A WORD FROM THE CHAIRMAN Pierre PASQUIER Dear Shareholders, It is my pleasure to invite you to attend the Combined General Meeting of Sopra Steria Group shareholders, to be held on Tuesday, 13 June 2017 starting at 2:30 p.m. at the Pavillon Dauphine, Place du Maréchal De Lattre de Tassigny, Paris 16, France. Sopra Steria delivered a strong performance in 2016. The Group exceeded all the targets it had set for itself at the beginning of the year: p organic revenue growth was buoyant, coming in at 5.2%; p operating profit on business activity grew by 22.6% to reach 8.0% of revenue, bringing Sopra Steria back to a level close to its historical performance standards; p the Group generated total cash of €150.6 million, equating to 4% of revenue. This performance confirms the relevance and success of the tie-up between Sopra and Steria. It also reflects strategic developments initiated by the Group: driving up the value of its offerings through Consulting and Solutions development, strengthening the vertical approach and close client relationships, and stepping up growth in the digital segment, which has proved particularly buoyant. As such, we significantly strengthened our fundamentals in 2016: p the Group significantly consolidated its strong position in France, with continued market share gains in Consulting and Systems Integration, which delivered organic growth of 8.0%; p those businesses and geographies that generated low margins in 2014 (such as infrastructure management, Germany and Scandinavia) significantly turned around their operating performance and overall returned to higher levels of profitability, though room for further optimisation remains; p Sopra Banking Software significantly strengthened its position by making strong inroads in specialist loans and payments, as well as increasing its investment in its Platform and Amplitude core banking products; p the value added by our offerings increased as a result of the Solutions development and Consulting businesses accounting for a higher proportion of Group revenue; p the Enterprise Project was refreshed with a focus on a shared vision and values, giving rise to the launch of an extensive programme of training for all staff. This approach was supplemented by a new employee share ownership plan open to all staff and a longterm incentive plan for the Group’s key managers. The digital revolution is fundamentally transforming our environment. It is speeding up changes in our clients’ business models, internal processes and information systems. This goes hand-in-hand with the increasingly important role played by sector-specific IT solution providers, thus opening up the market to new entrants. In this fastchanging environment, our role is more than ever before to bring our customers new ideas and support them in their transformation by helping them make the most effective use of digital technology. The digital revolution also means digital services companies must adapt their own business models. To this end, Sopra Steria is actively running an extensive transformation programme, supported by the roll-out of agile collaborative working methods, the use of artificial intelligence and RPA (robotics and process automation), and training and development of human resources. We are also revisiting all our offerings with one conviction in mind: that the ability to offer endto-end solutions, including in particular consulting services and a significant software component, will be decisive in the future. Drawing on its strengths, fully aware of the challenges of the digital revolution, and determined to pursue and step up its own transformation, Sopra Steria is approaching 2017 with confidence. As every year, I would like to share with you these evolutions during our General Meeting. This General Meeting is a prime opportunity for Sopra Steria Group and its shareholders to exchange information and engage in dialogue. I hope you will be able to take part in this meeting in person to express your thoughts on decisions concerning the Group. However, if you are not able to attend, you still have the option of voting by mail or online, or appointing the Chairman of the General Meeting or any other person you choose to serve as your proxy. You will find all the relevant information in this document, as well as the meeting’s agenda and the draft resolutions which will you will be requested to approve. Documents and information may also be consulted on Sopra Steria Group’s website: www.soprasteria.com/ investisseurs. The day, on which the meeting is held, you will also be able to consult all the materials presented there and the results of resolution votes on the Group’s website On behalf of the Board of Directors, I would like to thank each and every one of you for your trust and your loyalty, and I hope to see you on 13 June. Pierre Pasquier Chairman 3Convening Notice 2017 - Sopra Steria Group
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