Q1 2022 Sopra Steria Group SA Corporate Sales Call Transcript

The following is excerpted from the question-and-answer section of the transcript.

Question: Nicolas David - ODDO BHF Corporate & Markets, Research Division - Analyst : Two questions. So the first is on recruitment and growth in headcount. Obviously, well done for Q1 and for your recruitment because we're seeing that net recruitment is at the highest level since the end of 2019. And obviously, what is your attitude with regards to overall recruitment for the full year? Is the idea to carry on at this pace? Or are you going to slow things down because you're actually ahead? And then we look at the increase in your headcount. If we include subcontractors, we can see that the growth is accelerating at the end of Q1, so above 5% when you're at 3% last year. So does this mean that for Q2, obviously, these positive [trends], are we going to see a growth in activity given this growth in headcount? And then my second question is in the public sector in France. So I think defense went well. But outside of defense, did you see sort of a wait-and-see attitude given the elections context or perhaps the McKinsey affair? Are you seeing a wait-and-see attitude, people waiting for the end of elections to -- and then this might relax and things will get going again in this domain in the coming quarters?

Question: Nicolas David - ODDO BHF Corporate & Markets, Research Division - Analyst : Very clear. Perhaps on recruitment, just a follow-up. Obviously, you mentioned offshore. Is this something -- does this apply to IT services outside of SBS? Obviously, we know what SBS' plan is in India, but this is also applied to IT services. And if yes, could we qualify -- is this something that's qualified as a long-term trend? Or have we seen a change in IT services? Are customers adopting offshore in your geographies?

Question: Gregory K. Ramirez - Bryan Garnier & Co Ltd, Research Division - Analyst : I have a question on Germany because, obviously, this is a company -- a country that hasn't been mentioned. Where does growth stand outside of Sparda? I imagine that the Sparda contract is contracting in accordance with the plan during the transition phase?

Question: Gregory K. Ramirez - Bryan Garnier & Co Ltd, Research Division - Analyst : Obviously, with -- growth is quite weak here. Other things that need to be improved in Germany? Because, obviously, given the context, it's not a country with the strongest growth when compared to your competition. We've seen there are some players that are capable of generating strong growth in Germany. There are some sectors where it's difficult, Airbus and then automotive manufacturers. But in other sectors like banking or public services, given that there's not been very strong impact from the lockdown 2021, we saw this very strong recovery in 2021. So from this point of view, how are you positioned? Other things you want to improve?