(Reuters) – Shares in Schneider Electric fell as much as 8.2% on Tuesday after the electrical equipment maker on Monday reported first-quarter revenue below market expectations and cut its annual core profit margin outlook.
The group’s first quarter revenue rose 7.4% organically to 9.33 billion euros ($10.67 billion), missing analysts’ consensus of 9.47 billion euros and revenue growth expectations of 8.9%.
“We attribute the soft first quarter to normal seasonal factors within (Schneider’s) software division and (expect) the recovery in the discrete automation business to be weighted towards the second half of the year,” Morningstar analyst Matthew Donen told Reuters in an emailed statement.
Despite the initial setback, Schneider remains on track to meet its full-year 2025 organic revenue growth guidance of between 7% and 10%, bolstered by a recovery in industrial automation demand in the second half of the year and continued momentum from data centre customers, Donen said.
The sales decline was due to weaker demand in the residential building market, particularly in Western Europe and North America, Chief Financial Officer Hilary Maxson said on an investor call.
The group’s product division, which accounts for 50% of revenue, grew 1% in the first quarter. In North America, sales were impacted by residential market challenges, with uncertainty from the macroeconomic environment and high interest rates.
In Western Europe, growth remained subdued as residential markets weakened due to uncertainty and lower consumer confidence, while non-residential markets showed more resilience, the group said.
The group reaffirmed its full-year 2025 outlook, implying lower adjusted EBITA (earnings before interest, tax and amortisation) margin guidance of between 18.7% and 19%, falling short of the 19.3% predicted by analysts in a company-compiled consensus.
The lower EBITA margin is due to a foreign exchange impact for the full year that “could be around 40 basis points”, Maxson added.
The stock was down 6.3% at 0726 GMT, taking year-to-date losses to 15.5%.
(Reporting by Anna Peverieri and Alban Kacher. Editing by Freya Whitworth)
