Bouygues Earnings: La Poste Telecom Acquisition Complete; FCF Positive Surprise From Working Capital

No-moat Bouygues reported group-level fourth-quarter 2024 sales of EUR 15.3 billion, up 0.9% year on year, but a touch behind company-compiled consensus. The construction and telecoms segments stood out positively, while Equans, which includes Bouygues energies and services, and TF1, Bouygues’ media business, came in weaker relative to our estimates. Construction order backlog, which includes Colas, Bouygues construction, and Bouygues Immobilier, grew sequentially to EUR 32.2 billion, up 13% from the year prior. Telecom key performance indicators were strong, with 2.5 million mobile net additions in the fourth quarter following the acquisition of La Poste Telecom, and 111,000 fixed net additions to peer Orange’s 10,000. Management's initial guidance for 2025 provided no great surprises with revenue and adjusted operating profit expected to be slightly up versus 2024. We maintain our EUR 35 fair value estimate.