Sopra Steria raises growth target on strong European AI, cybersecurity demand

By Leo Marchandon

July 29 (Reuters) - French IT group Sopra Steria raised its full-year revenue growth target on Wednesday, driven by spending on AI, cybersecurity and sovereign technology as governments and major organisations in Europe continue to prioritise strategic projects.

The upgrade signals resilience in some of the most protected areas of technology spending, from defence and critical infrastructure to public-sector modernisation and secure data systems, even as broader consulting demand remains uneven.

The company now expects 2026 organic revenue growth of 2.0% to 2.5%, up from a previous forecast of 1.0% to 2.0%, after underlying growth accelerated to 5.3% in the second quarter from 4.4% in the first.

Sopra, which works with public-sector bodies, defence contractors, aerospace groups, banks and industrial companies with strong sovereignty requirements, has benefited from continued spending on strategic technology projects.

"Generative and agentic AI, cybersecurity and digital sovereignty are durably reshaping our clients' needs and creating new growth opportunities," Chief Executive Rajesh Krishnamurthy said in a statement.

Some of the strongest growth came from sectors tied to Europe's efforts to strengthen its technological and defence capabilities. Revenue in defence, security and space rose 10% in the first half, while aeronautics grew 12%.

France, which accounts for 44% of group revenue, posted organic growth of 7.1%, supported by investments in public services, defence and strategic infrastructure.

Performance in the second quarter was also helped by defence-related work and improving trends in Germany and Belgium, the company said.

First-half revenue rose 4.1% on a reported basis to 2.96 billion euros ($3.37 billion). Operating profit on business activity increased 8.8% to 284.5 million euros, resulting in a margin of 9.6%, up from 9.2% a year earlier.

($1 = 0.8772 euros)

(Reporting by Leo Marchandon in Gdansk; Editing by Matt Scuffham)