The logo of the goods testing group SGS, taken on April 16, 2010 at the company’s branch in Zurich. (KEYSTONE/Gaetan Bally)
SGS sales increased by 3.7 percent to 6.64 billion francs in 2022, as the global group headquartered in Geneva announced on Thursday. Adjusted for acquisitions and currency effects, SGS grew by 5.8 percent.
Meanwhile, the result suffered from the generally rising costs and inflation: the operating result adjusted for special factors fell by 3.0 percent to CHF 1.02 billion and the associated margin fell by 1.1 percentage points to 15.4 percent.
The bottom line was an unadjusted profit attributable to shareholders of CHF 588 million after CHF 613 million in the previous year. Overall, the group’s net profit was CHF 630 million after CHF 655 million in 2021.
With the key figures, SGS did not quite reach the targets of the analysts. Management had already warned at an investor meeting in November that the margin would fall. As in the previous year, the dividend is to be CHF 80 per share. That too was foreseeable.
Looking ahead, the company announces that it intends to improve adjusted operating profit margin in 2023. The amount of the dividend should at least be maintained and organic growth should be in the mid single-digit range.