Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on February 12, 2026
3 min readLast updated: February 12, 2026
Add as preferred source on Google
Legrand boosts profit targets with increased data centre demand, projecting over 20% margins by 2030. Revenue grew 9.6% in 2025.
Feb 12 (Reuters) - French electrical and digital building infrastructure group Legrand on Thursday said strong data centre demand was helping its expansion, supporting a slight increase in its medium-term profitability targets.
The group, which sells products for the commercial, industrial and residential sectors, said it now expects average adjusted operating margins "above 20%" in the five years to 2030, up from "around 20%" in a plan it disclosed in 2024.
While most of Legrand's business is in electrical solutions for residential and commercial buildings, AI has been transformative for the company, Legrand CEO Benoit Coquart told Reuters. He said data centres now account for 26% of its 2025 revenues and have the potential to reach up to 40%.
"We have just scratched the surface of AI," Coquart said.
The company reported a 9.6% increase in revenues to 9.48 billion euros ($11.26 billion) for the year, slightly higher than analyst expectations of 9.46 billions in a poll provided by Legrand.
Its adjusted operating profit grew 10.5% to 1.96 billions, in line with expectations.
The French company said it expected 2026 sales growth between 10% and 15% and adjusted operating margin between 20.5% and 21% after acquisitions, and proposed a dividend of 2.38 euros per share on its 2025 results.
BETTING BIG ON DATA CENTRES
Legrand said it bought this year Brazilian data centre infrastructure specialist Green4T and U.S. power distribution systems maker Kratos Industries. It completed seven acquisitions in new energies and digital in 2025, providing 500 million euros in extra revenues and sustained profit margins.
Coquart said the company was regularly reviewing, trying to talk to, and analyzing almost 400 companies for potential acquisitions, about half of which in the broader energy and digital transition, and that it had the financial means and strategy to continue pursuing expansion.
"The data center market is growing like hell in the U.S. and is expected to continue to grow in '26, '27 and '28," Coquart said. He added that the European market has not grown as much, but investments in France and elsewhere in the continent will eventually materialise.
In a separate phone call with journalists, the CEO said he expected the global data centre market to continue growing on a double-digit basis until the end of the decade, albeit at a less sustained pace this year than in 2025.
($1 = 0.8419 euros)
(Reporting by Alessandro Parodi in Gdansk, editing by Matt Scuffham)
A data centre is a facility used to house computer systems and associated components, such as telecommunications and storage systems, providing services like data storage, management, and processing.
An operating margin is a financial metric that measures the percentage of revenue that remains after covering operating expenses. It indicates how efficiently a company is managing its operations.
Adjusted operating profit refers to a company's earnings before interest and taxes, adjusted for non-recurring items, providing a clearer view of ongoing operational performance.
Explore more articles in the Finance category
