📚 Results – 9M 2026
• 🟢 Revenue: 33,310 M€; organic growth of 2.1% and 2.6% excluding the impact of energy prices.
• 🟢 EBITDA: 5,404 M€, a +5.1% year-over-year, with an organic contribution of €303 million from operational growth and efficiency improvements.
• 🟢 EBITDA margin: 16.2%, with an expansion of 50 basis points, reflecting profitability growth that outpaced revenue growth.
• 🟢 Recurring EBIT: €2,950 million, a +6.7% year-over-year.
• 🟢 Water: 2.6% growth across the entire business and 4.5% in municipal water. Water technologies showed a more uneven performance, although they improved during the third quarter, excluding large projects.
• 🟡 Waste: 1.5% growth. Higher prices (+3.1%) partially offset the decline in volumes and commercial activity (-1.2%).
• 🟢 Energy: 2.3% growth, reaching 3.8% when excluding the impact of energy prices.
• 🔴 Net debt: 25,423 M€ at the end of September, compared to 19,657 M€ at the end of 2025. The increase is primarily related to acquisitions, dividends, and working capital needs.
• 🔴 Free cash flow: -200 M€ in the first nine months, affected particularly by working capital usage.
📌 Key Points
• 🟢 The third quarter confirmed an acceleration in growth, with revenue up 5% excluding the effects of energy prices, exchange rates, and changes in scope.
• 🟢 The 50-basis-point improvement in the EBITDA margin demonstrates that Veolia is translating the growth of its businesses into higher operating profitability.
• 🟢 The international business and water remain the main growth drivers, supported by structural trends such as water security, resource management, and environmental protection.
• 🟢 The integration of Clean Earth has begun as planned. The acquisition strengthens Veolia’s presence in the U.S. hazardous waste market and expands its exposure to higher-value-added activities. The company expects synergies of $120 million in the fourth year.
• 🟡 The divestment program for non-strategic assets, totaling over 2,000 M€, is progressing: transactions worth 570 M€ have already been signed, at an average valuation of 10.4 times EBITDA. However, some of these transactions are still pending completion.
• 🔴 The main weakness remains cash generation. Negative free cash flow and rising debt require monitoring, especially following the acquisitions made during the fiscal year.
• 🟡 Working capital had a negative impact of €1,488 million, primarily due to delays in collections in the Middle East and lower project advance payments.
📊 Outlook for 2026
• 🟢 Organic EBITDA: expected growth of 5% to 6%.
• 🟢 Attributable net income from continuing operations: minimum growth of 8%.
• 🟢 Current EPS: Growth expected to be in line with net income from continuing operations.
• 🟢 Dividend: Expected growth in line with EPS.
• 🟡 Leverage: The company expects to end the fiscal year with a net debt-to-EBITDA ratio equal to or slightly above 3 times.
• 🟢 Clean Earth: The acquisition is expected to contribute positively to recurring net income starting in 2027.
• 🟢 Confirmed Guidance: Veolia fully maintains its 2026 targets, despite the operating environment and the integration of recent acquisitions.
💬 Management Comments
CEO Estelle Brachlianoff highlighted the strength of international operations and the water business as the main drivers of growth. She also emphasized Veolia’s positioning in response to structural trends such as water security, resource sovereignty, and environmental services.
Management believes that the integration of Clean Earth and the group’s transformation program will strengthen its presence in international, technology-driven, and higher-value-added activities. It also confirmed the financial targets for 2026.
Assessment:
Positive operating results, with accelerated growth and expanding margins. However, rising debt and weak free cash flow are areas to monitor. The investment thesis continues to be supported by attractive structural trends, but the quality of cash generation will be key to confirming that operational growth also translates into sustainable financial improvement.