The Geberit Group posted convincing results in a very challenging environment in the first half of 2024. Despite the declining building construction industry and unfavourable currency developments, it was possible to achieve slight volume growth and maintain profitability at a high level.
Net sales
In the first half of 2024, net sales for the Geberit Group decreased by 1.4% to CHF 1,638 million. Net sales in the second quarter reached CHF 801 million, which is equivalent to an increase of 4.1% compared to the same quarter in the previous year.
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Net sales by markets and product areas
The European markets continued to suffer the most from the very challenging conditions for the sanitary industry. Nevertheless, currency-adjusted net sales in Europe increased by +1.1%.
Significant increases were achieved in Eastern Europe (+11.3%) and Italy (+5.7%). Germany
(+1.7%) and Benelux (+1.1%) also made slight gains. Currency-adjusted net sales in
Switzerland (-0.5%) and Austria (-1.2%) were slightly down on the previous year. By contrast,
Western Europe (Great Britain/Ireland, France, Iberian Peninsula) and Northern Europe
recorded more pronounced declines of -3.3% and -5.1% respectively. Outside Europe, positive currency-adjusted increases were achieved in the Middle East/Africa (+9.4%), the Far
East/Pacific (+6.0%) and America (+2.0%).
In the product areas, currency-adjusted net sales in Installation and Flushing Systems and
Piping Systems both increased by +2.5%. Bathroom Systems, on the other hand, recorded a
slight decline of -0.3%.
Outlook full year 2024
Due to the challenging conditions, the building construction industry is expected to decline
overall in 2024. In the past two years, increased construction costs and interest rates have
significantly dampened demand in the European building construction industry – especially in
the new building sector.
Driven by the weak development in residential construction, the number of building permits in Europe decreased by around -15% in 2023, leading to a corresponding decline in new building activities in the current year. Building permits in Europe continued to decline by -5% in the first quarter of 2024. The sharpest decline is expected in Northern Europe, Germany and Austria. However, new building activities in Switzerland are expected to develop more positively due to the lower inflation and lower interest rates.
More information:
Geberit Group
www.geberit.com