Veolia reported first-quarter revenue of €11.4 billion and EBITDA of €1.77 billion, while keeping its 2026 guidance unchanged.
The French environmental services group posted revenue of €11.427 billion, up 1.0% on a reported basis and 2.1% organically excluding energy prices. EBITDA rose 5.1% organically to €1.766 billion, while current EBIT increased 7.2% to €971 million.
The figures indicate steady trading in Veolia's water and energy operations, while waste was broadly flat. Management said the conflict in the Middle East had only a limited effect, citing a business mix it described as resilient and increasingly focused on international markets and technology-led services.
Net financial debt stood at €20.797 billion. Free cash flow improved significantly, helped by tighter control of capital expenditure and working capital.
Chief Executive Officer Estelle Brachlianoff said the first quarter supported the group's existing targets.
"Veolia's first quarter performance demonstrates the solidity of the Group's growth profile and confirms its excellent development outlook. We have built a model whose resilience is structurally anchored in our fundamentals. Focused on environmental security, Veolia addresses growing critical needs, and our business model makes us relatively insensitive to economic cycles or inflation," said Brachlianoff.
"With organic revenue growth of +2.1%(1) excluding energy prices and a remarkable increase in our EBITDA of +5.1%(1), we are showing our ability to perform and to maintain our operational discipline with €96 million in efficiency gains in the first quarter."
"We are determinedly continuing to transform the Group profile towards international markets and technologies. Thus, in the first quarter, we continued to develop innovative offerings with the acquisition in PFAS decontamination in Australia, and have completed the main steps to successfully close the strategic acquisition of Clean Earth in the US by the end of June," Brachlianoff added.
"Innovation is at the heart of our strategy. We have announced an ambitious plan to accelerate our presence in the data center and microelectronics industries, aiming for more than one billion euros in annual revenue by 2030. At the same time, we are committed to doubling the share of operational efficiency gains from digital and artificial intelligence to reach 50% by 2030."
"We confidently confirm our 2026 targets and the trajectory of our GreenUp plan. Together, we are building the environmental security of tomorrow," Brachlianoff said.
Regional picture
Growth was strongest in the Americas, Asia Pacific and the Middle East, where revenue rose 3.1% organically to €2.799 billion and 5.3% at constant exchange rates. North America grew 4.7% on a like-for-like basis, helped by price increases in regulated water, municipal water and hazardous waste.
Latin America posted revenue growth of 7.6%, supported by tariff indexation in Chile and stronger waste activity in Brazil, Argentina and Colombia. Asia fell 1.6%, mainly due to weaker waste activity in Hong Kong, while China was stable, and Southeast Asia and India benefited from demand for plastic recycling and hazardous waste treatment.
In the Pacific region, revenue rose 1.4% on a like-for-like basis and 8.1% at constant exchange rates, helped by acquisitions including Enviropacific in Australia. Africa Middle East revenue increased 4.4%, with Morocco up 7.4% and the Middle East up 3.0% despite what the group described as a complex geopolitical backdrop.
Europe delivered revenue of €5.407 billion, up 0.8% organically, or 3.0% excluding the effect of lower energy prices. Central and Eastern Europe grew 0.4%, supported by colder weather in energy and tariff increases in water. Northern Europe rose 2.5%, with the UK up 3.8% at constant scope and exchange rates on price increases and commercial gains in waste treatment.
Iberia advanced 3.2% on the back of higher water tariffs in Spain, while Italy declined 5.5%, mainly because of lower energy prices. Revenue in France and Hazardous Waste Europe rose 0.6%.
Business lines
Water revenue increased 2.0% on a like-for-like basis, driven by a 1.8% tariff increase and improved volumes. Municipal water rose 3.6%, with price increases in Spain, Central and Eastern Europe, North America and Chile.
Water Technologies' revenue fell 2.2% due to slower project activity, especially in the Middle East. Excluding projects, the business grew 4.3%.
Waste activity was broadly stable, down 0.1%. Favourable tariff revisions offset lower paper and plastic prices, weaker volumes and adverse weather. Hazardous waste rose 1.7% on a like-for-like basis and 6.0% on a like-for-like basis, including small acquisitions.
Energy revenue increased 1.2% on a like-for-like basis and 4.1% excluding energy prices. Colder weather in Central and Eastern Europe and stronger volumes helped offset lower energy prices.
Efficiency and deals
The group reported €96 million of gross efficiency gains in the quarter, in line with a full-year target of more than €350 million. Integration of Water Technologies remained on track after the buyout of minority interests, with €30 million of synergies already delivered out of €90 million expected by 2027.
Veolia has completed the main steps needed to close its acquisition of Clean Earth in the United States by the end of June, following antitrust clearance and Enviri shareholders' approval. Planning is also in place for a disposal programme worth more than €2 billion over the two years following completion.
In Australia, the group completed the AUD $228 million purchase of Enviropacific, a soil remediation business focused on PFAS treatment. The business generates an annual turnover of about AUD $250 million and employs nearly 300 people.
Veolia also set a target of generating more than €1 billion in annual revenue from data centres and microelectronics by 2030. It wants digital tools and artificial intelligence to account for 50% of operational efficiency gains by 2030, up from 23% in 2025.
For 2026, the group maintained its outlook for solid organic revenue growth, excluding energy prices, and EBITDA growth of 5% to 6%, with current net income growth of at least 8% at constant exchange rates, excluding Clean Earth.