(Updates with revenue drivers in paragraphs 2 and 5, background in paragraph 3, CEO comment in paragraph 4)
April 29 (Reuters) - French IT group Sopra Steria (SOPR.PA) on Wednesday reported a 3.2% organic rise in its first-quarter revenue to 1.5 billion euros ($1.8 billion), driven by business improvements across its core business.
The company said the completion of a programme for Sparda banks, planned since 2023, negatively impacted organic growth, which would have risen by 4.4% excluding this factor.
Sopra Steria, which competes with Capgemini (CAPP.PA) and Accenture (ACN.N) , is turning a new leaf under new CEO Rajesh Krishnamurthy, betting on its strengths in public and defence sector solutions and its focus on European clients.
“These results confirmed the relevance of our positioning in Europe, … in particular with regard to artificial intelligence and issues related to systems and data sovereignty,” Krishnamurthy said in a statement. The rebound after last year’s weaker performance was driven by strength in its consulting business and a notable acceleration in Aeronautics and Defence, Sopra Steria said.
It also confirmed the 2026 target for organic revenue growth of between 1% and 2% and announced a new 40-million-euro share buyback programme.
($1 = 0.8544 euros)

IT firm Sopra Steria's sales rise on defence and consulting spending in Europe