Geberit flags heightened geopolitical risks after steady Q1 results (updated)

Geberit AG

05/05/2026 06:34

Reports Q1 sales in line with forecasts, earnings slightly ahead

Hiking prices to counter more expensive plastic, energy costs

Iran conflict having minor impact, not affecting European demand

Rewrites, adding CEO comment

By John Revill

ZURICH, May 5 (Reuters) - Plumbing materials and ceramic toilet maker Geberit GEBN.S will raise prices of plastic piping and some other products by 2% from June, it said on Tuesday, to offset rising plastics and energy costs due to the Iran conflict.

The Swiss company, seen as a bellwether for the broader construction sector, has already increased prices by 5% this year on copper-related products, a relatively small share of sales, on top of its usual annual increase of around 1%.

"We are affected by substantially higher plastics and higher energy prices," Chief Executive Christian Buhl told reporters, adding that the latest move was prompted by raw material inflation spreading beyond commodity plastics into technical plastics.

Plastics prices have risen on the back of a spike in oil prices as the Middle East conflict has effectively closed key global trading route the Strait of Hormuz. However, the conflict has otherwise had little direct effect on the business, Geberit said, with shipments through the Strait of Hormuz accounting for less than 1% of group sales.

"The rest of the Gulf region is running relatively normally," Buhl said, adding that sales in Saudi Arabia had grown since the start of this year, including in March.

Buhl was speaking after Geberit reported that first-quarter sales slipped 0.7% to 873 million Swiss francs ($1.11 billion), in line with analyst expectations, while EBITDA rose 2.3% to 283 million francs, ahead of the 279 million francs forecast in a Visible Alpha consensus.

Geberit said rising geopolitical risks made it difficult to assess the broader economic environment, including inflation, consumer sentiment and interest rates, all key for construction demand.

Still, Buhl said the company's market view was little changed from March, with European demand so far resilient and Germany expected to be stable or slightly positive.

"We have not yet seen any direct impact from the war in Iran on demand in the building construction industry in Europe," Buhl said.

($1 = 0.7847 Swiss francs)

 (Reporting by John Revill, Editing by Miranda Murray and Susan Fenton)

 ((John.Revill@thomsonreuters.com; +41 41 528 36 37; Reuters Messaging: john.revill.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))