France’s Legrand beats Q1 expectations on strong data centre demand

Legrand SA

07/05/2025 06:30

By Anna Peverieri

May 7 (Reuters) - French electrical and digital building infrastructure group  Legrand LEGD.PA reported on Wednesday first-quarter sales that exceeded market expectations, driven by a strong demand in its data centre segment.

The French group, which sells products such as electrical junctions and EV chargers to commercial, industrial, and residential customers, reported a 7.6% organic rise in first-quarter sales to 2.28 billion euros ($2.58 billion), slightly above analysts' consensus of 2.24 billion euros and revenue growth of 4.9% in a survey provided by the company.

Despite flagging a sluggish building market in Europe - hit by high interest rates and weak commercial real estate demand - the group's sales increase was supported by its data centre offerings.

"The 7.6% organic (sales) growth (in the first quarter) is coming entirely from data centre," CEO Benoît Coquart told Reuters in an interview.

Coquart added that the group expects annual sales in the data centre segment to account for between 20 and 25% of the total group's sales.

In North and Central America, which represents 40.8% of the group's revenue, sales increased by 18.7%.

In the U.S., which accounts for 37.7% of the group's total revenue, sales rose 20.2%, buoyed by a strong performance of the group’s data centre segment.

However, in Europe, which represents 40.9% of the group's revenue, sales dipped 0.3%, weighed down by a broadly sluggish construction market across most countries.

Legrand's comments on the European construction market echoed its peer Schneider Electric SCHN.PA, which last week flagged a sequential deterioration in the European residential building market.

     The group posted first-quarter adjusted earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) of 470 million euros, beating analysts' expectations of 456 million euros seen in a company-compiled consensus.

Legrand reiterated its full-year outlook and said it was taking action to respond to shifting U.S. trade policies, including targeted price hikes, cost savings, and supply chain adjustments.

($1 = 0.8821 euros)

 (Reporting by Anna Peverieri; Editing by David Gregorio)

 ((Anna.Peverieri@thomsonreuters.com;
 +48 58 746 90 23))