Geberit sees profit rise amid European construction pressure (updated)

Geberit AG

12/03/2026 06:18

Volatile energy prices impact costs

Geberit reports 2% rise in 2025 operating profit

Swiss franc strength affects Geberit's profit

Recasts, adds CEO comments in paragraphs 1-4, CFO comment in paragraph 9, background on Swiss franc in paragraph 10, dividend in paragraph 11

By Bernadette Hogg and Danny Callaghan

March 12 (Reuters) -
Swiss plumbing supplier Geberit's GEBN.S CEO said on Thursday it was too early to consider raising prices in response to the Middle East conflict and the company had seen no impact on raw materials supply.

However, volatile energy and oil-correlated commodity plastics prices have impacted costs in the first weeks of the conflict, CEO Christian Buhl said in a press conference.

Around 3% of the company's sales are made in the Middle East, Buhl said, adding that while there were supply chain challenges and delays within the region, construction sites were continuing to operate.

The company said the wider repercussions of the Middle East conflict made it difficult to provide an outlook on inflation, interest rates and consumer sentiment, which help indicate the health of the construction industry.

RESILIENT 2025 RESULTS

Geberit reported a 2% rise in its operating profit in 2025, as sales volume growth and new products boosted performance.

The company achieved earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) of 931 million Swiss francs ($1.19 billion).

That corresponded to 5.4% growth in currency adjusted terms, as the company's finance chief, Tobias Knechtle, said the strong Swiss franc hit all profit and loss result lines.

The safe-haven Swiss franc has overall strengthened against the dollar and euro since U.S. President Donald Trump announced global tariffs in April 2025.

Geberit shares were down 1.8% at 1055 GMT, underperforming the Swiss blue chip index .SSMI, which was down 0.7%.

     The maker of sanitary systems, bathroom ceramics and piping set its dividend for 2025 at 12.90 Swiss francs per share, below the 13.02 Swiss francs per share expected by analysts polled by LSEG.

In January, Geberit posted a 2.5% increase in net sales over 2024 and said it expected slight growth but no recovery for the European construction market in 2026.

($1 = 0.7817 Swiss francs)

 (Reporting by Bernadette Hogg and Danny Callaghan; Editing by Matt Scuffham)

 ((bernadette.hogg@thomsonreuters.com))