Adds shares and analyst comment in paragraph 2, CEO comments in paragraphs 7-10
By Leo Marchandon and Mara Vilcu
Feb 18 (Reuters) - French IT consulting firm Capgemini CAPP.PA reported a 2% drop in its annual constant currency sales on Tuesday, but narrowly beat market expectations, helped by sustained demand for its cloud and AI services.
However, its shares fell 7.7% by 0825 GMT. Analysts at J.P.Morgan said in a note to clients that the 2025 outlook was "slightly less optimistic" than previously estimated.
Capgemini, whose services range from cloud and AI to enterprise management across a wide array of industries, expects 2025 sales to come between a 2% decline and a 2% rise in constant currency, with an operating margin of 13.3% to 13.5%.
Its sales were 22.10 billion euros ($23.11 billion) last year, just ahead of analysts' average forecast of 22.05 billion euros, according to LSEG's IBES data.
"Generative AI supported strong bookings and accounted for around 5% of bookings in Q4," CEO Aiman Ezzat said in the earnings statement.
Capgemini attributed the continued client demand to the appeal of efficiency and cost-optimization programs, which have boosted its Cloud and Data & AI services businesses.
In a call with journalists, Ezzat lauded Europe's commitment to boost its global presence in the AI sector following the recent AI summit in Paris and substantial investment announcements.
He said Capgemini was collaborating with leading partners in Europe, including Mistral AI, to accommodate the growing demand for transformative AI projects.
Ezzat emphasized the importance of European sovereignty in AI technology and highlighted the substantial investments earmarked for construction of data centres in France.
"France is in a very good position to offer stable, low-carbon energy with its nuclear power," Ezzat added.
Despite the overall sales decline, Capgemini noted improvements in its Financial Services and Consumer Goods & Retail businesses, along with a strong performance in the unit servicing the public sector.
Its board proposed a dividend of 3.40 euros per share to be paid for 2024, unchanged from a year earlier.
($1 = 0.9565 euros)
(Reporting by Leo Marchandon and Mara Vîlcu in Gdansk; Editing by Milla Nissi)
((Leo.Marchandon@thomsonreuters.com;))