Hats off to Atos for delivering another solid set of results in Q1. Total revenues increased by 2.4% organically and at constant exchange rate to reach Eur2,163m. Managed services was the star of the show growing at 3.9% to Eur995m (46% of the business). HTTS & specialised business also grew – by 2.9% to Eur474m – while SI & consulting were held relatively stable.
The UK business appeared to go from strength to strength. Having delivered consistent quarter-on-quarter revenue growth in FY1l (see Atos UK beats peers on FY11 revenue growth), the UK reported another strong quarter with 5.8% growth taking it to revenues of Eu390m. It appears all areas of the business grew – managed services was up 3.1% as deals won in Q4 started to have an impact; SI was up 1.2% and High-Tech Transactional Services and Specialised Businesses (HTTS & SB) was up 10.2% with a special mention given to the transport sector. Meanwhile the UK was highlighted as one of the drivers of growth for the Group’s consulting business.
At Group level, the book-to-bill ratio was a healthy 107% (order entries totalling Eur2,312m). And the pipeline remains at the same level as at the end of December (Eur5.4b) despite some significant bookings during the quarter. Indeed, the UK has had the pleasure of reporting a couple of significant deals over the last few months – notably EDF Energy (see Atos celebrates EDF Energy win) and Department of Health (see Atos secures deal with DoH) – which bodes well for the next few quarters.