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Nexans: Electrifying the World's Energy Transition
The Hidden Infrastructure Powering Tomorrow's World
In the basement of global energy infrastructure lies a deceptively simple truth: without cables, nothing works. Not the wind turbine spinning off the coast of Scotland, not the solar panel array in Morocco, not the data center powering artificial intelligence in Virginia. The electrons that define modern civilizationâthat power our hospitals, light our cities, and connect our digital livesâtravel through millions of kilometers of copper and aluminum cables, most of them invisible to the average person. And in this unglamorous but utterly essential business, a 145-year-old French company has quietly executed one of the most remarkable corporate turnarounds in recent European industrial history.
Nexans S.A. is a global company in the cable and optical fibre industry headquartered in Paris, France. It is the world's second largest manufacturer of cables after Prysmian S.p.A. But the raw ranking obscures the real story. Between 2009 and 2018, Nexans was a company adriftâa sprawling, unfocused conglomerate bleeding margin, hemorrhaging market share, and testing the patience of investors who wondered if the business had any strategic direction at all. Then came Christopher GuĂ©rin.
The Group set a new financial record, underscoring the success of its structural transformation and long-term strategic execution. 2024 also marks the successful completion of our 2021-2024 equity story "Winds of Change", a period in which Nexans fundamentally transformed into a pure player in electrification.
How did a cable manufacturer go from near-irrelevance to recording an all-time high adjusted EBITDA of âŹ804 million in 2024, up by a solid +21.0% versus âŹ665 million in 2023? The adjusted EBITDA margin reached an all-time high of 11.4%, surpassing the previous year's strong performance.
The answer involves radical simplification, a bet on the global energy transition, the courage to say "no" to most of your customers, and a management philosophy that sounds almost too good to be trueâuntil you see the numbers.
Origins: The Birth of Electrical Infrastructure (1879-1960s)
The year was 1879. Thomas Edison was perfecting the incandescent light bulb in Menlo Park, and across the Atlantic, a Swiss engineer named François Borel was solving a problem Edison didn't even know he had: how to get electricity from point A to point B without killing anyone.
Waterproof electric cable was invented in 1879 by François Borel, of Switzerland, who later formed Berthoud, Borel & Company to develop the system, which consisted of wrapping wire with bituminous paper, which was then sealed with lead. The invention caused a revolution in a number of nascent industries, notably in the telecommunications and electrical power industries.
The timing was exquisite. Edison's light bulb needed electricity, and electricity needed cables. The company's earliest roots are in the work of Swiss engineer François Borel and businessman Ădouard Berthoud, who developed a watertight electrical cable in 1879. Their venture, Berthoud, Borel et Cie, led to the formation of the SociĂ©tĂ© d'Exploitation des CĂąbles Ălectriques (SCE) to commercialize this innovation.
Borel's invention was elegantly simple yet technically brilliant. By wrapping wire with bituminous paper and sealing it in lead, he created the world's first truly waterproof electrical cableâa product that could be buried underground, submerged in water, or strung across the wet streets of Paris without electrocuting passersby. This wasn't just a product innovation; it was the foundation of modern electrical infrastructure.
In 1897, the Société Française de Cùbles was formed to manufacture cables using the Berthoud, Borel system in Lyon, France. By 1912, that firm, which became known as Société des Cùbles Electriques, found an important shareholder in Compagnie Générale d'Electricité (CGE).
The marriage between cable manufacturing and CGEâone of France's most powerful electricity companiesâwould define the business for the next century. CGE wasn't just buying a supplier; it was vertically integrating to control the entire value chain of France's electrical modernization.
This period established the DNA that would carry through to modern Nexans: "For more than 120 years, we played a central role in providing electrification to the planet." Cable manufacturing requires deep technical expertise, massive capital investment in specialized equipment, andâcriticallyâthe ability to execute complex installation projects where failure means blackouts for millions of people. These barriers to entry would prove to be among the company's most durable competitive advantages.
But the early identity of the cable business was always subsumed under larger conglomerates. It was never the star of the showâjust the essential plumbing that made everything else work. This would become both a blessing and a curse in the decades to come.
The CGE/Alcatel Era: Building Scale, Losing Focus (1969-2000)
The 1960s brought the telecommunications revolution, and CGE responded aggressively. In 1969, CGE acquired Alcatel, founded in 1879 as the SociĂ©tĂ© Alsacienne de Construction MĂ©canique, and which had become one of the leading manufacturers of telecommunications technologies. The Alcatel acquisition boosted CGE's own telecommunications operation, CITâthe two companies were merged to form CIT-Alcatelâand also stepped up CĂąbles de Lyon's business as well.
What followed was three decades of acquisition-fueled expansion that transformed a focused French cable maker into a sprawling European industrial conglomerate. CĂąbles de Lyon began building scale during the 1970s, acquiring French rival CĂąbles Geoffrey et Delore in 1970. At the end of that decade, the company added to its French holdings with the purchase of CĂąbleries de Lens in 1979.
The acquisitions accelerated in the 1980s. 1982: CĂąbles de Lyon acquires Kabel und Metallwerke of Germany. 1983: Company acquires Thomson Jeumont Cables and Kabeltel. 1986: Company merges with ITT's cable operations after CGE and ITT merger.
By this point, the cable division was building genuine global scale. By the beginning of the 1980s, CĂąbles de Lyon already held a leading position in the European cable market, with annual sales of some FFr 3 billion. But scale without focus is a dangerous combination. The company was becoming excellent at acquiring businesses and mediocre at operating them.
The late 1980s and 1990s continued the acquisition binge: Now named Alcatel Cable, company acquires AEG, Vacha Kabel, Lacroix & Kress, Ehlerskabelwerk, and Canada Wire & Cable. Each acquisition added revenue, complexity, andâcruciallyâadditional product lines and customer segments that the company had no particular right to win.
Then came disaster. The telecommunications bubble of the mid-1990s caught Alcatel Cable flat-footed. The parent company had bet big on traditional telecommunications infrastructure precisely as fiber optics and mobile communications were reshaping the industry. By 1996, Alcatel Cable's losses had become impossible to ignore, draining resources from the entire conglomerate.
Alcatel NV began preparing to streamline its own operations in the late 1990s in order to focus on its core communications business. In May 2000, the company announced its intention to spin off Alcatel Cable as a separate company, called Nexans. Initial plans called for a public offering of Nexans by the end of that year.
The spinoff was both an admission of defeat and an opportunity. Alcatel was effectively saying: "We don't know what to do with the cable business, and we don't want to keep trying." For the cable operations, it meant freedomâbut also the terrifying responsibility of proving they could survive on their own.
Birth of Nexans: Independence & The First Golden Decade (2000-2009)
Nexans was founded in 2000 as a business unit of the telecommunications firm Alcatel after its acquisition of a number of companies in the cable sector. It was spun out and listed on the Paris stock exchange the following year.
The timing was terrible. The dot-com bubble had burst, the telecoms sector was in freefall, and the IPO had to be delayed. Poor market conditions forced Alcatel to wait until June 2001. The offering, which reduced Alcatel's stake to just 30 percent, was oversubscribed by some 6.5 times. The newly independent Nexans, led by Gerard Hauser, was now able to plot its own growth strategy.
The 6.5x oversubscription in the middle of a market crash revealed something important: investors believed in the underlying business even if they didn't believe in Alcatel's ability to manage it. Cables might be boring, but they were essentialâand an independent, focused cable company could potentially unlock value that had been hidden inside a conglomerate.
Nexans became a publicly traded entity on June 12, 2001, debuting on the Paris stock exchange with an initial valuation of âŹ675 million. For context, at its 2024 EBITDA of âŹ804 million, the current Nexans is generating more in annual cash operating profit than the entire company was worth at IPO.
The newly independent Nexans, led by Gerard Hauser, was now able to plot its own growth strategy. Acquisitions nonetheless remained a key part of the company's future, as it raced to regain its top spotâhaving lost out to Italy's Pirelli and Japan's Sumitomo during the 1990s. By the end of 2001, the company had already found its first takeover target, that of South Korea's Daesung.
2001: Nexans is successfully listed on the Paris stock exchange and SBF 120. Acquisition of Daesung in South Korea. 2002: acquisition of Petri in Germany and agreement to acquire another Korean company, Kukdong Electrical Wires Company.
The first decade was, by all accounts, golden. The global economy was expanding, infrastructure investment was booming in emerging markets, and Nexans rode the wave. Management could point to growing revenues, expanding geographic footprint, and an increasingly complex portfolio of cable products serving everything from telecommunications to oil and gas to automotive manufacturing.
But golden decades have a way of hiding structural problems. Volume was growing, but was value? Nexans was spreading resources across dozens of end markets without developing dominant positions in any of them. The complexity of managing so many different business lines was consuming management attention and diluting returns on capital.
The 2008 financial crisis would expose these vulnerabilities, but even before the crash, warning signs were visible to those who looked closely. Margins were under pressure from commoditized Asian competitors. Return on capital was mediocre. And the company's strategic identity remained fuzzyâwas Nexans a telecoms company? An infrastructure company? An industrial specialist? The answer seemed to be "all of the above," which in practice meant "none of the above."
Lost in the Wilderness: The Decade of Drift (2009-2018)
Every great corporate turnaround story needs a "wilderness" periodâthat stretch of years when everything goes wrong, when management seems paralyzed, and when investors begin to wonder if the company has any future at all. For Nexans, that period lasted almost a full decade.
"Nexans was in disarray in 2019," the company would later acknowledge in an HEC Paris case study. The diagnosis was harsh but accurate.
The problems were structural, not cyclical. The global financial crisis certainly didn't help, but Nexans's struggles went far deeper than macroeconomic headwinds. The company had grown to encompass four main business areasâbuildings and territories, high voltage and projects, data and telecoms, and various industrial segmentsâeach with its own sub-segments, each requiring specialized expertise, each competing for capital and management attention.
The complexity was staggering. The Group had expanded to eight macro sectors representing 34 subsectors. Each subsector had its own customers, competitors, manufacturing requirements, and pricing dynamics. Middle managers were overwhelmed trying to optimize across so many dimensions. Strategic decisions took forever as every initiative required buy-in from multiple business units with conflicting priorities.
Meanwhile, acquisitions continued. In 2012, Nexans acquired AmerCable in the United States and Shandong Yanggu Cable Group in China. Each deal looked reasonable in isolation but added yet more complexity to an already unmanageable portfolio.
The financial results told the story: margins compressed, returns on capital declined, and the stock price stagnated while competitorsâparticularly Italy's Prysmianâgained share in the highest-value segments of the market.
At that time, the firm was undergoing one of the biggest crises of its 120-year history. The share price had plummeted to historical lows, investors and commentators were starting to speculate on a potential takeover of the company. Whatever I wanted to do, it had to produce quick and visible results to save the firm.
This was the situation Christopher GuĂ©rin inherited when he became CEO in 2018. The classic conglomerate diseaseâgrowth for growth's sake, margin compression, lost identityâhad taken hold. Nexans had all the symptoms: too many customers, too many products, too many markets, and too little profit.
The question was whether the patient could be saved.
The Christopher Guérin Transformation (2018-2024)
A New Leader, A New Philosophy
Paris La Défense, July 4th, 2018 - The Board of Directors of Nexans... "Christopher Guérin is a solid and inspiring executive who has demonstrated many successes within the Group," said Georges Chodron de Courcel, Chairman of the Board. "He is a well-respected leader in our organization and successfully carried out the deep transformation of our European activities."
Guérin was not an outsider brought in to slash and burn. Prior to this date, he was in charge of the Industry Market Line, which he took over in 2013 after having held, for 6 years, various Sales and Marketing functions in France and Europe. Between 2005 and 2007, while he was Sales Director Europe, Christopher Guérin joined Alcatel Cables, became Nexans in 2001, in 1997 in the Metallurgy division where he held various Sales and Marketing Directorship positions.
He had lived through Nexans's struggles from the inside. He understood the culture, knew where the bodies were buried, and had proven he could transform struggling business units within the broader organization. Since 2014, Christopher Guérin held the position of Senior Executive Vice President, Europe and Telecom/Datacom, Power Accessories Business Groups.
His mandate was existential: save the company or prepare it for sale. GuĂ©rin chose a third pathâtransformation so radical it would effectively create a new company within the shell of the old one.
At the heart of this change lies a simple but radical idea: doing more with less. Under CEO Christopher Guérin's leadership, Nexans has pursued a deliberate shift from volume-based to value-based growth.
The philosophy was captured in a phrase that would become Nexans's calling card: "Simplify to Amplify." One of your first decisions as CEO was to launch a strategic plan called "Simplify to amplify," which reduced the number of clients served by Nexans by over two-thirds.
Think about that for a moment. Most companies facing a crisis try to grow their way outâmore products, more customers, more markets. GuĂ©rin did the opposite. He deliberately shrank the customer base, reduced the product portfolio, and exited entire market segments. In doing so, he bet that a focused Nexans could be worth more than a sprawling one.
Strategic Simplification
The numbers were striking. This transformation was orchestrated using Nexans' internal "Shift" methodology â a structured program for strategic and operational simplification. Shift enabled Nexans to cut its customer base from 17,000 to fewer than 4,000 and reduce product complexity by trimming SKUs by 30-40% per site. In parallel, the business structure was consolidated from 25 areas of activity to just four main units.
The Group moved from eight macro sectors representing 34 subsectors to just four sectors representing twelve subsectors. Each remaining segment was chosen not for its volume potential but for its margin profile and strategic importance in the emerging energy transition.
In 2018, we made a strategic shift in our approach to refocus on what we do best: electrifying the world. We play an essential role in operationalizing the various links in the electrification chain, from power generation to transmission, distribution and usage.
The strategic clarity was revolutionary for a company that had spent decades being everything to everyone. Nexans would be an "Electrification Pure Player"âa company focused exclusively on cables and systems that power the world's transition to clean energy. Telecom cables? Divest them. Industrial specialty cables? Spin them off. Anything that didn't directly support electrification was put on the block.
We have replaced volume and complexity with value creation and simplification. We have taken a number of steps to streamline our organization and create value: Scaling down from 25 areas of activity to four main business units, and from 17,000 customers to 4,000 strategic customers.
The E3 Management Model
But simplification alone wouldn't be enough. Nexans needed a new operating systemâa way to manage the business that would prevent it from drifting back into complexity.
Shift is more than a toolbox â it is a cornerstone of Nexans' broader E3 (Economic, Environmental, Engagement) management approach. By integrating financial performance, environmental impact, and employee engagement into one system, Nexans exemplifies what sustainable business transformation can look like in practice.
The E3 modelâEconomic, Environmental, Engagementâwas GuĂ©rin's attempt to create a management framework that would keep the company focused on long-term value creation rather than short-term volume growth.
In this video, Christopher Guerin, Nexans CEO, talks about the E3 model being used to manage the Group. It is a unique management model that reconciles environment, engagement and the economy in order to: break down barriers; reduce complexity to unlock greater performance; better contribute to the environmental transition; and undertake collective action.
All three underpin our new management model, E3. In the absence of theoretical models or literature on the subject, we developed our own model based on one simple principle: to manage all our sites in accordance with the three above criteria, considering each one as equally important. Our vision of management considers ecological performance, business performance and employee well-being as indissociable. This rational and balanced approach has become the driving force behind our profitability. In 2022, we rolled out the E3 model across the Group.
The model uses integrated dashboards and decision rulesâsuch as carbon-adjusted marginsâto align financial and environmental performance. Each business unit is evaluated on all three dimensions simultaneously, preventing the temptation to boost one metric at the expense of others.
The SHIFT Program
Just four years of SHIFT program have transformed Nexans beyond expectations. Performance is just the tip of the iceberg, because KPIs never explains the real issues. SHIFT was implemented to get to the root causes of the problems at Nexans, to help Nexans to understand problems people are not seeing and to challenge preconceived ways of working as well as collecting data.
The SHIFT methodology became the operational engine of the transformation. It wasn't just about cutting costs or eliminating productsâit was about fundamentally rethinking how each business unit created value.
In 2018 we conducted a thorough portfolio analysis. This helped us to categorize our portfolio in news ways: it included understanding what were value burners, cash tanks, transformation candidates, profitable cash tanks and profit drivers.
As CEO Guérin put it: "Sobriety drives greener growth. The key insight from our transformation is that sobriety, as a management philosophy, requires strong internal tools. When units struggled, the root causes were rarely external; they were predominantly managerial."
This award recognises the strategic choices made by Nexans and its CEO Christopher Guérin, who has succeeded in transforming the company's business model in an unprecedented context to become a pure player and leader in sustainable electrification. This award is also in recognition of Nexans' firmly held belief that economic performance can no longer be dissociated from environmental performance and human well-being and commitment.
By 2022, the transformation was complete enough that GuĂ©rin won the EIM-KPMG Strategic Plan Awardâexternal validation that Nexans had genuinely reinvented itself rather than simply executing a cost-cutting exercise.
The Offshore Wind & Subsea Bet
Building the Infrastructure of the Energy Transition
While Guérin was simplifying the business portfolio, he was also making a concentrated bet on what he believed would be the highest-growth, highest-margin segment of the cable industry: subsea high-voltage cables for offshore wind farms and grid interconnectors.
Paris, November 9, 2021 â Nexans announced today the opening of the first U.S. based subsea high voltage cable facility in Charleston, SC. It is the only facility in North America with such capability. From the Charleston facility Nexans will deliver subsea cables up to 525kV HVDC and 400kV HVAC, covering the full range of needed products for export cables for offshore wind and subsea interconnectors.
The Charleston plant investment was audacious. Nexans has invested $200 million in the new Charleston plant, which builds on an existing cable-production facility for shoreside transmission cables that opened in 2014. The United States had virtually no offshore wind capacity, no established supply chain, and no clear policy path to building one. Nexans was betting that all of that would changeâand that being first to market with manufacturing capacity would create sustainable competitive advantage.
It's a first in North America, uniquely positioned to serve the rapidly expanding U.S. offshore wind market. Nexans officially opens its transformed high voltage subsea cable plant in Charleston, South Carolina, United States, to supply the rapidly expanding U.S. offshore wind market, with potential growth of 13% annually by 2030.
The bet was also about vertical integration. Unlike competitors who manufactured cables and then subcontracted installation, Nexans invested in becoming a full-service providerâfrom cable design through manufacturing through installation and maintenance.
The Nexans Aurora: A Cable-Laying Game Changer
Halden, Norway, 22 September 2021 â Nexans has further strengthened its offering in the offshore wind and interconnector market by today unveiling its second cable-laying vessel, the Nexans Aurora, to customers and stakeholders at a dedicated ceremony in Halden, Norway. The ceremony saw Nexans CEO Christopher GuĂ©rin speak to customers and stakeholders about the role the new vessel will play in helping to meet the fast-growing demand for high voltage subsea cables and interconnectors, as part of the global energy transition. The Nexans Aurora will be the first of its kind in the offshore cable-laying sector.
Cable-laying vessels are essential infrastructure that most people never think about. These are not ordinary shipsâthey're floating factories capable of storing thousands of tons of cable on massive turntables and laying them precisely on the seabed while maintaining position in rough seas.
Dimensions: 149.9 meters in length and 31 meters in width, making it well-suited for a range of subsea construction tasks. Capacity: With a large 10,000-ton capacity split turntable, the vessel is equipped to handle the installation of high-voltage cable systems with ease.
To date, Nexans has invested more than âŹ500M in the offshore wind sector and continues to expand its offshore wind operations around the globe. It already owns one purpose-built cable laying vessel, Nexans Skagerrak, and the Nexans Aurora will bring additional capabilities and capacity to the next level.
The company wasn't done. Nexans has reached a new key milestone in the construction of the Nexans Electra with the successful launch of the vessel on 13 November 2025 at the Ulstein Verft shipyard in Norway. Designed to carry 13,500 tonnes of cables and capable of laying up to four simultaneously, the Nexans Electra will, upon its delivery in 2026, significantly strengthen Nexans' ability to execute complex EPCI subsea cable projects and support the global energy transition.
Three cable-laying vessels represents a fleet capable of executing projects globally and simultaneouslyâa significant barrier to entry for competitors who would need to invest billions and wait years to build similar capabilities.
Building the Project Backlog
First-quarter 2025 financial information: promising start to 2025 ... Record adjusted backlog for PWR-Transmission, mainly subsea-driven, at âŹ8.1 billion, up +9.7% compared to âŹ7.4 billion at end of December 2024 · Major framework agreement, valued at more than âŹ1 billion, was secured with RTE in March 2025 for the design, manufacturing, and supply of HVDC cables, which will be used to connect offshore wind farms to the French transmission network · On April 29, 2025 Nexans has been awarded a contract by Interconnect Malta (ICM) to deliver high-voltage subsea cable for Malta's second interconnector. The cables for this project will be produced at Nexans' facility in Charleston, USA.
An âŹ8.1 billion backlog is extraordinary for a company with âŹ7.1 billion in annual sales. It represents more than a year's revenue already contracted, providing visibility into future cash flows that few industrial companies can match. This backlog is heavily weighted toward high-margin subsea projects with long execution timelinesâprecisely the profile an investor wants to see.
The Charleston high voltage subsea plant is part of the comprehensive supply chain that is being developed to support offshore wind in the U.S. market. Energy companies such as Eversource, Ărsted and Equinor are among those whose projects are expected to accelerate the energy transition in the U.S. Nexans has signed a framework agreement with Eversource and Ărsted to supply the first U.S.-made subsea high voltage export cables for the projects.
Digital & Industry 4.0 Transformation
Even as Nexans was simplifying its business portfolio, it was dramatically increasing the sophistication of its manufacturing operations. The partnership with Schneider Electric launched in late 2020 became the foundation for comprehensive digital transformation.
Nexans has partnered with Schneider Electric on a joint program to take its digital journey to the next level. The aim is to accelerate the transformation of Nexans into a business driven by clear, rich and actionable data as the foundation for improved business performance, safety and flexibility. The digitalization of its factories will further improve the efficiency of production lines, enable predictive maintenance and reduce carbon emissions. It will also contribute to the Group's commitment to achieve carbon neutrality by 2030.
French power cable maker Nexans has partnered with Schneider Electric on a joint programme for industrial automation and Industry 4.0. The two started a pilot programme in October 2020 at two Nexans plants in Europe, and will report the results by the end of 2021. This is looking at monitoring energy usage and predictive, condition-based maintenance to identify improvement initiatives that will yield a return on investment in less than three years.
The results from Schneider Electric's own implementations were impressive: These include an up to 80 percent reduction in maintenance time by implementing predictive maintenance solutions as well as a 15 percent reduction in energy costs.
In partnership with Schneider Electric, we're spearheading our Digital Transformation, integrating IoT, Cloud computing, AI, and more, to ensure real-time, informed decision-making that heightens safety, quality, and market responsiveness. Our pilot factories in Autun and Grimsas are the testaments of our commitment, showcasing performance and energy monitoring systems that epitomize flexibility and agility.
Taking this process as far as possible, Nexans is making sure that its industry 4.0 plan is consistent with the E3 management model, underpinning the transformation of the group by supporting the goals of economic performance, environmental virtue and employee commitment.
The digital transformation isn't just about factory efficiencyâit's about creating a new relationship between the company and its installed cable base. As part of its SHIFT Prime program, the Group is actively working on growing its connected objects and users to engineer a new recurring revenue model supported by continued innovation with added-value products and solutions. The Group now has more than 380,000 connected users and more than 30,000 connected objects globally.
Sustainability as Strategy
For many industrial companies, sustainability is a compliance exerciseâsomething to be managed alongside the real business. Nexans has tried to make it integral to the value proposition.
Nexans' ambitious 2030 climate targets have been validated by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi). SBTi's validation of Nexans' climate strategy illustrates Nexans' commitment to decarbonization. Nexans announces today that its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions targets have been validated by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi).
Nexans' sustainability roadmap, analysed by SBTi's Target Validation Team, includes a commitment: to reduce absolute Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions by 46.2% by 2030 versus 2019 base year. Scope 1 and 2 cover the GHG emissions coming from industrial operations of the Nexans Group; to reduce absolute Scope 3 GHG emissions by 24% by 2030 versus 2019 base year. Scope 3 covers the GHG emissions coming from use of sold products, purchase of goods and services, metal extraction, transportation, and operations before and after the transformation of raw materials to finished products done by the Nexans Group. Nexans targets for scope 1 and 2 are in line with the 1.5° C trajectory, determined by the Paris Agreements (COP21). As stated by SBTi, the Group's 1.5°C-aligned target currently are the most ambitious designation available through the SBTi process.
The sustainability targets aren't just aspirationalâthey're linked to financing. The Bond is linked to Nexans' climate commitments. The Group plans on (i) reducing its absolute Scopes 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions by -29.4% by December 31th, 2026 in line with SBTi targets, and (ii) reducing its "Cradle-to-shelf" Scope 3 greenhouse gas emissions, associated with carbon content of products, by -21.8 % by December 31th, 2026.
Progress has been significant. Significant progress was achieved in 2024: Decarbonization initiatives yielding positive results: 38% reduction in Scope 1 & 2 GHG emissions (42% reduction target in 2028) and 40% reduction in Scope 3 GHG emissions (30% reduction target in 2028).
We are on the CDP A List for Climate Change, recognizing the companies leading the way in climate action. We are committed to achieving "Net Zero" emissions by 2050, in line with the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi). In 2023, our Group joined the CAC SBT 1.5° index, a new climate-focused version of the CAC 40, intended for organizations whose emission reduction targets are recognized as being in line with the Paris Agreement.
Portfolio Rotation: The Pure Player Journey
The transformation from diversified cable maker to electrification pure player required not just divestments but also targeted acquisitions to fill gaps in the focused portfolio.
Nexans' business strategy has evolved to emphasize solutions and services, fostering deeper relationships with its 4,000 strategic customers. Acquisitions like La Triveneta Cavi in June 2024 and Reka Cables in April 2023 bolster its capabilities and market presence, particularly in Europe.
Nexans announces the successful completion of its acquisition of Reka Cables, a premium company active in the manufacturing of high, medium and low voltages cables, for building applications, power distribution networks and onshore wind projects. This acquisition marks an additional milestone of Nexans' ambition to become a pure electrification player focusing on the overall value chain. Reka Cables, headquartered in HyvinkÀÀ, Finland, has been providing high-quality cables to customers in the energy, infrastructure, and building sectors for over 60 years. The company operates three manufacturing plants in Finland which will be complementing Nexans' existing operations in Sweden and Norway. In 2022, Reka Cables reported current sales of 172 million euros and an EBITDA of 11 million euros.
Nexans has taken a significant leap forward in its electrification strategy by completing the acquisition of the iconic Italian company La Triveneta Cavi. Nexans has taken a significant leap forward in its electrification strategy by completing the acquisition of the iconic Italian company La Triveneta Cavi, with recognized excellence in the European medium- and low-voltage cable segments. La Triveneta Cavi boasts 700 skilled employees across 4 production units and generates over 800 million euros in sales.
The enterprise value of around 520 million euros represents a multiple of 5.6x 2023 EBITDA pre-synergies and 4.6x post run rate synergies. It will be high-single-digit accretive to earnings per share (EPS) from year one. Nexans' financing of the acquisition will have limited impact on run rate leverage to remain â€1.0x.
On the divestment side, the company has been equally disciplined. The company's Nexans go-to-market strategy has been refined through divestments, such as AmerCable in early 2025 and Lynxeo in November 2024. These moves underscore a strategic shift away from non-core segments to concentrate on its 'electrification pure player' identity.
In the fourth quarter of 2024, Nexans continued to deliver on the implementation of its strategy to refocus its activities. The Group announced the execution of an agreement to sell AmerCable, a leading manufacturer of electrical power, control and instrumentation cables for harsh environments, for an enterprise value of US$280 million, which was completed on January 2, 2025. The Group also completed the business separation of its specialty industrial cable operations formerly Nexans Industry Solutions & Projects now named Lynxeo.
Financial Transformation & Results
The numbers tell the story of successful transformation.
Adjusted EBITDA reached a record high of âŹ804 million in 2024, up by a solid +21.0% versus âŹ665 million in 2023. This strong performance underscored the profitability enhancements across all business segments. The adjusted EBITDA margin reached an all-time high of 11.4%, surpassing the previous year's strong performance of 10.2%. This achievement illustrates the Group's strategic focus on operational excellence, selectivity and value-driven growth.
Strong half-year results reflecting ... Electrification businesses, up +7.8% organically in H1 2025 · Record adjusted EBITDA of âŹ441 million, up +7.0% year-on-year, adjusted EBITDA margin at 11.7% of standard sales, up +10 bps. Strong half-year results reflecting the strengths of Nexans' business model and quality of execution · H1 2025 standard sales of âŹ3.8 billion (current sales of âŹ4.7 billion), up +4.9% organically and Q2 2025 standard sales of âŹ2.0 billion, up +5.7% organically.
The Group's EBITDA margin stood at 11.1% in 2024, in line with the Group's 2021 Capital markets day target of 10%-12%. ROCE (including the 12-month contribution of La Triveneta Cavi and AmerCable) pursued its strong trajectory, reaching 21.1% for the Group, and 26.3% for the Electrification businesses.
The margin improvement from the mid-single digits in 2018 to over 11% in 2024 represents genuine value creation, not just accounting shifts. When a company improves its EBITDA margin by 500+ basis points while also growing revenue, it's creating real economic value.
Net income of âŹ283 million, marking a 27% increase from the previous year.
Adjusted EBITDA of between âŹ810 million and âŹ860 million (previously: âŹ770 â 850 million, excluding divestment of Lynxeo and future changes of scope) Free Cash Flow of between âŹ275 million and âŹ375 million. Electrification adjusted EBITDA significantly up +17.2% year-on-year, adjusted EBITDA margin at 13.7% of standard sales with structural improvements bearing fruit.
Leadership Transition
In October 2025, Nexans entered a new chapter.
PARIS LA DĂFENSE, France, Oct. 13, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Nexans announces that its Board of Directors has resolved to appoint Julien Hueber as the new Chief Executive Officer and to part ways with Christopher GuĂ©rin. These decisions will take effect immediately; Christopher will be available to Julien until October 31st, 2025. The Board of Directors wishes to create a new momentum to further optimize performance while executing the roadmap which was presented during the last Capital Market Day.
Julien Hueber, a 55-year-old French citizen, is the Executive Managing Director of PWR Grid & Connect Europe, a EUR 2.6 billion and 23 manufacturing plants business. Julien, a member of the Executive Committee since 2018, joined Nexans in 2002. He has solid experience in supply chain and purchasing, in-depth knowledge of the Asia-Pacific region, particularly China and South Korea, where he spent several years leading the Asia-Pacific region. He then took charge of the global "Industrial Cables â Industry Solutions & Projects" business.
The Board would like to express its deep gratitude to Christopher Guérin for his exceptional contribution to Nexans, and in particular during his 7 years as Chief Executive Officer. Beyond the strong financial results, Christopher has profoundly transformed Nexans into a focused leader in sustainable Electrification, giving meaning and direction to its mission.
Jean Mouton, Chairman of the Board of Directors, stated: "Over the past 23 years, Julien has demonstrated exceptional leadership and a profound understanding of Nexans' business, operating model, and culture. He combines a strategic vision for future technologies with a strong record of operational excellence, as evidenced by the remarkable acceleration of the PWR Grid & Connect Europe segment under his leadership. I have complete confidence in his ability to lead Nexans in this new phase of focused acceleration, in line with the goals announced during the last Capital Markets Day."
2028 Guidance and Strategic Roadmap
At its November 2024 Capital Markets Day, Nexans laid out ambitious targets for the next four years.
Nexans is also unveiling its 2028 financial targets at the Group level: Adjusted EBITDA at âŹ1,150 million (+/- âŹ75 million) while completing its portfolio rotation towards Electrification.
On its existing Electrification portfolio, Nexans will continue to drive selective and profitable expansion, expecting an organic growth of +3-5% CAGR. An incremental adjusted EBITDA of +âŹ350 million is targeted between 2024 and 2028 in Electrification businesses.
Capital Expenditures around âŹ1.2 billion between 2025 and 2028 to fuel growth, with a reallocation towards PWR-Grid and PWR-Connect segments (formerly Distribution and Usage) during the period, boosted by growth capex. Cumulative free cash flow before M&A and equity operations is expected to land around âŹ1.4 billion between 2025 and 2028, with a solid conversion rate ratio above 45% in 2028. Continued disciplined acquisition strategy supported by Nexans' robust M&A blueprint to reinforce portfolio in Electrification markets and expand into new value pools. Disciplined leverage with a net debt/adjusted EBITDA ratio †1.0x and a commitment to maintaining a strong credit rating. Shareholder return with a progressive dividend policy and dividend payout ratio â„ 30%, while buying-back shares to avoid dilution. Reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 2028 by -42% on scopes 1 and 2 and -29% on scope 3 versus the 2019 base year.
Competitive Landscape and Industry Analysis
The Cable Industry Oligopoly
The global cable industry is dominated by a handful of players. Nexans holds a significant position as the world's second-largest cable manufacturer, trailing only Prysmian S.p.A. The company's strategic pivot since 2018 to become an 'Electrification Pure Player' has been central to its market standing.
When it comes to developing and securing the European electricity grids, names like Nexans, Prysmian, and NKT are essential. These leaders in high voltage cable manufacturing play a key strategic role in modernizing and digitalizing electrical infrastructure. At the heart of these initiatives is the recent action of massive pre-ordering by RTE, aiming to purchase 5,000 km of cables, highlighting the crucial importance of these collaborations to support and sustain the energy rise in Europe until 2028. The evolution of the electric cable industry in Europe has led to the rise of several major players, among which companies like Nexans, Prysmian, and NKT stand out. These companies play a crucial role in enhancing electrical infrastructure, making it possible to transmit high voltage energy over long distances.
Prysmian Group, headquartered in Italy, is consistently cited as the world's largest cable manufacturer and Nexans' primary rival. Prysmian Group stands as Nexans' foremost global competitor, often vying for leadership in major energy and telecommunication cable projects worldwide. Japanese firms like Sumitomo Electric, Furukawa Electric Group, and Fujikura present robust competition with their broad product ranges in materials and advanced cabling systems.
Porter's Five Forces Analysis
Threat of New Entrants: LOW The barriers to entry in high-voltage cable manufacturing are substantial. The industry requires massive capital investment in specialized manufacturing equipment, deep technical expertise accumulated over decades, andâfor subsea cablesâbillion-dollar investments in cable-laying vessels. Certification requirements and the need for proven track records on critical infrastructure projects further discourage new entrants.
Bargaining Power of Suppliers: MODERATE Copper and aluminum represent the largest input costs, and prices are determined on global commodity markets. However, Nexans has invested in vertical integration (copper drawing facilities) and long-term supplier relationships to mitigate this exposure.
Bargaining Power of Buyers: MODERATE Major customers like RTE, TenneT, and offshore wind developers have significant purchasing power. However, the critical nature of the infrastructure, limited supplier alternatives for high-voltage subsea cables, and long project timelines give suppliers meaningful negotiating power.
Threat of Substitutes: LOW For power transmission, there are no practical substitutes for cables. Wireless power transmission remains experimental for meaningful distances and power levels.
Competitive Rivalry: MODERATE TO HIGH Competition among Prysmian, Nexans, and NKT is intense, particularly for marquee subsea projects. However, the backlog of projects from the energy transition exceeds current industry capacity, reducing zero-sum competition.
Hamilton Helmer's 7 Powers Framework
Scale Economies: MODERATE Cable manufacturing benefits from scale, but returns to scale are limited by the need for local manufacturing (cables are expensive to transport) and project-specific customization.
Network Effects: LIMITED Unlike software platforms, cable manufacturers don't benefit from network effects.
Counter-Positioning: STRONG Nexans's "Electrification Pure Player" strategy represents classic counter-positioning against diversified competitors. The company has deliberately abandoned profitable-but-unfocused business lines that competitors continue to serve, betting that specialization will yield superior returns.
Switching Costs: MODERATE TO HIGH For major infrastructure projects, switching suppliers mid-project is prohibitively expensive. Long-term framework agreements create meaningful switching costs.
Branding: LIMITED Cable is not a consumer product; brand matters less than technical capability and track record.
Cornered Resource: MODERATE Nexans's cable-laying vessel fleet represents a cornered resource that cannot be easily replicated. The Halden and Charleston manufacturing facilities are similarly unique assets.
Process Power: STRONG The SHIFT methodology, E3 management model, and accumulated expertise in subsea cable installation represent genuine process power that would be difficult for competitors to replicate.
Key Performance Indicators for Investors
For investors tracking Nexans's ongoing performance, three metrics stand out as most critical:
1. PWR-Transmission Adjusted Backlog Currently at âŹ8.1 billion, this represents the company's pipeline of high-margin subsea cable contracts. Growth or contraction in the backlog provides early visibility into future revenue and profitability.
2. Adjusted EBITDA Margin At 11.4% in 2024 and 11.7% in H1 2025, this measures the company's ability to maintain pricing discipline and operational efficiency. Margin compression would signal competitive pressure or execution problems.
3. Free Cash Flow Conversion The ratio of free cash flow to adjusted EBITDA measures capital efficiency. The target of 45%+ conversion demonstrates the business generates cash even while investing for growth.
Bull Case and Bear Case
Bull Case
The electrification supercycle is real and accelerating. Global electricity demand is projected to grow 20% by 2030, requiring massive investment in generation, transmission, and distribution infrastructure. Nexans is positioned at every stage of this value chain with differentiated capabilities, particularly in subsea cables where it operates one of the world's most advanced vessel fleets.
The order backlog provides exceptional visibility. With âŹ8.1 billion in contracted projects, Nexans has years of revenue visibility that most industrial companies lack. Framework agreements with major utilities like RTE provide ongoing volume without the need for constant new business development.
The transformation is durable. The E3 management model and SHIFT methodology are now embedded in company culture, making backsliding into complexity less likely. The focus on value over volume has fundamentally changed how the organization thinks about growth.
Valuation is reasonable for a company with Nexans's growth profile. Trading at mid-single digit EV/EBITDA multiples, Nexans offers infrastructure-like visibility at valuations that don't require heroic assumptions.
Bear Case
Execution risk on mega-projects is real. Subsea cable installation is technically complex, and delays or cost overruns on major projects could significantly impact profitability. The industry has historically seen projects go wrong.
Customer concentration is high. Major utilities and offshore wind developers represent a significant portion of backlog. Changes in customer spending plans, project delays, or customer financial difficulties could impact Nexans.
Commodity exposure remains. Despite hedging programs, copper and aluminum price volatility can impact margins. Rising raw material costs are difficult to pass through immediately on fixed-price contracts.
Competition is intensifying. Prysmian remains a formidable competitor with greater scale. Chinese cable manufacturers are building capabilities that could challenge Western incumbents in some segments.
The leadership transition introduces uncertainty. Christopher Guérin architected the transformation; it remains to be seen whether the new leadership can maintain momentum while also driving the next phase of growth.
Myth vs. Reality
| Myth | Reality |
|---|---|
| Cable manufacturing is a commoditized, low-margin business | High-voltage subsea cables are highly engineered products with significant barriers to entry and healthy margins. Nexans's electrification businesses generated 26.3% ROCE in 2024. |
| The energy transition will benefit all cable makers equally | Companies with subsea capabilities and cable-laying vessels have meaningful competitive advantages. Capacity constraints mean differentiated players can be selective about which projects they pursue. |
| Nexans's transformation was just cost-cutting | While costs were reduced, the transformation was fundamentally about strategic focus. The company deliberately walked away from customers and markets to concentrate on higher-value segments. |
| The company is exposed to offshore wind policy uncertainty | While individual project delays can impact timing, the structural demand for grid expansion transcends any single policy. Nexans's diversification across geographies and use cases provides resilience. |
Conclusion
The Nexans story is, at its core, a testament to the power of strategic clarity. For a decade, the company wandered through the wilderness of conglomerate complexity, trying to be everything to everyone and succeeding at nothing in particular. The transformation under Christopher GuĂ©rin proved that radical focusâsaying "no" to most customers, exiting profitable business lines, and concentrating resources on a few defensible positionsâcan create extraordinary value.
"Beyond the strong financial results, Christopher has profoundly transformed Nexans into a focused leader in sustainable Electrification, giving meaning and direction to its mission."
As Julien Hueber takes the helm, the question is not whether the transformation workedâthe numbers are clearâbut whether the company can sustain its trajectory in a new phase of growth. The backlog is full, the vessels are deployed, and the energy transition shows no signs of slowing. What remains is execution.
Nexans is the global pure player in sustainable electrification, building the essential systems that power the world's transition to a connected, resilient, and low-carbon future. From offshore and onshore renewable energies to smart cities and homes, Nexans designs and delivers advanced cable solutions, accessories and services that electrify progress safely, efficiently, and sustainably. With over 140 years of history, through three core businesses: PWR Transmission, PWR Grid, and PWR Connect, Nexans blends deep industry expertise with cutting-edge innovation to accelerate the energy transition and better meet its customers' needs.
For those who believe the world is moving toward electrificationâand the evidence is overwhelming that it isâNexans represents a way to participate in that transition through a company that has proven it can transform itself, execute complex projects, and generate returns on capital that would make many technology companies envious. The cables that power our future have to come from somewhere. Nexans has positioned itself to be that somewhere.
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