Geberit reported +8.3% in sales for 2016

The Geberit Group reported that its net sales increased by 8.3% to 2.81 billion Swiss francs in the 2016 financial year. Adjusted for currency effects and in organic terms, net sales rose by 6.4%. Due to synergies from the integration of the Sanitec business, volume growth and lower prices for raw materials, management expects an adjusted operating cashflow margin (EBITDA margin) of around 28.5% for the year as a whole – a figure that is significantly up on the previous year.

 
Geberit’s results give an insight into the health of the construction market, with around a third of its sales coming from new building projects while two thirds comes from renovation work.

The Geberit Group said the sales growth was attributable to convincing developments in many markets and a reduction in order backlogs in the shower toilet business that particularly took effect in the third quarter. The situation in the construction industry was also better in several markets compared to the previous year. The sales growth was additionally supported by sales synergies from the integration of the ceramics business that were achieved earlier than expected.

Geberit’s largest market, Germany, which generates roughly 30% of its revenue, increased 2016 sales by 4.7% when adjusted for currencies.
In Switzerland, another large market for Geberit’s pipes and shower toilets, sales rose 6.4% while in the Nordic region sales rose 11.1%.

The company said it expected a 2016 adjusted operating cash flow margin of around 28.5%, up from 26.7% a year earlier. It is due to report earnings on March 14th.