Testing group SGS's revenue grows, says strong franc doesn't stop M&A spree

By Paolo Laudani

(Reuters) -Testing and inspection group SGS extended its string of acquisitions with three new companies on Friday, as its half-year revenue grew 5.3% organically and met market expectations.

The Zurich-listed group has been active on the M&A space, having bought 12 companies so far this year with locations ranging from Australia to Canada. In April, CEO Geraldine Picaut said SGS was keen to buy as many as two companies a month in 2025.

Picaud said in a press call that the strong Swiss franc, which has gained 11% against the dollar this year amid uncertainty over U.S. trade policies, would not change the acquisition strategy and the company would continue to buy businesses in North America and Europe.

"Our profit has to also stem from currencies like dollar, like euro that are hard currencies. So it's important that we have this profit coming from these regions of the world," she said.

SGS's shares have fallen around 8% in 2025, underperforming industry peers such as French-based Bureau Veritas, which on Friday also posted higher first-half revenue, and the European benchmark industrial goods and services index.

Geneva-based SGS reported revenue of 3.42 billion Swiss francs ($4.30 billion) for the January-June period, while analysts polled by LSEG were expecting 3.41 billion on average.

Its operating income grew 17.1% year-on-year to 486 million francs, but missed analysts' expectations of 507 million francs.

The Testing and Inspection segment, SGS's biggest by revenue, recorded sales of 3.04 billion Swiss francs. The company's main division offers testing solutions for 5G and food labels, among others.

SGS also confirmed its outlook for 2025 and 2027, including for organic sales growth of 5% to 7%.

($1 = 0.7959 Swiss francs)

(Reporting by Paolo Laudani in Gdansk, editing by Milla Nissi-Prussak)