First quarter 2022: Performing well

Q1 revenue: €547.8 million
Organic growth: +12.3%
Total growth: +17.5%

Paris, April 21, 2022 – In 2021, our business grew by 17.9%. Despite the current global disruption, in Q1 2022 our business has continued on the same trajectory, growing 17.5% versus Q1 last year and recording organic growth of 12.3%.

Currency effects had a positive impact of 4.3%, mainly due to the rise of the dollar and the pound sterling. Scope effects amount to +0.9%, corresponding to the acquisitions made in the second half of 2021: the technology company Infotools, a platform specialized in research data reporting, and Karian&Box, an expert in the field of employee relations analysis.

Revenue by quarter	2022	2021	2020	2019
1st quarter	547.8	466.3	428.7	422.1
2nd quarter		527.0	357.3	481.3
3rd quarter		526.3	468.6	499.4
4th quarter		627.1	582.9	600.5
Total	-	2,146.7	1,837.4	2,003.3

Ipsos’ strong growth is also illustrated by the increase in our activity between 2020 and 2022, with growth of 27.8% overall and 28.6% at constant rate and scope. Ipsos’ growth is also strong when using 2019, the latest pre-covid financial year, as a basis for comparison. Total growth in this case is at 29.8% and organic growth is at 29.2%. 

PERFORMANCE BY REGION

In millions of Euros	Q1 2022 revenue	Contribution	Q1 2022 / Q1 2021 change	Organic growth
EMEA	251.7	46%	7.4%	5%
Americas	201.6	37%	30.4%	22%
Asia-Pacific	94.4	17%	22.3%	15%
Annual revenue	547.8	100%	17.5%	12.3%

By region, some headwinds from the war in Ukraine slowed our EMEA business organic growth to 5%. However, only 2% of our annual revenues are directly related to Russia and Ukraine, so we are not expecting any major impacts on our business globally.

In 2021 we saw Asia-Pacific affected by heavy lockdowns, but so far this year, despite China’s Zero Covid policy, we are seeing growth across the region in double digits, with 15% organic growth in Q1.

In the Americas, new leadership in the USA and continued strong performances in Latin America saw 22% growth as we enhanced collaboration and the application of best practices across our business.

PERFORMANCE BY AUDIENCE

In millions of Euros	Q1 2022 revenue	Contribution	Organic growth
Consumers1	257.1	47%	20%
Clients and employees2	105.0	19%	17%
Citizens3	94.6	17%	-7%
Doctors and patients4	91.1	17%	11%
Annual revenue	547.8	100%	12.3%

Breakdown of Service Lines by audience segment:
1- Brand Health Tracking, Creative Excellence, Innovation, Ipsos UU, Ipsos MMA, Market Strategy & Understanding, Observer (excl. public sector), Social Intelligence Analytics), Strategy3
2- Automotive & Mobility Development, Audience Measurement, Customer Experience, Channel Performance (including Retail Performance and Mystery Shopping), Media development, Capabilities
3- Public Affairs, Corporate Reputation
4- Pharma (quantitative and qualitative)

The post-pandemic rebound in consumer research we saw in 2021 continues, with 20% organic growth, driven in particular by our new solutions on the Ipsos.digital platform that are growing rapidly and give our clients more speed and control, and by our analytics practices which are seeing strong demand.

Healthcare grew by 11%, building on its strong performance in 2021, and our work among customers and employees is up even more, by 17%, as the end of pandemic restrictions in most markets mean that our clients are renewing their interest in physical retail, in travel and hospitality, and relaunching projects put on hold during the past two years.

The only area that is in relative decline is our work among citizens for governments and the public sector, which includes all the work directly related to the Covid-19 Pandemic starting Q2 2020 and in 2021 for governments. The decline reflects the end of major public health measures to deal with the pandemic in Western countries that have been winding down since the end of 2021 and in Q1 2022 as the pandemic receded and many governments have now stopped the mass testing and surveillance programmes put in place in 2020-2021.

That said, compared to Q1 2020 and Q1 2019, the citizens segment has shown 39% and 52% organic growth, respectively.
The underlying business for this segment continues to grow strongly as governments continue to face major challenges over how to deal with the cost of living crisis in many countries, the need to act on climate change while taking citizens and voters with them, and a wide range of public policy challenges posed by ageing populations, and new technologies. All these factors drive demand for highly accurate and representative research, which Ipsos specializes in, and which we plan to meet with new digital data capture solutions, with the extension in Europe of our “Knowledge Panels”, the random probability online panel which responds to the high-quality requirements of the public sector.

OTHER DESCRIPTIVE ELEMENTS OF THE BUSINESS CONDITIONS DURING THE FIRST QUARTER 

Profitability is up compared to the first quarter of 2021 and in line with the objectives for the year. The generation of free cash flow from operations has similarly increased and is also in line with expectations.

The company announced the acquisition of the Canadian Mystery Shopping company WeCheck and the acquisition of a minority stake in CIESMORI in Bolivia, both of which will be accounted for in Q2 2022.

The net debt to equity ratio at March 31, 2022 was 4.4%, down from 13.4% at December 31, 2021 and 19.9% at March 31, 2021.

The company has good liquidity with €420 million in cash and approximately €300 million in undrawn bank facilities.

OUTLOOK

When we launched our 2021 results on 24^th February, on the first day of the war in Ukraine, we said the only certainty is uncertainty. This remains the case. Inflation has accelerated further, supply chains remain fractured and geo-political tensions are stronger than ever.

However, with a strong start and the ability to pass on the increase of costs to our clients, we remain positive about the future growth of the business. Client demand remains strong when we look at our order books. Our technology investment in automation proceeds apace, giving us further productivity gains later this year. We have an exciting range of potential acquisitions that will help us grow faster in key sectors and territories where there is more potential, especially in the USA.

Given the uncertain environment, despite our overall confidence in the business and very strong growth in Q1, for now we are sticking with our guidance that we will continue to build on 2021’s record performance in 2022, with headline organic growth of around 5%, but an underlying growth of around 7% or more, taking out the temporary positive impact of Covid-related contracts. Our gross margin will continue to rise, helping protect operating margins that will remain substantially ahead of the pre-pandemic period, between 12 and 13% for 2022.

ABOUT IPSOS

Ipsos is one of the largest market research and polling companies globally, operating in 90 markets and employing over 18,000 people.

Our passionately curious research professionals, analysts and scientists have built unique multi­specialist capabilities that provide true understanding and powerful insights into the actions, opinions and motivations of citizens, consumers, patients, customers or employees. Our 75 solutions are based on primary data from our surveys, social media monitoring, and qualitative or observational techniques.

Our tagline "Game Changers" sums up our ambition to help our 5,000 customers move confidently through a rapidly changing world.

Founded in France in 1975, Ipsos has been listed on the Euronext Paris since July 1, 1999. The company is part of the SBF 120 and Mid-60 indices and is eligible for the Deferred Settlement Service (SRD).
ISIN code FR0000073298, Reuters ISOS.PA, Bloomberg IPS:FP www.ipsos.com

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• Ipsos - Press Release - First quarter