Suez and Veolia hailed strong revenue and profit growth over the first nine months of 2021, in what may be their last results to be announced before their impending merger, expected around year-end. Although both groups' municipal water segments posted positive top-line figures (+1.7% year-on-year for Veolia and +3.2% for Suez, at constant scope and FX), they still played second fiddle to the faster-growing recycling and energy businesses. The latter divisions showed double-digit organic growth not just compared to the first three quarters of 2020, but also compared to equivalent pre-pandemic figures. Suez's results appeared to confirm that Veolia will be absorbing many of the company's best-performing segments, while the private equity-backed 'new Suez' set to come out of the deal will likely have to rebuild growth from a lower baseline.
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