OVHcloud confirms its EBITDA margin improvement and initiates the execution of its transformation plan
Octave Klaba, Chairman and CEO of OVHcloud, said:
“In H1 FY2026, we delivered organic growth of 5.5% and achieved an adjusted EBITDA margin of 40.9%, a record level since the IPO, driven in particular by our operating leverage and the integration of AI into our internal processes. In order to control exceptional cost inflation linked to components and secure our supplies, we have deliberately front-loaded some of our Capex, without compromising on our target of positive Levered Free Cash-Flow in FY2026.
Six months after my return as CEO, I would like to highlight three structural initiatives.
Firstly, to meet the growing demand from the Defence sector in several European countries, we are creating a Defence vertical with a multi-local organisation in order to establish a local relationship with each ministry, and hiring profiles with military backgrounds and from the Defence industry.
Then, we have strengthened the short-term priorities for our sales teams: for Digital, a focus on customer acquisition; for Corporate, a refocusing on actionable, recurring mid-sized contracts. Beyond this, we will reshape the entire client experience by early FY2027.
Finally, we launched our AI Lab, initiated by the acquisition of Dragon LLM. The objective is to build and deploy new services based on verticalized agentic AI. The improving ROI of the latest GPU generations further supports this strategic choice.
Our course is set: to build a secure and innovative cloud, capable of supporting the transformation of the entire economy.”
OVHcloud's Board of Directors reviewed and approved the Group’s consolidated financial statements for the six months ended 28 February 2026 at its meeting on 8 April 2026. The financial statements have been audited and the auditors’ reports are available in the half-year financial report. The condensed half-year consolidated financial statements are available on the website in the Investor Relations section (corporate.ovhcloud.com).
Execution of the Group's transformation plan through three recent strategic initiatives
In Q2 FY2026, several European defense ministries approached OVHcloud to support their transformation. The stakes are strategic: AI-augmented command, drone orchestration, communications interoperability between armed forces and with NATO — all with a strong requirement for technological independence from non-European providers.
To meet this requirement, OVHcloud is creating a Defence vertical building a dedicated offering based on its SecNumCloud products.
The Group is also deploying a sales organisation in each country to cooperate with each ministry, and is hiring new profiles with military backgrounds and from the Defence industry.
Secondly, OVHcloud has strengthened its short-term priorities for its sales teams. For the Starters and Scalers go-to-market, the focus is on customer acquisition, with first tangible results from the repositioning of entry-range offerings: +116% new customers on VPS and +12% on Bare Metal. For Scalers, the Group is replicating its proven acquisition model from Blockchain — notably through lead generation — into other technical verticals.
In parallel, for Corporate, OVHcloud is refocusing its sales force on the mid-sized contract market. Beyond a few large-scale tenders, the structurally fragmented European market relies above all on a steady flow of mid-sized contracts that can be actioned quickly, serving as the foundation for recurring and predictable growth.
There has been a significant drop in barriers to entry for developing and customising AI models over the course of the last two years. Technologies and data are more accessible, customers are more mature in adoption, and the return on investment for GPUs has improved.
After the first wave of investment, which saw the emergence of generative AI pioneers, a second wave is now driving established Cloud players to invest in AI. OVHcloud is harnessing this momentum with the launch of its AI Lab, initiated by the acquisition of Dragon LLM.
Public Cloud drives growth in H1 FY2026
OVHcloud’s revenue for the first half of FY2026 came in at €555.3 million, up 5.5% like-for-like. This growth continues to be primarily driven by the success of Public Cloud products.
Existing customers’ spending continued to increase, with the net revenue retention rate reaching 104% (on a like-for-like basis).
Revenue by product segment
In the first half of FY2026, Private Cloud (60.6% of revenue) accounted for €336.6 million, up 3.4% on a like-for-like basis. Private Cloud growth reached 4.6% on a like-for-like basis, excluding the one-off effect linked to churn of two Corporate customers in the first quarter, following changes in their product strategy.
In the first half of FY2026, Public Cloud (21.4% of revenue) accounted for €118.6 million, up 15.1% on a like-for-like basis.
The Web Cloud segment (18.0% of revenue) posted revenue of €100.1 million in the first half of FY2026, up 2.4% like for like.
Revenue by region
France accounted for 48% of total Group revenue and was up 5.0% on a like-for-like basis. Private Cloud is benefiting from the initial effects of its entry-level repositioning. In a macroeconomic climate that remains complex, Public Cloud continues to be resilient and Webcloud is recording growth thanks to support services.
The other European countries accounted for 29% of total Group revenue and were up 3.5% on a like-for-like basis. Public Cloud continued to enjoy strong momentum. Private Cloud was affected by the one-off impact of a Corporate customer's departure, linked to changes in product strategy.
The Rest of the World accounts for 23% of the Group's total and recorded growth of +9.5% on a like-for-like basis. Growth was driven by the roll-out of Public Cloud in the United States, while Private Cloud growth in the region has proved resilient.
Ongoing improvement in adjusted EBITDA margin
Adjusted EBITDA reached €227.2 million, representing a margin of 40.9%
The increase in the adjusted EBITDA margin was driven by growth in operating leverage and tight control of direct costs, in line with the annual profitability target.
Net operating income (EBIT) stood at €35.4 million, representing a margin of 6.4%
The EBIT margin remained stable overall, after restating for the one-off effect of the disposal of a historic datacenter in Paris in the first half of FY2025. EBIT includes increased depreciation, amortisation and impairment expenses of €185.6 million, in line with the decision to front load Capex from the first half of FY2026.
Net income of €5.9 million
After taking into account a net financial expense of €28.7 million and a tax charge of €0.7 million, OVHcloud recorded net income of €5.9 million for the first half of FY2026.
Unlevered free cash flow generated in the first half of FY2026
Unlevered free cash flow of €32.3 million
Gross cash flow from operating activities improved to €221.2 million in H1 FY2026, up 5%.
The €54.7 million change in working capital requirement is partly a result of the phasing effect in some payments to suppliers and the seasonal nature of prepaid expenses.
Over the half-year, OVHcloud has chosen to bring forward its hardware investments to secure supplies and limit the impact of exceptional cost inflation on components. Capex excluding acquisitions amounted to €238.5 million during the period. It accounted for 42.9% of revenue in the first half of FY2026, and included:
After taking into account these various elements, OVHcloud generated unlevered free cash-flow of €32.3 million in the first half of FY2026.
Net debt
Net debt of €1,125 million at 28 February 2026
Consolidated net debt (excluding lease liabilities) at 28 February 2026 was €1,125 million compared to €1,103 million at 31 August 2025.
At the end of February 2026, all of the Group’s debt was hedged and had an average interest rate of 4.4%, which remains stable, including margins and commission. Debt leverage at 28 February 2026 was 2.6x, down 10 basis points, in line with the Group’s disciplined approach to debt. Lastly, the Group has €236 million in available cash.
FY2026 objectives – Positive levered free cash flow
The Group is aiming for a target of positive levered free cash flow in FY2026. The guidance for adjusted Capex as a percentage of revenue has been set at 33-35% (compared with 30-32% previously), excluding locked-in stock for FY2027 covered by dedicated financing.
The exceptional cost inflation in memory components and disks over FY2026 represents an impact of around 3 points, bringing the guidance to 33-35%. By front loading its supplies from the start of H1 rather than in H2 FY2026, the Group secured the majority of its requirements and made savings of around €10 million, partially offsetting the inflationary effect.
In addition, the Group has decided to build up a dedicated stock of around €50 million in memory components and disks – components that are not at risk of becoming obsolete – that is for use exclusively in FY2027. This exceptional investment will make it possible to secure availability and freeze prices before any further planned increases.
In order to finance the €50 million investment in locked-in stock for FY2027, the Group will use dedicated exceptional financing, included in levered free cash flow as defined in the glossary included in this press release.
OVHcloud therefore has the following targets for FY2026:
Recent highlights
Acquisition of Dragon LLM, a developer of specialised generative AI models, and launch of an AI lab to offer new services to its customers based on LLMs
Through this acquisition, OVHcloud strengthens its teams with new fine-tuning experts.
By integrating the technological building blocks developed by Dragon LLM, OVHcloud will offer its customers new services in generative AI for sensitive data, deployable in the cloud and on-premises. It is the first acquisition for OVHcloud, marking the launch of its AI lab, which aims to train and fine-tune sovereign LLM models.
Strategic contract signed with Alchemy to bring OVHcloud to Web3 developers globally
OVHcloud has signed a multi-year contract with Alchemy, which powers over $4T+ in annual on-chain transactions and underpins the on-chain infrastructure behind JPMorgan, Robinhood, Stripe, and Coinbase. The agreement sees Alchemy using over 2,000 Bare Metal servers, with OVHcloud now being the primary infrastructure provider for Alchemy’s worldwide node operations.
Improvement in S&P Global Ratings’ Corporate Sustainability Assessment and achievement of Top 14% in the industry
OVHcloud achieved a score of 60/100 in S&P Global Ratings’ Corporate Sustainability Assessment (CSA) of 3 February 2026, marking a 9-point increase from the previous year. This result places OVHcloud in the top 14% of its industry. Social and environmental responsibility has been at the core of OVHcloud’s values since its inception 25 years ago.
Transformation of the €200 million revolving credit facility into a sustainable development loan under the rendez-vous clause
OVHcloud became the first European cloud player to combine both a revolving credit line (RCF) linked to sustainable development and an EU Taxonomy-aligned Green Loan.
Conference call
On Thursday 9 April 2026 at 10 a.m. (CEST – Paris), OVHcloud’s management will hold a conference call in English.
Connection links:
After the conference call, a replay of the webcast will be available in the Investor relations section of the OVHcloud website: https://corporate.ovhcloud.com/en-gb/investor-relations/financial-results/
Calendar
25 June 2026 : Q3 FY2026 Revenue
About OVHcloud
OVHcloud is a global player and the leading European cloud provider operating over 500,000 servers within 46 datacenters across 4 continents to reach 1.6 million customers in over 140 countries. Spearheading a trusted cloud and pioneering a sustainable cloud with the best price-performance ratio, the Group has been leveraging for over 20 years an integrated model that guarantees total control of its value chain: from the design of its servers to the construction and management of its datacenters, including the orchestration of its fiber-optic network. This unique approach enables OVHcloud to independently cover all the uses of its customers so they can seize the benefits of an environmentally conscious model with a frugal use of resources and a carbon footprint reaching the best ratios in the industry. OVHcloud now offers customers the latest-generation solutions combining performance, predictable pricing, and complete data sovereignty to support their unfettered growth.
Contacts
Appendices
Glossary
The different go-to-market segments are determined according to the following criteria:
ROCE (return on capital employed) is calculated by dividing adjusted EBITDA after depreciation, amortisation and impairment and tax for the current financial year by capital employed for the previous year.
Capital employed corresponds to Goodwill, tangible and intangible fixed assets less net working capital requirements after tax.
Like-for-like is calculated at constant exchange rates and constant scope. Scope adjustments correspond to M&A.
The net revenue retention rate for any period is equal to the percentage calculated by dividing (i) the revenue generated in such period from customers that were present during the same period of the previous year, by (ii) the revenue generated from all customers in that previous year period. When the revenue retention rate exceeds 100%, it means that revenue from the relevant customers increased from the relevant period in the previous year to the same period in the current year, in excess of the revenue lost due to churn.
ARPAC (Average revenue per active customer) represents the revenue recorded in a given period from a given customer group, divided by the average number of customers from that group in that period (the average number of customers is determined on the same basis as in determining net customer acquisitions). ARPAC increases as customers in a given group spend more on OVHcloud services. It can also increase due to a change in mix, as an increase (or decrease) in the proportion of high-spending customers would increase (or decrease) ARPAC, irrespective of whether total revenue from the relevant customer group increases.
Recurring EBITDA is equal to revenue less the sum of personnel costs and other operating expenses (and excluding depreciation and amortisation charges, as well as items that are classified as "Other non‑recurring operating income and expenses").
Adjusted EBITDA is equal to recurring EBITDA excluding share-based compensation and expenses resulting from the payment of earn-outs.
Recurring Capital Expenditure (Capex) reflects the capital expenditure needed to maintain the revenue generated during a given period for the following period.
Growth capital expenditure (Capex) represents all capital expenditure other than recurring capital expenditure.
Unlevered free cash flow represents cash flows from operating activities minus capital expenditure.
Levered free cash flow represents cash flows from operating activities minus capex, minus repayment of lease liabilities, minus financial interest paid, and includes dedicated financing related to specific operations (excluding M&A).
Revenue by segment and geography
Reconciliation of like-for-like and reported growth
Consolidated income statement
Reconciliation between recurring EBITDA and adjusted EBITDA
Consolidated statement of financial position
Consolidated statement of cash flows
1Recurring capex corresponds to the capital expenditure needed to maintain the revenue generated during a given period for the following period.
2Growth capex represents all capital expenditure other than recurring capex.
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