0QNM Adecco Group Ag

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Final Results 
 
GROW TOGETHER AND IMPROVED BUSINESS MIX DRIVE MARGIN STRENGTH 
 
Economic outlook remains uncertain and continues to impact revenues 
 
Q4 2019 summary and highlights 
 
 · 
 
    Revenues down 3% year-on-year, and down 4% organically1 and trading days 
    adjusted (TDA) 
 
 · 
 
    Further gross margin improvement, up 20 bps yoy to 19.3%, driven by positive 
    business mix and value-based pricing 
 
 · 
 
    EBITA2 margin excluding one-offs3 4.9%, up 10 bps yoy; GrowTogether 
    productivity improvements and business mix more than offset the impact of 
    lower revenues and discrete benefits in the prior year 
 
 · 
 
    Strong cash flow with DSO improving by one day year-on-year and cash 
    conversion at 93% 
 
 · 
 
    Revenues in January 2020 down 5% TDA year-on-year, with volumes in February 
    indicating a similar trend 
 
FY 2019 summary and highlights 
 
 · 
 
    Revenues down 2% year-on-year, and down 3% yoy organically and TDA, as 
    economic growth and staffing markets slowed in Europe and North America 
 
 · 
 
    EBITA margin excluding one-offs 4.6%, up 10 bps yoy, with GrowTogether 
    driving structural margin improvement 
 
 · 
 
    Net income attributable to Adecco Group shareholders EUR 727 million, up 59% 
    year-on-year 
 
 · 
 
    EUR 600 million share buyback announced in addition to proposed dividend of 
    CHF 2.50 per share 
 
 · 
 
    GrowTogether delivered EUR 140 million productivity savings, ahead of target, 
     with improved Net Promoter Score; General Assembly and digital ventures 
    achieved strong growth and synergies within the Adecco Group ecosystem 
 
"The Group concluded 2019 with strong performance against a backdrop of ongoing 
economic uncertainty and market slowdown. Despite the challenging conditions 
that impacted revenues, we did not compromise long-term investments and remained 
focused on delivering our 'Perform, Transform, Innovate' strategy to position 
the business for profitable growth. The results of our GrowTogether programme, 
pricing actions and strengthened business mix drove a structural improvement in 
profitability, with Q4 gross margin up 20 bps year-on-year, the sixth 
consecutive quarterly increase. 
 
In 2019, GrowTogether was further embedded into the organisation, over-achieving 
against its productivity commitment and supporting a 10 bps improvement in EBITA 
margin. This profitability improvement was delivered while we continued to 
invest in new technology, building our digital product portfolio, and 
strengthening the ventures in line with our innovation strategy. Strong growth 
was achieved at General Assembly, and we gained further customer traction with 
our unique 360 ecosystem of HR solutions and brands. These results demonstrate 
that our strategic priorities are the right ones, and we are successfully 
executing against them. We also generated improved free cash flow and ended the 
year with a strong balance sheet, allowing us to announce a share buyback of EUR 
600 million, in addition to the ordinary dividend, for a total cash return to 
shareholders of close to EUR 1 billion for 2019. 
 
2020 will mark the final year of our current strategic cycle and focus remains 
on delivering further margin improvement and profitable growth. Through 
GrowTogether we are deploying and scaling proven digital tools, including our 
integrated front-office solution and global candidate app, to differentiate our 
business and make our operations more efficient. We are also fully embedding 
lean processes (PERFORM) into how we work. We remain committed to achieving the 
EUR 250 million GrowTogether productivity target for 2020, and to leveraging our 
360 HR solutions ecosystem to support the success of our clients and candidates, 
and to deliver profitable growth." 
 
Alain Dehaze, Group Chief Executive Officer 
 
1Organic growth is a non-US GAAP measure and excludes the impact of currency, 
acquisitions and divestitures. 
 
2EBITA is a non-US GAAP measure and refers to operating income before 
amortisation and impairment of goodwill and intangible assets. 
 
3In 2019, EBITA included one-offs of EUR 36 million in Q4 2019 and EUR 81 
million in FY 2019; in 2018, EBITA included one-offs of EUR 59 million in Q4 
2018 and EUR 93 million in FY 2018. 
 
Note to Editors 
 
Additional information is provided under the following links: 
 
 · The Adecco Group Company Profile 
 · The Adecco Group ??" our brands video 
 
Press Release (PDF) 
 
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February 26, 2020 01:00 ET (06:00 GMT)

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