Total income (formerly total revenue) up 12.1% like-for-like to €332 million:
- Sharp rise in operating revenue, slightly dampened by the decline in other operating income (formerly financial revenue) linked to low interest rates in Europe
- Reported total income (formerly total revenue) impacted by negative 11.9% currency effects and positive 1.2% scope effects
13.8% like-for-like rise in operating revenue, consistent with full-year 2017 trends:
- Robust business in both Europe and Latin America, and gradual improvement in the Employee Benefits business in Brazil
- First effects of the integration and of the new growth strategy of UTA, in the Fleet & Mobility Solutions business
- Good progress in the Fast Forward strategic plan, with increased penetration of the SME market and opportunities created by the digital transition
Favorable outcome regarding the reclassification of Brazilian funds (March 2018):
The Brazilian Central Bank decided not to include Employee Benefits funds in its restricted cash regulation. Inclusion of the funds would have entailed their reclassification in 2018.
Bertrand Dumazy, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Edenred, said: “The Group has begun 2018 with sustained organic growth, in line with our prior-year performance. Thanks to our increasingly digital Employee Benefits solutions, we are continuing to enhance our offering with innovative applications based in particular on new payment solutions. We are also pushing ahead with our drive to expand our sales footprint in the SME segment, which lifted organic Employee Benefits growth into the double digits during the quarter. Fleet & Mobility Solutions remain a major growth driver for the Group, both in Latin America and in Europe, where UTA continues to expand its geographic footprint and enhance its range of products and services.”
Financial data for 2018 are provided in accordance with IFRS 15, effective since January 1, 2018. To ensure a meaningful comparison with 2017, financial data for this period included in this press release have been restated in accordance with this new standard. A table showing a breakdown of the restatements per quarter is provided in the Appendix.
Likewise, as part of this transition, the headings “financial revenue” and “total revenue” become “other operating income” and “total income”, respectively.