Turnover at end of september 2016: €139.7 million

Steady organic growth in the first nine months of 2016 means SQLI Group remains confident of its prospects for the final quarter of the year.

SQLI Group posted turnover of €44.1 million for the 3rd quarter of 2016, up 6% on the same period in 2015. Like-for-like, i.e. excluding the integration of InventCommerce in the United Kingdom and the disengagement from media purchases, turnover was also up 6% over the quarter.

This robust level of activity saw Group invoicing since the beginning of the year climb to €139.7 million, up 7% like-for-like and as reported, with dynamic sales underpinned both by the increase in the size of projects managed for existing clients and the winning over of new calls for tender. SQLI has reinforced its position as the benchmark partner to tier one brands that use digital to drive customer experiences (connected experience), notably in strategic sectors including Banking/Insurance, Consumer goods, the Luxury industry and Smart Utilities.

The first nine months of the year saw the Group step up its operations in Switzerland (with the opening of an office in Zurich) and the United Kingdom (via the acquisition of InventCommerce) and an acceleration in e-commerce projects managed from Belgium. Today, SQLI's entities outside France account for more than 20% of total turnover.

The Group is also consolidating its network within the digital ecosystem, working in increasingly close collaboration with Google (Google Analytics Certified Partner - GACP) and Microsoft (Microsoft Experiences 2016 Gold Partner) or through partnerships with Appaloosa (SaaS solution that enables the distribution of mobile applications via a private and secure enterprise app store) and Platform.sh (Cloud hosting and continuous deployment of applications).

Sound control of operational indicators

SQLI sales are backed by a dynamic recruitment strategy and the careful management of external service providers (offering flexibility and expert profiles). At the end of September 2016, the Group's headcount amounted to 2,004 employees (1,875 at the end of December 2015).Other operational indicators continue to thrive, particularly the productivity of consultants  which has stayed above 85% since the start of the year.

Yearly targets confirmed

SQLI has confirmed its financial objectives of turnover in excess of €190 million for 2016 and a current operating margin of over 8% for the second half . The Group will also continue to examine new acquisitions that match its very highly selective policy. 

SQLI will publish its 2016 turnover on 9 February 2017 after the close of trading.