point margin step up to 6%. The negative net income for this first half of the year due to the impact of our online convertible bond that I will comment later on. I would finally highlight our adjusted net income at EUR 167 million, up 5.7%.

Moving to our revenue bridge, which provides for a breakdown of our 5.8% revenue increase. As already pointed out, solid organic growth at plus 2.4%. The M&A contribution from the 2024 acquisitions as well as the ones consolidated for the first time in H1 2025, supporting our revenue growth by plus 3.8%. The limited impact from the disposal at the end of last year of a small Belgian IT support business, which accounts for minus 0.3%. Currency effects were close to neutral over the period.

Let me now comment on our adjusted net income for the first semester at EUR 166.6 million, adjusted net income was up 5.7% year-on-year, supported by the strong increase in EBITA. The progression was, however, partly held back by an unfavorable FX gain and loss balance during the period, and this at the level of global service energy that was especially due to the evolution of the U.S. dollar euro parity. Our normative tax rate is kept identical to the one we retained for the full year of 2024 at 29.2%. So solid results overall despite exceptional FX-related impacts.

Turning now to our reported net income, which was exceptionally and quite significantly impacted this semester by the noncash accounting loss due to the IFRS treatment of our ORNANE convertible bond. Given the sharp increase in our share price over the period, we recorded in our P&L, a negative fair value adjustment of the -- for the ORNANE of around EUR 160 million. This was mitigated by a EUR 41.9 million deferred tax assets. As a result, our reported net income stood at minus EUR 13.4 million for this first semester. By the way, let me remind you that this ORNANE accounting treatment is particularly of the IFRS, obviously, not considered under U.S. GAAP. Without this ORNANE accounting effect, our reported net income would have amounted to a positive EUR 107 million compared with EUR 57 million last year.

Given the significance of this accounting impact, let's delve a bit on this topic. And before we get more technical, 2 major principles you need to have in mind on convertible bonds. One, when it is out of the money, meaning share price is lower than conversion price, the issuer, in our case, SPIE remains liable for the nominal amount of the instrument. As soon as it is in the money, the value of the convertible bond in our balance sheet does increase and this proportionally to the share price. To be more specific, the derivative component of the ORNANE is revalued at fair value at each closing based on SPIE's share price. SPIE's share price rose sharply from EUR 30 at the end of December '24 to EUR 47.7 at the end of June 2025, thus significantly surpassing the EUR 32.43 of the conversion price set for this ORNANE convertible bond and thus leading to a significant increase in the fair value of the derivative instruments, recognized as a liability in our consolidated balance sheet. I remind you once again that this is strictly noncash IFRS accounting entry, remaining noncash at redemption and this at the end of the issuer. In other words, at our hand. As already disclosed at the time of the issuance of this ORNANE, the potential dilution at redemption, assuming mixed redemption in cash and in shares, would be very limited. If we retain 145% premium to the conversion price, meaning the share price of circa EUR 47, the one-off dilution would be limited to 2.3%.

Turning to working capital, which remains a structural strength of SPIE's business model. As you know, we consistently operate with structurally negative working capital throughout the year. Compared to last year, we further improved in higher working capital performance with a 10-day reduction from minus 17 days at the end of June 2024 to minus 27 days at the end of June '25. This improvement was observed in all working capital items, of which a very effective work in progress management, which evidences a strong invoicing discipline and cash collection overall.

Moving on to free cash flow. The starting point is obviously our growing EBITA by more than 13%. As mentioned, our strong working capital performance translated to a limited cash outflow of EUR 277 million, a significant improvement compared to the first semester of last year. As a result, operating cash flow turned even positive for the first time in H1 and this considering the usual cash flow seasonal pattern of the group. Free cash flow improved accordingly to minus EUR 109 million, to be compared with minus EUR 211 million in the prior year. In line with our commitment to optimizing value to shareholders, we also executed a EUR 39 million anti-dilutive share buyback program in the first quarter at an average price per share of circa EUR 31. Overall, our net debt increased over the first half by EUR 347 million.

With our leverage ratio -- moving to the deleveraging page, with our leverage ratio down to 1.9x at June end compared to 2.4x a year ago, we further evidenced the deleveraging power of our cash-generative model. It also marks an exceptionally low H1 seasonal releveraging, only 0.3x compared to December end.

Lastly, to conclude my part, a word on our financing structure. In May, we successfully refinanced our 2026 bond with the issuance of a new 5 years, EUR 600 million sustainability-linked bond. It was largely oversubscribed. It carries a fixed coupon of 3.75%, implying a spread below 150 bps, which, by the way, rather belongs to investment-grade issuer category. SPIE's entire debt profile with this new bond is now fully sustainability-linked in line with our midterm ESG targets. 81% of our gross debt is now at fixed rate with a weighted average cost of such debt at 3.4% over the first semester. High liquidity level ensured all along the year with at June end, EUR 1.3 billion, including EUR 295 million in net cash and EUR 1 billion of undrawn credit lines. Our shareholder returns continue to improve, starting with the inaugural EUR 39 million share buyback program as well as the successive dividend payments of EUR 0.75 and EUR 0.30, corresponding to the -- for the first part, the final 2024 dividend payment and to the 2025 interim dividend, respectively.

Thank you for your attention. I now hand over to Gauthier.

Thank you, Jérôme. Based on these H1 results, we confirm our full year outlook, and we even firm up our margin guidance. So we expect strong total growth, pushing revenue well above the EUR 10 billion mark, supported by further organic growth and active bolt-on M&A. We now expect an EBITA margin of at least 7.6%. And as every year, we intend to maintain a dividend payout of around 40% of adjusted net income.

Thank you very much for your attention this morning. And in case you would have forgotten, let me repeat it once more. It is a very good time to be a European electrical engineer.

And with Jérôme, we are now ready to take your questions.

[Operator Instructions] Next question comes from Aleksander Peterc from Bernstein.

I just have 3. The first 1 is on your guidance for 2028 that you issued at the CMD. So the 7.7% margin, I think, if I recall correctly. Is that now going to be achieved early because you need only a very small progress versus what you're going to achieve this year to get to that target? So is that already achievable in 2026?

Second question and third question, just very briefly on geographies. Can France improve to year-on-year growth for the year with a stronger second half as the difficult comps wash out? And then Central Europe, again, we had a similar decline there as in Q1. Will that also reverse into stronger growth? And can we end the year in positive territory for Central Europe?

Yes. Thank you. Regarding the guidance for the margin, we mentioned at least 7.7% in 2028. But we have made good progress so far, and we confirm we're going to make good progress for the year. So let's deliver on our guidance for 2025 first and then we'll take it from here.

Regarding organic growth in France. Well, it's -- we -- the visibility is not outstanding at the moment. We might improve during H2, but it's not something I would guarantee today. We are reasonably confident for the second half of the year, but we've seen quite significant fluctuation in France. Let's -- the mood is not overenthusiastic at the moment in the business world. Let me stress again that the decline on H1 was solely on the back of our optic fiber business within the City Networks division where we continue to decrease at a slower pace. And then on commercialization, where we have deliberate selectivity on the market where barriers to entry are always a bit lower. We also might benefit from an easier comparison basis for H2 in France.

And whereas -- and for Central Europe, well, again, we have a number of High Voltage projects in Poland, usually, we are also responsible for getting the authorization before starting work. And this might prove sometimes a bit difficult to forecast in terms of completion of this task, and this is why we -- it does create fluctuation. The backlog in High Voltage is good in Poland, and we see a constant flow of new core for tenders coming up. So we are confident in that. And altogether, the Building Station business in Central Europe, I mean, it's also a bit under pressure right now. Cutting a long story short, also on the back of very good activity in Austria, we think that we will have a positive H2 in Central Europe.

Next question comes from Remi Grenu from Morgan Stanley.

Three questions, if I may. So the first 1 would be on Germany. So interested in having an update on the potential acceleration of investments from public authorities, if you have been getting any more clarity on the timing and the potential magnitude in the end markets where you think you could benefit from these. So any update versus when we discussed that last at Q1? The second part of the question would be on the overall sentiment of your customer in the private sector in that country as well, if you feel like there is potential to accelerate further from the already quite good organic growth that you're generating in that country. So that first part on Germany.

The second is still on that same country. I think that there is a sentence where you're calling a very positive phasing of High Voltage contract responsible for the good organic growth in H1. Any risk that this could reverse in the second half, and we see slower organic growth? So just some clarification on that.

And then the last question, probably for Jérôme on working cap improvement. Can you elaborate a little bit on the drivers of that, if there was any one-off or particularly strong cash collection at the end of H1, which could imply a little bit of reversion? Or do you believe that the improvement you've delivered is something that is structural and we are going to continue to see over the next few semesters?

Yes. Thank you, Remi. With regard to investment programs in Germany, as you know, the budget is currently under discussion in Germany. It will be approved to the second -- I mean, towards the end of the year. And this budget reflects the program announced by [indiscernible] . So clearly, there is stronger push towards infrastructure investment towards defense as well. So very much in line with which have been announced back in March. So it does confirm this trends, which are favorable. Does it translate immediately in orders for SPIE? Obviously no, it will take some time. It does create a more positive sentiment for our customers in Germany. That's why, for instance, in technical facilities, we see good trends right now and as well as in the industry.

With regard to High Voltage phasing, I think it is important that you mentioned it and that we keep it in mind. Yes, we had a very, very positive, I want to say, very positive. I'm talking double-digit growth in High Voltage in the first half of the year. We don't anticipate to have this kind of very strong growth in the second half. Clearly, these projects are fairly bulky, and you are talking sometimes EUR 40 million, EUR 50 million project. As I mentioned several times, it is with 4 customers. So it is the same contract, the same technology, the same teams. So it is very safe and good pricing. So it is very safe in terms of margin execution and margin delivery, but it does create volatility. And from 1 quarter to the other, depending on when we started the year before, depending on if 1 project is delayed for last minute planning permission hiccups, et cetera, it does create volatility. So we had a very, very strong H1. We don't anticipate this to last for the whole year.

With respect to your question on working capital. Very clearly, no one-off considered in this first half and especially at the end of June. It's basically an improvement across, as I said, all the working capital items constituting it. Basically, what we observed is a very clear improvement in our ability to invoice, so very strong discipline in that respect. Thus, leading to an optimization of the [ WIP ] inside the working cap. I think that trend will sustain an obvious reduction in the working capital swing entire, not necessarily at this stage in favor of an over achievement towards the end of the year. So it's much more the curve entire, which is flattering a bit. We're obviously putting us very confident to achieve once more our 100% cash conversion target for the whole of the year.

Next question comes from Christophe Chaput from ODDO.

Yes, I've got 3 questions as well. The first 1 is a quick follow-up on Central Europe and Poland. You stated a negative impact from the delay execution in High Voltage. Could you give us a rough idea of the impact in million euro? And are you going to catch up in Q3 or Q4? Just seems to say that -- you say that H2 will be positive, but just what kind of magnitude.

The second 1 is, could you come back on the margin improvement in H1. I'd like to know if you can share with us the impact of the accretive acquisition on the plus 40 bps. I mean, I calculate it plus 15, but just to have your view and also the impact of the mix effect on the Transmission and Distribution.

And the last 1 is on the full year. I totally understand, let's say that you are cautious in France on top line. But would you say as well or nevertheless, that the margin in France for the full year will be at least flat, considering that you see an improvement by 10 bps in H1?

Thank you, Christophe. Regarding High Voltage impact in Central Europe. I'm afraid that I cannot disclose the amount. Again, the trends are favorable, there are fluctuations. It is really part of life in Central Europe, also linked to the nature of the contract, as I mentioned.

Regarding margin improvement, we're talking about 10 basis bps for or slightly less than that for the first half of the year for acquisitions. And we expect it to be in the range for the whole year, maybe kicking up slightly with some of the acquisitions where revenue will be stronger in the second half. Impact of mix effect, but difficult to quantify per se. But obviously, as I mentioned, High Voltage bid in Germany or in Netherlands or even in Belgium, these are accretive to the margin. And -- but again, we have a lot of moving parts. We have all our countries progressing in Belgium, it's not only the Energy. We're also progressing well in the Industry. In the Netherlands, we have a very smooth progress for Building Solutions. So I think everybody is playing a role and the mix effect is one of the moving parts. But altogether, I'm really satisfied with the quality of execution and also the discipline on pricing. We still enjoy good pricing power. And I was mentioning in the past that inflation was more a drag and towards our margin improvement. With this inflation, I think it shows that the margin improvement is linked with the quality of execution from bidding to delivering the projects.

The full year margin in France, I'm not worried. I think we're able to maintain the progress achieved in H1. Again, a very disciplined team, very seasoned. We have a flexible cost base, and so we're able to adapt rapidly to fluctuations. And we always kept the business lean. So we are as I've mentioned several times, we don't mind to play defense. It's something SPIE is very good at. So no worry at all about the margin in France for the full year.

Next question comes from Rory McKenzie from UBS.

It's Rory here from UBS. I've got 2 questions, please. Firstly, can you talk about in France? You referenced the strong sectors within Building Solutions that are holding up quite well, data centers and defense. What are the markets that are weakest in France at the moment? And could you give us a sense of the relative exposure to those sectors? And also, are you putting staff out permanently and redeploying them within that market?

And then secondly, I wanted to ask about pricing power generally. You usually referenced it's still strong, but wage inflation indicators are cooling across many markets. So could you speak specifically about the shortages of electrical engineers that you're facing or the market is facing. And obviously, given that you keep saying it's such a good time to be an electrical engineer, do you think people are being attracted into the market at all at the moment?

That's a very good point, Rory. Thank you for that. It's a very good time to be an electrical engineer. And we deploy a lot of efforts to help people discover the world of electrical engineering. And so we do try to bring people from adjacent markets, adjacent skills to our business and not unsuccessfully. We managed to train people from other areas. And it's something we does help a lot. We also work a lot on the retention. And I always mentioned the very helpful factor of shareholding plans, we do create a strong bond to the company. In fact, we perform on a regular basis satisfaction surveys of our employer, our employees. We have this Great Place to Work certifications, which are increasingly deployed over the business. So it's -- we're working a lot on that and also on competition. So our own employees recommending hiring of people they know, which is a good way to have a mutual understanding of the business.

In -- apart from electrical engineers, which are still short supply. It's fair to say that in other areas such as administrative jobs, et cetera, the tension has eased a bit. So it is easier to recruit these qualifications, and then we have more time to focus on the technicians.

Regarding market, I think the -- what's weakest in France at the moment is commercialization. It accounts for EUR 0.5 billion of our revenue roughly, which by the way, margins, which are slightly dilutive compared to the average in France. And we do focus on technical installations, technical buildings. Obviously, the run of the mill office block, the run of the mill school or college, it's fairly out of bonds for us at the moment. There are lower barriers to entry and also people moving from the housing sector, which is very subdued at the moment, they try to address this kind of projects. And so that's not what we are focusing at all. But we have nice wins in data centers. We have nice wins in some industrial buildings. And we have also number of carefully selected projects for the health care sector, and that's why how we managed to maintain a decent level of production. But this is clearly the area which is mostly thoughtful at the moment.

Great. And do let us know if you have come up with a program to train research analysts to engineers.

Our next question comes from the line of David Cerdan at Kepler Cheuvreux.

Yes. Good morning. This is David Cerdan from Kepler. I have 2 questions. The first 1 is regarding your backlog or order book. Can you give us the trends regarding order book and backlog per region? And my second question is related to Germany and the EMEA stimulus. Do you think that there is a constraint from the human factor? So in other words, do you think that the stimulus is also constrained by the lack of skilled people to -- for the construction and for the electricity part of the building?

Well, obviously, we do not disclose backlog by region. I'd say let me mention that at SPIE's level, the backlog is very healthy. And obviously, we have a few fluctuations by country, by sector. But altogether, we see a trend which may very reasonable with positive organic evolution of our order intake.

Regarding the margin stimulus, I think it is a fair point, but it's not only pertaining to our own resources. It also pertains to the resources at customers and because they need to plan for new projects and they need to organize the funding and issue the call for tenders, et cetera and we see also limitations at that end. And it's often the case that our customers ask us to second people to them to help on the engineering phase. It is also the case that they tend to do less engineering at the end and tell us with the contracts where we are going to do more basis or even sometimes the process engineering. So it also creates opportunities for us. But you are right, you have to see the whole picture, which is it's not only printing the money. It is also creating all the technical documents before you are able to launch a project. However, it -- this is fairly well recognized in Germany right now. And I think people are really looking for reinforcement for the solution also coming from outside of Germany to have them support this investment plan.

I have the last question regarding your exposure to the defense sector, are you exposed to these kind of clients?

Well, at group's level, not surprisingly, our exposure to defense is a bit under 2% of our turnover, which is fairly in line with the GDP spend for -- with the proportion of GDP spend for defense across Europe. And again, not surprisingly, the lion's share is in France, where we work a lot for all branches of the Army, and we do maintenance of nuclear submarines. We do maintenance on air base. We work on logistics centers of the army, et cetera, but we also do maintenance of [ barracks ] or data center for the Dutch Amy. And last year, we gained a contract for overall of naval base in Northern Germany. So it is -- and that's for the defense ministries, but we also work for the industrial companies in defense, and we do maintenance for Dassault plants in France. We work for Thales, for Airbus. We maintain the helicopter factory in close to [ Marcela ]. Yes, we have good exposure and a good knowledge of the processes. In Poland, we are also qualified as a special qualification to work for the Polish Army, which we own. And we have all the processes in place for those contracts we need to have a special qualification like [indiscernible] in France and equivalent certification in other countries.

[Operator Instructions] Next question comes from Laurent Gelebart from BNP Exane.

So I have 2 questions. The first 1 relates to your pipeline of bolt-on ahead. So could we expect acceleration in terms of M&A into H2?

And the second 1 is a technical one on the [indiscernible] for Jérôme. So could you confirm that when you will repay your bond, you would repay it in cash to EUR 400 million?

So regarding M&A, we are constantly working on the strong pipeline. And clearly, we have a number of deals cooking right now. So let's hope that they come to fruition in various geographies. So yes, we expect further sustained M&A activity for the second half of the year as usual.

Regarding the ORNANE, Laurent, the specificity of the ORNANE type of convertible bonds, especially to provide for the issuer the optionality to redeem in cash and/or in shares. I do confirm that the base case at SPIE so far, it's definitely to redeem in cash. The principal amount, so EUR 400 million and to consider issuance of new shares for the complementary part thus the very limited dilution that we have already articulated, 2.3%, for instance, if we retain a share price at EUR 47 at the time of redemption and then you can make a linear extrapolation starting from there.

And we will have a follow-up question from the line of Remi Grenu at Morgan Stanley.

Yes, it's me again. Just 1 follow-up question, which relates to what David was discussing on the backlog. I guess one of the key reasons for margin acceleration has been an evolution in the mix over the last few quarters. So can you give us a little bit insight from what you're seeing in that backlog momentum of activity. Do you think that the pace of margin improvement you're getting from that evolution is mixed something that can be sustained over the midterm? Or have we seen over the last few quarters, there is a bit of an exceptional situation where it was firing on all cylinders within activities where the margin is supportive and a little bit subdued activity in lower margin part of the business. So I just want to have your view on whether that improvement in margin coming from mix is you think, sustainable?

Well, obviously, the pace of increase over recently were 50 basis points last year and the 40 basis points this year, at least. So obviously, it's a strong pace. So we cannot guarantee we're going to increase 50 basis points every year. That's -- however, we think we're not at the end of [indiscernible] . We're quite able to further progress. There is a mix effect you have mentioned is the contribution from acquisition, and I think it will be a bit stronger in the second half of the year compared to the first one. And the constant focus everywhere. In the market was the demand in a number of sectors remain strong. And the customers are aware of the scarcity of good resources of well-trained people. So I'm confident going forward that we're able to maintain further margin increase, but I would not commit to this kind of step-up every year, obviously.

And we now have a follow-up question from David Cerdan at Kepler Cheuvreux.

Yes. A follow-up question regarding your M&A. Do you have the plan to open some new geographies, new countries in Europe?

It is not a plan right now, but we do not rule it out for the future. Again, we still have a lot to do in our existing geographies. And I keep mentioning how Germany is important to us that we still have -- we are #2 in Germany with a market share of roughly 4%. That is a very good country to be in, and it's going to get even better by the look of it. So it's clearly our priority going forward. We have also countries like Poland, where there's quite a bit to do. Poland, it's 80% of the GDP of the Netherlands as an example. And these are countries where the indebtedness is reasonable. It's roughly in the range of 50% of the GDP, give or take. It's the same for the Netherlands as well, by the way. So we can expect a good pattern of the economy going forward. And I think it is worth reinforcing our position in these countries. Having said that, we do not rule out at some stage to expand our geographical footprint. There are no concrete plans as we speak.

There are no more questions at this time. So I hand the conference back to the speakers for any closing remarks.

Thank you very much for your attendance today. Thank you for the interest you take in SPIE, and you can rest assured that we are going to work very hard on delivering on our promises. And do not forget, it's a good time to be an electrical engineer. Thanks a lot. Have a good day.