Assystem - Registration Document 2016

MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIRMAN AND CEO

Nuclear power is an essential component of the transition to low-carbon energy and is therefore a sustainable growth driver for Assystem. 2016 was the Group’s fiftieth year of providing specialist engineering services for the nuclear sector and we were able to create new impetus in this business despite the difficulties experienced by the French nuclear industry, which is our main client. During the year, our Energy & Infrastructure division extended its nuclear-sector services offering in the international market thanks to the promising beginnings of its partnership with the market leader, Rosatom (the Russian State Atomic Energy Corporation), as well as its acquisition of a controlling interest in Envy, which has given the Group an operating presence in Turkey where two nuclear power plants are currently under construction. Alongside renewable energy, nuclear power is an essential component of the transition to low-carbon electricity production and is therefore a sustainable growth driver for Assystem. We were able to reap the benefits of the extremely strong growth in the automotive industry. 2016 saw a continuation of the automotive industry’s remarkable growth trajectory. Our Global Product Solutions (GPS) division was able to reap the benefits of this, recording over 20% organic growth for the second year in a row. This performance was achieved thanks to the combination of GPS’s technical expertise and the cost efficiency of its engineering centre in Romania, which now employs more than 1,000 people. In the aerospace sector, following a fruitful period of over a decade for designing aircraft bodies and engines, GPS continued down the growth path in 2016 by helping its major clients optimise their supply chains and manufacturing processes. This optimisation has become a critical issue for all aircraft manufacturers as they aim to step up the pace of production of the planes already in their order books. At the same time, we are paying close attention to how we can capitalise on the strong development of the In-Service market,

which is being driven by the rapid increase in the overall number of aircraft in service. To this end, during the year the Group acquired Aerotec Concept, a company based in Toulouse, France, which specialises in bespoke cabin fittings and avionics modifications. In outsourced R&D, the race to achieve critical mass has begun. Outsourced R&D is growing at a robust pace and market consolidation is accelerating, as illustrated by Randstad’s acquisition of Ausy in 2016. As part of their lean procurement policies, a number of manufacturers are seeking to reduce the number of their suppliers and work with larger, global providers – a trend that is likely to intensify in the coming years. The strategic challenge currently facing the outsourced R&D business is therefore to be able to put in place a standardised external growth process, as the race to achieve critical mass has well and truly begun. GPS will need to rise to this challenge if it wants to remain at the top of its clients’ approved supplier lists. While its skills and expertise have enabled it to achieve best-in-class organic growth, it now needs to step up the pace of its external expansion. Going forward, Assystem will be fighting two battles in two different markets. On the one hand it will seek to continue to leverage the strong operating context in the nuclear market, led by the transition to low-carbon energy – an area in which the Group is already perceived as one of the leading independent players. And on the other hand, it intends to meet the challenge of remaining one of the race leaders in outsourced R&D.

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ASSYSTEM

REGISTRATION DOCUMENT 2016