Plumbing supplier Geberit says European new build market remains weak (updated)

Geberit AG

04/11/2025 06:23

Company nudges full-year sales outlook higher

Q3 sales beat forecasts

Company still cautious on European new-build work

Sees renovation as a bright spot in Europe

Adds CEO comment, updates share price

By John Revill

ZURICH, Nov 4 (Reuters) -
Swiss plumbing materials maker Geberit GEBN.S nudged its full-year sales outlook slightly higher on Tuesday, despite remaining cautious about the new-build construction market in Europe.

        The company, whose products include bathroom ceramics, piping and toilets, said it expected its full-year sales to increase by around 4.5% when measured in local currencies.

The figure was a slight increase from the 4% growth outlook it gave in August, and reflected better than anticipated sales in the third quarter following the roll out of new flushing and installation systems.

"The main reason why we have slightly upgraded our top line guidance was the result of Q3, which was better than we expected," Chief Executive Christian Buhl told analysts.

"It was not a specific country, it was across the board."

Geberit shares were trading 2.4% higher in Zurich after the results.

Germany, Geberit's biggest market, has stabilised in the first nine months of 2025, Buhl said, with increasing residential building although non-residential construction was still declining.

Reporting its third-quarter results, Geberit said its sales rose 2.7% to 782.5 million Swiss francs ($986.63 million) in the three months to the end of September.

The figure beat analyst forecasts for 770.5 million francs in a consensus compiled by Visible Alpha.

Core operating profit (EBITDA) rose 1.5% to 239.6 million francs, roughly in line with forecasts.

COMPANY SEES RENOVATION WORK AS A BRIGHT SPOT

Still, Geberit - whose results are an indicator of the health of the broader construction industry - remained cautious, citing a "continuing challenging environment".

        "In Europe, a slight decline in new construction activities is expected to continue until the end of 2025," the company said, citing declines in new building permits in 2024 and the first half of 2025.

This should be offset by a positive outlook for renovation work, Geberit said, citing an increase in real estate transactions which could trigger refurbishments by new owners.

($1 = 0.7931 Swiss francs)

 (Reporting by John Revill, Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman and Susan Fenton)

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