(BFM Stock Exchange) – The French specialist in electrical equipment noted its annual margin objective, two weeks after raising its income target for 2025. Legrand displays his confidence on his medium -term roadmap, while he intends to take advantage of the dynamism of demand for data centers.
This summer season of the results will be engraved in the memory of the shareholders of Legrand since it has offered its share of very good surprises.
On July 17, the French specialist in electrical equipment had given first indications on his performances of the first half, announcing two weeks in advance a half -year turnover higher than expectations. This high -flying publication was accompanied by an increase in annual income growth prospects.
The French specialist in electrical equipment tables for the year 2025 on growth in sales between 10% and 12%, against a previous forecast of 6% and 10%.
A margin objective
Two weeks later, Legrand still notes one of his objectives, in this case that relating to his margin, on the occasion of the full publication of his half -yearly results.
The company is now counting on an operating margin (EBIT) adjusted between 20.5% and 21% of its sales, against 20.5% previously. This objective is understood after acquisitions. Legrand previously aimed at an adjusted ebit margin after stable acquisitions compared to 2024, around 20.5%.
On the Paris Stock Exchange, Legrand increased by 3.8% around 3:15 p.m.
Regarding the first half of the half, Legrand unveiled a operating profit adjusted slightly higher than billion euros (1.003 billion euros), up 14.9% compared to the first semester 2024. The adjusted operating margin is thus 21.0% of the sales of the period, emerging 50 base points (0.5 percentage point) above the consensus cited by Royal Bank of Canada. It reached 20.9% before acquisitions.
The group says it is “fully mobilized to respond to the evolutionary situation of international customs policies, and in particular American” in order to defend its profitability.
“To this end, the action plan initiated at the beginning of the year takes place in accordance with our roadmap, both concerning the targeted increase in sales and the implementation of savings, the adjustment of supply chains or the occasional adaptation of the industrial device”, adds Legrand.
The group’s net profit increased by 8.7% compared to the first half of 2024, reaching 628.1 million euros. The free cash flow increases 7.2% over a year, to 501.6 million euros.
Already published in mid-July, Legrand achieved between January and late June, a turnover up 13.4% over a year, reaching 4.774 billion euros. Sales are organic rise – that is to say by excluding the effects of perimeter and exchange – 9%. The data centers have once again shown the growth of Legrand.
The United States constitutes the heart of the growth of the French group due to the boom of artificial intelligence (AI) which results in an exponential development of datacenters (data centers).
CAP on 2030
Legrand also displays his confidence on his medium -term objectives, unveiled by the group in September 2024.
The group says it is able to reach the top of the turnover range for 2030, or around 15 billion euros, against 8.6 billion in 2024. The company intends to take advantage of the dynamism of its data centers segment, which represented 24% of its turnover in the first half of 2025.
Legrand anticipates average annual organic growth with two -digit of its market accessible on data centers over the period 2025 to 2030, based on its performance in the first half and market trends observed for 12 months.
“Overall, the assessment is positive, given the exceeding of the adjusted EBIT margin, the upward revision of margin forecasts for 2025 and the improvement of comments concerning the objectives for 2030,” said Royal Bank of Canada.
On the other hand, Schneider Electric does not arouse as much enthusiasm after its half -yearly publication, and yields more than 3% to the Paris Stock Exchange.
The specialist in energy efficiency electrical equipment and technologies, however, delivered growth of 6.4% in published data and 7.9% in comparable data, to reach a record turnover of 19.3 billion euros in the first half.
Like Legrand, Schneider Electric takes advantage of its activity around data centers, especially in the United States, which has recorded “two-digit” growth in the second quarter.
“The overall environment of the data centers segment remains very strong, with a solid pipeline of opportunities while customers strengthen their presence in AI, expanding their activities beyond the internet giants to a wider range of colocation suppliers and other actors,” explains Schneider Electric.
The operating profit (EBITA) adjusted increased by 6.9% to 3.51 billion euros in the first half, up 3.8% in published data, and 3.9% in organic data.
The tick market, however on erosion over one year of the corresponding margin, at 18.2% against 18.6% at the end of June 2024. Schneider Electric explains that it has undergone “inflation of the cost of raw materials and customs duties”, and whose negative effects intervened before the shares put in place “during the first half of them”.
Oddo BHF also notes that the group’s net profit from the group, at 1.913 billion euros, is lower than expectations. Schneider Electric explains that it has recorded a charge of depreciation without effect on the cash flow of 274 million euros on the accounting value of its participation in Uplight, due to the deterioration of the financial performance of this company over the period.
The free cash flow reached 474 million euros, described as “disappointing” by the design office, penalized by an increase in stocks and a fine of 207 million euros in the first half, within the framework of a legal case in France.
Schneider Electric also confirmed its objectives for 2025, namely 7% to 10% growth in comparable data and an improvement in its retired operating margin from 0.5 point to 0.8 percentage points.
An expensive acquisition?
In parallel with its annual results, Schneider said on Wednesday that it had bought the participation of 35 % of Temasek in its joint venture Schneider Electric India Private Limited for 5.5 billion euros.
At the end of 2024, this activity represented 1.8 billion euros out of a total of 2.5 billion euros in turnover from Schneider in India, recalls Royal Bank of Canada.
“The valuation is much greater than the amount of around 1 billion dollars cited in a recent article (The Economic Times, July 16, 2025). The implicit multiple is about 10 times the turnover and, by assuming overall profitability of the group greater than 40 times EBITA, it does not seem cheap,” notes the design office.
For RBC, the operation announced by Schneider Electric revives “the past concerns of the market concerning Schneider’s trend to achieve costly mergers-acquisitions”.
We remember that the market had pushed a relief phew in May 2024, when Schneider Electric had abandoned the idea of buying Bentley Systems, an American software company. Investors feared that this stammer threatens the group’s financial balance, with the key a potential skid of the debt of Schneider Electric.
To return to the Indian operation, the design office notes that this redemption should have only a low dilutive impact on net profit by group action and should allow Schneider to acquire the exclusive property and control of one of its most dynamic activity sectors.
Sabrina Sadgui – ©2025 BFM Bourse
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