The big interview this morning is with Bertrand Dumazy, the Chairman and CEO of Edenred who is with us. Good morning, thank you, thank you very much for being with us on this morning's economy show. And Edenred is 60 million users in 45 countries, 1 million client companies, 2 million partner merchants, 12,000 employees. The half-year results came out a few minutes ago with operating revenue up 7% compared to the first half of 2024. Are you satisfied with that?
Yes, it's a satisfactory performance in an uncertain economic environment. We are growing at double digits everywhere in the world except in Europe, and at double digits across all our product lines except for employee benefits which are slowing down a little. But yes, these are very satisfactory results which also allow us to confirm all our objectives for 2025.
Edenred celebrated 15 years since its IPO and during this period your revenue has tripled. It should continue to grow because ultimately only a minority of employees currently have meal vouchers. That means the market can still grow enormously.
Yes. First of all, the meal voucher is one area of our offerings. We are the world's leading digital platform for employee benefits, but also for mobility and inter-company payment, and in all these markets, in fact, and everywhere in the world, there is still very strong development potential.
You are present in 45 countries. What are your largest business areas?
Well, the first business area is Europe, which accounts for about 60% of our revenue. Then we are present across the Americas, which account for about 30% of revenue, and the rest of the world 10%. And moreover, if you look at the results for the first half of 2025, it is outside Europe that we have the strongest growth, with very marked double-digit growth. And I should point out that France accounts for only 14% of the group's revenue.
However, the meal voucher is quite symptomatic of the economy, of the state of the economy. It's a good barometer of the economic situation and employment as well. Among your clients, do you see a decrease in the deployment of employee solutions, or perhaps a slowdown in the sense that it might be less of a priority for companies today?
Well no, it remains a very strong priority. Moreover, as I said, everywhere in the world except Europe, we are growing at double digits. So for employers, it's an issue of attraction, retention, but also engagement at work through meal vouchers, but also through all the other solutions we offer. Secondly, for employers, the green revolution, that is, the decarbonization of the economy, is very important. We do 30% of our revenue in mobility. Yes, you may not know it, but with digital solutions today in the world you have access to 1 million charging stations, and you may also not know that behind these charging stations there are often technological solutions from Edenred that enable the maintenance of these stations but also the ability to access these stations based on the authorizations given by the employer. In fact, we have opportunities everywhere, and for employee benefits, once again, the equation for HR directors of attraction, retention, engagement remains a strong issue, and the digital solutions we provide help answer that equation.
It should continue like that because, specifically on meal vouchers, don't worry, we'll come back to the other activities in a moment, but on meal vouchers, the reform presented by the Minister of Commerce and SMEs was rather favorable. Ultimately, these meal vouchers could continue to be used in supermarkets. There is also the possibility of using them on Sundays. And does that ultimately go in the direction of your business?
Yes, it goes in the direction of our business. This long-awaited reform is a reform that perpetuates the system and modernizes it and adapts to the new uses of the French but also of workers around the world. So now, this reform needs to be voted on. There will probably be some technical adjustments, but I salute the consultation work that has been done, which is not easy since you have issuers, but also employers, employees, restaurateurs, and finding a balance between all that is not easy, and I must recognize and salute the great consultation work that has been done on this subject.
You have to please everyone. Indeed, this part doesn't please the restaurateurs, we agree.
