Enabling a better, safer and more interconnected world2020 Annual Reports
We are pleased to announce a year of robust results across the SGS Group in which we showed leadership and resilience in the face of a global pandemic.
Letter to Shareholders
We've started to implement the next phase of our strategic evolution with the purpose of enabling a better, safer and more interconnected world for employees, customers, shareholders and for society.
Dear Shareholders,
This year has marked the completion of significant strategic milestones for SGS. We completed our ‘Mission 2020’ strategy and our Sustainability Ambitions, launched the next stage of our strategic evolution and announced the acquisition of SYNLAB Analytics & Services (A&S). However, the outstanding feature of the year has been the dynamism and responsiveness demonstrated by our employees in challenging circumstances. Through their hard work, commitment and entrepreneurism in supporting our customers, SGS has delivered a strong operational performance, reinforcing our leadership position in the TIC industry.
The resilience of our business model was reflected in a robust revenue performance, which, supported by the achievement of over CHF 90 million of structural cost savings coupled with strong cost management and EVA-driven performance management, has resulted in a 20 basis points increase in the adjusted operating income margin* at constant currency*, despite the revenue decline in 2020.
See the full letter in our 2020 Integrated Report.
Today, we are industry leaders, driving a sustainability culture in the Testing, Inspection and Certification sector, but we know that we need to keep evolving.
Dear Stakeholders,
We are pleased to share with you our 2020 Corporate Sustainability Report, in a year which marks the completion of our 2020 Sustainability Ambitions.
Over the past 10 years, we have consistently earned global recognition as one of the most sustainable companies in the world. In 2020, we were named for the seventh time in a row an Industry Leader in the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices (DJSI) World and Europe, and received the Gold Class award in S&P Global’s Sustainability Yearbook.
We have navigated the COVID-19 crisis, while continuing to drive our sustainability agenda forward in both our operations and services. Value creation continues to be at the very heart of the way we do business, and in 2020 we calculated a total value to society of CHF 6579 million from our direct operations and supply chain activities.
We have now developed our 2030 Sustainability Ambitions, which we look forward to launching in Q2.
See the full letter in our 2020 Corporate Sustainability Report.
2020 Performance Highlights
Solid Revenue
-6.5% Organic*
2020: 5.6bn | |
---|---|
2019: 6.6bn |
* Alternative performance measures (see full report)
Strong Adjusted Operating Income
2020: 900 | |
---|---|
2019: 978 |
* Alternative performance measures (see full report)
Stable Adjusted Operating Income Margin
2020: 16.1 | |
---|---|
2019: 16.1 |
2 Percentage points
* Alternative performance measures (see full report)
Free Cash Flow
2020: 758 | |
---|---|
2019: 870 |
Our Value to Society
Dow Jones Sustainability Indices (DJSI) World and Europe
Supporting Local Communities
Morgan Stanley Capital International’s Environment Social Governance
Our Response to the Global Pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic required us to respond quickly and creatively to ensure both our people’s health and wellbeing, and our business continuity.
As the crisis intensified, we frequently reviewed the spread of the virus, took action to keep our people safe, and progressed our ‘Next Normal’ services to help keep the businesses of our customers working. Overall, our response has helped us to continue adding value to our employees, customers and to wider society.
Measuring Our Value to Society
We recognize that our long-term success depends not just on our ability to generate profit, but on our ability to deliver sustainable value to all our stakeholders across the whole value chain. We are one of the first companies worldwide to translate our non-financial impacts into a monetary value and to provide such a comprehensive assessment, enabling us to assess our contribution to society as a whole, and improve decision-making so we can continue to increase the positive impact we have on society.