Building on its performance in 2019, the Cegos Group renews its commitment to making Learning & Development a key driver of economic recovery
TheCegos Group, a European and worldwide leader in learning anddevelopment, closed the year 2019 with consolidatedrevenues of €200 million. The Group’s Ebitda stands at €20.4 million. Theseresults are remaining stable compared to 2018.
Whilethe crisis linked to the COVID-19 pandemic and the temporary ban on classroomtraining naturally impacted the Group's business in the first few months of2020, Cegos was immediately able to offer its full range of distance learningsolutions to organisations wishing to continue training their teams during thisperiod.
As we begin to emerge from this unprecedented health crisis, the Cegos Group, a long-standing partner of private and public companies alike, is more committed than ever to ensuring that skills development is at the heart of the economic recovery and supports everyone in the face of the future changes in professional practice.
In 2019, Cegos once again consolidated its position as the international leader in Learning & Development
- Group revenue of €200 million
TheCegos Group generated revenues of €200 million in 2019, remaining unchangedfrom 2018:
Ina transformed French market following the formal application of the “AvenirProfessionnel” (Professional Future) Act, Cegos’ turnover grew by 1%, at €137million.
It should be noted that the labour dispute and strikes in December 2019 slowed what had been good growth momentum, with Cegos posting a 4% increase on 2019 revenues at the end of November.
- Cegos SA (turnkey and tailor-made training)reported growth of +1%, driven in particular by services to key clients (+5%),packaged training (+9%) and tailor-made activities(+16%).
- IB (the Cegos Group's training subsidiarydedicated to IT technologies and professions) saw its revenues stabilized afteran exceptional year in 2018 (+25%).
- Cimes (a subsidiary of Cegos dedicated tooutsourced training management) saw its turnover increase by 6%.
Internationally, the Cegos Group generated aconsolidated revenue of €63 million in 2019, down 3% on the previous year: The situation was mixed,with sustained growth in some countries (+10% in Italy, +15% in Portugal and+6% in Switzerland), and a slight decline in others (-10% in China, -5% inSpain and -3% in Germany).
Finally, the Group'sDistributor activity (partnerships with companies distributing Cegos' digital learning solutions worldwide)grew by +14%.
Also noteworthy is theCegos Group's continued solid performance in major international trainingprojects (+4%).
- Classroom, digital and blended training: the widest range of solutionson the market to make skills development a constant driver of performance.
Inline with its ambitions, the Cegos Group has developed and deployed a number ofnew products in 2019, with the aim of making training a key driver ofperformance:
- Launchof new international training offers, with the 100% digital #UP collection (12titles in 7 languages). This new collection dedicated to soft skills (cross-disciplinary and behavioural skills) joins the 3,000 items of Cegos digital contentalready available on the LearningHub@Cegos platform, which has more than300,000 active users.
- Supportingthe transformation of the French public sector asa training organisation listed by UGAP (the central public procurement agency):UGAP members have signed more than 1,000 training agreements with Cegos,including 400 in 2019 alone.
Outlookfor 2020: making training a key driver of economic recovery and employability
- Supporting organizations during the pandemic with remote solutions
The COVID-19 crisis hascaused an abrupt shutdown of the economy worldwide. The Cegos Group is of coursesuffering the effects of this pandemic, with cumulative revenues at the end ofApril 2020 down 32% compared to the end of April 2019.
However, from the veryoutset of the lockdown period and faced with the ban on "classroom"training in many countries, the Cegos Group was able to draw on its strongdigital capabilities and the expertise of its teams around the world to supportcompanies and their teams in this unprecedented situation.
The Group's capacity for100% distance learning has made it possible to ensure the continuity oftraining already planned or to offer this alternative to customerswho had opted for training combining classroom and distance learning.
In just a few weeks,Cegos also adapted and strengthened its offer toenable its clients to cope with this crisis:
- Expansionof the Cegos 100% remote training offer, with the creation of a range of 50"fully digital" training courses coveringthe topics most requested by clients;
- Provision of nearly 700 classroom training sessions ina "Distance Learning Classroom" format;
- Ramp-up of the #UP collection, which offers 12 100% digital training courses in 7 languages;
- Provisionof free training modules on topics related todistance management, stress management, etc.
- Strong assets and some signs of an upturn in activity
The Group has strongassets to face the coming months, including:
- The extent of itstraining offer, all modes combined (classroom, 100% digital orblended courses)
- Its ability to providetraining around the world, with an international presence furtherstrengthened in January 2020 by the acquisitionof Crescimentum, Brazil's leading leadership training provider
- The renewedconfidence of its many private and public sector clients.
Thanks to the lifting oflockdown measures in many countries, in recent weeks the Group has once againbeen in a position to deploy all its activities (classroom, distance learningor mixed courses).
In many countries, classroom training courses have once againbeen provided, with a growing influx of enrolments. In tailored training, key clients are relaunching projects thathave been temporarily postponed or are planning new programmes for thesecond half of the year.
José Montes, Cegos Group CEO, sums up:
"Like all companies, we have been gripped by this crisis of an unprecedented scale and complexity. The year 2020 will clearly be a bad year. However, I am extremely proud of the commitment, tenacity and adaptability of our teams around the world: it’s thanks to them that we have been able to stand by our customers and adapt our solutions to ensure the continuity of training without taking any health risks.
Looking to the future, we already know that this pandemic will cause lasting changes in the way we work and will have a significant impact on employment. In response to an unprecedented economic crisis, millions of employees around the world will have to upgrade their skills or retrain quickly. This is a societal challenge that goes far beyond the field of economics alone.
Ifthere was still any doubt of it, this crisis has revealed the absolutelycrucial role played by learning & Development. And of course, just as ithas over the course of its nearly 100-year history, the Cegos Group will bethere to make the development of skills a driver of competitiveness and employability”.
Press contacts:
Alexandra Cavanna / +331 55 00 92 15 / +336 72 80 06 59 / acavanna@cegos.fr
Mathieu Cadot / +331 55 00 96 64 / +336 76 05 96 17 / mcadot@cegos.fr
About the Cegos Group - www.cegos.com
Created in 1926, the Cegos Group is a worldwide leader in training and development. The Group now runs its own operations in 11 European, Asian and Latin American countries. It is also active in over 50 countries through its network of partners and distributors, which are all leading training providers and top-tier technology experts.
With 1,000 employees and more than 3,000 partner consultants, the Group trains 250,000 people around the globe every year and generates sales of €191 million.
Cegos deploys a global offering, including turnkey and tailored training and development, operational consultancy, Managed Training Services and international training projects. Its "blended learning" approach aims to provide the most suitable and competitive learner experience, by combining multiple learning formats (classroom training, e-learning modules, videoconferences, webcasts, e-training programmes and more).