"Those who are shorting TP and Teleperformance shares are going to get burnt, trust me. When you generate a billion euros in cash flow, nothing is lost"

Threatened by AI, bots, a wait-and-see attitude and Klarna's ‘nonsense’, Teleperformance, TP, wants to believe in its future. Its managers deplore the undervaluation of its share price. Its French employees deplore the redundancy plan. But there is still 60% of New Biz to go, said Daniel Julien, CEO of the CAC 40-listed group, still the world leader in outsourced customer relations.  

"The short-sellers TP and Teleperformance are going to get their wings burnt. When you generate a billion euros in cash flow, nothing is lost" Moulay Hafid Elalamy, the king of BPO voluntarism, spoke out vehemently yesterday. The share price of the world's number 1 call centre was quoted at 400 euros at the start of 2022, down to 93 euros yesterday, representing a loss in value of almost 80%. What's up?  
At Teleperformance's general meeting yesterday, which one of En-Contact's correspondents ‘recorded’, managers and shareholders expressed their shared concern about the group's low stock market valuation, despite its solid results.

AI, BPO market potential and outsourced customer experience were the main themes discussed.  
The undervaluation of the share: the Chairman of the Board, Moulay Hafid Elalamy, regretted that the markets were not taking into account Teleperformance's solid fundamentals and its position as world leader, despite generating over €1 billion in cash flow. ‘Klarna has been talking a lot of nonsense, but his about-turn has not been as widely reported as his bogus study,’ says one market observer. 

Artificial intelligence (AI): the new CEO, Daniel Julien, sees AI as a strategic opportunity. TP is proposing to outsource services at lower cost thanks to AI, while guaranteeing quality. AI is also used internally to optimise HR processes, training, translation and automation.
"I think this technology opens up opportunities and markets for the Group. Two-thirds of our customer volumes are not yet outsourced. Thanks to AI, we can tell them that we are ready to carry out their work for 30% less than it costs them today, and we are committed to quality criteria. He continues: "You have to be ready to integrate the best possible technological solutions to win market share. To achieve this, centres of expertise have been set up.

Complex businesses and education: some shareholders pointed to the complexity of the Group's activities and called for more education. D. Julien justified the size of the workforce (500,000 employees) by the reality of the market and the needs of customers. A good example of what a specialised business can be is TLS Contact, a specialised subsidiary of the group that speeds up the management and collection of visas and passports.

Governance and succession: the Group has clarified its governance, with a separation of executive powers and the appointment of an experienced Chief Operating Officer, Thomas Mackenbrock. Daniel Julien has raised the question of his succession, although no specific timetable has been set.

Delisting? Delisting from the stock market: a delisting from the stock market was mentioned, but deemed unlikely at this stage due to the structure of the capital. Mr Elalamy criticised the volatility of the market, which he said was dominated by speculators.
In short, despite a solid financial and strategic situation, Teleperformance is struggling to convince the markets, which is causing frustration and mobilisation among both its management and its shareholders.

According to Moulay Hafid Elalamy, ‘the current valuation makes no sense’. He acknowledged that he had been approached by bankers about such an operation, but he considers it ‘virtually impossible given the Group's free float’, and also argues that ‘nobody would contribute at the current price’. As for the high volatility of ‘the stock market has become a game for clever people, shorters and speculators around Teleperformance (...) We are working to ensure that they get burnt’, he concluded. ( Les Echos )

Get a visa fast. TLS Contact. 
Outsourcing an entire process, or BPO, has been the new business for call-centre operators for the past ten years. TLS Contact is a good example. 
Every day, around 1,200 visa applications are submitted by Algerians wishing to travel to France for tourism or medical reasons, according to the French Consul in Algiers. But before they reach the French authorities, these applications are subcontracted to private service providers, such as TLS Contact (for the Oran and Annaba regions) and VFS Global (for the Algiers region), to make appointments at the Consulate. Outsourced since 2008, this system does not seem to be optimal for many Algerian citizens. ‘Mediocre service, impossible to book an appointment’, complained one user on Google. ‘I've been trying for three months without success, and the site is still blocked’, said another.
Appointment slots are sometimes quickly booked by specialist agencies or clever people who have developed specific applications for this purpose. They then resell them at a premium. Radio France and a number of other media outlets have taken a closer look at this virtual ‘scam’. Read about it in the next issue of En-Contact.