Veolia: Increasing Energy Efficiency in Waste Management
Veolia reported €22.048bn (US$25.67bn) in revenue for the first half of 2025 and showed alignment with its GreenUp 2024–2027 ecological transformation strategy.
The Group's energy-related businesses, bioenergies, energy flexibility and efficiency, are central to this growth, recording nearly 9% expansion alongside gains in water technologies and hazardous waste services.
Energy-linked gains from investment and operations
The Group allocated €2.2bn (US$2.5bn) in net financial investments during H1 2025.
This includes acquiring the final 30% of Water Technologies Services from CDPQ for €1.5bn (US$1.75bn), unlocking €90m (US$104.8m) in projected cost synergies by 2027.
Veolia also finalised €300m (US$349.4m) in hazardous waste treatment acquisitions across the United States, Brazil and Japan.
Operational efficiency delivered €191m (US$222m) in gains and synergies contributed €47m (US$54.7m) toward a 2025 target of €530m (US$617.2m).
Organic EBITDA grew 5.5% to €3.37bn (US$3.92bn).
The company also issued its first green hybrid bond, raising €497m (US$578.7m) to fund climate-aligned infrastructure.
Veolia says it sees this strategy as key to delivering long-term value through sustainable services.
“The excellent results recorded in the first half confirm the relevance of the GreenUp plan's growth priorities,” writes Estelle Brachlianoff, CEO of Veolia, in the H1 2025 results.
“In an uncertain economic and geopolitical context, the challenges related to health, resilience, competitiveness and sovereignty are all the more crucial and confirm the sustained demand for our services.
“Our unique ability to demonstrate agility in a constantly evolving environment enables us to maximise value creation for our stakeholders by combining resilience and growth.
“The strong performance in the first half of 2025 makes us fully confident in achieving our objectives for the year.”
Boosters and energy services drive regional performance
Bioenergies, energy flexibility and energy efficiency, the so-called “booster” businesses, saw +6.6% growth on a like-for-like basis when energy prices are excluded.
Like-for-like comparisons measure performance without factoring in acquisitions or divestments, offering a clearer picture of underlying operations.
This growth is credited to strong commercial activity in Italy, Hungary, Spain, Belgium and the Middle East.
In Veolia’s core energy segment, sales fell by -0.9% on a like-for-like basis, largely due to a -6.4% energy price impact.
But when energy prices are stripped out, energy-related sales showed +5.5% growth.
Europe outside France delivered €9.73bn (US$11.33bn) in revenue, a +5.6% increase, excluding energy prices, driven by tariff indexations and recycling price improvements.
Latin America grew 10.5%, reaching €948m (US$1.1bn), bolstered by robust water and waste operations in Colombia, Brazil and Argentina.
The Middle East and Africa region reported €847m (US$986.4m), a 4.8% rise, supported by new water and energy service projects.
In North America, revenue reached €1.54bn (US$1.79bn), up +2.6% on a like-for-like basis, mainly driven by hazardous waste and regulated services with price increases.
Sales from the hazardous waste treatment business grew +4.9% like-for-like, supported by strong performance in France, Special Waste Europe and North America.
Water and waste remain core to clean energy goals
While energy services play an increasing role, water and waste remain foundational to Veolia’s ecological transformation targets.
Sales in water activities grew more than 3.4% like-for-like.
Markets in Spain, Central and Eastern Europe and North America showed some tariff-driven growth.
In waste, revenues increased by +2.4% on a like-for-like basis. Favourable pricing revisions (+2.1%), higher recyclate prices (+0.3%) and a +0.4% volume effect all contributed to growth.
Solid waste management, the segment’s core offering, grew +1.5% on a like-for-like basis, with strong sales in Germany and Asia, especially Hong Kong, alongside pricing tailwinds in the UK and Australia.
Hazardous waste treatment, closely linked to industrial energy demand, forms a key part of the Group’s “boosters” strategy and supports expansion in markets with strong regulatory frameworks and industrial activity.
Looking ahead, Veolia reaffirmed its 2025 guidance. It targets 5–6% organic EBITDA growth, €350m (US$407.5m) in annual efficiency gains and about 9% growth in current net income.
The company maintains its goal to exceed €8bn (US$9.3bn) EBITDA by 2027 while keeping leverage below 3x and aligning dividend growth to earnings.
