Testing firm SGS posts higher Q3 sales, confirms outlook (updated)
UPDATE 1-Testing firm SGS posts higher Q3 sales, confirms outlook Adds CEO comments from press call in bullet points 1, 4 and 5.
Oct 23 (Reuters) - Swiss testing and inspection group SGS SGSN.S reported a 14.6% jump in its third-quarter sales to 1.98 billion Swiss francs ($2.41 billion) on Friday, helped by acquisitions and growth in cybersecurity and sustainability-related services.
The company, which has completed 18 acquisitions so far this year, confirmed its financial targets for 2026, including 5% to 7% organic sales growth and an adjusted operating margin of at least 16%.
This year's acquisitions are now expected to contribute around 7% to SGS's annual growth, at the top end of its previous 5-7% range, CEO Geraldine Picaud told journalists
Acquisitions announced in 2026 represent total annual sales of more than 150 million francs
Revenue in Digital Trust, SGS's cybersecurity and digital assurance business, rose 37% in the third quarter
Picaud said Digital Trust was approaching 300 million francs in annual revenue
She also said SGS would unveil a "very ambitious objective for the years to come" at its November capital markets day
($1 = 0.8215 Swiss francs)
(Reporting by Aleksandra Kret in Gdansk, editing by Milla Nissi-Prussak)