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4
Risk Factors
Risks related to the Group’s business and industry
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Worldline
2016 Registration Document
successfully develop these new businesses.
have a material adverse effect on the Group’s ability to
Group loses key customers in its newer business lines, it could
key customers for its smaller or newer business lines. If the
Licensing”), the Group’s five largest customers, accounted for
Financial Services (formerly “Financial Processing & Software
attributable to a limited number of customers. For example, in
operates, a significant percentage of revenue is nevertheless
divisions and key geographic areas in which the Group
2016, within certain of the Group’s global business lines, business
represented more than c.5% of the Group’s total revenue in
relatively large number of customers and no single customer
Although the Group’s overall revenue is spread among a
impact on the Group’s business, particularly if the Group loses
concentrations, the loss of a customer could have a significant
accounted for 25% of total revenue in 2016. Given these
global business line. In France, the five largest customers
accounted for 11% and 6%, respectively, of total revenue for that
Group’s Mobility & e-Transactional Services global business line
business line in 2015. In 2016, the two largest clients of the
customers accounted for 28% of total revenue for that global
in Mobility & e-Transactional Services, the Group’s five largest
30% of total revenue for that global business line in 2016, while
Company.
this could have an impact on the revenue growth of the
If the Group’s sales to Atos and its customers were to decline,
customers amounted to less than 4% of its total revenue in 2016.
Revenue with the Group’s parent company Atos and its
strategy could be hindered.
services (including cross-offerings) and implement its global
ability to consolidate and expand its market position, sell its
level could be materially and adversely affected, and the Group’s
net income on both a global business line/division and Group
favorable to it, the Group’s revenue, profitability, cash flows and
prices or if contracts are renegotiated on terms that are less
if the Group is required to sell products to them at reduced
them significantly reduces or delays purchases from the Group,
business lines and divisions or key geographic regions, if any of
If the Group loses any of its large customers within its global
claims.
infringed and the Group may be subject to infringement
The Group’s intellectual property may be challenged or
harm the Group’s business and ability to operate freely.
the inability to obtain third party intellectual property could
prove successful. The loss of intellectual property protection or
expensive, could cause a diversion of resources and may not
intellectual property rights, trade secrets and know-how, which is
enforce or determine the scope and enforceability of its
the co-contracting parties. The Group may have to litigate to
agreements entered into for this purpose will be performed by
conduct its business independently, others, including the
ensure that its intellectual property is sufficient to permit it to
the Group’s intellectual property. While the Group strives to
may challenge, invalidate, circumvent, infringe or misappropriate
and protect the Group’s proprietary technology. Third parties
copyright, trademark, patent and trade secret laws to establish
The Group relies on a combination of contractual rights and
taken will prevent misappropriation of technology or that the
The Group cannot make any assurances that the steps it has
unauthorized use of the Group’s proprietary rights is difficult.
also grant a license under its intellectual property). Policing
of cross license agreements, pursuant to which the Group would
obtain licenses from these third parties (including in the context
property rights against such parties or the Group may have to
property. In such cases the Group could not assert its intellectual
the Group’s services or design around the Group’s intellectual
Group’s competitors, may develop similar technology, duplicate
that operating third parties claim that the Group’s services and
The Group may also be subject to costly litigation in the event
claims are without merit, defending against such claims may be
Group believes that most such intellectual property related
extract settlements from companies like the Group. Even if the
monetizing by making claims of infringement and attempting to
and stacking intellectual property assets for the sole purpose of
recent years, non-operating companies have been purchasing
intellectual property subject to these claims. Additionally, in
result in a limitation on the Group’s ability to freely use the
property, such as patents or copyrights. Any such claim may
technology infringe upon or otherwise violate their intellectual
providing or selling certain of its products or services.
temporary or permanent injunction prohibiting the Group from
settlement or license agreements, pay damage awards, or face a
require the Group to redesign affected services, enter into costly
upheld, claims of intellectual property infringement also might
time consuming and expensive. If they were successfully
strives to select and combine open source code subject to
products and payment platforms. While the Group constantly
some of its technology and services, including its terminal
Finally, the Group uses open source software in connection with
to its business.
disclose the Group’s proprietary source code, could be harmful
non-compliance with licensing terms, including any duty to
could inadvertently occur, and any consequence of
that would conflict with applicable licensing terms, such use
considerable efforts to ensure that none is used in a manner
software in the Group’s technology and services and make
business objectives, closely monitor the use of open source
licensing terms that are compatible with the Group’s strategic